How To Install A Standalone SOLIDWORKS 2023 License

This guide is written for SOLIDWORKS 2023 Standalone. If you are using a network license, please check that article here. Also, if you are using an earlier version of SOLIDWORKS, please download our earlier installation documents to correctly load and administer your version of SOLIDWORKS.

Before loading any software, you should always log in with full administrative permissions and disable your anti-virus, anti-spyware programs as well as User Account Control. Be sure your operating system has been updated with Windows Updates recently to avoid any compatibility issues with the installer.

A SOLIDWORKS seat can be used to activate one machine. If you wish to use your activation on another system, you must first deactivate the PC that is currently active. Please see the SOLIDWORKS End User License Agreement if you have any questions regarding this policy.

This is not a troubleshooting guide. If you have any technical issues with SOLIDWORKS please contact Hawk Ridge Systems technical support.

This document is only to be distributed and used by Hawk Ridge Systems customers. Any other use is prohibited. 

Contents

Before Installation

Basic Installation

Standalone Activation

Before Installation

Hawk Ridge Systems highly recommends taking a moment before installing SOLIDWORKS Standalone and checking that you are ready to load your new software.

1. First, check links to ensure minimum system requirements and that your video card is compatible.
2. Next, please confirm that the hard drive has enough space to end up with at least 15% free space, after the full installation has completed so your new software will work as expected. Back-up any older SOLIDWORKS data such as any working files, custom toolbox items, saved template files, design library, or other related data files. You can also save your settings with the Copy Settings Wizard. SOLIDWORKS CAD is year specific, IE: not forward compatible, meaning older versions of SOLIDWORKS cannot open files from newer versions.
3. Login to your computer with full administrative rights.
4. Turn down the User Account Control setting (found in the Control Panel). To do this, press your Windows button, either on the screen or on the keyboard. Then type “UAC” followed by the enter key. The window that follows shows a vertical scroll bar. Make the setting “Never Notify” for the installation (requires restarting the computer to take effect) and change it back after installing, if you prefer.
5. Disable all anti-virus and anti-spyware tools.

Basic Installation

SOLIDWORKS is installed from the SOLIDWORKS installation download or disc. It uses the same Installation Manager as other SOLIDWORKS products. You will need to download the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager to download and install SOLIDWORKS Standalone. SOLIDWORKS discs are only available by request in 2022.

1. Please go to the SOLIDWORKS download page and choose the SOLIDWORKS year version that you would like to install. (Please note that you will need to login before you can get to that website.) Follow the instructions to download and start the executable. Also, if you have one, you can put in the SOLIDWORKS installation disc and start the Setup.exe.
2. Note: If a Windows reboot message comes up you can simply click OK. This warning only applies to SQL based products like Electrical.

3. When the welcome screen opens, please select Install on this computer.

4. Next, you should confirm any serial numbers that pre-populate, or put in your SOLIDWORKS serial numbers.

If you are unable to find your serial number, please call us so we can send it to a previously established email address.

5. Exit all other programs and click the Next button to continue.

For a computer with an existing SOLIDWORKS installation, you can install a new standalone installation concurrently and it will create all new files, templates etc., for the new 2023 year version (typically) without affecting old templates etc. Or you can upgrade an existing installation to 2023.

6. Press Next to continue.

If you are not online, it will warn that you cannot automatically select products to install. Pressing Cancel will continue with the load, but you must manually select all your add-ins during the installation instead of being given a list based on your serial number.

7. Now you will see the summary of what will be installed. On this page you can change things like download options, products to install, where to install SOLIDWORKS (default is best here), and toolbox settings.

8. Select the SOLIDWORKS software and features to install by expanding each selection group and checking the boxes, then click Back to Summary.

9. To change the Toolbox settings, click Toolbox/Hole Wizard Options Change and you will see the image below. When installing a new installation of SOLIDWORKS alongside an older year version, you can re-name the new toolbox C:\SOLIDWORKS Data 2023 to differentiate it from the older year versions installed on your computer. For upgrade installations you can choose to create a new one, upgrade an existing Toolbox or copy an existing toolbox and upgrade that copy.

10. Click back to summary, accept the terms of the SOLIDWORKS License Agreement, then click Download and Install or Install only if you already have all the installation files.

Standalone Activation

SOLIDWORKS Standalone has activation-based licensing. The first time SOLIDWORKS is launched it will bring up the activation wizard.

Follow the instructions to activate SOLIDWORKS over the internet.

1. If prompted, select Activate/Reactivate a software license at the first prompt.
2. Highlight the SOLIDWORKS license in the activation wizard by clicking select all, then enter your email to use for the activation, and click next. This will launch the activation process.

3. Once the activation process completes, SOLIDWORKS will be fully licensed and installed. If the activation fails, SOLIDWORKS will often launch with a temporary 30-day activation.
4. To manually activate the product, you may launch the activation wizard from within the help menu and follow the same steps as above. Go to Help (the question mark) -> Licenses > Activate.

E-mail manual Activation

1. If you do not have internet access at this computer, go to Help>Licenses>Activate, then choose Manually via e-mail.
2. Click the Next button to continue.
3. On the next page, press the Save button to create an activation request file.

Warning! Once you’ve saved this file, do not exit out of the activation window until you have completed the process and read in the response e-mail from SOLIDWORKS or you will not be able to run SOLIDWORKS.

4. Browse to a location on your computer to store this .TXT file and press the Save button. Copy this text file on to a disk or removable storage device and move it to a machine with internet access.
5. Send this file as an attachment to an e-mail and send it to activation@SOLIDWORKS.com.
6. SOLIDWORKS will send a return e-mail with a different text file attached. Save this text file to a disk or removable storage space and move it to the machine awaiting activation.
7. In the activation wizard, press the Open button on the e-mail activation page.
8. Browse to the response file and press the Open
9. The next page will show you that your activation is complete.
10. Press the Finish button to complete. 

Once SOLIDWORKS is activated, you will be able to use the product. Please note that if you need to install SOLIDWORKS onto a new machine, please deactivate the license off the machine that is no longer going to be used first, then activate your new installation.

Your standalone installation of SOLIDWORKS is now properly installed and licensed.

For further assistance, please contact our support team at support@hawkridgesys.com, or 877-266-4469 (US) or 866-587-6803 (Canada).