Instead of editing the Hosts file, whitelist the following URLs in your corporate firewall:
Open the and navigate to System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall . Click Advanced Settings on the left panel.
Select , apply it to all profiles (Domain, Private, Public), and name the rule "SolidWorks License Ports". Repeat the same process under Outbound Rules . Alternative: Resetting to a Default Host File
: If the installer is blocked, it is often because Windows has "blocked" the downloaded files. Right-click the .html files in your installation folder (e.g., \sldim\lang\english\HTML\ ), select Properties , and click the Unblock button if present. solidworks host file block fix
Select your user account and check the box for or Modify under the Microsoft Learn guide . Click Apply and OK . 2. Edit the Hosts File to Fix Blocks
He right-clicked hosts and opened it with Notepad, but he did it with Administrative privileges—the "skeleton key" of the Windows world.
Prompt loops occur because the local client cannot establish a manual handshake via SQL. Instead of editing the Hosts file, whitelist the
: You must use administrative privileges to save changes.
The "host file block fix" is a common workaround used in SOLIDWORKS PDM to resolve connectivity issues when a client machine cannot communicate with the server due to DNS resolution failures. This process involves manually mapping the server's IP address to its name in the Windows hosts file to bypass the network's DNS. You should apply this fix if you encounter errors such as: "Ping request could not find host".
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. The author does not condone software piracy. Always use licensed software. Repeat the same process under Outbound Rules
: The file itself may be set to read-only.
Ensure your network allows outbound communication over ports commonly used by FlexNet (typically ports 25734 and 25735 ). Final Verification
: Save the file. Then, open a Command Prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns to force Windows to recognize the new mapping. Troubleshooting "Can't Open/Write to Hosts File"