Why does the MATLAB R12.x installer hang on my PC Windows machine?

Solution:

This bug has been fixed for Release 14 (R14). For previous releases, please read below for any possible workarounds:

There may be any number of things that might cause this to happen.

Please first check that you have the correct permissions for the installation to precede properly.
Make sure autoexec.bat is not write protected. If it is write protected, MATLAB cannot be added to the system path (autoexec.bat) causing the installation to fail. (This can occur on Windows 95/98/ME.) In addition, the installation may hang if you do not have write permission for toolbox\local\pathdef.m. (This can occur on all Windows platforms.)

The MATLAB Installer will also hang if you are trying to install additional Toolboxes or other products while MATLAB is running. Please be sure to close all instances of MATLAB before you begin the installation process. If you have the MATLAB Web Server installed, you will need to stop the MATLAB Web Server Service and kill any matlab.exe processes that are running on your computer. The MATLAB Web Server starts MATLAB as a process automatically each time the computer is started; however, this instance of MATLAB cannot be viewed because the desktop interface is disabled. In order to view the process, open the Task Manager and look for matlab.exe under the Processes tab.

If this is a concurrent license and you are installing the license manager, please make sure that when the installer prompts you for the license file you do not enter $MATLAB\flexlm (where $MATLAB is your root MATLAB directory) in the dialog box. If you placed your license.dat file in $MATLAB\flexlm, please move it to a different, temporary location. Then, specify the license.dat file that you have placed in your temporary directory when the installer prompts for the location of the license file. The installer will place a copy of the processed license.dat file in $MATLAB\flexlm when the installation is complete.

If the installer hangs at 98%:
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MATLAB should still start up after you exit the installer. However, you might have to manually set up the program group in the Start Menu and shortcuts on the desktop. Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up the Program Group for MATLAB 6.x (R12.x) in the Start menu:

1. Go to the Start Menu and select Settings --> Task Bar & Start Menu.

2. In the "Taskbar Properties window", click on the "Start Menu Programs" tab.

3. Click on the "Add..." button under "Customize Start menu"

4. In the "Create Shortcut" window that comes up, use the Browse button to select the matlab.exe file located in $MATLAB\bin\win32 (where $MATLAB is the root MATLAB directory). Click Next.

5. In the "Select Program Folder" window, highlight the Programs folder (under Start Menu) by left-clicking on it ONCE.

6. Click on "New Folder...". A new folder named "Program Group (1)" under "Programs" should appear. Rename this folder to "MATLAB 6.x (R12.x)" or whatever name you want to appear in the Program menu. Click Next.

7. In the "Select a Title for the Program" window, name the shortcut "MATLAB 6.x (R12.x)" or whatever you want to name the shortcut in the menu. Click Finish.

8. Repeat steps 3-7 for the these files:

- MATLAB Editor/Debugger: meditor.exe, found in $MATLAB\bin\win32
- MATLAB Uninstaller: uninstall.exe, found in $MATLAB\uninstall

Please Note: In steps 5-6 you will just point to the MATLAB directory you created first instead of creating a new one for each file. All three files (matlab.exe, meditor.exe, and uninstall.exe) should be filed under the folder you created in step 6 the first time through. After you do all of these steps, you should have the Program Group for MATLAB R12.x setup correctly.

If you still need help, in order to determine the cause of this problem we will need the following information:

1. When you entered your name and company, did you use any non-English characters (such as characters with accents)? If you did, please try entering this information without them.
2. Was $MATLAB\bin\win32\license.dat (or demo.lic) created where $MATLAB is your root MATLAB directory?
3. Was $MATLAB\toolbox\local\pathdef.m created? If you have a pathdef.m file, please make sure that the permissions are not set to read only.
4. Was the uninstall\ directory created in $MATLAB?
5. Was the preference file, matlab.prf, created (usually somewhere under
c:\winnt\profiles, but not always)? You can do a search by going to "Find Files or Folders" under START.
6. Was MATLAB added to the system path (autoexec.bat on 95/98/ME, environment variable on NT/2000)? You can find the system path by right-clicking on "My Computer" then selecting the "Properties" tab. If you have the autoexec.bat file, please make sure that the permissions are not read only.
7. Does your name show up in the MATLAB splash screen?
8. Were the .m, .mat, .fig, .p, and .mdl files associated with MATLAB?
9. Is there a MATLAB shortcut on the desktop?
10. Is there a MATLAB shortcut in the MATLAB directory?

If you are experiencing this problem with MATLAB 6.1 (R12.1), please run the following command:

Z:\setup.exe -of D:\output.log  

where Z:\ is your CD-Rom drive, D:\ is any local disk that you have write permissions, and output.log is a file that you specify. This command will output information, regarding where the installer failed, into the file you specified. PLEASE NOTE: This debugging tool is only available for MATLAB 6.1 (R12.1).

If the installer hangs at 95% while installing a toolbox that has been downloaded
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Your installer may hang at 95% because you have not downloaded the toolbox documentation file and you have checked off the radio button to install both the product and documentation on the installer. The installer will check off this option by default. If you would like to install both the product and documentation, make sure you have downloaded the documentation file for your product and placed it in the same directory as the product.