“Could not initiate the transaction…” error at SOLIDWORKS start-up?

Recently I was helping a customer on tech support to download and install SOLIDWORKS on a new machine but when we tried to launch SOLIDWORKS it showed a “Could not initiate the transaction” error message:

“Could not initiate the transaction (66, iActTransactionStartFlxActivateApp() /flxActAppActivationReqCreate()errored [8,41013,00)”

Once we read the complete error message it tells us that the issue is with the activation of the license but not with SOLIDWORKS itself. This message occurs if the FLEXnet Licensing Service is not running on the machine.

To check if FLEXnet Licensing Service is running or has been disabled follow these steps:

• Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services
• This launches the Services Window
• Locate FLEXnet Licensing Service and make sure it is set to Started
• If not right-click the service and choose Start.
• Also Right-click on FLEXnet Licensing Service > Properties > Set Start-up Type to Automatic.

FLEXnet Licensing Service properties

Now try launching SOLIDWORKS and activate the license. The “Could not initiate the transaction” message should not appear

Learn more about SOLIDWORKS

Attend a SOLIDWORKS Essentials training course either in a Canadian classroom near you or live online. For more information about composer software and training solutions call 1-877-219-6757.