Solidworks Host File Block Fix 'link' Direct
The hosts file is located in the following directory: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Change the file type dropdown menu in the bottom right corner from Text Documents ( .txt)* to .
You will see lines starting with # . These are comments. You want to add or remove lines to fix the issue.
| | Detail | |----------------|-------------| | Admin Rights | You must be an administrator on your Windows PC. | | Antivirus | Disable real-time protection temporarily (Windows Defender, McAfee, Norton often block host file edits). | | UAC | Set User Account Control to a lower level or right-click Notepad → Run as Admin. |
Aggressive antivirus web-shields occasionally flag SolidWorks licensing traffic as suspicious. Temporarily disable your web shield or add *.solidworks.com to your antivirus exclusion list to test if it resolves the block.
If your Archive and Database servers are on the same machine, you only need one entry. Select File > Save and close Notepad. Open the Command Prompt (type cmd in the Start menu).
"Could not log in to the database" specifically due to server name resolution issues.
Before applying a fix, determine if your host file is actually the source of the problem. Common symptoms include:
The hosts file is located in the following directory: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Change the file type dropdown menu in the bottom right corner from Text Documents ( .txt)* to .
You will see lines starting with # . These are comments. You want to add or remove lines to fix the issue.
| | Detail | |----------------|-------------| | Admin Rights | You must be an administrator on your Windows PC. | | Antivirus | Disable real-time protection temporarily (Windows Defender, McAfee, Norton often block host file edits). | | UAC | Set User Account Control to a lower level or right-click Notepad → Run as Admin. |
Aggressive antivirus web-shields occasionally flag SolidWorks licensing traffic as suspicious. Temporarily disable your web shield or add *.solidworks.com to your antivirus exclusion list to test if it resolves the block.
If your Archive and Database servers are on the same machine, you only need one entry. Select File > Save and close Notepad. Open the Command Prompt (type cmd in the Start menu).
"Could not log in to the database" specifically due to server name resolution issues.
Before applying a fix, determine if your host file is actually the source of the problem. Common symptoms include:
