Logic pro repeatedly asking for serial after using migration assistant

The Logic 9.1.x update leaves 9.0.2 on your machine, and it's good that it does for a number of reasons - run the 9.0.2 version, and serialise with it. Then quit it, and run 9.1.1 - does the serial "stick" now?

Serialising should in general create those files.

If you have copied them over from your old machine, they won't work, as your hardware fingerprint has changed. What I'm suspecting is happening is that the current ProAppsSystemID file is not working (as your machine's hardware fingerprint has changed), hence prompting to re-serialize. But then this file is not being written correctly, possibly because of a permissions problem coming over from your old user account.

Try moving both to your desktop, running 9.0.2, and serialising again. (There is a particular issue with 9.1.x serialising which is why I'm recommending doing this with 9.0.x).

Any better?

I know the serial is working because the programs can work after entering the serial, force quitting after about 5 minutes and then re-opening.

The serial isn't the problem - it's a valid LP9 serial number. It's hashed with a hardware fingerprint and written to the file. Logic will continue working, but if the file couldn't be written for some reason, then on the next run nothing will have changed, so Logic will prompt for the serial number again.

I tried relocating the files to the desktop alas no joy.

Did Logic create a new ProAppsSystemID file after serialising, or not?
Have you run a repair permissions?
Have you tried running Logic under a new user account?

I have read other threads in these forums detailing similar instances of unexpected quitting and issues with licensing Logic.

Yes, these are things I alluded to in my post but shouldn't be affecting you.

Bee Jay wrote:
There is a particular issue with 9.1.x serialising which is why I'm recommending doing this with 9.0.x

I think you're talking about the coreFoundationUnknownErr, and I'm pretty sure that was just a problem with the 9.1/10.5 combination. Further details here.

Double1seven wrote:
Moved Logic ID and ProApp ID on to other drive / desktop.

For Logic 9, the serialization information is stored in this file:

Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/ProApps/ProAppsSystemID

For Logic 8, the serialization information is stored in this file:

Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/ProApps/Logic Studio System ID

So that second file doesn't really matter.

Will logic look to update existing ID files or create new ones?

If the file is not present, a new one should be created. If the file is present, it should be either updated or replaced. I'm not sure which actually happens, but it doesn't really matter.

Logic is still not generating new ID Files.

This seems like the underlying issue, and I think it might be a permissions problem, and it's the kind of problem that is not addressed just by running Disk Utility Repair Permissions. Try this. Find this folder:

Macintosh/Library/Application Support/ProApps

Select the unopened ProApps folder, and press ⌘I (Get Info). What you see in the Sharing and Permissions area should look something like this:



Does it?

The permissions for the ProApps folder, even the ProAppsSystemID file, are as pictured.

Too bad, I was hoping otherwise.

Should I download the update for 9.0.2 and try serialising in that version instead of 9.0.0?

You don't have a lot to lose by trying it, but I don't think it will help.

it seems Logic 9 and 9.1.1 aren't writing / updating / generating the ID file after entering the serial.

Yes, that seems like the heart of the problem.

Have you tried just running the Logic installer? Normally I would think that's unnecessary, but at this point it's worth a try. Just uninstall and reinstall Logic. On 10.6 that's simple. The steps are described here.

Do you have some kind of external drive handy? Something else you could try is booting from another drive. Obviously that means you need to install the OS on that drive, and you should also install Logic on that drive (but it can be just a partial installation, you don't need all the content). You don't need to erase the drive, you just need enough space to add these things.

That should surely work, but it might be a good idea to confirm that it does (because 'surely work' is what I was thinking about various other things you tried).

If that works, next you could try reinstalling the OS on your internal drive. This doesn't require erasing the drive (although it might not fix the problem if we don't start by erasing the drive). This will take a while, but it can run unattended, so it should be pretty painless. And it should be a smooth process, where it won't undo anything else that's been installed. Maybe we'll get lucky and find that this will correct the problem.

If all this fails, the ultimate step would be to erase the drive, and then install the OS, and then install Logic, and then use Migration Assistant again, but this time use it to move everything except Logic.

Keep the ideas coming, I'm sure a solution can't be far away.

One way or another, this problem is solvable. But you have to jump through a few more hoops, and I think there's some guesswork involved in picking out the hoops.