Total Off Line Install

[Mark D.]

I recently reinstalled Windows 10 and all programs. I had Gibson's final Sonar Platinum & downloaded and got BandLab Cakewalk going now, with some issues that works now.

1) Do we know how long the formerly Gibson Sonar Command Center page will stay active? If I have to do this again in 2 years I'll need to run it to re-authorize / install plug ins.
2) I've copied and saved (took a screen capture) of all my serials (as an image file) to have if needed. They don't help with on-line or even off line authorizations I believe though.
3) I wonder if there is a 3rd way, to have those tweaked somehow to allow direct serial number authorizations, especially if that Command Center page will ever get shut down.

I had Acronis 2019 latest version. In 2018- 2017 the older versions fully restored my OS drive without reboot in one click, quickly, flawlessly. Those idiots couldn't keep up with Windows Updates I guess. There was no one-button solution, but either opening and restoring certain things to certain places to do a full restore, and upon calling their horrible tech support, they said my doing it without reboot could be the reason why it failed. I did it on reboot with thumb drive but that was long, tedious, selecting various things vs. the single click solution. It still failed. Even a later quick update of the new OS with almost nothing on it failed. I mean BSOD, not "oh nothing happened". They had catastrophically & completely hosed my system with just a simple restore attempt (which is what their whole purpose is, you had one job, ONE JOB Acronis). So I'll be done with them entirely now.

I'm just saying that, it's not a question. I warning to others not to bother with Acronis. I will be getting Macrium Reflect full paid to replace it, as that has a much better reputation.
 

[mdiemer]

Agreed, Macrium is a much better option. You should never have to worry about CbB, as a free program it should always be activatable. If Bandlab should stop offering it, you theoretically could run your latest version indefinitely. There is an issue about it needing to phone home every six months, but that can be gotten around by fooling your computer as to what the date is. I don't know about Platinum, but since CbB is Platinum, minus some of the plugins (which you however have from Platinum), there is no need to run Platinum. I have sonar 8.5 as my latest pre-Bandlab version, so I can authorize it forever offline with serial numbers. So I figure I'm covered. I know I can go back to 8.5 in the event Bandlab does not work anymore. But not everyone can do that, it depends on what you do with musically. Fortunately, there will always be other DAWS to turn to. I think you are doing all you need to. Others here will chime in I'm sure re: Platinum strategies, but like I said, if you have CbB and your Platinum plugins, you have Platinum anyway. And updated regularly to boot.

[Mark D.]

Thanks for the response. I have 8.5 also and it's running in a laptop for safety. I just know if I had to re-install things like Rapture Session (which is amazing!) I would need to use the Command Center or the thing where you off line upload something and then get back a response. If the old site as a whole vanishes, there is no other way for a user to activate it, since there is no "insert a serial number".  That sucks since I HAVE all the serial numbers and should be able to just put them in. If Noel and company in the future found a way to send out a simple updater that would give all of them a little button you click on the GUI when the VST is open that lets you insert a serial, then we could just put those in if we had to re-install. Also we'd need actual install files, if they're not housed on a website to go get. I'd really like to be able to download them.

[John Vere]

During the in between time after the Gibson shutdown (Nov-Dec 2017)  and before we were told about Bandlab  if you go to the old forum there was a lot of threads about this. 

The basic back up plan looked like this:

Update everything in the CCC and make multiple back ups of all the installers found in the Command centers download folder. 

We also obtained codes form a few of the 3rd party VST's like Overloud. I think there were others. 

XLN and Melodyne have there own codes and are not a problem. 

But the one thing never resolved was there would be no way to authorize the versions of Sonar that used CCC in the future if the Gibson /Cakewalk servers were killed.  Only versions X3e and back used the codes that we can use forever.  SPlat needs that server and still does.  Even the offline method involves this same server.  

 

Because CbB came along  and solved this problem, we all moved on and for the most part it is not an issue UNLESS Bandlab  goes down. 

It's up to the individual if your to worry about this , myself I'm not. Worse case scenario is I'd use CbB until it goes into demo mode.   Then I would be back to using Splat until the 4 computers I have it installed on died. Then I guess I'm back to X3e ( OMG)  or, Cubase?  Music would still be made. 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Cactus Music

[abacab]

It's a question asked many time before, but answered with nothing but assurances from @Noel Borthwickand company that there are no plans to shut down the legacy servers. BandLab has ownership of them now. So if BandLab goes down, it all does.

As  @Cactus Music says, is it worth worrying about? I have installers and registration codes for Sonar 8 thru X3, so I figure I'm good with legacy projects.

As far as system disk imaging goes, I give hundreds of "plus 1's" to Macrium Reflect. It's awesome, and very user friendly!

As long as you have an image of a machine with Sonar or Cakewalk that has been activated, you should be good to go as long as you are restoring that image on the same hardware. But if your hardware ever dies, or you ever buy a new computer, you will need to re-activate. Then all bets are off  if the activation servers are offline. I'm good with that, because I don't think Noel & co. will leave us hanging if it ever comes to that.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2019 by abacab