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Informix Error -754: Cannot access the license file.

Cause and resolution

Cannot access the license file.

The system cannot find the user license file. The user license file might not have been installed, or it might have been installed improperly. Also, you might not have the correct file or directory permissions to access the user license file. Consult your installation documentation.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-754 fires when the server can't find or read the user license file — per the official guidance, three possibilities: the file was never installed, it was installed improperly, or file/directory permissions block access to it.

  1. The license file never installed, per the official guidance — part of the installation process was skipped or failed.
  2. The license file installed improperly — in the wrong location, or with the wrong name/ format, per the official guidance.
  3. Incorrect file or directory permissions on the license file or its containing directory, per the official guidance, blocking the server's OS user from reading it.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. Consult the installation documentation, per the official guidance, for the license file's expected location and installation procedure — this is the documented, primary resolution path.
  2. Check whether the license file exists at its expected location:
    ls -l "$INFORMIXDIR/etc/"*.lic   # exact path/pattern varies by version;
                                  # confirm against installation documentation
  3. Check file and directory permissions, confirming the server's OS user can read the license file and traverse its containing directory.
  4. Reinstall or reapply the license file if it's confirmed missing or corrupted, following the installation documentation's procedure.
Examples
Checking the license file's presence and permissions
$ ls -l "$INFORMIXDIR/etc/"*.lic
$ echo "$INFORMIXDIR"

Confirm the expected file exists under the currently configured INFORMIXDIR and that its permissions allow the server's OS user to read it.

Diagnostic Checks
  1. Confirm INFORMIXDIR points at the intended installation.
  2. Check whether the license file exists at its documented location.
  3. Check file/directory permissions for the server's OS user.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -753 — "Access denied - Single user limit has been exceeded." A related licensing error, about the license's terms being exceeded once it's readable, rather than the file itself being inaccessible.

An installation/permissions problem with the license file itself — consult the installation documentation for its expected location and check permissions.