• Installed a single user license
• Having other software programs that rely on Actian
• Actian running as pre-load on server
• Actian not carrying correct user count in SageReg.exe for Quantum
• Bad installation of Actian or Sage 50—U.S. Edition
• Sage 50 SmartPosting service running on non-Quantum release
• Actian service is missing as the result of a corrupt or incomplete installation
• Expired antivirus
• Missing the most recent Service Release
• Incorrect permissions on the shared data folder
• Locked files in your data path or your company
• Communication issues with server
• Multiple computers with the same computer name
• Multiple SERIAL.DAT and Options.dat files
• The account has been updated with a new serial number for more licensed users
• Open files that have not closed
• Wrong serial number between server and workstation/terminal server

Section 1: Single-user license or using a third-party application that relies on the Actian database

• If using a single-user version, the program cannot be installed on a network.
• The Sage data must be located on a local drive of the machine where Sage is used.
• To use Sage over a network, upgrade to a multi-user license.
• To purchase a multi-user license, or if using another application that also relies on Actian, contact Sage sales at 877-495-9904 to purchase the number of licenses that corresponds to the number of Actian licenses needed

Section 2: Sage 50 SmartPosting service running on non-Quantum release (even if using a single-user license)

• A dedicated server will consume a license if the SmartPosting service (any version) is running on the server. With the Quantum release, an additional license is added so that SmartPosting can run without interfering with the current number of licenses.
• To correct this issue stop the SmartPosting service on the server or standalone computer. See How do I start, stop, or disable the SmartPosting service? It is best to disable it as well.
• This may also be caused by SmartPosting running on a workstation on either Quantum or non-Quantum versions, as the SmartPosting service should only run on the server.

Section 3: More user licenses have been purchased

1. Select Help, About Sage 50 Accounting, and verify that the correct serial number corresponds to the number of user licenses you have purchased.
2. If the new serial number that you have does not match. See How do I upgrade my single-user license to a multi-user license or increase the number of licenses?

Section 4: Actian running as an application / pre-load on the server

1. On the server, locate the icon for Actian in the system tray.
2. Right-click icon and select Stop Engines and Exit.
3. Select Yes at the confirmation screen.
4. Start the Actian service. Refer to How to stop or start the Actian Zen service
5. Confirm the error no longer occurs.

Section 5: Actian not carrying correct user count in SageReg.exe for Quantum

1. On the server, right-click Sage 50 icon.
2. Select Properties, Shortcut, and then select Open File Location button.
3. Locate the file SageReg.exe and double-click
4. Select Key Status tab, and then click Check Key State button.
5. Note the User Count next to the Permanent license type.
6. Click Sage 50 Activation, and then click Activate.
7. If the activation was successful, return to the Key Status tab and click Check Key State.
8. Confirm that the user count related to the permanent license is showing one more than your subscription level (that is, 5 user license should show a user count of 6) if you have Quantum.
9. If the activation was not successful, you will need to troubleshoot the activation issue. See Error: "There was a problem activating" after installing a different version on the server, then repeat Section 4.
10. Confirm all of the machines are able to connect.

Section 6: Damaged installation of Actian

1. Uninstall and reinstall the Actian database engine. See How to completely remove and reinstall Actian Zen.
2. Open the program and verify that the issue is resolved.
3. If the above steps do not resolve the issue on the workstation, repeat the steps on the server (or vice versa).

Section 7: Damaged installation of Sage

1. Uninstall Sage 50. See How do I uninstall without harming my data?
2. Reinstall Sage 50. See: Installation Instructions - Sage 50—U.S. Edition
3. Verify Sage 50 opens successfully without errors.

Section 8: Expired antivirus

1. Update your antivirus subscription or uninstall antivirus.
2. Verify you can open Sage 50 without errors.

Section 9: Missing most recent Service Release

1. Install the most recent Service Release. See How do I download and install a service release?
2. Verify you can open Sage 50 without errors.

Section 10: Incorrect permissions

1. Verify that the data file permissions are correctly set.
2. Verify you can open Sage 50 and the company without errors.

Section 11: Locked files in data path or company directory

1. Stop and then start Actian on the server. See How to stop or start the Actian Zen service.
2. Browse to your data path. See How to find the data path and program path.
3. Delete any LCK, TMP or PTL files.
4. Browse to your company directory. See How to locate company directories.
5. Delete any LCK, TMP or PTL files.
6. Reboot the server and all workstations that are currently using Sage 50.
7. Open Sage 50 on the server and confirm it opens without errors and activates.
8. Open Sage 50 on the workstations and confirm they open without errors.

Section 12: Communication issues with the server

1. Follow Error: "Sage 50 cannot be started..." and I am unable to ping my server by name.
2. Verify you can open Sage without errors.

Section 13: Locked program on a workstation

Remove multiple copies of Sage 50 running in the background. Follow How do I close the program with the Windows Task Manager?

Section 14: Computer Name used for multiple computers

Note: Computer Name can be found by entering sysdm.cpl into a Run prompt OR by typing hostname in a command prompt.

• Check the computer name for each of the workstations.
• The error will occur if more than one computer has the same computer name.

Section 15: Multiples instances of SERIAL.DAT and Options.dat in the default data path

There should only be one instance of SERIAL.DAT and Options.dat in the Sage 50 default data path. If other copies are found within specific data directories, they should be removed.

Section 16: Files left open on the server

Follow How to close open files on Server 2012 or How to close open files on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2011

Section 17: Program Path not in C:\Program Files (x86)

1. Browse to ini file to check Program Path; refer to How to find data path and program path
2. If program path is not on C:\Program Files on 32-bit, C:\Program Files (x86) on 64-bit operating system continue to the next step
3. Uninstall program, refer to How do I uninstall without harming my data?
4. Install the program path to the C:\Program Files (x86) directory, the default directory for 32-bit programs installed in Windows 64-bit Operating System environments.

Section 18: Point Remote Desktop Program Data Local

• If you are using an RDP environment and the error message is happening on workstations only, move the data local for Sage 50.

Section 19: Serial numbers do not match between server and workstation/terminal server

1. Verify if your serial number is correct on both machines. Refer to Incorrect Serial Number displayed.
2. You will need do ensure the main server is using the correct serial first since workstations will pull activation from there.
3. Check activation on the workstation is correct, it should be using the server's datapath.

Note: This issue is potentially caused when the workstation is set to a datapath that's local instead of a server

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