Rapture cannot be reinstalled, cryptic error message (PLEASE HELP)

I've been fighting a problem with Rapture for 5 days now with no results; I cannot be the only person seeing this and hope somebody has found a solution.

I've owned Rapture since the day it was released, have been running version 1.1 on the same XP Pro machine for years with no problems. It's worked perfectly in Ableton Live, Sony Acid Pro, and CW Music Creator.

I got hit with a virus last Sunday that required a rebuild of the system. Everything has since been reinstalled or restored from backup. The system itself is completely free of viruses. Everything works perfectly except Rapture, which fires off 2 annoying message boxes whenver it's loaded, saying it hasn't been properly installed and must be reinstalled from the original CD.

I've done this nine times in a row now, following instructions from the single response I got from CW tech support to 7 different pleas for help, ensuring there were no lingering registry entries or old dll's hanging about that would cause problems. I was assured this would give me a clean install and all would be fine.

Things are as far from "fine" as they could possibly be. Rapture simply will not function. My other plugins are fine, including those from Cakewalk such as Z3ta. Ableton works wonderfully with all plugins but Rapture, so does Acid Pro. Rapture triggers the error message inside any host if I simply try to rescan plugins.

The standalone Rapture Microhost will not work. It also spits out the error messages. The greatest problem though is that I've used Rapture in nearly every track I've produced for over a year, and any project loaded into any host that uses Rapture immediately locks the host up as soon as the 2nd "improper installation" box pops up.

All of my hardware and software are working properly; there are no error messages in any of the event logs. CW tech support doesn't seem to know what to do. If I sound desperate, it's because I am. I wouldn't be opposed to paying for a solution that works. It isn't so much the product I paid for that doesn't work as all of the tracks I've done with Rapture being lost because I can't afford to build a new computer to run this stuff, and I don't have a lot of faith Rapture would work if I did.

No, it's an XP system, restored to where it was before the problem occured. It doesn't look like I'm the only one facing this. Cakewalk support stopped responding 2 days ago after sending me the generic list of registry locations and dll folders to look at.

Looking at the number of forum posts returned when I search for the text of the error message, the supposed solutions for the Vista users do not work anyway. Those would be (1) running the install as an admin and (2) making sure the common app folder registry entry isn't hidden. Those solutions clearly aren't working for a great number of Vista users who, like myself, aren't getting a response from tech support.

I've gone as far as stripping my XP system of everything but Rapture and the device drivers necessary for my audio card & MIDI interface; then tried just the standalone Rapture micro-host. This was the "guaranteed to get you up and running" solution from tech support, the one time they responded to my request for help.

It still responds with the error message that Rapture hasn't been installed properly and to reinstall from the original CD. Every other plugin I add, every other host I add, work perfectly. Even Z3ta, another Cakewalk product, works fine. There is clearly a problem with Rapture that isn't being addressed. I haven't been able to work for a week now and have resolved myself to filing a BBB complaint, which, of course, isn't going to get me any closer to producing music again.

Fog, thank you for the reply. Sorry for the delayed response, just returned from holiday vacation.

Yes, I am also running XP with SP3. I've done 15 uninstall/reinstalls now (I am not exaggerating) and they have all ended in failure -- a dialogue from Rapture saying
the product isn't properly installed and must be reinstalled.

Everything else I've used for the last 2 years -- Sony Acid Pro, Ableton Live, plugins from at least a half dozen vendors (including Cakewalk's Z3ta), it all runs perfectly
as it did before. Everything but Rapture.

I consider Rapture a total loss as far as ever getting it to work again. The $200USD I spent on it doesn't bother me so much as all the tracks I've produced that used Rapture. None of them can be loaded anymore without constant Cakewalk error dialogues popping up. Even if I go back and strip all mention of Rapture out of my Ableton and Acid projects, I've still lost all the time and hard work I put into sculpting the right sound from the synth. It's a total do-over.

Sorry to whine so much but this is a bitter pill to swallow. I paid for this software and whatever copy protection Cakewalk put into it, it's clearly got major problems and after a month of complaints and suggested fixes from Cakewalk, I am no closer to having functional software.

Do you have a backup copy of SP2?
I know that would put you back beyond where you'd like, but it it works...?

That's a good suggestion inmazevo but unfortunately even rolling back to SP2 does not cure the problem. I've done this twice, first time when restoring the system to its original post-virus state and reinstalling Rapture. Then again today, this time doing the SP3 uninstall to place myself back at SP2. Rapture simply will not run on my XP Pro system anymore. It always pops up the "Rapture not properly installed" error.

I am furious with Cakewalk and lack of support on this problem, though it has provided me with a legit excuse to break the piggy bank and order a more reliable soft synth so maybe in the long run it'll work out for the good. There has been as much as a 2 week delay between my support requests and any response from Cakewalk, and 2 of the times they've replied it was just a copy of the message they'd previously sent, with instructions on wiping Rapture-related registry entries and re-installing. I don't mean this to be a personal swipe at any of the Cakewalk staff who have taken the time to look into this problem. But the fact is there are many customers suffering from this problem and we paid so much #$#!@ for the plugin that I think we deserve some type of fix, even if it's just a temporary hotfix patch applied to the Rapture binaries.

I'll apologize one last time to everybody in the forum for ranting on about this so long. I know you guys are tired of hearing it. This is so frustrating...

Can you get your hands on an extra hard drive?

Yes, another drive is no problem to get, but there are so many re-install issues with my other software that it's not really feasible. For instance, I've already used the 2nd registration Ableton allows before they require Fedex shipping of your first born child before they issue another. As much as I loved Rapture, I think it's easier to replace it with a more stable synth like Omnisphere instead of possibly trashing everything else (which all work properly...)

BUT, I realized I could accomplish pretty much the same thing by moving all my software to an iMac. I finally got Rapture to come up as a plugin in Ableton Live there, but am kicked out of the registration dialogue with the message I need to purchase another license.

I know its frustrating, but why give up?

I think it's equal parts of:

1. Many forum users complain CW tech support won't respond to problem reports for days or weeks. I'm one of them. It took 2 weeks to get a reply to the last request I sent.

2. Almost 20 reinstalls using whatever instructions CW sends when they do bother to respond, with no positive results yet. I've been unable to use Rapture for a month so far.

3. With all due respect to Cakewalk devotees, I have no faith in Cakewalk products anymore. I understand that it's running great for many people, but judging by what I read in the forums, there is a good-sized group having the same problem and there's no fix. To quote a famous 80's era MTV video -- "I wanna Rock! Not fight software."

OK, I added that last part.