Having told myself I didn't need Komplete for every version of it so far, I finally folded when my local retailer offered what seemed a no brainer deal of Komplete Select with K11 upgrade bundle, so I came home armed with a USB stick installer for Select and a HD for the upgrade. Great, I thought, this should be easy enough......... 
 
Except it isn't  -  my DAW pc is offline and it seems that despite having physical media it's still not possible to install without being hooked up to the www. Not good for many reasons IMO, but mostly because the pc was specifically built to be offline, so I can't connect even if I want to.
 
So, having opened the USB package I either have to bite the cost of that and forget it and hopefully get a refund on the unopened upgrade HD or I presumably have to buy some form of USB thingy to facilitate wifi connectivity :(
 
So, the question is either...
 
a) Bearing in mind that this would be a one off as far as I am concerned, if I buy a USB wifi thingy, can I just buy the cheapest thing I can find or are there things that I need to consider?
 
b) Does anyone in the UK want to buy and an unused/ unregistered Komplete Select + Komplete upgrade?
 
EDIT: 21/6/17 ignore above.....Title remains the same, but different issue. See post #25

paulo
Having told myself I didn't need Komplete for every version of it so far, I finally folded when my local retailer offered what seemed a no brainer deal of Komplete Select with K11 upgrade bundle, so I came home armed with a USB stick installer for Select and a HD for the upgrade. Great, I thought, this should be easy enough......... 
 
Except it isn't  -  my DAW pc is offline and it seems that despite having physical media it's still not possible to install without being hooked up to the www. Not good for many reasons IMO, but mostly because the pc was specifically built to be offline, so I can't connect even if I want to.
 
So, having opened the USB package I either have to bite the cost of that and forget it and hopefully get a refund on the unopened upgrade HD or I presumably have to buy some form of USB thingy to facilitate wifi connectivity :(
 
So, the question is either...
 
a) Bearing in mind that this would be a one off as far as I am concerned, if I buy a USB wifi thingy, can I just buy the cheapest thing I can find or are there things that I need to consider?
 
b) Does anyone in the UK want to buy and an unused/ unregistered Komplete Select + Komplete upgrade?
 
 

 That will work.  Did you check NI support if they offer offline authorization.  In this day of age it's going to be a challenge to keep a DAW completely offline.  I'm not sure there are any advantages to it either.

kitekrazy1

paulo
Having told myself I didn't need Komplete for every version of it so far, I finally folded when my local retailer offered what seemed a no brainer deal of Komplete Select with K11 upgrade bundle, so I came home armed with a USB stick installer for Select and a HD for the upgrade. Great, I thought, this should be easy enough......... 
 
Except it isn't  -  my DAW pc is offline and it seems that despite having physical media it's still not possible to install without being hooked up to the www. Not good for many reasons IMO, but mostly because the pc was specifically built to be offline, so I can't connect even if I want to.
 
So, having opened the USB package I either have to bite the cost of that and forget it and hopefully get a refund on the unopened upgrade HD or I presumably have to buy some form of USB thingy to facilitate wifi connectivity :(
 
So, the question is either...
 
a) Bearing in mind that this would be a one off as far as I am concerned, if I buy a USB wifi thingy, can I just buy the cheapest thing I can find or are there things that I need to consider?
 
b) Does anyone in the UK want to buy and an unused/ unregistered Komplete Select + Komplete upgrade?
 
 

 That will work.  Did you check NI support if they offer offline authorization.  In this day of age it's going to be a challenge to keep a DAW completely offline.  I'm not sure there are any advantages to it either.

Thanks for reply. I have asked NI, but there's asking and then there's getting an answer. Didn't even get an email confirming the support ticket request, which usually arrives promptly and a follow up email has not yet yielded an answer either. I did find a link to a file that they say has to be installed for offline installation, which I did, but there doesn't seem to be anything in it other than EULA's in various languages. There is no actual program to run that I can see.
 
It hasn't been too difficult to keep it offline- I just don't buy anything from vendors who insist on it - NI has always had the offline facility before and it's always worked fine, so I got caught out here in assuming that would still be the case. 
 
The online v offline debate has been done many times - all I can say is that until now I've never had one single problem with having an offline system (until now) and that alone is a good enough reason to keep it that way IMO.
Don't fix what isn't broken and all that.
 

you might still hang onto it, even if you cant install now...it keeps you "in the club" so to speak and should enable a reduced price upgrade in the future for k12 etc....with k11u for me the only thing of interest or use is the FORM vst, so I would say you arent missing much right now - but of course that does depend on your genre or niche 

You can get a USB wifi dongle for $10 that works great.
 
https://www.amazon.com/USB-Computer-Network-Adapters/b/ref=dp_bc_5/146-4221932-3554169?ie=UTF8&node=13983791
 
But it's been my experience that hanging the wifi dongle off a USB extension cable away from the PC chassis will provide better connectivity to the hotspot.  The little micro adapters have no external antenna, and depending on where your chassis is setup it can make a difference in signal strength.
 
The cool thing about the wifi dongle is you can unplug it when you don't need to be online! 

paulo
Not good for many reasons IMO, but mostly because the pc was specifically built to be offline, so I can't connect even if I want to

Ok not to harp on the obvious but, designing a DAW PC that has no way of connecting to a network was a mistake IMO. Especially in this day and age. 


But more to the point, what exactly do you mean that the PC was specifically built to be offline. I totally get not wanting WIFI on-board. But there are more ways to connect than just WIFI. I haven't shopped for motherboards in quite a while, but I don't remember the last time I saw a motherboard that didn't have an ethernet port built in. If its got an ethernet port, connecting to authorize software should be anything but impossible. 
 
There are several options if you've got an ethernet port. Not saying they'll be quick, easy and completely painless. But they also shouldn't require reinventing the wheel.
 
The first question is do you have broadband in the building somewhere?
 
If so, move the machine temporarily to where the broadband is, connect a network cable and Bob's your uncle. Or get yourself a big long network cable and run it down the hall when you need to authorize or update software. 

If possible, run CAT6 in the walls and install a port in the studio. Sounds hard but it often isn't. I wired the entire house with CAT6 myself when we bought it. And if doing network cable runs in the walls is really beyond your wheelhouse, look into a IP over power line solution. 

paulo's view of internet connectivity for a DAW

abacab
You can get a USB wifi dongle for $10 that works great.
 
https://www.amazon.com/USB-Computer-Network-Adapters/b/ref=dp_bc_5/146-4221932-3554169?ie=UTF8&node=13983791
 
But it's been my experience that hanging the wifi dongle off a USB extension cable away from the PC chassis will provide better connectivity to the hotspot.  The little micro adapters have no external antenna, and depending on where your chassis is setup it can make a difference in signal strength.
 
The cool thing about the wifi dongle is you can unplug it when you don't need to be online! 

Thanks abacab - I have seen the usb adapters on amazon, I just wondered if there was any reason not to buy a cheap one. Wifi works fine on my laptop in the same room, but I was thinking of maybe getting one with a removable antenna to be sure. It certainly won't be plugged on for long.
 

JohanSebatianGremlin

paulo
Not good for many reasons IMO, but mostly because the pc was specifically built to be offline, so I can't connect even if I want to

Ok not to harp on the obvious but, designing a DAW PC that has no way of connecting to a network was a mistake IMO. Especially in this day and age. 


But more to the point, what exactly do you mean that the PC was specifically built to be offline. I totally get not wanting WIFI on-board. But there are more ways to connect than just WIFI. I haven't shopped for motherboards in quite a while, but I don't remember the last time I saw a motherboard that didn't have an ethernet port built in. If its got an ethernet port, connecting to authorize software should be anything but impossible. 
 
There are several options if you've got an ethernet port. Not saying they'll be quick, easy and completely painless. But they also shouldn't require reinventing the wheel.
 
The first question is do you have broadband in the building somewhere?
 
If so, move the machine temporarily to where the broadband is, connect a network cable and Bob's your uncle. Or get yourself a big long network cable and run it down the hall when you need to authorize or update software. 

If possible, run CAT6 in the walls and install a port in the studio. Sounds hard but it often isn't. I wired the entire house with CAT6 myself when we bought it. And if doing network cable runs in the walls is really beyond your wheelhouse, look into a IP over power line solution. 

Yes there is no wifi on board. Deliberately so. When the pc was built there were no vendors demanding online connections so for that and the other obvious reasons that we won't harp on about there really was no need for it given the other pc's in the house.
 
An ethernet port requires a cable long enough to reach the router. I probably could get a long enough one, but not really ideal having it trailing everywhere including up the stairs and moving the pc closer is not that easy either as it would involve moving a fair amount of other stuff too.
 
You'll have to forgive me also if I don't fancy re-wiring my house just to accommodate a software vendors new plan. 
 
I do understand that the problem is not insurmountable, just a PITA that there is no need for IMO.

bapu
paulo's view of internet connectivity for a DAW

Unnecessary loops with no benefit to me? Looks about right.