Running previous versions of Maya: USB hardware lock issues

User Guide > General > Installation and Licensing > Troubleshooting > Miscellaneous troubleshooting >

If you are using a hardware lock for the first time, and you previously had a standalone license, the license you install that is keyed to your hardware lock is not backwards-compatible (that is, you can’t run a previous version of Maya) because your hardware ID has changed and previous versions of the licensing software do not support hardware locks. In this case, you must make sure you keep your previous license in order to run previous versions of Maya.

Platform	Maya version
Windows	6.5+
Linux	7+
Mac OS X	7+

Checking that a license file is the correct file type (Windows)

The aw*.dat file must have a .dat extension (FLEXlm license file). The following procedure shows how to check and correct the file type.

To check and correct the file type

From My Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click aw.dat or aw_servername.dat and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
In the Properties window, check that the file type is .dat (FLEXlm License file).
If not, select Tools > Folder Options.
Select the View tab.
Turn off Hide file extensions for known file types and click OK. You’ll likely see that aw.dat or aw_servername.dat file has an extension other than .dat, for example, .txt.
Right-click the filename and select Rename from the pop-up menu.
Change the file extension to .dat.
You’ll be prompted that if you change a filename extension, the file may become unusable.
Click Yes. (The file won’t become unusable.)
The file now has the correct .dat extension for licensing operation.