Noel Borthwick

Pretty unlikely. Once the app is activated it doesn't retry until the lease expires which is quite long. Check whether you have some backup script or something that is restoring some state when you reboot. If so, that might explain why Cakewalk is not activated again after a boot.

This is likely due to some specific settings you have for the start screen that is referencing the cakewalk.com domain that doesnt support the older apps. What is the version of the startscreen exe you have? We may update the Startscreen and change its references to Cakewalk.

Yes. If you are not a steam user who had purchased legacy SONAR, this article doesn't apply to you.

The OP's issue was solved. Most likely temporary connectivity. Your issue is some weird web browser bug where sometimes it won't open the web page if another page is open with the same URL. The old page is stale and no longer communicate with the app. That's why it works when you close it. For SSO it's generally best to close the browser before signing in so it starts clean. The www is a POS 🙂

The product center will only handle current cakewalk applications not legacy ones.

Would have to check what scalar is doing. It's very unlikely that the problem is in cbb. The plugin may be blocking audio processing when you drag in midi.

We already have full cross platform project transfer to and from Sonar <==> Next using our own new transfer format. It goes beyond what this does and supports tracks, buses, auxes, plugins, instruments, routing, automation, arranger track, folders and more. Since it's our own interchange format we have full flexibility to rapidly grow as the need arises.

@Klaus M Old versions of SONAR will always open newer files but without any new feature content. This is because we support backwards and forwards compatibility. Did you try renaming the file back to cakewalk.exe and trying. If it doesnt work then something is still blocking the Windows services somehow. As mentioned, there are other apps that install hooks or tamper with Windows for nefarious purporses leading to issues like this.

This is the wrong forum to post information on Next

Error 20 means something on your PC is tampering with the system used to check the digital signature of the app. Most likely caused by running cracked software or your PC has been hacked by something. Look in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options Check for a value DevOverrideEnable set to 1 for that key. If its there delete it and reboot your machine and try again. Also sheck if cakewalk.exe is listed as a sub key underneath there with a value "debugger" or similar. If so, delete that as well.

@limpet if you cannot sign in then activation will not work. There have been zero changes to sign in for this release. Close your browser first and then click sign in in the help menu. If that doesn't launch a browser window then something on your system is blocking that (likely an AV setting) and you will have to resolve this issue first.

@Shinjiman did you try signing out and signing in again from the Help menu? After you sign in do you get any error message or does the web page accept your sign in? Please turn off any AV that could block the web page communicating with Cakewalk.

On the next discord channel. The discussion is there. This is the suggestions topic. https://discord.com/channels/1024921285953863700/1065147809805893712

Introduction This article only relates to legacy versions of SONAR distributed via the Steam platform. As of 2023 Sept, changes to the Steam platform and Cakewalk's website have caused compatibility problems with activation. Some symptoms of this are the SONAR app being in demo mode after installation from Steam or "communication problem with the server" error messages when trying to register the application. PS: These instructions are provided as a courtesy to users using legacy versions of Cakewalk that are no longer supported or maintained by us. No support or fixes are provided for these products. This article discusses how to resolve these and reactivate your software if necessary. Activation Steps: Open the Steam client and copy the serial number of the software you wish to activate. (Go to Manage | CD Keys to find it) Download and unzip SteamReg.zip which contains the latest version of SteamReg.exe for both 32 and 64 bit installations. Copy the appropriate flavor of SteamReg.exe to your Steam application's program folder. e.g for 64 bit SONAR it typically is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\x64\SONAR Note: The path may be different from above if you have installed Steam to a different folder. This will replace the existing file in that location. For Instruments (Rapture Pro/Z3TA+ 2), you'll want to place these in the folder with the microhost, the default for x64 Rapture Pro: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\x64\VstPlugins\Rapture Pro\ Open a command prompt (Start | Command Prompt) Type the following command, replacing <serialnumber> with your serial number as obtained in step 1. "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\x64\SONAR\SteamReg.exe" /SN <serialnumber> For Instruments, you would use the appropriate equivalent path. Here's how a successful entry for Rapture Pro would appear in Command Prompt: If step 5 succeeded with no errors, you may now open the application from the Steam client. When the app launches you should see the registration dialog prompting you for your e-mail address. NOTE: If you have previously registered the product with Cakewalk, its very important to enter the SAME email address you used before, otherwise the registration will fail. Your PC must be online for this step. The app should now be activated! The same steps may also be used to activate plugins from Steam such as Rapture. Note that if you reinstall the application, you will have to redo the above steps since Steam will restore the SteamReg file to the original version.

That is also a symptom of old third party software components expiring due to timeouts or certificate expiration. While we have kept the legacy back end in place as a courtesy, it no longer receives any updates so its subject to failures like this. This is one reason why we want users running the latest version of our software since that is the only version that is actively updated.