It is possible to install MATLAB on a machine that does not have a C: drive for certain types of licenses. If you have a network based license, or if you are using MATLAB R2008a or higher, you will not be required to have a C: drive. Also for MATLAB Student Version R14SP3 or higher, a C: drive is not required. For all other types of licenses or versions of MATLAB, a C: drive is required to setup the licensing for MATLAB properly.
NOTE: MATLAB never requires that it be installed on the C: drive. If you have a D: drive and a C: drive on the machine, it is possible to install on the D: drive without issues.
If you have a network based license, there are no steps that you will need to take to configure MATLAB correctly if the machine does not have a C: drive. If you are using a standalone license of MATLAB R2008a (or higher) or if you are using MATLAB Student version releases 14 SP3 (or higher) you will need to activate the license based on the computer's MAC address. For the professional versions of MATLAB, if you are using the online automatic activation, this is done automatically. Otherwise, you will need to use the MAC address as the Host ID to activate the license.
To find your MAC address, follow the steps below:
1. Open a Windows Command Prompt by going to the Start menu > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.
2. In the command prompt, run the command:
getmac
The first physical address listed (regardless of its status) will be the correct MAC address. This should be entered in the following stage as simply 12 hexadecimal characters, i.e. without the dashes.
Once you have the MAC address you can follow the procedure to activate MATLAB from the MathWorks website. For instructions on activating MATLAB from the website, see the related solutions below.
