Step-by-step installation guide for UT ChE students enrolled in a course utilizing Aspen
NOTE: UTGUEST AND EDUROAM WIFI WILL NOT WORK if connecting from campus; you must be connected to the UTEXAS WIFI. If you are off campus, you must first make a VPN connection (vpn.utexas.edu).
PLEASE NOTE: If you have already been using Aspen V11 or earlier on your computer, you will first need to uninstall it before you can install the new V12. To uninstall your existing Aspen, open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)>Aspentech>Setup>Uninstall. Run PUninst.exe to uninstall all Aspen products, then reboot when it is finished. After rebooting, proceed with the next steps in these instructions.
Once your EID has been submitted by your professor, you will need to complete the following steps:
- Map a drive to your computer:
- Click the Start Menu, search for File Explorer, and open it.
- Find "This PC" on the left-side menu, right-click on it and select "map network drive." Enter the following path in the "folder" field \\austin.utexas.edu\disk\che-share\aspenONE\V12 . The Drive letter doesn't matter. Make sure to uncheck "reconnect at login" and to check "connect as a different user".
- For the username, enter austin\your EID e.g.,
- Note: Attempting this from on-campus will work best. If you are off-campus you must first follow these instructions to make a VPN connection, and then proceed with the instructions. Connecting to the UT VPN Service
- Once you successfully connect you will see the following files and folders:
AspenONE V12 requires the installation of 3 prerequisite programs. These are located in the 3rd Party Redistributables folder, and are called ".Net Framework 3.5 SP1, .Net Framework 4.8, and SQL Express 2014 SP3. The first two might already be installed on your computer, so if you get a message stating it is already installed, move on to the next prerequisite.
NOTE: If you previously use Aspen V11 then you might already have these prerequisites installed. To check, click Start, type "Control Panel", open it, then click on "Programs and Features." Type "SQL" into the search box, and if you see Sql Express 2014 then you can proceed to step 5 below.
- Open the '3rd Party Redistributables' folder > open the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1folder > right click the installation file > run as administrator.
- Open the '3rd Party Redistributables' folder > open the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 folder > right click the installation file > run as administrator.
- Open the '3rd Party Resdistributables' folder > open the Microsoft SQL Express 2014 SP3 folder > right click SETUP.EXE > run as administrator. Choose the option for a new installation and accept the default setup options on every screen.
- (NOTE: Please see the bottom of this page if you are not able to get SQL working.)
- Go back to the V12 folder > right click Setup > run as administrator > select Install AspenONE products.
- Make sure the ONLY options you have selected are Process Modelling (Aspen Plus) and Aspen Basic Engineering, as shown below:
- Add che-labman.austin.utexas.edu as the license server > ...install now. The installation can take a while, depending on the speed of your computer. Eventually you should see the progress bar:
- Click Finish and Reboot your computer when prompted.
- From the program list on your computer, navigate to Aspen Plus > Aspen Plus V12.1
IF YOU RECEIVE A SQL ERROR WHEN INSTALLING SQL EXPRESS 2014, OR WHEN YOU LAUNCH ASPEN PLUS, PLEASE DO THIS:
- Download config.aem file from che-share\aspenONE\V12\Database File
- Place the config.aem file on your local hard drive in: C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\APED V12.1 NOTE: ProgramData is a hidden folder, so you will need to manually type the path to access this folder.
- Test the database by opening Aspen Properties > Database Tester - Aspen Properties > Click the Start button.
- You should see the following if it works. Aspen will now run properly:
- Download config.aem file from che-share\aspenONE\V12\Database File
