No "SSO" account--anyone have Sonar 8.5 Producer updates 8.5.2 and 8.5.3?

[Guy Lesser]

Long story of course. . . . But the short version is I own, registered, and have discs and serial numbers for half a dozen versions of Sonar Producer bought through 2011, and failed to create an SSO account. The hard drive of my old computer began to fail a few months ago, and I'm now in process of doing a clean install on an old but sound ThinkPad running W7 to be able to work on about 10 years of projects recorded, edited, and eventually mixed with 8.5.3.

From what I can tell, both Producer specific updates remain available on the archived Sonar "legacy" website. But to download either you need to have updated your old Sonar account to SSO between 2014-2017 (and cannot do so now). Cakewalk customer service apparently claims they have no workaround. 

So my hope is either that someone might (1) have the downloads in a form they can send me; (2) has a SSO account (and would be merciful and get me the updates); or (3) can tell me if there is some way I can copy whatever I need from my old computer.  And of course warn me if I'm missing something here.

Customer service (as well as the archived Registration FAQ) says that I should not have any problems with the Cakewalk's old 30-Day registration deadline, and that my discs should allow to install and permanently activate my copy of 8.5 Producer.  But of course, as I remember, the two updates improved things considerably.  The Thinkpad is running W7 flawlessly, so I am very reluctant to update the OS to a newer version--and  that rules out the current freeware on offer. 

Any help or advice very much appreciated! 

  

  

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Guy Lesser
clarity

[Byron Dickens]

Why in God's name do you want to run 14 year old software when so many improvements have been made and you can get them at no cost to you?

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Byron Dickens

[Guy Lesser]

5 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said:

Why in God's name do you want to run 14 year old software when so many improvements have been made and you can get them at no cost to you?

 

Perfectly sensible reaction. For me it's not just software I'd need to replace but my E/MU 1616m sound card/mixer, and with it a computer capable of running something more recent than W7, and then quite possibly a host of plug-ins. For me a working copy of Sonar Producer 8.5.3 is a far simpler, likely foolproof solution that will accomplish a narrow goal: allowing me to play and edit tracks recorded and worked on by a number of people a decade ago--now and in future.  

[msmcleod]

FWIW - I can run SONAR Platinum on a Dell Vostro 1700 laptop (Intel Core Duo at 2.2Ghz with 4GB Ram) on Windows 7 32 bit, and CbB on Windows 10 64 bit on the same machine (it's a dual boot).

I have zero problems recording 16 simultaneous tracks, while playing back 32 tracks.

Obviously there's a limit to how many VST's I can use, but I've found the ProChannel and Sonitus FX to be very light on CPU - and in any case, the Sonitus FX are exactly the same as they were in Sonar 8.5.

I've not seen any noticeable performance difference between Sonar 8.5 and CbB - in fact, in anything, there have been optimizations since 8.5 which make it slightly more efficient.

I've also had no issues loading Sonar 8.5 projects into CbB - although to be fair, I did convert most of them at the time of SONAR X3.

[Guy Lesser]

Many thanks Mark for your thoughtful, thorough reply.  If or when I update my laptop's OS to Window 10, I am totally aboard with downloading CbB. But right now I'd strongly prefer sticking with W7 which is running flawlessly with my 1616M audio interface on a clean install. And then proceed step by incremental step and troubleshoot as necessary with beasts and devils I already know. As I said in my original post, I dearly wish I'd opened an SSO when that was an option--in which case I'd have instant access to the two 8.5 updates. But customer service and everything I've read on the website says that that ship sailed long ago. Hence my somewhat peculiar request. 

 

Again, many thanks.

   

[msmcleod]

2 hours ago, Guy Lesser said:

Many thanks Mark for your thoughtful, thorough reply.  If or when I update my laptop's OS to Window 10, I am totally aboard with downloading CbB. But right now I'd strongly prefer sticking with W7 which is running flawlessly with my 1616M audio interface on a clean install. And then proceed step by incremental step and troubleshoot as necessary with beasts and devils I already know. As I said in my original post, I dearly wish I'd opened an SSO when that was an option--in which case I'd have instant access to the two 8.5 updates. But customer service and everything I've read on the website says that that ship sailed long ago. Hence my somewhat peculiar request. 

 

Again, many thanks.

   

If it's Windows 7 64 bit, then CbB should work fine.  It's not officially supported any more so you'll get a warning on setup.

In the future there will come a time when we're forced to use Windows 10 API calls to support newer features, but for now Windows 7 is working fine.

[John Vere]

I run the latest version on Cakewalk on a W 7 laptop I use for live keyboards as a VST host. It also has no problems at all playing projects.  Only if there’s a missing VST as I have not really loaded it up with much other than what I require for live playing and backing tracks. The laptop is 2008 4 gigs of ram. I only turn on the internet to update Cakewalk a few times a year.   
My plan was to use it with Cakewalks  playlist for live performance but I am now using videos for my songs and that rules out Cakewalk. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by John Vere

[Guy Lesser]

Thanks again to everyone.  And especially glad to know the current Cakewalk runs smoothly on W7. 

[Aaron Roberts]

As a blind user of cake walk sonar 8.5 using the adaptive Scripps made by Dancing Dots called Cake Talking I need the 8.5.2 update. I can’t find it anywhere doesn’t seem like this thread resolve that but perhaps someone knows the answers. Any help would be very very appreciated!

[TracingArcs]

8.5.3 is still on my Music PC on W10 (only because of a number of vst/I and just occasional going back into old stuff.) But projects (back to Sonar 2.0) opens in CWB no problem (well maybe some complaints about missing vst etc). But there is no comparison. CWB is so much better

Edited November 13, 2023 by TracingArcs

[John Vere]

@TracingArcs   You are aware that it's still illegal to even give away the software. Not that is matters because Cakewalk is free but you just shouldn't have said it publicly. You can always PM other members. 

Also you can get in touch with Bandlab and they will help long time members get at their legacy Cakewalk products. They still had access to the old servers.  I wouldn't drag my heals because that might change as they obviously are now using a different server. 

Edited November 12, 2023 by John Vere

[User 905133]

Not sure, but try here.

[TracingArcs]

11 hours ago, John Vere said:

@TracingArcs   You are aware that it's still illegal to even give away the software. Not that is matters because Cakewalk is free but you just shouldn't have said it publicly. You can always PM other members. 

Also you can get in touch with Bandlab and they will help long time members get at their legacy Cakewalk products. They still had access to the old servers.  I wouldn't drag my heals because that might change as they obviously are now using a different server. 

Thanks John. i was uncertain to be honest (hence why I asked about the original DVD installations). Have edited my response.