I just upgraded to Windows 8 Pro and now the VS-700 is non-functional. Un-installing/re-installing the driver also fails. It hangs at the point where it tells you to connect the VS-700 during the install. 

Any suggestions or guidance would really be appreciated.

e.B

e.Blue,

The current drivers (v2.x) are meant for Windows 7 64bit only. The driver information file explicitly prevents in versions of Windows greater than Windows 7 64bit. Using compatibility mode when running setup will only fool the installer, not the Windows driver subsystem, which will block the driver from loading. If you try to manually modify the .inf file to allow OS versions greater Windows 7, then again, the driver subsystem will prevent the driver from loading as it has been tampered with, and/or not properly signed.
The official answer is to wait for an an updated set of drivers from Cakewalk/Roland.

Sacha

Sacha, thanks for the reply. I'm aware that technically the drivers are not guaranteed to work. My post was mainly to make others aware that this is pretty much a showstopper for us V-Studio owners that are looking forward to taking advantage of the audio improvements provided by Windows 8. I'm also a bit concerned since Roland isn't really renown for providing timely driver updates. Since you provided an 'official answer', is it safe to assume that you know something that we may not?
-e.B 

....hmmmm. Thanks for the heads up folks.

Interesting to see how quickly this demands attention.

Cheers.

FYI.
I have just opened up a support request with Roland USA, here is their response:

PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THIS EMAIL. 
To: xxxx@xxxxxxxxx.com
RE: Support Request #97629
Product: VS-700
Subject: Upgraded computer to Windows 8 and VS-700 no longer works 

Question: Hello, I have just updated my computer to Windows 8 Pro (final release) and my VS-700 will no longer function. This is very concerning as the VS-700 system is the main hub of my recording studio. I need to know what Roland's plans are to provide support for Windows 8 and whether I should start shopping for another product. I also would be interested in participating in beta testing.
Sincerely, 
-Everett Garnett
downSouthside Music

Hello, We have sent a request for Windows 8 drivers/software to our corporate Roland, BOSS and Cakewalk headquarters in Japan. At this time, we do not have any information regarding when they plan to release them--as Microsoft's official Windows 8 release date is not until late October. 

Sincerely, 
Roland Product Support 
PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THIS EMAIL.

=========================================

I'd like to suggest that other folks open their own requests. Here is a link to the website to do that. I'll post any future updates to this request in this thread.

-e.B 

Sounds like you jumped in a bit early. You didn't really expect them to offer drivers for it already did you? I've had many Roland products and it seems we are always waiting for an update.

Considering that the final release of the OS is finished and available to developers, I figured that the sooner that folks at Roland are made aware of problems, the better. Not to mention that most other drivers designed for Windows 7 still seem to work fine with Windows 8. I suspect that the VS-700 drivers are only failing because Roland has needlessly implemented OS version checking. As a workaround, I've temporarily installed my portable Tascam US-800 interface, whose Windows 7 drivers seem to work fine.

Ironically, I can still boot the same PC into Mac OS-X and use Apple's Logic, Cubase or Ableton Live and have full use of the VS-700 interface & console. Unfortunately for Cakewalk/Roland this, this downtime will just give me another reason to become more familiar with other DAWs.


-e.B

+1 e.B.   +1
Quite a few peeps running W8 already from what I've seen so your actions seem reasonable to me.
Hope this works out...
Cheers.

I expect it to be reasonable for a company to release OS updates after the OS is set for release and not before.

kday


I expect it to be reasonable for a company to release OS updates after the OS is set for release and not before.

The FINAL released to manufacturing code for Windows 8 has been available to developers for a few weeks now. Anyone that is developing software for Windows should have access to it.

I have no problem with waiting until the actual Windows 8 release date or even somewhat after for the drivers. However, I also know that most companies don't wait until a new OS is completed and shipping before they decide if they are going to provide drivers for it or not. I just want to know if Windows 8 drivers are actually planned for the V-studio hardware.

I can get by using workarounds for the few weeks until Win 8 is actually shipping. OTOH, if drivers will never be written, I might as well go ahead and roll back to Windows 7 now and decide later how long I want to stay on Windows 7 before moving to a newer, better-supported interface.

It would be really nice if someone from Cakewalk could chime in with some kind of information from Roland. So far silence from Cakewalk/Roland does not bode well for us V-Studio owners.

-e.B