SOLIDWORKS PDM Error: ‘The Owner SID on a Per-user Subscription doesn’t exist’…Huh?!

On occasion, there are error messages generated by our SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional environment which are less than clear. The error message  “The owner SID on a per-user subscription doesn’t exist,” is one of those.

This error is nestled away in the Windows Application Event log and indicates SOLIDWORKS PDM Database Server Service is failing to connect to the SQL Server Hostname/Instance. The full message in the PDM Archive server log  will show:

Connect to server 'PDM\SWPDM' 
Failed:
(null)
The owner SID on a per-user subscription doesn't exist
(null)

Cross-reference errors in the PDM Application log

As a note, I like to cross-reference errors in the PDM Application log, to the Windows Event Viewer logs. The Windows Event Viewer logs often provide additional information, that is not available in the  PDM Archive server log. Also, the Windows Event Viewer has better filtering capabilities.  In the Windows Event Viewer, I mainly focus on the Application, System, and the ConisioArchiveServerLog.

Event Viewer Logs

Regardless of how the error is viewed, if this message is displayed about every thirty seconds, the source may be related to a Windows Registry on that PDM Database server.

Repeating Error Message in Windows Activity Log

Find a solution in the SOLIDWORKS knowledgebase (KB)

Often, when I’m faced with a vague error message such as “The owner SID on a per-user subscription doesn’t exist,” I turn to SOLIDWORKS knowledgebase (KB). This is where I found the solution for this error message.

The likely cause for this error is that the Database Server Service registry key, points to an invalid Hostname\Instance, on your Database Server. The fix is to correct a Windows Registry key.

NOTE: Making changes to the Windows Registry can severely impact Windows or installed applications. If you are not familiar with the Windows Registry, you should get someone who does to make these changes for you. I would recommend backing up the Registry, before making any changes. 

The Windows Registry key that needs to be corrected is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\Applications\PDMWorks Enterprise\MailService

In particular, the Server key needs to be modified to point to the correct SQL Hostname\Instance.

Modifying Server Key

Once the Windows Registry has been modified, the SOLIDWORKS PDM Database Server Service needs to be restarted from Windows Services.

Restarting the SOLIDWORKS PDM Database Server Service

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