Can someone please help me get a Matlab crack installing? (hexbear.net)

submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by CommunistCuddlefish@hexbear.net to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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I've tried 2 different Windows cracks I found -- the FileCR 2023b crack, and the AppDoze 2025a crack. Both look legit to me but in both cases I get the exact same issue: With my computer offline, following the readmes, I mount the iso, run setup.exe, select "I have a File Installation Key", enter said key, and get this error: "Unable to load product files. Product files must be in the same folder as the input file. For help getting the product files, see the installation documentation on MATLAB Answer" which links to https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/98390?s_tid=pi_noprode_mpi_R2025a_win64 which is clear as mud.

I tried 0ing out the key and confirmed that it recognizes when you give it a bad key, so the key in the crack is still detected as a valid key, that's probably not the issue.

Thank you to any fellow pirate who can help a poor cuttlefish out o7 <3

EDIT: Based on https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/259632-how-can-i-get-matlab-installation-files-for-use-on-an-offline-machine

I should be able to use the installer (once logged in) to download files without installing, then go offline and use the file installation key. However, the option to download files without installing is all greyed out.

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[-] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Do you specifically need MATLAB? Because there is SciLab which is free and pretty much does the same.

[-] agile_squirrel@lemmy.ml 11 points 6 days ago

There is also Octave

[-] CommunistCuddlefish@hexbear.net 4 points 6 days ago

That looks super cool but I do think I specifically need Matlab since that's what I've prototyped some ideas in already (I have an old crack but there are some new specialized toolboxes I want to use or at least try out which require a new version of matlab which these cracks claim to have and I don't see an equivalent in SciLab).

Basically, if I can get a new crack of Matlab working to use the new toolboxes, I can rapidly iterate through and test some ideas. If not, I was going to have to dig into some other open source tools which is going to be way more effort.

[-] altphoto@lemmy.today 9 points 6 days ago

Or Python. Nobody uses MATLAB because they will basically sequester your research data and experiments behind a pay wall.

These days you look for a new device for your lab, experiment or production and you look for the Python interface. No Python interface? GTFO then good luck selling anything.

[-] sexual_tomato@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 days ago

What are you doing specifically? When I got my engineering degree I was able to do everything I needed in Python, including a replacement for simulink.

[-] CommunistCuddlefish@hexbear.net 2 points 6 days ago

It's for a musical project. I wanted a very specific effect applied to some vocals I sang. I couldn't find any tools that did what I wanted, asked on various forums over the years but every pre-built tool someone recommended failed to achieve the effect I was imagining. Out of frustration I ended up writing something myself in Matlab to postprocess a vocal line I recorded and I quite liked the results! (And I know I could have used Python for that but I like Matlab.

Up to this point Matlab was just a personal preference. But then I decided I wanted to experiment with applying that effect in real-time, which would mean creating my own audio unit and throwing it into my DAW, and went looking for ways to make one. Turns out Matlab's got a command for it since 2022b! https://www.mathworks.com/help/audio/audio-plugin-creation-and-hosting.html. so if I could get my hands on it, that would be by far the easiest and quickest way to experiment more with it.

I learned a couple days ago that there are open source tools designed for making AUs -- Cabbage, Faust -- but I've never used them. Since I already have the Matlab code and am familiar with Matlab, I thought it would be nice to just use that toolbox for a quick first pass. It probably wouldn't take long to port it to pyhon, but I've found no Python libraries that can generate an audio unit (without wrapping around what's in the next sentence, which is extra work). There's a C++ library called JUCE that can but I find C++ frustrating and don't have a good dev environment set up for it anymore.

The musical project, by the way, is a mix of a shitpost and a passion project and will never see a cent of earnings, so I cannot justify paying Mathwork's high prices.

[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 days ago

I specifically need Matlab since that’s what I’ve prototyped some ideas in already

That was your first mistake. It's never to late to stop making the same mistake.

[-] CommunistCuddlefish@hexbear.net 1 points 5 days ago

But I like Matlab :(

[-] ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

OK the toolboxes can be difficult to find 1:1 replacements for, but you can find plugins for most things in SciLab so you don't need to reinvent the wheel. The general workflow is very similar to MATLAB, but not identical so there is of course a learning curve. Everyone I know is more or less weaning off MATLAB because it's just too damn expensive and locked to their platform.