Do not open it yet.
If you see the dialog with the blue background and the little house icon, you have succeeded.
SolidWorks 2020 introduced stricter validation. If your serial is for 2019, it will not work. Do not argue with the machine. It will not bend.
Before you draw your first extrusion, go to . Turn off "Enhanced graphics performance" if you have a gaming GPU. Turn on "Use Software OpenGL" only if you see black squares flickering.
When the splash screen appears, you’ll see the option: (the hero’s path) or "Install on a server" (the sysadmin’s path). You are the hero. Choose the first. Phase 3: The Serial Key Riddle This is where many falter. You will be asked for a serial number. If you are a student, you have a 9020... code. If you are a professional, you have a network license or a standalone 0001... code.
But before you can bend geometry to your will, you must first complete the sacred ritual: the Installation. This is not a mere software setup; it is the act of building your digital workshop. Done right, it’s silent and invisible. Done wrong, it’s a two-hour spiral into registry errors and .NET Framework grief.