Misha Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 It is not about me learning "something new" or even about unlikely doomsday scenario.... It is about having a backup of the program that can run all the files from 19 years back till now, so I can put it on shelf and forget about, until a day comes. For example, 2 weeks ago I unearthed a project from 17 years ago, and thankfully it did open just fine, and I was able to keep some parts and re-do others. I just want to have a piece of mind that I would be able to open same files 10-15 years into the bright future. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstrEd Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Oh, gotcha. That I have to agree with you on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Borthwick Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 One thing I can assure you is that Cakewalk is the only DAW that can open project files that date back 20 years We still maintain compatibility with the old .wrk format. I just fixed a couple of issues with loading some old files in the last version. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstrEd Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Thanks Noel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bapu Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 4 hours ago, InstrEd said: @Misha I don't think that will work that way. I think if you are that concerned, learn a couple of other DAW's in case CbB does fold. Several of us did that when Gibson shut Cakewalk down. I'm back with CbB but have a couple other DAW's. I have learned that each DAW have some pluses and minuses. Yep. And.... azslow created an excellent (and free) converter from CbB (.cwp only though IIRC) to Reaper. I did some of my more complex projects (audio and some MIDI) and it worked a treat. If Cakewalk had really died/disappeared/stopped working, that was my backup plan tp get my old projects alive again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBH Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 AS far backwards compatibility. Many of my early projects were created in Sonar 2 and I worked with that until just about 6 months before Gibson bailed. I had purchased Sonar Pro at that time and found that after Installing CbB ( which was compatible with SPLAT ) I was able to open a CbB ( Splat ) file in Sonar Pro and it opened and played perfectly - minus a few Pro channel plug updates. I do wish I had a few more of the Splat version Pro Channel modules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 Ok, a question from a different angle on the topic. What if... I get new HD, install Windows+Cakewalk+my projects on it., turn off computer, take out hard drive. Leave it on a shelf. Assuming hardware part works (comp. + HD) will Cakewalk run in 10 years, or it will try to re-authorize based on time? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Walton Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 1 hour ago, Misha said: Ok, a question from a different angle on the topic. What if... I get new HD, install Windows+Cakewalk+my projects on it., turn off computer, take out hard drive. Leave it on a shelf. Assuming hardware part works (comp. + HD) will Cakewalk run in 10 years, or it will try to re-authorize based on time? Thank you. Current version has to authorize to the server (or go into demo mode) something like every 6 months. I don't know the code written into it, but I'm betting that scenario would not work. Also you mentioned saving your projects as Cakewalk Bundles. I'm far from an expert there, but if you are a doomsday theorist, saving in a fully closed proprietary format probably not the best route. Maybe save each project with stems both processed and unprocessed. Those could be imported into any other DAW. The fact I've opened Cakewalk projects from 17 years ago gives me some confidence in what they are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 " but if you are a doomsday theorist" I am far from that I have a few dozen of projects from years back saved as bundles, other things saved as standard Cakewalk files (project folder). I am not too crazy to spend endless hours on conserving things unorthodox way (saving all stems for example) , just looking for the most efficient and fastest way to backup active program and my projects up to date, even if it is tied t to specific machine. It would be logical in my opinion to offer such "backup" option for BandLab, at least for the previous paid "Gibson" versions. P.S. Here is where some of my logic comes from. A few years back I used ipad and and app Cubasis for recording. I made about 20+ tunes with this setup. Later, I decided to go back to Cakewalk way of things. I got rid of ipad, but had a dilemma what to do with all multi track projects. I was never a fan of Cubase (which opens Cubasis files), and spending money on full flagged software just to be able to go into older project was complete nonsense. Well, to bypass headache, I bought cheap Cubase elements or SE for PC... I do not remember exact title,. The point is, it is backed up to USB flash drive and if I need to open a project in some years ahead, I have it all in one place, and it would take me minutes to install program, locate and open specific project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 Not trying to go too much off-topic (even if this IS the Coffee House! LOL), but there are some theories out there that have scientific merit and a few political ones that, if they happen, we might not be caring much about our saved songs (pole shift, increased solar flare activity, intentionally created WWIII, UN Agenda 21, etc.). That said, I think you can only give it your best effort. Note that this is coming from a guy who bought a Panasonic PD (Phase Digital) writer when they first came out because the media was supposed to keep your data safe for 30 years. I had all my tunes, projects and notes for the future on one disk securely locked in a fire-proof, water-proof safe. Then my main computer died thanks to lightning hitting a transformer right outside my apartment, taking the hard drives with it. After buying and setting up a new computer, I then tried to restore my saved work only to find that: A) my PD drive had also been fried, B) they weren't being made any more, and C) data recovery businesses didn't have one either... Now I have (what little I have left) saved in multiple places, including the cloud, but primarily on a "frozen in time" server running Windows XP and SONAR Producer 4 that isn't connected to the internet. *Sigh...* So, my recommendation is to not only keep the projects and audio, but keep all of the details separately using spreadsheets or other documents (with printed copies) so that you can recreate things from scratch if the World gets turned up on its head and the new storage medium includes three dimensional placement in crystals (the supposed "Record Keepers" from Atlantis). ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 Craig, the "doomsday" in the topic is a satire....kind of. I back up projects once a month or so to external drive and about once a year to a separate flash drive. Microsoft has a neat program SyncToy. You define internal / external folders and it is a one click operation to backup things. What was the last version of Cakewalk (Sonar) that allowed offline authorization? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Vogel Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 On 10/24/2019 at 4:09 AM, Misha said: Still does not answer specific question I asked... C'mon guys and gals, stay focused, it is really not that difficult. 90% was answered by Noel, the last 10% is, will a cloned HD with active Cakewalk will work on same machine clone was made from without server authorization/offline? Thank you. I’m pretty sure that cloning a drive will not circumvent the need to contact the server every 6 months. I just think this would have been big news in a lot of computing areas and we would have heard about it. HOWEVER: If it was me that was so concerned I would conduct an experiment. 1. Create a cloned Drive making sure to record the date. 2. 6 months and 1or more day/s from that date, restore your system with the cloned drive and see if CbB goes into Demo mode. Of course make a backup so you can flip back to your “current” system at that time. 3. Report back here to tell us the wonderful or not wonderful news. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Like Noel, Craig, Michael, Brian said... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 Well, seems nobody answered my question about the last program that allowed for completely offline registration, so I will give a partial answer myself. I found my old Sonar X1 DVD(Roland ver), I believe from 2011, which had offline registration, installed it on backup laptop, brought in current project (Oct 2019) and it opened just fine. Enough to pull stems if needed. Unless Bandlab allows for older (2017) paid software to be authorized same way, this will be my "offline" backup of program+projects. I like Cakewalk very much, and just hope that it will never become one of those "monthly subscription only" things. One of the last pieces of puzzle for me that got fixed by Noel and crew was issue were take lanes were recorded on muted take lanes. Cakewalk does 99% of what I need from DAW, all new features and fixes are just "dessert" to me. I do wish there was a mechanism to roll back & backup versions, in case possible "new" feature decides to interfere with workflow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Your question isn't a common scenario and I think that's why no one has given a concrete answer. Have you tried contacting Cakewalk directly in regards to this? They would be the best option in getting a clear answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstrEd Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 In the meantime.......... care to play a game of chess ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 45 minutes ago, InstrEd said: In the meantime.......... care to play a game of chess ? I love chess!! Do you play? I play on Chess.com (phone & PC). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misha Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 Sure. I am a weak player, but before that we need to ask Bakers to add "chess game room" to the forum... otherwise this thread will become longer than it needs to be 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesh Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Welcome to the Coffee House! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wibbles Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 14 minutes ago, Mesh said: Welcome to the Coffee House! What's a fred about a DAW without a few conspiracy theories chucked in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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