"SONAR is not properly installed" WTF?

Curiously, SONAR works if I log in under a different Windows user name, even though both profiles are administrators. Bizarre.

But here's a warning for you all: re-installing SONAR is NOT something you want to try "just to see if it helps".

After reinstallation, not only did SONAR insist on having the authorization code re-entered, but so did Ozone. Jamstix would no longer load because it couldn't find its data directory, even though it was installed in the default VST folder. Kontakt 2 refuses to play anything at all. And of course SONAR has forgotten every setting and preference previously configured.

What a pain.

Man, that blows

there must be a software wizz on here that knows what to do,
like one of the admin guys

I admin that I cant fix it

Sympathy's the next best thing to actual advice, so I'll take it!

Here's what the problem appears to be: when SONAR installs, it writes a bunch of CLSIDs into HKEY_CURRENT_USER. I don't know if it always does that, or if I happened to install SONAR initially under a non-admin Windows login. But whatever the case, I can only run SONAR while logged in under the same Windows user name that I installed SONAR under. It will fail under any other Windows login, and fails with the particularly unhelpful message described above.

My problem began when I logged in under another user name. Then, instead of thinking about the problem first, I went ahead and reinstalled SONAR as per its suggestion. Now, I've been troubleshooting software for 35 years and really ought to know better!!!

So at least there's a lesson there that might help somebody else out: re-install SONAR as a last resort, not as the first step in troubleshooting.


EDIT:
droddy: no, not Vista, it's XP Pro. Can't blame it on Microsoft, I'm afraid. It's a repercussion of all the security enhancements MS has had to make in response to all those whiners out there complaining that Windows isn't secure enough. That's why users can't write to HKLM anymore.

I've seen that message after doing some registry cleaning/fixing on a couple occasions. If you tend to tweak your registry at all, don't try to fix any invalid keys dealing with Cakewalk and/or Sonar; just ignore them.

ew

ORIGINAL: mwbrown

Have you tried system restore. Restore to a point a 1 or 2 days before. If it's a registry problem that should fix it.

I have tried that too, but it does not appear to fix the specific registry information found in the user profile which has gotten corrupted.

-mr moon

ORIGINAL: mr. moon

ORIGINAL: mwbrown

Have you tried system restore. Restore to a point a 1 or 2 days before. If it's a registry problem that should fix it.

I have tried that too, but it does not appear to fix the specific registry information found in the user profile which has gotten corrupted.

-mr moon

You probably didn't go back far enough. I have schedular do an automatic restore point every day at 1600 hrs, yes everyday, and I could go back more than a week if the first restore doesn't fix it. It's got me out of trouble more than I can remember. As I understand it system restore restores the complete registry amongst other things. Good luck

I would find it hard to believe that a complete uninstall and registry cleaning and then reinstall would not fix such a problem and allow you to keep using the same user account.

You would have to do a registry cleanup by hand probably, and make sure that all the data in your per-user directory really got removed. Many programs are very bad about leaving stuff around, so it's probably picking up the old (corrupt) data again. It can be tedious since it's not unusual for a program to leave literally hundreds of entries in the registry even after being uninstalled. It's pretty ridiculous and one reason why the registry can become a huge, bloated bad o'junk.

With Sonar 6.21, they began to support that new Windows User Account Control. So, what used to be stashed in the registry is now stashed under some special location.

Here is more detailed info.

http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/kb20070117.asp

With Sonar 6.21, they began to support that new Windows User Account Control. So, what used to be stashed in the registry is now stashed under some special location.

I had to implement the exact same techniques in my own software in order to support Vista. It has resulted in a more complex installation procedure and new support issues, but that's the price of "security". The new strategy: assume every user is a total idiot who can only be trusted in a sandbox. I will continue to support Vista and use it for development and testing because I have to, but Vista will not infect my DAW for the foreseeable future.

The new strategy: assume every user is a total idiot who can only be trusted in a sandbox. I will continue to support Vista and use it for development and testing because I have to, but Vista will not infect my DAW for the foreseeable future.

That's not really fair. They assume that most users are not sufficiently technical to protect themselves against the many ways that jerks will try to take advantage of them, which is completely true.

So here's what I've been thinking about... Completely OT, but since we probably aren't going to solve your problem, I guess we should just try to distract you.

If I can end up, after being raped by the tax man, with at least say 8 million in the bank, what I would like to do is set up a kind of music school. Not for teaching music, but more for taking promising young acts and giving them a permanent, nice place to practice, where they are given a chance to get lessons from top notch people, where they learn about the business of music, and get practice in the recording studio, get maturity lessons so that they can handle some fame should it come their way, etc...

I was thinking of a little Skywalker Ranch sort of thing, where there will be a few small studios spread out around the ranch, and around each studio, linked by fiber optics, there will be band rooms. So each band will get their own room and have a permanent set of equipment there that is always in place for practice, so that they don't ahve to use their road gear. They would be able to have their practices there, and come there for lessons and seminars and so forth. When they are ready to record something, their rooms fiber optic link back to the studio would be hooked up, which would provide transmission of mics and DIs and video back and forth, and they can just record their bits right there in place.

This would allow a fairly reasonable investment in studio equipment to support a good number of bands, and it wouldn't have to be large since it would just be a remote control room. The producer and engineer would be there, and one or more helpers would be at the band room side to facilitate setting up mics and so forth.

The concept would be that I'd start it, maybe with just one of these little studio/practice room enclaves, and that each selected act would sign a contract agreeing to give back X percent of their revenues for however long it takes to get back some given amount. It would be a fairly small percentage since if they never hit big it won't make any differnce and if they do, then that's all it would require. This would hopefully, over time, make it fairly self-sustaining, though obviously it would be nice to get other contributions from folks in the music industry to help support it.

In order to make it reasonable to do, I'd probably have to move back to the south east (horrors) where land is cheaper and the cost of doing things is cheaper. I figure I'd also kind of see it as contributing back to my homeland by establishing what could eventually become a fairly important thing. Not so much from revenues generated from the actual endeavor, which would be small given that it's a non-profit, but by creating a thriving music scene that would bring business to the area.

Anyway, it's probably not remotely practical, but it's something I'd like to do if I could get enough out of my business to allow for it. I figure I'd have to throw in a couple million to really get it started and have enough left to get it through one 'cycle of acts' and get it taken seriously so that hopefully other funds would then become available and hopefully some of the first generation of acts would start producing some return as well.

Of course another option is that I just spend it all on coke, hookers, and studio equipment...

Bitflipper I've got that error every month or so. Just reapplying the latest 6.21 update should solve it. I didn't detect any side effects.