Help: Installed but Can't Register 8.1 on Vista Ultimate 64-bit

[Steven Reid]

I know this is a Windows issue, but I can't figure it out: I'm running Vista Ultimate 64 bit as administrator. This is fresh OS install on a brand new system. After my first unsuccessful attempt to register 8.1c, I deactivated user accounts, so my default privileges now should be 'full.' (8.0c and DVDA 5.0 installed and registered without a hitch.)

In contrast, 8.1 installed fine but Windows blocks me from registering the product when I started the program for the first time. Specifically, Windows stops the registration utility because I don't have "elevated privileges." Yes, I right-clicked "Run as Administrator," even though I have full admin privileges anyway.

So, I'm stuck because I can't register the app. I know a simple solution will smack me in the face, but I don't see it. What's the solution?

Thanks,
Steve

[Jeff Harper]

If you have user account control turned off, turn it back on. It creates tons of headaches. There are ways to run with it off, and I have done it, but there are special steps to take when you do so in order for it to not interfere with installations and deletions of files. I forget what they are. When I reinstalled 64 bit vista last time, I just resigned myself to the fact the OS is designed to run with UAC on and in the long run it seems simpler to me to just live with the annoyance.

[Steven Reid]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

If you have user account control turned off, turn it back on. It creates tons of headaches. There are ways to run with it off, and I have done it, but there are special steps to take when you do so in order for it to not interfere with installations and deletions of files. I forget what they are. When I reinstalled 64 bit vista last time, I just resigned myself to the fact the OS is designed to run with UAC on and in the long run it seems simpler to me to just live with the annoyance.

OK, thanks for the quick reply! I've messed around with UAC on and off. As far as I can tell, with UAC on, I gave myself ownership of the 'Sony' folder, which includes everything that should be needed to register the app. Opening 8.1 regularly or "as administrator" still doesn't work.

I just hate it when I know I'm missing some simple check box or setting that needs changed, but I don't know what it is.

Would the steps of uninstalling 8.1 then reinstalling 8.1 both with UAC on help me? I'm really frustrated that this very last step of setting up my editing rig has ground to a halt.

Steve

[Steven Reid]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

If you have user account control turned off, turn it back on. It creates tons of headaches. There are ways to run with it off, and I have done it, but there are special steps to take when you do so in order for it to not interfere with installations and deletions of files. I forget what they are. When I reinstalled 64 bit vista last time, I just resigned myself to the fact the OS is designed to run with UAC on and in the long run it seems simpler to me to just live with the annoyance.

Hey Jeff,

I posted my problem also on the Sony forums. While waiting for a response, I then noticed that a few other people had the exact same problem. One user seemed to have narrowed it down to the fact that he (1) was using a Gigabyte motherboard and (2) ran into registration problems only when he updated the MOBO drivers *before* installing and registering 8.1 If, on the other hand, the install of 8.1 occurred before updating the Gigabyte drivers, all was good.

Since you mentioned success under a fresh install of Vista 64 bit, I wonder if your particular sequence had you install 8.1 before any driver updates. Are you running a Gigabyte motherboard?

After my last post above, no combination of anything would prevent the registration utility from giving me an error. I always have admin privileges. I just don't want the headache of reinstalling Vista...

Steve

[Jeff Harper]

You should run with UAC on unless you know the adjustments that must be made to go along with it. If you turn it off and then back on, it can screw with things. I know.

Reinstalling Vista might be your best option. Forget the Vegas approach. This is a Windows issue. Do a search for UAC related stuff. There is something you can do short of reinstalling, but unfortunately I forget what it is.

Wish I could be of more help.

[Steven Reid]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

You should run with UAC on unless you know the adjustments that must be made to go along with it. If you turn it off and then back on, it can screw with things. I know.

Reinstalling Vista might be your best option. Forget the Vegas approach. This is a Windows issue. Do a search for UAC related stuff. There is something you can do short of reinstalling, but unfortunately I forget what it is.

Wish I could be of more help.

OK, Jeff. I hear you. Your response at least is not inconsistent with those of two others with whom I've corresponded and who (1) identified Gigabyte MOBO drivers as the cause of the problem and (2) not installing them (i.e., use only Vista drivers) allowed registration of 8.1. Whatever the case, it looks like I'm in for another night of reinstalling Vista. I'll try to post back with whatever solution I find, for the benefit of anyone else.

Steve

[Steven Reid]

After some major troubleshooting today via PMs, e-mails, and phone calls, including one to Sony, I finally got Vegas 8.1 to install and register flawlessly. For an unfortunate soul who might sometime follow in my footsteps, here is a summary of events that led to success:

1. I checked to make sure that I could install *any* 64bit app on Vista 64, using Windows Media Encoder 64 as an example (downloaded from Microsoft). No problems there. It installed and ran just fine.

2. During my call to Sony, the tech said I should *not* have 8.0c installed on Vista 64. No surprise -- he said this combo is not officially supported by Sony. Sony recommended a specific clean uninstall procedure of all Sony products; then install only 8.1. I did exactly that and 8.1 still got booted out of the product registration stage.

3. Finally, I reinstalled Vista 64. I didn't reformat my HD, but I did delete the folder "Windows.old" that was created by the reinstallation via this method.

4. After Vista installed, and BEFORE ANYTHING else, including updates, I installed Vegas 8.1 with no problem, just as before. But launching the application this time (in administrator mode) progressed smoothly into the registration utility, and prompted me for the product key. YAY, it works! Now, I had to install my wireless card driver to access the internet. Once I did, 8.1 was registered, and it runs with no problem.

5. Next, I'm installing other device drivers and checking at each step to make sure that 8.1 runs. Some folks on the Sony forums feel that Gigabyte motherboard drivers cause problems. Right now I haven't installed those; I'm just running default Vista drivers. I'm going to carefully install the MOBO drivers one by one to see if I hit any snags. But for now, I know a successful path to run 8.1.

Steve out.

[Jeff Harper]

So according to what Sony told you, 8.1 is not necessarily safe to run alongside 8.0c as I had thought. Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[Steven Reid]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

So according to what Sony told you, 8.1 is not necessarily safe to run alongside 8.0c as I had thought. Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

Not exactly, Jeff. Perhaps I could have explained better (dang, it was a late night when I posted). What Sony told me is that they understand that many people run 8.0c and 8.1 in parallel on Vista 64, but they do not support 8.0c -- a 32 bit app -- running on Vista 64. This had nothing to do with 8.0c and 8.1 simply coexisting on the same machine.

Further UPDATE: since my post above, I carefully installed all the most current Gigabyte motherboard drivers one by one, launching 8.1 in between each update to make sure it worked. No problems whatsoever. So I'm very content that I now have a fully updated rig running 8.1 just as I designed.

Steve

p.s. Hey, thanks to my troubles and spate of posts, looks like I've been promoted to Regular Crew!

[Jeff Harper]

Great! With your promotion and $4.25 you can get a cup of coffee!

[Edward Troxel]

So... if the Gigabit drivers really ARE the problem... what happens in the future when you go to install Vegas Pro 9 when it gets released now that you've updated the drivers again? Will you have the same registration errors then as well.

[Steven Reid]

Originally Posted by Edward Troxel

So... if the Gigabit drivers really ARE the problem... what happens in the future when you go to install Vegas Pro 9 when it gets released now that you've updated the drivers again? Will you have the same registration errors then as well.

Hi Edward, I am NOT convinced at all that updating the MOBO drivers -- or even the drivers themselves -- were my problem *on my system*. Several of lines of evidence support this conclusion. I did a lot of things to my PC before I installed 8.1 for the very first time. For instance, I had major problems with my sound card drivers, I got stuck in repeating reboot cycles, BSOD's, on top of updating the MOBO drivers. (As terrible as those sound, the easy fix was disabling on-board audio. Duh!) Also, I meddled unintelligently with User Access Control. I can't fathom how many little settings or files I might have corrupted or tweaked before I tried installing 8.1.

Benefiting from that first experience, I just reinstalled Vista 64 as normal and everything worked without a hitch, as I summarized above.

Other anecdotal evidence supports my hunch that Gigabyte drivers aren't the problem: a user on the Sony forum experiencing the exact same registration error said that updating his Gigabyte MOBO drivers *after* a successful install/registration resulted in 8.1 not working, in direct contrast to my experience. We both have Gigabyte MOBO's, but different models. So, available evidence suggests at most a 50% chance that MOBO drivers are the culprit.

To answer your question (finally): I won't know until I try it. I'm sure you can appreciate that the headache I've had for the last several days has quenched my desire to try updating MOBO drivers *before* doing the 8.1 install and registration. For now, it works perfectly, and I'm content with that. :)

[Marcia Janine Galles]

Steven,

Could you clarify for me the procedure Sony recommended when you say: "Sony recommended a specific clean uninstall procedure of all Sony products; then install only 8.1" because the program doesn't come with its own uninstaller and I've heard the Vista uninstaller is less than the best. And I've found nothing in the Vegas manuals or in their Knowledge Base that so much as mentions a "specific" way of doing it (or any mention of how to uninstall it at all, for that matter...) which says to me that there might be a way to do it badly and screw things up.

The short version is, I was stupid. ;-) I've been cutting on FCP for the last couple years (business gigs), but wanted to get back to Vegas for my own use as I always had fun cutting with it (or at least, the earlier versions). So I just got a new PC setup (running Vista 64 bit) and in a brain dead moment, when I upgraded to Vegas 8, I downloaded 8.c and installed it, thinking 8.1 was just a module or something (truthfully I don't know WHAT I was thinking) that I needed to install on top of it, after which it hit me that maybe I was ONLY supposed to install 8.1. (duh) Clearly, I didn't think it through. Anyway, as I said, what I'm trying to do is uninstall 8.c and have only 8.1 on my system. I did download Smarty Uninstaller to give it a try, but I don't want to run that, have it try and delete 8.c and then have it so screwed up that it won't properly install 8.1.

Any insight you can offer would be appreciated.

Marcia

[Edward Troxel]

Marcia, 8.1 and 8.0c can both be installed at the same time. You're not forced to uninstall 8.0c in order to install 8.1. I know a few people with both installed.

Besides, there are some things you can do in 8.0c that you can't in 8.1. For example, all the new trimmer tools are in 8.0c but not in 8.1. Many plugins also will not yet work in 8.1.

[Jeff Harper]

Edward is correct, of course. These are separate installations, and shouldn't interfere with each other, normally. I wouldn't uninstall 8.0c. if I were you, but that is your decision to make, of course.

I have had issues with 8.1. The black frames issue that I have with it makes 8.1 useless to me.

It is possible these issues would be cleared up if I had a fresh install of windows since Sony recommends installing it that way, but I don't believe that.

IMO, just leave them both on there and play with 8.1. You can open up projects created in one with the other anyway, so you should be fine.

64 bit Vegas might leave you disappointed. I wouldn't put all my eggs in the 64 bit basket just yet, though of course it is possible it will run perfectly for you. Try it and see.