MAX+PLUS® II Software Licensing
MAX+PLUS II software is intended only to support legacy designs. MAX+PLUS II software does not support MAX® II CPLDs, Cyclone® or Stratix® Series FPGAs, or any newer devices.
The Intel® Quartus® Prime software is Intel’s primary development software and supports Intel’s newest device families and most older device families. Download the free Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition software today.
For product information about the MAX+PLUS II design software, visit the MAX+PLUS II Software Overview web page. For MAX+PLUS II software support, refer to the documents below.
You need a valid license to run the MAX+PLUS II software. MAX+PLUS II license is no longer available for purchase. You can either purchase the Intel Quartus Prime license that includes a full feature of MAX+PLUS II software or request a free license for MAX+PLUS II BASELINE software with limited feature. You can download the MAX+PLUS II Advanced Synthesis software from the Intel website. Refer to the Intel Software Licensing Option page for a detailed description of Intel licensing options and the information required to obtain a valid license.
For MAX+PLUS II BASELINE installation instructions, refer to the MAX+PLUS II BASELINE Installation Instructions page.
Tips for Resolving MAX+PLUS II Software Licensing Problems
Q: Why does my computer appear to freeze when I try to open the MAX+PLUS II software?
A: If the license.dat file contains an error in the license server name, or if the path to the license.dat file is incorrect, your computer might appear to freeze while it searches the network for the non-existent license. If this problem occurs, use End Task button in the Windows Task Manager or the kill command in UNIX to close the MAX+PLUS II software. Or, you can wait until the software opens, edit the license file to correct the error or specify the correct pathname for the license.dat file.
Q: Can I use the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable to specify the MAX+PLUS II license?
A: Yes, you can use the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable to specify the MAX+PLUS II license. Refer to the Setting Up Licensing page for the setup instructions. You can also edit the LM_LICENSE_FILE variable for MAX+PLUS II software in the maxplus2.ini file located in the MAX+PLUS II installation directory. This variable is the same the one shown in the software’s GUI, but editing the maxplus2.ini text file does not require that the MAX+PLUS II software be open. This entry takes precedence over the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable. With the MAX+PLUS II application closed, open the maxplus2.ini file in a text editor and type or edit the following line:
LM_LICENSE_FILE=<path to file>\license.dat
Q: Why do I get the error message “System clock has been set back” in the MAX+PLUS II software?
A: You receive the “System clock has been set back” error message if the vendor daemon has detected one or more system files dated in the future when compared to the system clock.
One possible solution is to locate the files that have an invalid date stamp and to open each file and then save the files so that each file has the correct date/time stamp. The vendor daemon primarily views the system files in the following directories:
- C:\ (The root directory)
- The directory where your Microsoft Windows files are installed (for example, C:\WINNT)
- Your MAX+PLUS II software directory (for example, C:\MAXPLUS2)
You can use the Windows Find utility to find affected files. Search by date and specify files with a date later than today’s date. Some files might be hidden, so make sure that the Find utility is configured to display all files.
If the MAX+PLUS II software was installed with an incorrect system clock, perform the following steps:
- Uninstall the MAX+PLUS II software.
- Set the system clock to the current time and date.
- Restart the PC.
- Reinstall the MAX+PLUS II software in a different directory.
Q: Why do I get the message “Current license file support does not include 'Graphic Editor' Application or Feature in the MAX+PLUS II Software”?
A: Because all Intel licenses include support of the graphic editor, the “Current license file support does not include 'Graphic Editor' application or feature in the MAX+PLUS II Software” message means that the MAX+PLUS II software cannot find your license file. Refer to the MAX+PLUS II BASELINE Installation Instructions page for instructions to download, install, and set up the license file.
For additional information about the MAX+PLUS II software, refer to the MAX+PLUS II Software Support page.