MATLAB installation for Windows

This guide explains how to install MATLAB on your personal computer. I describe a Windows installation, but the guide should also be useful for other operating systems.

1. Open the web-page www.mathworks.com.
2. First you have to create an account. Click on Create Account and follows the instructions. The email address that you choose must end with '.aau.dk'. Furthermore, you must choose Academic use instead of Student use of MATLAB.
3. Log in on your new MathWorks account.
4. Click on your name.
5. Choose Manage Licenses and then Add License.
6. You now have to enter an Activation Key or a License No. Enter the activation key that I gave you. A window opens with the text 'Association Complete'. Click Done.
7. Click on your license no.
8. Choose Activation and Installation and then Activate.
9. Enter the activation key again.
10. You now have to enter your computers Host ID. Choose I have the Host ID. Open a DOS command prompt on your desktop. You can find it under Start, All Programs and Accessories. Type dir at the prompt. Above the list of files you can read the Volume Serial Number. This number is the Host ID which you must enter. Choose Windows as operating system. You can also enter an Activation Label.
11. Now you download your License File (license.dat) and File Installation Key (fik.txt). Put them in a new directory which you could name MATLAB.

Now there are two possibilities. You can borrow a DVD with the MATLAB files (I have five of these), or you can download the files from the Internet. The installation of MATLAB starts automatically when you insert the DVD. You cannot install the program without the File Installation Key and the License File.

If you choose the download option, the procedure is as follows:

1. Click Download Product Updates on the web-page with your MathWorks licenses.
2. Choose R2008a - Current Release and Windows and Typical.
3. A Download Agent starts. Click Run and follow the instructions. 1.7 Gb has to be downloaded.
4. After the download has finished some files will be extracted from various archives. Then the MathWorks Installer opens. Choose Install automatically using the Internet and follow the instructions.
5. The MathWorks Activation Process begins. Enter the activation key that I gave you once again and follow the instructions. This completes the installation of MATLAB on your computer.