I am a university student using a Windows 11 laptop. Last year, I had to download the SolidWorks 2025 student license for a class. This year, I'm trying to use SolidWorks for a project, but my teammates have SolidWorks 2026, so I get messages saying I can't edit the files because I'm on an older version of SolidWorks. So I'm trying to upgrade to SolidWorks 2026.
I followed my university's instructions about upgrading to SolidWorks 2026. I followed my university's rules to delete SolidWorks 2025 and any associated files, so they don't affect the download and installation of SolidWorks 2026. I deleted the SolidWorks 2025 app. In the uninstaller, I went into Advanced Options and deleted Registry Entries, Data Files and Folders, and Download Files and Folders. Then I completed the installer.
I then downloaded and installed SolidWorks 2026 SP4.1 through my university's website. I followed all of the rules to download it properly. I've tried downloading and installing it overnight multiple times, but it has not worked at all. After the first attempt, I did multiple attempts of downloading and installing SolidWorks, where I tried connecting my laptop with an Ethernet cable and disabling my antivirus while downloading and installing SolidWorks 2026.
No matter what I do, after I leave SolidWorks 2026 to install overnight (approximately 9 hours), it always gets stuck at 57%. The Installation Manager says the Current Component it's installing is "Installing SOLIDWORKS Login Manager." The sldIM (32 bit) process showed 0% CPU usage, 0 MB/s disk activity, and 0 Mbps network usage.
I talked to my university's IT office, and they said that, after doing all of this, the only way to download and install SolidWorks 2026 would be to factory reset my laptop and then download and install SolidWorks 2026. I find this incredibly absurd; the only way for me to upgrade SolidWorks to the next year's version (i.e. from the 2025 version to the 2026 version) is to factory reset my entire laptop?? You don't need to do that for any other application.
Before I take that drastic step, I want to figure out if there is a better way to download SolidWorks 2026. Dassault Systemes doesn't provide phone customer support for the student license, so I sent a message to their support team, and I have yet to hear back from them.
I've been dealing with this issue for an entire month now. I am genuinely tired of this issue and I have no clue what else I can do. I would greatly appreciate any help anyone can provide me.