How to Install and License IBM SPSS Software

kristielAll Topics, Support, Tutorial

Share this Post

Studica recently started offering IBM SPSS Software. If you’re like me, you may have never heard of these products before. But maybe you’re taking a class in college and your professor requires you to use SPSS Statistics or SPSS Data Entry or some other IBM SPSS product line. This post will help you find out how to purchase the product from Studica, download the software, and license it.

IBM SPSS: Step-by-Step Download, Installation and Activation Instructions

GETTING STARTED: PURCHASING IBM SPSS
Firstly, in order to actually get access to the download and the license, you need to purchase the product. We have a variety of different IBM SPSS products, which you can view here. Find the product that you need and add it to your cart. The checkout process is very similar to most online stores that you are hopefully familiar with. The main difference with our offerings is that we need to verify your status as a student. As such, you will be asked for some extra information about your school and for a digital copy of a student ID or some other proof of your status as a student. Typically, this is emailed or faxed to us. We will quickly verify the information.

RECEIVE EMAIL WITH DOWNLOAD INFO
Once we have confirmed that you are a student and received your payment, then the order will be completed and you will receive an email from us. This generally takes between 12 -72 hours. Inside of the email, you will receive a receipt for your order.

VISIT IBM SPSS LINK
You will also be sent a link to the SPSS downloads. Depending on the product that you purchase, you will be sent the appropriate download information. The download page will look something like this:

Install IBM SPSS

DOWNLOAD IBM SPSS SOFTWARE
This will be followed by a step-by-step process for installing and activating the product:

IBM SPSS Download Instructions

It’s important that you read the step-by-step process carefully and follow it.
On this page, you will scroll down and find the download that is right for you. For instance, if I use a 64-bit Windows Operating System, I would choose the highlighted download in the image below:

Choosing your IBM Download

AFTER DOWNLOAD, RUN SOFTWARE
Once the file is downloaded, you want to run it. Keep in mind that the Windows download will come as a .ZIP file. This means that you need to extract the files onto your computer. To do this, find the downloaded .zip file and right-click on it and choose “Extract All”. Follow the prompts that come up and extract the files. Once the files are extracted, you will be shown the resulting folder contents. In this folder, find the Setup.exe file and run it.

THREE IMPORTANT POINTS
#1: Be sure you are logged in to a computer with administrative access. If you are on a restricted user account, you may not be able to install the software properly.

#2: Be sure to check the system requirements of the product you purchased to make sure your Operating System is compatible. IBM’s System Requirements pages are specific to each product so a quick Google Search for “SPSS System Requirements” should find the system requirements page for the product you purchased. is a placeholder for the actual name of your product. E.G: “SPSS Statistics System Requirements”.

#3: Make sure that your computer has Java installed. If you have Java installed, make sure you are running the latest version by updating Java or by visiting the Java website and downloading the latest version.

Once you run the installer, proceed through the wizard and select the options that you want. There’s really nothing special about this process. Once the product installs, I recommend restarting your computer to make sure that everything installs properly.

ACTIVATE YOUR SOFTWARE
Lastly, and this is often the most overlooked part of the process, you need to activate the product before you run it. This step is listed on our step-by-step guide on the download page, but people often forget to do it and run into issues. To activate the product, you will need your 20-character license number. This number should have been sent to you in the order confirmation email that you received from Studica. However, if you don’t have it, you can access it by going to Studica’s website and choosing to Login at the top-right of the page. Login using your user account that you created when you bought the product. Once you’re signed in, click the “My Account” button at the top right and choose “My Downloads” from the drop down list:

Download IBM SPSS screen

This will bring you to a page that shows you the products you’ve purchased. You will find your license number here.

Once you have your license number ready, go to Start > All Programs > IBM SPSS > Open the License Authorization Wizard. Once the wizard is open, proceed through the steps. Put in your 20 character code when asked and keep hitting next. The license will be verified with IBM’s servers and your software will be activated.

CONGRATS, JOB WELL DONE
You should now be able to open up your IBM SPSS software and use it. If you want to find your expiration information, you can open the Authorization Wizard at any time after you have activated the product and you will be given information about your current license, including expiration dates.

Of course, if you have issues installing the software for whatever reason, you can contact our support personnel by emailing [email protected]

Blogger: Mark Philipp, Application Engineer at Studica

Share this Post