PSIM 2026 Student Edition License Issue – “Connection to the license server is lost”

Question

Hello,

I am using the Altair Student Edition and have installed PSIM 2026. However, I cannot use PSIM because I receive the following error when opening a schematic file:

“Connection to the license server is lost.”

I also encountered the following error in Altair License Utility when attempting activation in User mode:

“Unable to access license store.”

Here is what I have checked so far:

* My license file is located at C:\ProgramData\Altair\licenses.
* The license file contains the following feature names: HyperViewTrans, HyperWorksEDU, and romAI.
* I checked the folder permissions and confirmed that my Windows user account has read access to the license file.
* When I run Altair License Utility as an administrator and attempt to activate the license in System mode, I receive the message: “License already exists in license store.”
* However, PSIM 2026 still fails to recognize the license correctly.

Could you please confirm the following?

* Does my current Student Edition license include the features required to run PSIM 2026?
* Should the PSIM feature be listed explicitly in my license file?
* If my license is valid for PSIM 2026, how can I resolve these license store and license server connection errors?

I would appreciate your guidance on how to resolve this issue.

Thank you.

jongwoon · Answer

Hi Ankita,

Thank you for your response.

I wanted to clarify that the "license already exists in license store" message only appeared when I ran the Altair License Utility as an Administrator.

When I open the Altair License Utility normally (without administrator privileges), I cannot see the license path at all. Instead, under the "License Store" field (set to "User"), it shows the following error message, and the "Activate" button is greyed out:"Error: Unable to access license store"

Because of this error, I cannot view the folder path to delete the .lic file or reactivate the license in normal user mode. I have attached a screenshot of this error.

Also, I am testing a very basic circuit that does not use any restricted modules like SimCoder, so it does not seem to be a feature limitation issue.

Could you please let me know how I can fix the "Unable to access license store" error so that PSIM can properly recognize my license?

Best regards,

Ankita_v · Answer

HI,

The message license already exists in license store means the activation is already successful,

You could go to the location of the license in the license store, this is the path in the activation tab under the license store field, delete the .lic file there and then reactivate,

HyperWorksEDU is the feature that activates all products including PSIM. No other feature is necessary for the student edition. Note the student edition of PSIM is limited and only supports motor drive feature.

Pls review limitations of Altair PSIM Student Edition in the following discussion-

https://community.altair.com/discussion/20011/issue-simcoder-components-are-constantly-disabled-student-license

You might find the following discussions useful -

https://community.altair.com/discussion/comment/200137#Comment_200137