[Fixed, with explanation!] [Sonar X3 Producer] Need Help With Install Not Completing!

Failed installation might be a privileges problem.
try installing "as administrator":
http://www.cakewalk.com/D...roubleshooting.02.html
 
If that does not work, try to remove and then do a clean install as administrator:
http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013371/SONAR-X3-Clean-Install-Instructions
 

slartabartfast
Failed installation might be a privileges problem.
try installing "as administrator":
 
 
If that does not work, try to remove and then do a clean install as administrator:
 
 

I have already tried this, sadly. My account is the administrator account, but I've even tried running it as an administrator (using right click + Run As Administrator)
 
Also, while I have removed what little it DOES install in an attempt to do a clean install, the program itself does NOT install, only the plugins and extra content, it seems.

Anderton
 
Also make sure any anti-virus programs are turned off. They don't like programs that talk to the system.

I use Kaspersky, but I've had it disabled during the installation process just to make sure, it hasn't made a difference.

slartabartfast
Are you installing from the DVD's or the download? 
The download instructions are a bit more complicated, and you need to be sure all the files are present and in the location that the installer expects to find them. 

 

I'm installing from the DVD :]

Try cloning the DVD to a blank DVD-R. I don't think there's anything special about it (i.e., copy protection), the authorization happens after the program is installed. Wouldn't be the first time there was media defecccct.

And is there not something with the C+++ thing that if yu don't install the correct version Sonar might not install. 
 
Can the OP download Sonar from the store and use the serial number on the DVD? 
Another thing that just happened to me a few months ago was my DVD drive was causing things like this to happen. So see if you can swap out the drive. 

slartabartfast
Su****ious for a corrupted or unreadable file on the DVD in that case. Sorry I forgot that the forum thinks the letters s.p.i.c. are a racial slur even when they are found inside a word.
An empty error box is never a good sign, and I do not recall an automatic restart with no warning during installation.
 
It is also possible that you are actually getting a BSOD that is causing the restart, and you do not see the Windows error message because your computer is set to reboot on a fatal error. I had a problem installing a large program some years ago that always failed when it reached a stage of copying a particular file to unpack. Sure sign of a bad file, right? Turns out that I had a bad memory chip with a bad bit so high in the address space that no program ever reached it until this installation, and always at the same point in the installation process.
 
Try this:

 

The empty error box was because the install never actually finished. The file was there (SonarPDR.exe) but nothing it referenced actually existed.

Anyway, the issue has been solved! Combining a few tips from you guys, I copied the files from the disc to my a new folder on my desktop. Restarted the computer in safe mode and did the full install. Part of the install failed (the redistributable installs can't be done in safe mode) but that was okay, because I'd gotten past that part in regular mode anyway, so they already existed. The whole rest of the install went just fine in safe mode, and once it was done, I restarted back to regular windows mode and everything worked perfectly fine (Except that I hadn't noticed it defaulted to the MME setting, and was perplexed a little bit until I figured out to change to ASIO!)

For reference, in case anyone stumbles on this in the future, the install was forcing a restart on my computer (NOT a BSoD, because it would close down certain programs in the same order that my computer does when I do a normal shutdown sequence) IMMEDIATELY upon reaching the "Sonar.CHM" file. I have no clue what it was about this particular file that wasn't kosher with my computer, since it wasn't even executing the file itself (thus the file shouldn't have had an issue with any currently-running program or service.)

EDIT: It is entirely possible that, similar to what Slartabartfast said, the particular file wasn't the issue, it's just that I reached a point in the memory address of my RAM that was bad. Not entirely sure.

I also have reason to believe that there happens to be some kind of service or process on my computer that Sonar does not get along with, because occasionally Sonar will freeze (I've mostly noticed this in the following days after installation while I've been tooling around in Preferences, getting everything set up just right) and stop responding, forcing me to use Task Manager to forcibly end the process, but... Occasionally, it would freeze and stop responding, and not even an Elevated-Administrative privileged Task Manager could force-close the process... I'd have to fully reboot the computer. Very odd. But, I've not experienced this after stopping automatic-start of many non-essential processes and startup programs. I have yet to find the culprit.
 
Edit 2: Is there any way to have a mod set my post as the solution, since I came to the conclusion myself? I've made the helpful posts helpful with the little button, but can't set my own post as the solution.