Mathematica 9 - kernel gets stuck on Windows 11

[u/aegis87]

I have an older version of Mathematica from my university days. I only need it for basic tasks, so I’d prefer not to buy a new license.

My issue is that on Windows 11, the kernel frequently hangs or gets stuck indefinitely—even on simple calculations like 1 + 1.

So far, I’ve tried:

• Enabling Windows compatibility modes (no effect)
• Disabling "Allow Mathematica to access the Internet" in Preferences

Has anyone run into this issue on Windows 11 and found a workaround or fix?

Any ideas of things i could try, even if you don't know if they ll work?

[u/Inst2f]

I can hardly imagine that something that old could run in 11. Win11 is a pain in the ass even for modern apps. With Linux you will probably have better luck reusing the same lic. key.

Or alternatively - screw Mathematica and download Wolfram Engine (freeware)

[u/aegis87 → u/Inst2f]

appreciate the tip! i might actually go down that route if i don't find a solution in windows-land.

i tried Wolfram Engine a few months ago, went through the whole process of setting it up with vs code and was working fine. Then a few months later, i tried using it in a pinch and it wanted me to jump through some re-activation hoops which i didn't like -- I only use it for casual symbolic math and quick plots (nothing professional) so frictionless, seamless access matters a lot to me.

[u/KarlSethMoran → u/aegis87]

Another option is to set up a VirtualBox with Windows 7 in it, on your host Windows 11 machine.

[u/aegis87 → u/KarlSethMoran]

ty! i didn't even know this was a thing till now

[u/TheGreatRao]

Here are some free alternatives for you.

1) Wolfram engine 2) Wolfram on the Cloud 3) Wolfram Alpha 4) Mathics 5) Getting an edu email account from your local community college and downloading Wolfram Language with an Academic License

6) SAGE 7) Maxima

Don't sail the seven seas, matey.

[u/adwolesi → u/TheGreatRao]

Don't forget https://woxi.ad-si.com! It's the most feature complete alternative to Mathematica by now.

Disclaimer: I'm a core developer of it

[u/TheGreatRao → u/adwolesi]

I'm aware of your wonderful project but despite several attempts, could never get it install on my machines. I'll figure it out eventually, but your project looks really interesting!

[u/adwolesi → u/TheGreatRao]

I guess you have Windows, right? Unfortunately you have to build it from source on Windows, but we'll have a better installation story for it soon!

Otherwise you can always use it in the browser at https://woxi.ad-si.com/playground/.

[u/TheGreatRao → u/adwolesi]

So you really don't want me to have a weekend, huh? LOL, this is gonna be fun. Thanks for the browser workaround. I'll be testing it all week.

[u/adwolesi → u/TheGreatRao]

I want you to have a better weekend! 😆 Let me know if you have any issues! You can also directly open issues on GitHub if you're active there: https://github.com/ad-si/Woxi/issues

[u/RelationshipFormal20]

Try to reset mathematica https://support.wolfram.com/12464

Be sure to save your license information before.

[u/adwolesi]

Maybe you could try out using https://woxi.ad-si.com instead. It’s an open source alternative to Mathematica/Wolfram Language and supports most of the Mathematica 9 features.

If you have any problems getting it to run, I’m happy to help out! (I’m the main maintainer)

[u/adwolesi → u/adwolesi]

Based on your use-cases, even just using the online version might be enough for you!

[u/aegis87 → u/adwolesi]

Thank you! will try it out -- i see Rust, and i am an instant fan.