I decided to take a look Sonar Platinum so I downloaded Command Center 1.1.7.1 and installed it.   It also installed MS dot Net 4.5.2 and C++ Redistributable 2013.  After a re-boot I ran it only to get this error:
 

 
I re-installed and got the same error.
 
I tried to send an email to support but you can't as there is no option for Command Center.  I tried to call but they don't seem to take calls since I'm not on the new version of Sonar (I'm an X1 user) so I posted it here.  Not very customer friendly.  Been a Cakewalk use since Pro Audio 9 back in the 90's.
 
I suspect this might have something to do with my still using Windows XP SP3.  If it is, then the Command Center installer is brain-dead as it didn't check to see what version of Windows I'm running.
 
So, how do you bypass Command Center and directly download the demo of Sonar Platinum?  Thanks!
 
BTW, when you uninstall Command Center it leaves behind .Net 4.5.2 and the C++ 2013 redistributable.  Bad behavior.  It should ask you if you want to remove it or leave it. 

i don't think you can get the demo without using ccc? at least i never found a way...

The demo won't work either. No current Cakewalk product runs on XP. Here are the SONAR System Requirements

FWIW, the question would go to pre-sales. The email link is on the bottom of this page. But there is no way SONAR will run on XP.

I think the 32bit version *MIGHT* run as x2 & x3 (maybe) did run under XP SP3 but were not supported.  It's worth a try now that there is a demo version.
 
If I have to, I can always install Win7 & dual boot my DAW to see if Sonar Platinum is worth the hardware expense it will trigger to replace my 16 channel audio interface with a Win7-Win10 compatible interface.  It's the hardware that is keeping me on XP.

The last version to run on XP was the original release of X2. XP support was dropped with X2a due to updated runtime libraries required for multi-touch support. X2a does not install on XP and AFAIK all newer versions fail too. From the X2a update knowledge base page under installation instructions:

Please note: SONAR X2a is only officially supported on Windows 7 and Windows 8. Installation is not possible on unsupported operating systems, such as Windows 98 & XP. It remains possible to install and use SONAR X2a on Windows Vista though it is not recommended. 

Thanks all.  I'm going to set-up dual booting my DAW.  1st step is to image my C:\ drive just in case anything goes wrong.  I have a free SATA port so I'll just install a spare 160GB SATA hard drive for Win 7.
 
The Command Center installer needs to check for Windows XP & older and then abort the install. I emailed this to pre-sales at Cakewalk.

aoresteen
...The Command Center installer needs to check for Windows XP & older and then abort the install. I emailed this to pre-sales at Cakewalk.

 
I agree. It should check the o/s before installing. I installed CCC on an XP computer with the intention of using it for downloads, as my DAW PC is offline. It completed the installation process but refused to launch. Thereafter it always tried to connect to the CW site whenever I launched Firefox and displayed a "download failed" message every time.

I had to check the date of this thread! XP ;0 -- just kidding.. I still run 2 XP laptops and one desktop-- well I don't use them much but they all still work and I hate to toss them out. My net book is XP and I run X1 LE on it but I can't use either of my proper ASIO interfaces . Focusrite doesn't have XP driver. And Tascam does have an old 32 bit driver for XP but it's terrible. Tascam wrote new drivers for W8.1 and 10 and those are excellent.  
If your hardware is that old and they never wrote new drivers  then you need to stay with the (outdated) software that is compatible too. This is the price you pay for not keeping up to date in all aspects of using computers for recording. You can't expect to span that much time. 
I would use 8.5 before I'd be using X1. X1 was buggy as all get out. X3e was the first of the best new versions. 
 
So your choice is not hard
1. Stay with XP and old interface and use 8.5 or X1. price $0 
2. Update the whole system because that's the right thing to do, there's no middle ground here. Price $ 600-$1,500  

Cactus Music
.......
If your hardware is that old and they never wrote new drivers  then you need to stay with the (outdated) software that is compatible too. This is the price you pay for not keeping up to date in all aspects of using computers for recording. You can't expect to span that much time. 
I would use 8.5 before I'd be using X1. X1 was buggy as all get out. X3e was the first of the best new versions. 
....... 

I have two M-Audio Delta 1010 PCI audio interface cards that give me a total of 16 actual inputs.  M-Audio wrote a rock solid driver to use two 1010 cards together under Windows XP SP3.  The Windows 7/8.1 driver has a lot of problems with TWO  1010 cards used together. With one card there are no issues.  And M-Audio has refused to correct the issue as the Delta 1010 is now a legacy item.  Finding a replacement PCI or PCIe audio interface card that has 16 actual line inputs has proved to be expensive.
 
So far X1 has worked OK for me - good idea on 8.5 though.  I should track down a copy.