Windows 7 future Activation? -Will CbB stop activating in the future if I don't update any further than my current version?

[KRob]

Hello.  I have CbB installed  on two computers, one has Win 10 and is up to date and works perfectly.  Another is an older Win 7 64bit system that has CbB Version2020.01 (build28,64 bit) and continues to work perfectly for me.  I've had this music only computer for a long time and its still works well.  

I have a lot of older software that was originally installed  on the Win 7 system only, that I still want to use .

I'm not going to update this machine to Win 10 due to the older software.

Will the Win 7 version just stop working one day as it wont activate?  Notes  for release 2023.09 say Bandlab assistant will no longer be used to activate the product.

 I don't know if there will be an offline activation option for older systems?

I don't require future "support" for the Win 7 machine. Only that it continues to function as is.

I don't care about updates on the Win 7 machine but I'd like to continue to use it without any activation issues. 

Does anyone know if there will be an option made available or a way to keep older systems functioning if updates aren't required?

Hoping someone has some incite

Long time cakewalk supporter and user. Appreciate all the Cakewalk team has done for us all. Much appreciated.

[Promidi]

All versions of Cakewalk by Bandlab prior to 2023.09 will eventually cease to activate, regardless of what OS you are running.

[msmcleod]

To a certain extent, I'm in the same boat.  I have a lot of older software (mainly hardware synth patch editors) that have 16-bit components, so I have to run them on Windows 7 32 bit; I also have some software that only works on Windows 7 64 bit.

The way I got around this was to have a dual (actually quad) boot.

On the same machine, I've got:

SSD #1:  Windows 10 64 bit - DAW boot,  Windows 7 64 bit,  Data partition
SSD #2:  Windows 10 64 bit - Development boot
SSD #3:  Windows 7 32 bit
SSD #4:  Projects

When I start my PC, I get a boot menu to choose which operating system to boot with.

My Data Partition holds any sample libraries that things VST's like Kontakt use.  The drive letter is the same for all of my OS's, so there's only one copy of the samples that is used by all OS's.

So the easiest way to solve your issue is to install Windows 10 on a new drive, leave your Windows 7 drive as is, and edit your boot menu so you can choose between them when you boot up.

The only downside to this approach is licensing.

Some plugins may see your different boots as separate machines, so you'll be using an additional license for them; others are clever enough to realise you're actually using the same machine.
 

[John Vere]

I have 2 laptops that are stuck in W7 due to age. I hate tossing out stuff that still works. And like others there’s also software, a CD printer and one audio interface stuck back there as well. 
I only use the one old Sony for music playback at gigs but I also put Cakewalk on it in an attempt to try using the playlist feature.  I just updated to the latest and final version no problem.  So Cakewalk still works on W7.

Your best bet is to do the same so you’ll get more time. All older versions will time out real fast but the last version we are told will carry on until they decide we’ve had enough time to transition to Sonar.  

[KRob]

Thanks for the responses. Appreciate any insights.

 

Regarding this comment by Promidi:

"All versions of Cakewalk by Bandlab prior to 2023.09 will eventually cease to activate, regardless of what OS you are running."

Is  the 2023.09 update compatible with Win 7?   Or am I locked at my current version: 2020.01 (build28,64 bit)? Which I like and have no issue with.

Not sure how much longer It will keep running until it deactivates? 

Hoping some workaround is provided to keep those with older systems functional without updates.

 I'm not really able to do the dual boot Win /10 idea but I appreciate the suggestion!

The licensing issue of the dual boot is the reason I'm hoping to keep my old version functional.

 

As for the future, I see the suggested specs on the website  for the new Sonar says  "Windows 10 or higher" 

I imagine the new Sonar it wont run on Win 7 even as a purchased product? It does say "Suggested specs" but It would be nice to know if it would function on 7 so we could keep things going as needed on those machines.

 

I sadly purchased Sonar platinum for GC a few months before  it became free. I had no idea at the time.

The thought of having to purchase another Sonar at full price is no fun. Hoping there is some relief for those of us previous owners. But I understand they don't owe us anything since it wasn't there product at the time.

 

 

 

 

[KRob]

Thanks John. Appreciate the information. I'll look at trying to update to the latest.  

I need to read the posts on Win 7 updates. I think I've seen some have issue with it?

I know that's relative to each machine some work , some have issues.

 

Appreciate the feedback.

 

Best wishes.

[KRob]

John,

 

Hi. I opened Bandlab assistant to install the last final update for the Win 7 machine. Blab assistant  shows "Update available"  When I ran it the progress bar showed (0/0) and just blinked and nothing happened.

I tried "Check for update" in the cakewalk program. I launched it and it came back as "cant update at this time"

 

Is the installer for the final update available separately somewhere that  I could download and install manually?

[msmcleod]

I had no issues updating / installing / authenticating CbB 2023.09 on Windows 7, although I did get the usual "not supported" warning dialog when installing the update.  My Windows 7 install has the all the latest Windows 7 updates.

I didn't experience any issues running CbB 2023.09 on Windows 7 either, although to be fair it was a very quick smoke-test.

The new Sonar will NOT install on Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1.   The new High Dpi / scalable UI support relies on features only available in Windows 10 and above.

 

[HIBI]

1 hour ago, KRob said:

Is the installer for the final update available separately somewhere that  I could download and install manually?

Download and run Cakewalk Installer instead of BandLab Assistant.
Cakewalk Installer can be found at https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk

Edited November 2, 2023 by HIBI

[John Vere]

I keep W7 up to date for what it’s worth. I rarely  enable the internet but when I do there always seems to be an update. I think the updates are just for  software related things like MS Office. 

You don’t use the Bandlab Assistant anymore. You update from the help menu.  

And yes there’s a warning. 
 

The authorization process has been troublesome for many people and I found you need to be patient. The server seems slow to respond sometimes.  

[Kevin Roberts]

John,

 

Hi. Thank you. I'll let go away from Bandlab assistant from now on.

When you say from the "Help menu", you mean  the help menu  inside cakewalk I assume?

When I try that I get the attached message:  "Connection Error - Could not check for updates. Please try again later"

Is this the correct help menu for the update, from inside calkwalk?   Could be a serve issue if I'm in the right place.

I've never had any issue with updates in the past. Hopefully its a serve issue on there end that gets corrected.

 

HIBI advsied above  to install the installer from Calkwalk.  Does that require me to uninstall the current version and do a complete reinstall? 

Does uninstall of my current version delete all the project files and settings? Is there a way to not uninstall project files? 

Appreciate everyone assistance.

 

 

[HIBI]

22 minutes ago, Kevin Roberts said:

When you say from the "Help menu", you mean  the help menu  inside cakewalk I assume?

When I try that I get the attached message:  "Connection Error - Could not check for updates. Please try again later"

I suspect that your currently installed version of Cakewalk is too old for the update to work from the help menu.

If I remember correctly, you can run the Cakewalk Installer to overwrite install the latest version without uninstalling. (Sorry if I'm misremembering...)

[John Vere]

Project files are independent of software. 

[Kevin Roberts]

Thanks again.

 

So Is HIBI correct in stating to run the latest update, that I've downloaded (CakewalkSetup.exe) from the Bandlab.com site and it will update  my version 2020.01 to 2023.09?

Or Do I have to uninstall 2020.01 then install what i'm assuming is 2023.09?

 

It dosent specify the version number of the set up file.  I don't want to run it and mess up the working version I have unless it will actually perform the update to the latest.

 

Thank you all for your patience in assisting me.  I hope its helpful to others with  similar issues/questions.

 

[msmcleod]

24 minutes ago, Kevin Roberts said:

Thanks again.

 

So Is HIBI correct in stating to run the latest update, that I've downloaded (CakewalkSetup.exe) from the Bandlab.com site and it will update  my version 2020.01 to 2023.09?

Or Do I have to uninstall 2020.01 then install what i'm assuming is 2023.09?

 

It dosent specify the version number of the set up file.  I don't want to run it and mess up the working version I have unless it will actually perform the update to the latest.

 

Thank you all for your patience in assisting me.  I hope its helpful to others with  similar issues/questions.

The new setup file is a "bootstrap" installer - i.e. it automatically detects the latest version available, downloads it, and installs it.

You should be able to safely run the 2023.09 update from any previous version of CbB, although if you're installing on Windows 7, it is technically not supported.  None of your existing settings will be altered.

[mark skinner]

I'm running the 2023 last update on Win 7 with No problems ,  although I had a few problems getting it installed . 

It's a punch in the gut though , reading that the new Sonar version won't install on my PC.  I guess it's time for another SSD and an OS upgrade.      #*%$$!  ..         

[mark skinner]

6 hours ago, msmcleod said:

The new Sonar will NOT install on Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1.   The new High Dpi / scalable UI support relies on features only available in Windows 10 and above.

Thanks Mark for posting this.   It For Sure should have been mentioned before now ..  I may have missed it  , but I don't think so ..    ms

[Kevin Roberts]

Thank you everyone for your feedback and assistance. I'll give the latest  installer a try on Win7 and see what I get. Hopefully all goes well for this final update.

I'll be back with more questions  if I run into any isuues.

I guess some of us learned something, I'm also sorry  to hear no Sonar available on Win 7 but I can use it on my Win 10 machine.

Hoping this final update doesn't authorize its self  out of service so I wont have to try Reaper on the Win7 machine just to keep the plugins alive.

 

Thanks again for all the support and best wishes to all.

 

 

 

[Kevin Roberts]

Hello All.  I installed 2023.09 from the installer.

At start up, after plugin scan, one error message says "Not Activated Please sign in to your Bandlab account to activate Cakewalk" - "The requested service requires an internet connection

 

When I  try the "Sign into bandlab from the cakewalk help menu I get the following message: "Cannot reach internet" - "The requested service requires an internet connection. Please check your internet connection, or firewall settings and try again."

 

Hoping someone can help as now I can no longer run cakewalk on my win 7 machine.

Well, i have an internet connection, I'm logged into Bandlab from my browser so my internet is working as usual.

Never had a firewall issue in the past but it is off so that should'nt be an issue. 

Is there a work around for the activation or this internet not found issue?

Is there still an offline activation option?

Appreciate anything anyone can do to help.

 

If not, is there Any way to reinstall the last working version? All was working this morning before the update attempt.

 

[mark skinner]

FWIW, "Yes" you can still run Cakewalk by Bandlab on your Win 7 machine. It's the new Sonar ,  that's not yet released that will Not work on Win 7.

[John Vere]

Reboot your computer. A couple of times if you have to. 
Read my post from yesterday at 11 AM.