Matlab doesn't run on my laptop

I was using Matlab without any trouble for the last few weeks. Exactly while I was presenting my project infornt of my faculty, it doesn't run when I tried to do a demonstration. It doesn't run on my laptop from then on. Utterly disappointed. Kindly help me with this.

[Steven Lord]

What does "it doesn't run" mean?

Does MATLAB throw an error when you try to start it? If so what is the full text of that error message?

If it throws an error that includes a link to an Answers post about a particular license manager error, what happens when you visited that Answers post and tried any potential workarounds or solutions the post contains? Walter Roberson put together an Answers post that links to most or all of them.

A license manager error could be the result of changing hardware in the machine -- did you change any hardware, install any software updates, uninstall any software, etc. between the last time it worked and the first time it stopped?

Does it ask you to perform activation over and over? There's an Answers post about that.

If none of those seem to apply, either post more details about what happens when you try to launch here or contact Technical Support using the Contact Us link in the upper-right corner of this page and work with them to determine what's preventing MATLAB from launching on your laptop and how to correct the problem.

[Geoff Hayes]

Rahul - please clarify what you mean by it doesn't run. Is is the MATLAB application that won't launch? Or is it some code that you have written that will not execute? In either case, I suspect that there is an error message so could you post that to this ticket. And include which version of MATLAB and your laptop OS.

[Rahul MYS]

By 'it doesn't run', I mean when I double tap the Matlab icon on my home screen, literally nothing happens. It just doesn't open as if the command was never given.No errors were shown on the screen. I haven't updated my OS (win 8.1) and any software in my laptop too. SO, I tried to uninstall it and install again. When I clicked uninstall from my programms list in control pannel, the same happens again. It just doesn't respond. I have no doubt that my liscense is original as it is given by my Univeristy and all my friends use theirs without any trouble. I just tried to activate it once and that didn;t work too. So what do I do now.

[Rahul MYS]

When I double click on matlab, a blank tab opens and closes immediately..

[Jan]

@Rahul MYS: Does this mean, that you ran Matlab without activating it?

[Rahul MYS]

No. I tried activating again as it doesn't open.

Answer 1

[Jan]

Sometimes the preferences are damaged and prevent Matlab from starting. Try to rename the corresponding folder, e.g.

'C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\Matlab\R2018b\'

Does Matlab start afterwards?

FOR all readers: If your Matlab is running, it's time to create a backup of this preferences folder.

[Rahul MYS]

I've tried deleting the liscense from the floder, changing the folder name as yousaid, but nothing's working. Matlab icon is not even shown in my desktop folder in C drive.i.e. in C:\Users\<user name>\Desktop.

[Jan]

Why do you assume, that there is an icon on your desktop?

I'm still not sure, what you actually observe. The descriptions are not clear enough. Re-installing Matlab should solve all problems, except for the ones caused by the preferences files. I've mentioned, how to hide these files also, so I'm not sure, what the problem is now.

Answer 2

[Rahul MYS]

When I did troubleshooot matlab, the troubleshooter tab showa the result as "incompatible software" and the issue can't be fixed by the troubleshooter. Kindly help me with this.

[Jan]

@Rahul: We cannot read your mind. What does "When I did troubleshooot matlab" mean? It matters, where you are doing what and a detailed explanation is required.

The Windows Troubleshooter is rarely useful. I was not able to fix any problem with it in the last 15 years.

Re-install Matlab. Refresh the preferences folder as explained in my answer. Activate Matlab again. If even the fresh-install is not running, maybe it is a problem of the hard disk or operating system. With only the vague informations given here, it is hard to guess, what is happening.

Answer 3

[Rahul MYS]

Well, I tried uninstalling and installing and activating again and tried your answer too Jan. Still doesn't work, guess it's a problem with my hard disk I guess. Thank you.

[Ed Seng]

You are not alone. I've wasted a day on this. Tried so many of the suggestions, full reinstalls, clearing appdata folders, etc. Nothing.

I do see I can run a script from the command-line view, when doing .\bin\matlab -nodesktop. Unfortunately the guidance is not clear what to do about this, so still stuck and frustrated.

[Steven Lord]

The next step I'd do is call up Technical Support using the telephone icon in the upper-right corner of this page. When you reach the Support staff, tell them what you've tried and work with them to determine why MATLAB isn't launching correctly on your machine.