I'd like to share a really annoying problem I encountered when updating our PT HD rigs to 10.3.8. Hopefully this post might save someone else a lot of time and mental sanity...
We have more than 20 Pro Tools HD Mac Pro Machines which I service. (and they're running great for 6 years now)
Since iLok introduced their new License Manager Software I have had two iLoks that were obviously killed by software update.
1st one was dead after I moved a new license from the account onto it (with the License Manager on a laptop connected to the internet). Everything seemed to have worked. But the Pro Tools system was afterwards unable to recognize
any of the licenses on that iLok. I checked back on the laptop - no, all licensed are there!
Tried the "repair" function, uninstalled and installed iLok drivers, cleaned up system, the usual stuff… But to no avail. The iLok remained dead. Tried an iLok from a sister system - worked. Aha! So it really was the iLok itself.
I solved the issue using a spare V2 iLok that I transferred the licenses to using the iLok Manager. Now the system worked fine again and all licenses were there.
Strange. But then the same thing happened again some weeks later with another system after updating PT 10.3.4 to 10.3.8. !
Restart: no licenses found anymore! The iLok became a zombie just like the other one.
This time I tried to involve iLok support (we have Zero Downtime…) and they finally suggested trying a different iLok - well, I had figured that out before too… Luckily we had another iLok 1 lying in the drawer, so like before I transferred the licenses to an other iLok and presto: problem solved.
The bottom line: two iLoks of 25 were killed by software update!
I wrote all this to iLok support and asked them to replace the two dead iLoks - which they refused. (Thus I am currently canceling several ZDT renewals...)
I don't know why this happened and apparently neither does iLok-support. The only interesting fact might be that the iLoks in question had very low serial numbers (last four digits only). Maybe that's got anything to do with the issue.
So, if you have a very old iLok you should better go and get a spare one and pray everytime you update your software. (or maybe try some anti-zombie voodoo?)
I had really come to like iLok (as it just worked) - but this wasn't fun.
(But don't ask me about Waves' new license cloud either…)
Chris