So I've now tried installing Solidworks 2013 Pro on a Windows 8.1 to find that it's not supported, and now just finished installing on Windows 7 and it's still not working... Installation successful - student download through Uni, but when I click on SolidWorks 2013 x64 Edition desktop execuatable nothing happens. I never got the installation splash screen to work either so installed from SWWI folder directly originally.

Just to finish me off when I tried getting a quote for the subscription service for support it didn't accept my email - possibly because it ends in .ac.uk???

I'm using a sony vaio - pretty common decent machine but it's not listed in the supported database. Diagnostics below. I really need to get this working since I started work at Uni, like solidworks a lot, but live a long way away so need it working at home!

If anyone can offer any advice on other ways to get it working I'd appreciate it. Solidworks is good when it works, but the setup/compatibility/ease of installation is dreadful and should be better in computer world we live in these days!

Status	Description
	System Manufacturer: Other (not a known system vendor) System Model: Other Card Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc. Card Model: AMD Radeon(TM) HD 6470M Your Current Driver: 8.14.01.6178 Diagnostic Results: There is no information on your configuration in our database. If you are experiencing issues with your system, you may want to visit the website to find recommended cards and drivers. Card/driver combination information can be found at:  http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/VideoCardTesting.html
	You are using a currently supported operating system.
	The system environmental variable named TEMP has been set.
	Write access is set for the TEMP directory.
	System TEMP directory: 240 GB
	The SolidWorks Backup Directory has not been set. Please set in Tools\Options\Backups.
	The SolidWorks Journal file directory has not been set. Please set in Tools\Options\File Locations.
	Drive C:\: 240 GB of free space
	Total System Memory - 3.91 GB This amount of RAM is acceptable for assemblies with greater than 2500 components and parts greater than 1000 features. The total amount of RAM required is based on the size of the dataset used and other open applications.
	Free System Memory - 2.00 GB You should have sufficient free physical RAM to run SolidWorks effectively. If you exceed the physical RAM, your system performance will be seriously degraded.
	Could not open the service pack database, the server may be busy, please try again later.  about:blank#
	SolidWorks is currently not running.
	Toolbox is loaded on a local drive. This may not be an appropriate location if the toolbox parts are shared. See the Installation Guides at http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/ServicePacks.html for more information.