License is invalid error while accessing Content Manager (SDL Tridion 2011)

Question

Getting below error while accessing SDL Tridion Content Manager (SDL Tridion 2011). Did anyone face this issue before?

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<tcm:Error xmlns:tcm="http://www.tridion.com/ContentManager/5.0" ErrorCode="8004035A" Category="23" Source="Kernel" Severity="1">
  <tcm:Line ErrorCode="8004035A" Cause="false" MessageID="4394">
    <![CDATA[Unable to Initialize TDSE object.]]>
    <tcm:Token>RESID_4537</tcm:Token>
    <tcm:Token>TDSE</tcm:Token>
  </tcm:Line>
  <tcm:Line ErrorCode="8004035A" Cause="true" MessageID="16246">
    <![CDATA[The license is invalid. Please contact SDL Tridion Customer Support: EasyLicenser error -12]]>
    <tcm:Token>EasyLicenser error -12</tcm:Token>
  </tcm:Line>
  <tcm:Details>
    <tcm:CallStack>
      <tcm:Location>Licensing.StartupLicenseCheck</tcm:Location>
      <tcm:Location>Security.InitializeUserContext</tcm:Location>
      <tcm:Location>UtilitiesTDS.GetUserContext</tcm:Location>
      <tcm:Location>TDSE.Initialize</tcm:Location>
    </tcm:CallStack>
  </tcm:Details>
</tcm:Error>

Answer 1

It really pays off to read the error messages:

<tcm:Line ErrorCode="8004035A" Cause="true" MessageID="16246">
    <![CDATA[The license is invalid. Please contact SDL Tridion Customer Support: EasyLicenser error -12]]>
</tcm:Line>

As mentioned in StackOverflow the license you're using is not valid for the server you're running it in, and you should contact Customer Support to get a new license.

Answer 2

Best thing you can do with a license error is indeed follow the given instructions, and contact SDL Tridion Customer Support.

Apart from the obvious, like an expired license or an unreadable or missing license file, this particular error can also occur when the licensing module cannot write his temporary files (.ezl20ck file in home directory of the identity under which the SDL Tridion Content Manager COM+ application is running) or when you change the date on the server (at which point the license check can fail because it suspects a tampered system).

It could be required that you turn off User Account Control for the identity under which the SDL Tridion Content Manager COM+ application is running, or it could simply even be that this user doesn't have logon rights and thus no home directory on the server. But as said, you can best contact SDL Tridion Customer Support at this point to get this issue fixed.