step 7 problem

hi.. im still new with this plc stuff..
anybody can help me with my problem. my problem is regarding on authorization license manager. when i click the service a pop up window appears "the license key service is not in service,please start the service" and when i start step7 manager a message appears invalid path no license found
please advice me what to do

gian

For some reason your license manager is not defined to start as a service automaticly. You can change the start up type in service settings of windows. Easiest way to start services manager is to click "Start" --> "Run.." --> write "services.msc" in run box and then change the properties of automation licence manager to start automaticly. And you should also start the service.

Miika said:

For some reason your license manager is not defined to start as a service automaticly. You can change the start up type in service settings of windows. Easiest way to start services manager is to click "Start" --> "Run.." --> write "services.msc" in run box and then change the properties of automation licence manager to start automaticly. And you should also start the service.

Click to expand...

thanks for the advice i will try it when i go back to work. i believe in you guys your great in plc god bless.

same error occurs

i configure the automation license manager as you have advice i change it from manual to automatic but still same error occurs when i start the automation manager. and also an alarm appear it says "the auomation license manager service service on localcomputer started and then stopped. some services stop automaically when they have nothing to do" what other means/ways can i solve this problem? how about uninstalling the automaion manager and then reinstall it do i lost the autorization code or it is already lost? what causes this error is it a virus?

waiting for your advice again. thanks in advance

You have only Step7 ? Or also installed Simatic Net, WinCC, Flexible, Antivirus ...
Do not start the program in current of 5 minutes after start of a computer.
In some cases ALM driver are started only in some minutes.

grbatac said:

hi.. my problem is regarding on authorization license manager. when i click the service a pop up window appears "the license key service is not in service,please start the service" and when i start step7 manager a message appears invalid path no license found
please advice me what to do
gian

Click to expand...

I have experienced similar problem a long back...Did you install step7 in a drive other than where operating system is present?

if that is the case I think of suggesting you to install in OS drive.

Check your Time Zone

I have experienced a similar problem when I tried to operate Step-7 in India where the time zone is not a whole number of hours + or - from Greenwich Mean Time. I have installed 10 Siemens S7 systems in India with their PC's all set to Pakistan time which tends to upset the locals.

Siemens know about the problem but seem not interested in fixing it. I just hope its not my throat that gets cut oneday.

Hi Gian,
You were dealt a difficult PLC system to start
with. I have worked with alot of PLC's and the Siemens
label is the worst as far as learning curves ( Siemens-TI as an exception ). It seems there is always a problem somewhere.
I just want to download and go but with Siemens things have
to be there even if you do not require or need them.

Johnskii said:

Hi Gian,
You were dealt a difficult PLC system to start
with. I have worked with alot of PLC's and the Siemens
label is the worst as far as learning curves ( Siemens-TI as an exception ). It seems there is always a problem somewhere.
I just want to download and go but with Siemens things have
to be there even if you do not require or need them.

Click to expand...

You don't half talk a lot of rubbish.

You cannot even connect to AB unless you have RSLINX, no such problems with Siemens, you cannot connect to your PLC if you don't have the correct revision for the PLC, no such problem with Siemens. You cannot go on-line if someone has changes something, no such problems with Siemens. You need seperate programs to compare files, no such problems with Siemens, you cannot compare on-line, no such problems with Siemens.

Both systems have their quirks which can be annoying if YOU DO NOT KNOW THE PLC VERY WELL.

Do not blame the PLC for the lack of training or experience of an individual.

If you had been brought up with Siemens and knew it very well, you would probably be on here telling everyone how bad AB was, such is your lack of intelligence.


Sorry, but this guy has made stupid unhelpful comments like this more than once and it irritates me that he does not know what he's talking about.

Both systems are very good, both have good and bad points, both can be irritating (especially when you don't know) and a persons choice would normally be what's in HIS comfort zone!

I have been in the PLC , Drives , HMI, SCADA , electrical ,
electronic , blah , blah, blah fields for over 25 years now.
You do not have to a complete idiot and berate my experience and knowledge AAY! Siemens PLC are DIFFICULT for the beginner to work with PEROID. After you have dealt with the German manuals translated to English by people in India and the sometimes clueless Tech Support and finally saying the heck with it I will make this work by myself then the system is somewhat OK. I have nothing against Siemens or interested in the us versus them thing. I thing their drives and HMI stuff is great.

thanks for the comments......

thanks for the comments but i need a solution to my problem compared to your work experience im just nothing thats why need some advice from the experts...

Well pointless going into a who's got the biggest peeing pot here.

People ask questions on all the different PLC's, where I can help I will.

I have used all sorts the same as others. No matter which PLC make it is, when you start you have to learn it, when you don't know something you struggle and you have to find your way through.

If you work more on one type than another you find yourself more comfortable with it and its natural you prefer it.

What I don't do is start an irrational campaign, jumping into one make of PLC threads telling everyone how bad it is, it doesn't help the person asking the question.

I started in the late 70's with AB, this isn't when I started in engineering by the way. I started working with Siemens 10 years later. When it came to comparing between PLC3's and PLC5's with Siemens Step 5, I would have agreed with you on the better of the two PLC makes. Even though I got to be very competent with Step 5's. The manuals were difficult as you say and I presume we had better support in the UK than you did in the US.

Right now I believe Step 7 is superior to Control Logix, I also find the manuals are generally very good. I don't ambush threads saying how bad AB is, its not true, just as your comments are not true. Both are fine, both have good points, both have bad, in my humble opinion Step 7 is the better.

Maybe you don't have same support and expertise in the US, now tat may be another matter.

grbatac said:

i configure the automation license manager as you have advice i change it from manual to automatic but still same error occurs when i start the automation manager. and also an alarm appear it says "the auomation license manager service service on localcomputer started and then stopped. some services stop automaically when they have nothing to do" what other means/ways can i solve this problem? how about uninstalling the automaion manager and then reinstall it do i lost the autorization code or it is already lost? what causes this error is it a virus?

waiting for your advice again. thanks in advance

Click to expand...

Is the Automation License Manager reporting this message? Or is Windows? And why was the ALM service set to manual in the forst place? That seems odd.

The only time I have a problem with ALM is if I try to launch Step 7 without waiting for the service to completely start. You may need to reinstall it. I am 99.999999% sure it will not affect your licenses.

Johnskii said:

I have been in the PLC , Drives , HMI, SCADA , electrical ,

electronic , blah , blah, blah fields for over 25 years now.
You do not have to a complete idiot and berate my experience and knowledge AAY! Siemens PLC are DIFFICULT for the beginner to work with PEROID. After you have dealt with the German manuals translated to English by people in India and the sometimes clueless Tech Support and finally saying the heck with it I will make this work by myself then the system is somewhat OK. I have nothing against Siemens or interested in the us versus them thing. I thing their drives and HMI stuff is great.

Click to expand...

I think it depends on the beginner. It sounds like you have had more problems than people normally have. Usually if you just configure a station using the wizard, write some code, connect to the CPU, and download the project, it works. Or at least that has been the experience of the people I work with.

Where am I ambushing Siemens AYE , AAY ? Make some sense. Your obsessed... If we honestly started a poll on this website I can
be honest and say that most people have alot of problems with the Siemens S5/S7 in the beginning. I traveled globally and domestically and hear the same thing. I was in South Korea installing machinery and our German branch sent in the "Siemens" expert. He could not get the encoder module to work and we had to cut out a pentagon wheel out of sheet metal and use a proximity switch to count infeed revolutions. What countries did you do work in? You are making a mountain into a mole hill.

Hi Gian,
Please follow S7Guys advice since has alot of knowledge of Siemens PLC's. My wife is Filippino and I have visited the Philippines over 10+ times. Forget the stupid comments. I was just trying to relate my experience to you. I am not bad mouthing one PLC manufacturer but trying to be honest which apparently raised the blood pressure of our Nothern Buddies. I will also try to help you in your situation.