http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=30679 

 
This helped. My Session Drummer is loading now! Thank you!
 

Just to round this off  ( in response to Mettelus ), downloading the redistributable, copying the internet explorer dll to the system 32 folder and re-installing just session drummer3 sorted this out. I don't know which bit of this, or which combination, made the difference. Thanks for your input.
Cakewalk ... please take note. We shouldn't have to mess around with dlls, dependency walkers, redistributable files , etc. just to make basic components work properly. I did pay for this upgrade to X3 and one of the selling points was session drummer 3.

Windows maintenance is a responsibility of the end user - glad you have things working now.
 
Bob Bone
 

robert_e_bone
Windows maintenance is a responsibility of the end user - glad you have things working now.

Indeed, this is not a Cakewalk's issue. Glad it's working as well.

CakeAlexS

robert_e_bone
Windows maintenance is a responsibility of the end user - glad you have things working now.

Indeed, this is not a Cakewalk's issue.

I don't think we know that one way or the other at this point. It's happened to a number of people during the X3 cycle. It happened to me, and I always keep Windows up-to-date. For all we know it could be an issue with the X3 installer and the way it interacts with certain systems. I'm not jumping to any conclusions. It's obviously out of the ordinary though.

My comment was a direct response to the notion about not having to deal with redistributable code, and Dependency Walker and all of that.
 
In several cases that I have participated in, folks had things out of date, and it was fixed by them running their maintenance or downloading specific dll modules.
 
That is not to say that keeping Windows up to date will fix the world, but for those that do NOT have their systems up to current maintenance levels, or at least reasonably close, they should not complain about issues arising due to that lack of maintenance being done.
 
If the maintenance had been run on a regular basis, then Dependency Walker might not have been needed at all.
 
I am glad that set of issues got resolved.
 
Bob Bone
 
 
 

Bob / StepD,
I wasn't really planning on adding any more to this .. because the issue is fixed, at least for me.
Just for clarity though, my problem occurred on a brand new Samsung laptop with a clean installation of Windows 8 ( updates included ).  So I am pretty sure this is not an issue of keeping up to date with Windows maintenance.
The dll in question ( IEHIMS.dll ) was in the correct folder for internet explorer to work correctly, but not for the session drummer 3 dll to find it ( as became apparent when I used the dependency walker ). This does suggest it is an issue for the installation of session drummer 3 then, and the other experiences in this long thread support this notion. I think it would be a mistake for Cakewalk not to investigate this further, hence I don't agree that it is not an issue for them.

I agree that the issue may need further looking into - perhaps some modifications to the installation instructions would help future folks avoid this - by indicating a need to have certain maintenance applied, IF that is what the issue is caused by.
 
I would like to ask you to elaborate on your recent post.  You indicated a brand-new laptop, with 'updates included', along with Windows 8.  So, my question is, did you apply all outstanding Windows maintenance after you purchased the laptop, but prior to installing Sonar?  It was not clear from my read of the post.
 
The reason I ask is that a brand new computer may be missing a whole bunch of maintenance, as a sometimes lengthy period of time will exist between the date the laptop was imaged and the date it was purchased and brought to life.
 
I frequently build computers for folks, and there are HOURS of maintenance needed after the initial install of Windows - even one with service packs pre-applied.
 
So - if you don't mind expanding on your 'updates included' post, I would appreciate it.
 
Thanks, 
 
Bob Bone
 
 

And to be honest 8.1 can be regarded as a service pack if this hasn't already been installed (although I notice some are avoiding this for some reason valid or otherwise, clearly lacking backup stategies ). There are also updates with windows every month. Most new computers I see are not up to date.

.