General Description: After invoking FPGA Express, either by double-clicking on the icon or by selecting Start->Programs->Synopsys->FPGA Express, the FPGA Express splash screen appears, but nothing happens.
There are a few things that can cause this behaviour.
Solution
1
If the version of FPGA Express has been purchased through Xilinx and uses the Xilinx license.dat, then the FlexLM license software must be installed. At a minimum, the %XILINX%\BIN\NT area must exist (with the lmgrd program, etc.), and this must be defined in the PATH environment variable.
This area may exist by way of a Xilinx M1 install, by copying that directory from the CD to a similarly named directory on your hard drive, or by simply refering to the CD itself (PATH=D:\BIN\NT;%PATH% , where D is your CD-ROM drive).
2
If there is a problem with the license.dat or the LM_LICENSE_FILE variable, then this behaviour may occur.
Check to make sure the license exists and that the LM_LICENSE_FILE points to that explicit license.dat file. Use the LMUTIL tools to check the validity of the license.dat. Check that the license.dat refers to the Ethernet address or C: drive Volume Serial Number of the machine used for licensing.
Problems with the licensing will usually give an error, but not always.
3
If certain files in the C:\Windows directory have dates set in the future, they will need to be modified to have this problem corrected. Freeware/Shareware utilities like "touch.exe" will update the timestamps. These files may vary, but always reside in the Windows directory.
4
If files in the %EXPRESS%\bin-win32i directory have become corrupt, they will need to be replaced. To do so, simply reinstall FPGA Express. Check the other solutions before doing this.
5
If you have an older version of Windows 95, you'll have to update the Windows DLL files by installing Internet Explorer 4.0. See (Xilinx Solution 3564) for details on this resolution.