It sounds like you’re running into the MindView “file not found” or activation‑loop problem because your university licence and your personal licence are clashing with domain‑level policy. This is a known behaviour with MindView when two different licence types are used on the same machine or profile.

Here’s a clear breakdown of what’s happening and how to fix it.

What causes the “file not found” / activation failure

MindView stores its activation file in a protected location. When permissions or licence sources conflict, the activation file cannot be written, which leads to:

• “File not found”

• “Activation required every time”

• Failure to open files from OneDrive/SharePoint

• Licence not recognised

MatchWare confirms that this happens when the activation file isn’t written due to inadequate permissions.

When you mix:

• a university site licence (domain‑controlled, often SSO‑based), and

• a personal/DSA licence (local activation key),

Windows can block MindView from writing the activation file because the app is trying to store it under the wrong user context.

🧩 Why university vs personal licences clash

University licences often use:

• domain policies

• roaming profiles

• restricted AppData permissions

• licence enforcement tied to university email domains

Personal licences expect:

• full local write access

• activation file stored under your Windows profile

• no domain restrictions

If both are present, MindView may:

• try to activate using the wrong licence

• fail to write the activation file

• lose access to the licence file on reboot

• fail to locate files stored in domain‑controlled folders (OneDrive EDU, SharePoint EDU)

Universities also explicitly allow installation on personal devices under their site licence, but the licence still behaves as a domain‑owned licence.

🛠️ How to fix the clash

1) Run MindView once as Administrator

This forces Windows to allow the activation file to be written. Assuming the Uni domain policy is not expressly forbidding it. MatchWare explicitly recommends this as the fix.

Steps:

• Right‑click MindView → Run as administrator

• Activate using the correct licence (university or personal)

• Close MindView

• Reopen normally

If the activation “sticks”, the permissions issue was the cause.

2) Choose ONE licence source

You must pick either:

• University licence only, or

• Personal/DSA licence only

Mixing them causes the activation file to be overwritten or blocked.

If you want to use the university licence:

• Remove the personal licence key

• Sign in with your university account only

• Ensure the app is not trying to activate with your personal email

If you want to use your personal licence:

• Disconnect the university SSO account inside MindView

• Delete the university activation file

3) Check domain‑controlled folders

If your files are stored in:

• OneDrive EDU

• SharePoint EDU

• University‑managed Desktop/Documents

MindView may show “file not found” because the domain blocks the app from reading/writing.

Try moving a test file to:

• C:\Users\<you>\Documents\MindView

• or a local folder not synced to EDU OneDrive

If it opens there, the issue is domain policy, not the file.

4) Check if your Windows profile is hybrid (work + personal)

If your device is joined to:

• Azure AD (university)

• Intune

• or has EDU MDM policies

MindView may treat you as a domain user even on a personal machine.

This is the most common cause of licence conflict.

5) Create a new/second user and test if the issue is persistent.