This page was created to help deal with the frequent calls we get regarding Status 7224 when attempting to activate, repair, or deactivate a PSQL or Zen license key.
When the PSQL/Zen Workgroup database engine is manipulating a license key (i.e. activating, deactivating, or repairing), it needs to have full access rights to the registry. When an engine is installed "as a service" (the default for v12 and above),
it has all of the rights that it needs, and you should not experience any issues. However, some developers (most notably Itron) recommend that users install "as an application" instead. While this was fine on older operating systems,
modern Windows 7, 8, and 10 systems provide limited access rights to applications, and when the engine attempts to update the registry, the Status 7224 error message, "User lacks the appropriate rights to authorize or deauthorize a key" will result.
[+] Can I avoid a Status 7224 in the first place?
Installing the PSQL/Zen Workgroup Engine as a service will avoid the problem up front, as the service is automatically granted full access to the registry.
[+] How do I work around Status 7224?
Working around a Status 7224 is not difficult, and you only need to do it once on a given computer.
Shut down all PSQL/Zen Components: This is the part where most people get stuck, so we'll be explicit here:
Exit all running PSQL/Zen tools, such as the License Administrator and Control Center.
Find the Notification Viewer icon (a blue cylinder likely to have a yellow warning triangle on it) in the system tray (that spot for icons in the lower right corner of your screen), right-click it, and shut it down by clicking "Exit".
Find the Database Engine Preload icon (a blue cylinder) in the system tray (that spot for icons in the lower right corner of your screen), right-click it, and shut it down by clicking "Stop Engine and Exit".
Optional: If you don't see the engine or if you have already tried this process once and something didn't work, then perhaps you are running with fast user switching (or remote desktop) and the engine is running under a different login session. In that case, use Task Manager to find the W3DBSMGR or "ZENENGNAPP" process and terminate it.
Open an Administrative Command Prompt: From the Windows Start Menu (or just press the Windows key on your keyboard), enter "CMD" to locate the Windows Command Prompt. When you see the icon, right-click it and select "Run As Administrator". You may see a UAC dialog box, so approve that, too. You should now get a black & white screen with the title "Administrator: Command Prompt". If you don't see "Administrator" in the title bar, close it and try again.
Start the Database Engine From the Command Prompt: This is different depending on your exact version.
PSQL v13 or Older: Enter the command "w3dbsmgr" and press Enter. This will start the PSQL engine as an application with full administrator rights. You can verify that this worked by looking for the blue cylinder icon in the system tray.
Zen v14 or v15: Enter the command "zenengnapp" and press Enter. This will start the Zen engine as an application with full administrator rights. You can verify that this worked by looking for the blue cylinder icon in the system tray.
Run the License Administrator From the Command Prompt: Enter the text "clilcadm" and press the space bar and a dash (-). Then, depending on what you are doing, press "a" to authorize a license, "d" to deauthorize a license, or "e" to repair a license. Note that the characters MUST be in lowercase for this to work! Then press the space bar again and type in (or paste) your license key on the command line (with dashes) and press Enter. This will perform the requested operation. The line should look like one of the following:
clilcadm -a key clilcadm -d key clilcadm -e key
After a few seconds, you should get a message back stating that the license change has been completed.
Just Show Me How To Do It!
We have created a video that shows the process from start to finish, if you want to see it in operation:
Now I get a different error!
You may now receive different errors as the license change process actually goes through. Here are the more common ones:
7213: You have a typo in your license key. Check the entire string for confusing characters, like B/8, O/0, etc. and try entering it again.
7221: After Step 3, then engine did not start properly. Go through this process again.
7226: You are attempting to deactivate a key that was not active.
7239: Your computer cannot access Actian's electronic licensing servers in Europe. Ask your firewall administrator to allow the connection to elspv.actian.com, or contact Actian to perform a telephone activation.
7313: Deactivate the license from the old computer before activating it on the new one. If you cannot access the old computer any more, contact Actian for assistance with a manual deactivation.
7314: Repair the license first, then deactivate it. If you cannot repair it, contact Actian for a manual repair.
7341/7342/7458: You have exceeded the allowed number of activations, deactivations, or repairs. Contact Actian to have them increase the limits.
Other Errors: Check the exact error message and contact Actian for assistance.
How Do I Contact Actian?
Your best bet is to start at their License Support web page and contact them via Email with the requested information. If that still doesn't help, or if you get no response, you can
follow up via telephone at 800-BTRIEVE (800-287-4383), selecting options for Zen Database Support, and then speaking with someone in their call center. (International users should find the closest contact point from Actian's web site.)
