Why does start up require internet access?

I recently upgraded from 2009a to 2012a on Windows XP. 2012a start up takes 3-4 times as long as 2009a start up. However, if I disable my internet connection, they take about the same amount of time to start up. Wireshark (network analyzer) confirms that 2012a repeatedly tries to connect to various servers, while 2009a does no such thing. Why does 2012a need the internet to start up? How can this behavior be eliminated or sped up? Thanks for any help you can give.

[Walter Roberson]

The servers that it attempts to contact: are you blocking them with a firewall, or is it not able to contact them, or is it trying different servers on different runs? Is there a DNS lookup taking place before the contact? If so then snooping the lookup might give you information about what is being accessed.

[Andy Yancy]

Thanks for your reply. I don't know enough about networking to say what's happening exactly. Do you know what I could be looking for in the Wireshark report that would help me resolve the issue? Is there another network analysis program that would be more helpful?

[Andy Yancy]

Anybody else know anything about this? Thanks for any help you can give.

[Image Analyst]

You mean the Mathworks couldn't answer your question when you called them today?

Answer 1

[sixwwwwww]

Dear Andy, maybe following links are helpful for you:

http://www.mathworks.de/de/help/matlab/matlab_env/start-matlab-on-windows-platforms.html.

http://www.mathworks.de/de/help/install/license/post-installation-tasks.html

http://www.mathworks.de/support/solutions/en/data/1-186XH/

I hope it helps. Good luck!

[Image Analyst]

None of these say that a personal stand-alone license should access the network. The third link say that network access may be attempted if they have a shared/network license, but Andy says he does not have that kind of license.

[Andy Yancy]

Yes, I've tried all those (including disabling antivirus) without any success. None of those answers explain why the internet is needed to start up with a personal license or why attempts to access the internet by 2012a would slow things down so much.

Answer 2

[Image Analyst]

Maybe you have a shared license that you have to check out from a central server? Or do you have a personal non-shared license?

[Andy Yancy]

Thanks for your response. I have a personal license, and at any rate, 2012a starts normally only when the internet is not enabled.

[Image Analyst]

What happens if it is enabled? What abnormal things happen when you start MATLAB then?

What does enabled mean? Like you have an internet connection? And how do you disable it to get it to work normally ? Unplug the cable and turn off your wireless adapter? Or some other way?

[Andy Yancy]

If it is enabled, 2012a starts very slowly and 2009a starts quickly. If it is disabled, they both start quickly. Nothing else changes for either release regardless of whether the internet is enabled or not.

By disabled, I mean going to Control Panel -> Network Connections -> Local Area Connection and right clicking. In the context menu there is an option to disable (or enable) the connection. Besides just unplugging the connection, this is the simplest way to turn the internet off that I know of in Windows XP.

By the way, I used italics because you suggested that the problem might be due to Matlab searching for a network license. If this were true, Matlab would start more slowly when the internet is disabled, not more quickly as in my case.

[Image Analyst]

I think you'll have to ask the Mathworks. All we can do is guess, which is not definitive.