ValidateLicenseEx Invalid license key. License has expired

[eUK-Scott]

How do I address ' ValidateLicenseEx Invalid license key. License has expired. ' in the Helm error log?

The Helm error logs are located in C:Program FilesWebHost AutomationHelmLogsError.

On occasion, the license updater stays in memory and doesn't end properly if run from a scheduled task (you can see it running in the Task Manager as HelmLicence.exe). This causes you to be unable to login to Helm.

1.) The problem actually has to do with Internet Explorer settings.

Take a look at the Windows scheduled task that runs the license updater. This can be found here:

Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled Tasks

and is called Helm License Updater.

Right click it, choose Properties and make a note of the user that is set to run this process. It is usually HELM_ADMIN, and the password is the password you chose when installing Helm.

Important Note: If you changed the server name AFTER installing the control panel, you will need to alter it here. For instance, if your server was called MYSERVER, then the license task would have been running under MYSERVERHELM_ADMIN. If you changed the server name to NEWSERVER then you need to make sure that the task also changed, so it is NEWSERVERHELM_ADMIN.

You can either keep this the same, or change it to Administrator (or, a username of your choice).

Next, login to the server as the above user. If the task was running under HELM_ADMIN, you need to login to the server as the HELM_ADMIN user. Once again, this is the password you chose when installing Helm. If you have forgotten it, you can reset it in the System Identity tab of the Helm Configuration Tool (make sure that if you do this, you reset it on ALL remote servers that you have as well).

Now run the License Updater scheduled task (go to the task, right-click, and choose Run). You may receive an Internet Explorer pop-up - click OK and select "don't show this again".

Now you can log out, and log back in as the normal user.

In essence, when the scheduled task ran as that user, the Internet Explorer pop up box was waiting for a confirmation click - however, as you never were logged in as that user, that task was held in memory, and never ran again for more than 30 days - if the license updater cannot run for 30 days - the license error will appear.
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2.) In the rare event that this doesn't solve your problem - check the system date of the server. It should be today's date. If it is set in the past or the future, it may cause issues with the licensing. Set it to today's date, then try and log in.