trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
Moderator: James Steele
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This forum is for seeking solutions to technical problems involving Digital Performer and/or plug-ins on MacOS, as well as feature requests, criticisms, comparison to other DAWs.
This forum is for seeking solutions to technical problems involving Digital Performer and/or plug-ins on MacOS, as well as feature requests, criticisms, comparison to other DAWs.
- toodamnhip
- Posts: 3850
- Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
I am trying to put DP 8.05 on my lap top to use by the grand piano in my living room outside my studio, which is in another area.
For some reason, I cannot get it to authorize on my laptop.
I send the challenge code up to MOTU from the laptop. I get back a response code, and when I try to load the response code into the activation window, the response box stays grey. It doesn;t work.
I am wondering if I should have loaded the challenge code from my main studio computer and then put the response on my lap top instead of loading the challenge from the laptop?
I’m kind of afraid to do that though because I do not want to de-authorize my main studio computer.
Any info on all of this would be appreciated..
For some reason, I cannot get it to authorize on my laptop.
I send the challenge code up to MOTU from the laptop. I get back a response code, and when I try to load the response code into the activation window, the response box stays grey. It doesn;t work.
I am wondering if I should have loaded the challenge code from my main studio computer and then put the response on my lap top instead of loading the challenge from the laptop?
I’m kind of afraid to do that though because I do not want to de-authorize my main studio computer.
Any info on all of this would be appreciated..
Mac Pro (Late 2013
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 16261
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
DP 8 authorizes the last two and locks out the third when everything is working according to plan. You shouldn't have to de-authorize anything. If the laptop has a good Internet connection, there should be no issues.
Are you doing off-line authorization? Then, yes, I can see where there might be a problem. The license manager may think you already have two authorizations in place. Challenge/response is usually specific nowadays - what works on one computer won't work on another. You will either need to authorize online or call MOTU and straighten it out.
Those who are not letting the license manager talk to MOTU by blocking whatever port is being used, firewall, little snitch etc. ... I can see this being one of the results.
If Mavericks, check the new security and privacy settings. The license manager may be trying to talk to MOTU and you aren't letting it.
I used to make this mistake with Challenge/response all the time. 0 O, B 8, I l (the last being the capital i and the lower case L). To quote Elmer Fudd: "Be vewy cawful..."
Are you doing off-line authorization? Then, yes, I can see where there might be a problem. The license manager may think you already have two authorizations in place. Challenge/response is usually specific nowadays - what works on one computer won't work on another. You will either need to authorize online or call MOTU and straighten it out.
Those who are not letting the license manager talk to MOTU by blocking whatever port is being used, firewall, little snitch etc. ... I can see this being one of the results.
If Mavericks, check the new security and privacy settings. The license manager may be trying to talk to MOTU and you aren't letting it.
I used to make this mistake with Challenge/response all the time. 0 O, B 8, I l (the last being the capital i and the lower case L). To quote Elmer Fudd: "Be vewy cawful..."
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- toodamnhip
- Posts: 3850
- Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
I must admit to being confused about offline vr online . My laptop computer is ONLINE. I try to start DP and there are no “online/offline” options. It bring up the challenge/response screen and I run it and it doesn;t work. I am on OS 10.6.8.mikehalloran wrote:DP 8 authorizes the last two and locks out the third when everything is working according to plan. You shouldn't have to de-authorize anything. If the laptop has a good Internet connection, there should be no issues.
Are you doing off-line authorization? Then, yes, I can see where there might be a problem. The license manager may think you already have two authorizations in place. Challenge/response is usually specific nowadays - what works on one computer won't work on another. You will either need to authorize online or call MOTU and straighten it out.
Those who are not letting the license manager talk to MOTU by blocking whatever port is being used, firewall, little snitch etc. ... I can see this being one of the results.
If Mavericks, check the new security and privacy settings. The license manager may be trying to talk to MOTU and you aren't letting it.
I used to make this mistake with Challenge/response all the time. 0 O, B 8, I l (the last being the capital i and the lower case L). To quote Elmer Fudd: "Be vewy cawful..."
If there is another way to authorize without challenge response, I don;t see how.
Mac Pro (Late 2013
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 16261
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
Challenge/Response is for offline authorization.
Ordinarily, you shouldn't have to go beyond step one.
If you have entered your Key Code correctly, there is no step 2 for online authorization. Make certain that it's the Key Code from the manual, not your registered serial number and that it's the email that you have registered with MOTU.
I sometimes mis-type T for Y and screw it up and the dashes are important. I once used some off the wall keyboard where the minus key didn't work in place of the dash. Weird.
http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technot ... dp-offline
If you have a good internet connection, make certain the license manager can talk to MOTU. The correct ports need to be open. Firewall, VPN, Little Snitch are a few things that can get in the way.
Ordinarily, you shouldn't have to go beyond step one.
If you have entered your Key Code correctly, there is no step 2 for online authorization. Make certain that it's the Key Code from the manual, not your registered serial number and that it's the email that you have registered with MOTU.
I sometimes mis-type T for Y and screw it up and the dashes are important. I once used some off the wall keyboard where the minus key didn't work in place of the dash. Weird.
http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technot ... dp-offline
If you have a good internet connection, make certain the license manager can talk to MOTU. The correct ports need to be open. Firewall, VPN, Little Snitch are a few things that can get in the way.
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- toodamnhip
- Posts: 3850
- Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
I have tried several times but will re examine key code for erros. As far as what is blocking access to motu, I have no idea what it could be? No Firewall, no snitch, what is VPA? I looked into it a bit in prefs and could find nothing blocking access for DP to communicate with MOTU. I might just try a reinstall and preferences repair.mikehalloran wrote:Challenge/Response is for offline authorization.
Ordinarily, you shouldn't have to go beyond step one.
If you have entered your Key Code correctly, there is no step 2 for online authorization. Make certain that it's the Key Code from the manual, not your registered serial number and that it's the email that you have registered with MOTU.
I sometimes mis-type T for Y and screw it up and the dashes are important. I once used some off the wall keyboard where the minus key didn't work in place of the dash. Weird.
http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technot ... dp-offline
If you have a good internet connection, make certain the license manager can talk to MOTU. The correct ports need to be open. Firewall, VPN, Little Snitch are a few things that can get in the way.
Mac Pro (Late 2013
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 16261
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
VPN is Virtual Private Network (I think). If you had it, you would know.
Your Key Code and your email address must match what MOTU has on file.
If you did two offline authorizations already, the license manager will lock you out till you release one. With MOTU's online authorization, this isn't an issue. It lets two on and a third concurrent station gets locked out.
Your Key Code and your email address must match what MOTU has on file.
If you did two offline authorizations already, the license manager will lock you out till you release one. With MOTU's online authorization, this isn't an issue. It lets two on and a third concurrent station gets locked out.
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
- toodamnhip
- Posts: 3850
- Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
I finally figured it out. I had my name wrong...lol. I always put my name, followed by / and my company name. That’s is always how I have named it and all DP versions I have show this. But I guess at the MOTU site, they only have my 1st and last name, with no company addendum.
It would be better if somehow their authorization program gave us 1/2 a clue as to what the problem is when thins fail. It would save customer support many trouble tickets.
It would be better if somehow their authorization program gave us 1/2 a clue as to what the problem is when thins fail. It would save customer support many trouble tickets.
Mac Pro (Late 2013
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
- toodamnhip
- Posts: 3850
- Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2005 10:01 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Contact:
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
Thanks for your help man, I appreciate you taking the time to try..

Mac Pro (Late 2013
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5
64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3
Mojave
DP 10.13
MOTU 8pre, MTP AV, 828 mkII
Tons of VIS and plug ins. SSD hard drives etc
- mikehalloran
- Posts: 16261
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:08 pm
- Primary DAW OS: MacOS
- Location: Sillie Con Valley
Re: trouble authorizing 2nd laptop computer
No problem. I've been on both sides of this particular fence.
DP uses a dynamic LM - something like Office but over the web instead of the LAN.
In the days when I had a school job, church gig, laptop and desk top, managing two installs over four stations was a pain.
I like this better than Final Draft or MasterWriter where you must de-authorize before you can move a station. That's ok but, if you crash and have to do a Time Machine restore, you are on the phone to tech support to restore your license (both companies are good about it, to be fair).
Finale was always good about this. I called them, asked for 4 installations and was granted. The only time I had to release an install was when moving a license from one computer to another or the HD from one bay to another in my G5. Again, a phone call and I was good to go.
DP uses a dynamic LM - something like Office but over the web instead of the LAN.
In the days when I had a school job, church gig, laptop and desk top, managing two installs over four stations was a pain.
I like this better than Final Draft or MasterWriter where you must de-authorize before you can move a station. That's ok but, if you crash and have to do a Time Machine restore, you are on the phone to tech support to restore your license (both companies are good about it, to be fair).
Finale was always good about this. I called them, asked for 4 installations and was granted. The only time I had to release an install was when moving a license from one computer to another or the HD from one bay to another in my G5. Again, a phone call and I was good to go.
DP 11.34; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sequoia 15.4, USB4 8TB externals, Neumann MT48, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3, Zoom F3 & UAC 232 32bit float recorder & interface; 2012 MBPs (x2) Catalina, Mojave
IK-NI-Izotope-PSP-Garritan-Antares, LogicPro X, Finale 27.4, Dorico 5, Notion 6, Overture 5, TwistedWave, DSP-Q 5, SmartScore64 NE Pro, Toast 20 Pro