SYSTEM & DISK ID CHANGES (Invalid Key) on Windows

GENERAL

Once activated, your SCRATCH License Key is tied to your specific hardware, based on a combination of system and disk IDs.
This key is not "floating" and cannot be used on any other hardware.
In some cases these IDs can get altered:Enabling/disabling network adapters can affect and modify the system ID.
Connecting external disk devices might result in a disk ID change.
These 2 IDs are crucial to SCRATCH licensing and any change will make your key "Invalid" and hence unable to launch SCRATCH.
To avoid this situation it is recommended, to "lock" the system ID by setting the current network adapter as the default one,
before the given key is activated on the system.

SOLUTIONS

Changed disk ID:
In the rare case of an external disk rendering the disk ID invalid, unplug it and make sure to only connect it after SCRATCH has been started.

Changed system ID:
The key is to set a fixed "first" network adapter in Windows.
This involves a couple of steps:
The current example sets the Wifi as preferred network, but you can set it to any other adapter of course.
To proceed, navigate to the Control Panel ==> Network ==> Sharing Center.
Once there, click the "Change adapter settings" in the left column.

This should get you to this page where you need to first access an "Advanced" menu, which is hidden.
Hold down the "Alt" key to make the option appear and select "Advanced Settings...".

Next, use the up and down arrows on the right side to move your current adapter to the top of the list.

Once done, the selected network adapter should stay selected whenever network is On or Off.

Posted - Friday, April 26, 2024 12:19:00 PM
https://www.assimilatesupport.com/akb/KnowledgebaseArticle50919.aspx