Installer for MATLAB R2010b Service Pack 2 creates incorrect Windows registry key

The MATLAB installer on Windows creates a registry key named 7.11.1 instead of 7.11.2 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MathWorks\MATLAB. If R2010b Service Pack 1 is already on the machine, the R2010b Service Pack 2 installer defaults to the installation directory of R2010b Service Pack 1. This issue has no effect on the operation or behavior of MATLAB.

Note: This issue may affect third party tools that use this registry key to detect the version number of MATLAB. No fix for R2010b SP2 is planned at this time.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

Along with this workaround, upgrading MATLAB to MATLAB R2011a will resolve this issue.

To discover the MATLAB Version

As a workaround for discovering the MATLAB version, execute VERSION at the command prompt, or look at the MATLAB Window Title Bar.

>> version
ans =
7.11.2.1031 (R2010b) Service Pack 2

To Prevent Installation of R2010bSP2 into the R2010bSP1 folder

To prevent MATLAB R2010b Service Pack 2 from installing into the R2010b Service Pack 1 directory take one of the following precautions:

1. Uninstall R2010b SP1 prior to installing R2010b SP2 or
2. Select a Custom installation and choose a new empty directory to install MATLAB into.

How to Fix the Registry Key

If you are using a third party product that relies on this registry key, the registry entry can be corrected after installing MATLAB R2010b Service Pack 2. (This workaround is not required for routine MATLAB usage.)

Modifications to registry entries can be made using the Windows Registry Editor. Before modifying your registry it is recommended that you back up the registry  as a precaution.

To edit the registry key:

1. Click the Start Menu, then click "Run"
2. In the Run window, type "regedit", then click OK
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> MathWorks -> MATLAB -> 7.11.1
4. Confirm that the path specified for the installation is for R2010bSP2
5. Right click on 7.11.1 and select Rename
6. Change the text to 7.11.2

Once these steps have been completed, third party software that relies on the registry key will see the corrected version number in the registry key.