Any way to make LW 9.6 license work on windows 10?

[Dennik]

I have to access some scene files that I believe I worked with LW 9,6, and currently while I can run LW 9.6 on windows 10, the old sentinel driver won't install properly and I'm guessing that's the reason why LW 9.6 remains in discovery mode.
The Sentinel driver opens some CMD windows during installation and the window says "Failed to copy Sentinel64.sys file"
Any way to make this work?

 

[Sensei]

If I recall correctly, you should be able to see script which is executed, and you can execute it manually after clicking in LW folder.

 

[Ma3rk]

You say you have to access the scenes, but you can open those with the more recent versions. 9.6 isn't require unless you've some needed plug-ins tied to your dongle. Perhaps a later version of Sentinel will.

 

[Dennik]

You say you have to access the scenes, but you can open those with the more recent versions. 9.6 isn't require unless you've some needed plug-ins tied to your dongle. Perhaps a later version of Sentinel will.

Yes, they have some old character rigs etc.

 

[raymondtrace]

...Perhaps a later version of Sentinel will.

It will. With LW9.6 already installed, download (and safely archive for your next computer) the current LightWave 2020 installer to get the modern drivers.

You can also get newer sentinel drivers from the dongle manufacturer. My dusty mind forgets who that is right now. That company was acquired/renamed/rebranded.

 

[Dennik]

It will. With LW9.6 already installed, download (and safely archive for your next computer) the current LightWave 2020 installer to get the modern drivers.

You can also get newer sentinel drivers from the dongle manufacturer. My dusty mind forgets who that is right now. That company was acquired/renamed/rebranded.

I managed to download the new sentinel drivers. But that didn't fix the problem. LW simply restarts in discovery mode even after I enter the license number.

 

[TheLexx]

I managed to download the new sentinel drivers. But that didn't fix the problem. LW simply restarts in discovery mode even after I enter the license number.

Have you seen this, albeit for a later version, but it might help:-

Fixing The LightWave3D Discovery Mode Licensing Issue On Windows 8 and 10

For users of LightWave3D who have run into Discovery Mode suddenly and then continuously coming up even after having LW run normally for ages, this fix is for you. Alternatively, you can automate this using a single click any time you need to fix the problem. Thanks to Jim Oblak for the example...

www.liberty3d.com

 

[raymondtrace]

Have you seen this, albeit for a later version...

This "fix" refers to the dongle-free method of licensing which began in LW11. This video demonstration will not work for 9.6.

One other option: don't install LightWave in the default program files directory. Newer versions of Windows enforce access rules that may conflict with what was expected in the LW9.6 days. Try installing to a less-protected location, like C:\LW9\

I run all my old LW releases portably, outside of the "C:\program files" location and they run fine.

 

[raymondtrace]

...LW simply restarts in discovery mode even after I enter the license number.

And yet another option... What is your process for entering a license number? Is that requested during installation or first run?

You should try using the license file that is available in your account at https://www.lightwave3d.com/account/ I believe for LW9, that file should reside in the same folder as the Layout and Modeler executables.

 

[Dennik]

This "fix" refers to the dongle-free method of licensing which began in LW11. This video demonstration will not work for 9.6.

One other option: don't install LightWave in the default program files directory. Newer versions of Windows enforce access rules that may conflict with what was expected in the LW9.6 days. Try installing to a less-protected location, like C:\LW9\

I run all my old LW releases portably, outside of the "C:\program files" location and they run fine.

I think the problem at this point is probably that I attached the wrong dongle (I put the one that shows up for V8.0 version) Does anyone remember what was the dongle like for version 9? Was it a USB one?

 

[Tim Parsons]

I think the problem at this point is probably that I attached the wrong dongle (I put the one that shows up for V8.0 version) Does anyone remember what was the dongle like for version 9? Was it a USB one?

Upgrades never received a new dongle. BTW - USB dongles started with LW6 as I recall for sure on LW7.

 

[erikals]

USB afaik.

 

[chunderburger]

I haven't read the rest of this thread but options I know of are:

hasp emulator and a parallel port card

the special dongle free version (many companies used this method since dongles were a pain and left the boxes on the shelf, not that I am advocating for that)