ArcGIS Desktop 10.5 no longer opens

[IngridMans]

My dept director's ArcMap stopped opening/working, so I tried uninstalling and then reinstalling. At the ArcGIS Administrator step to authorize the single use basic license, after clicking 'Authorize Now' everything just hung on the spinning wheel. This is Windows 7 Professional. I cannot get ArcGIS Administrator or any other related program to open. 

[AmnoyAm]

Ingrid,

Install the following patch for ArcGIS Desktop 10.1-10.5.1 and then try to authorize your single use license.  From the initial detail you provide, the trusted storage which holds the licenses may have been corrupted.  This is the patch for ArcGIS Security Update for Flexera CVE-2016-10395.

Esri Support 10.5 (10.5.1) 

[IngridMans]

Install the patch after reinstalling ArcGIS Desktop 10.5? Currently is is uninstalled on the machine. 

[IngridMans]

I've tried installing the patch, and then after opening ArcGIS Administrator....nothing. 

[AmnoyAm]

By "nothing", I assume its hanging when clicking on "Authorize Now"?  Try the following:

Open your Windows Explorer and go to C:\ProgramData.  It is a hidden folder so you may need to set Explorer to view hidden files and folders.  Then rename FLEXnet to FLEXnet_old.  Then try to authorize through the ArcGIS Administrator again.  It should create a new FLEXnet folder.  

If it still hangs, try to start the Software Authorization Wizard manually.  Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ArcGIS\bin and double-click on SoftwareAuthorization.exe.  

If both options failed, we can at least determine the issue concerns the trusted storage.  If you can authorize using the Software Authorization Wizard, you can focus your attention on just the ArcGIS Administrator.