I wonder if it's an Operating System related issue.
For example, perhaps it works on Windows 7 but not on Windows 10?
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
The reason I asked is because it's apparently worked for Kent, but not others.
I'm not sure how much W7 'compatibility mode' might restrict a driver installation.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
I GIVE UP .... was checking (Tweaking Com's Windows repair) all windows basic installer functions and more, SFC found errors, all repaired, switched off firewalls and antivirus .... No Go, only a PDF955 shows up in Control Panel. As Kent suggested to install it from there it seemed not to be installed .... F
So PDF995 is showing up in the Control Panel, but Band-in-a-Box doesn't see it? It seems like it's partially installed then. At least part of it must be on your computer, which may be blocking reinstallations from working.
I'd try running CCleaner, and see if it still shows up in the Programs and Features list after that. This could just be a registry issue, and this could fix it.
Done all that, also shop-lifted (edited) the registry for pdf955 (or PD955 as the BIAB pop-up, see OP above) entries. Even used the paid CCleaner (pro version). I guess it has to do with some missing windows (permissions?) setting. BTW i used Tweaking.com's Windows Repair on all sorts of possible installer issues. Afraid though to turn it loose on permissions.
BUT EUREKA: Thanks Kent, you made me re-think: got it working. Switched to my Administrator account. Installed from there, running as administrator probably wasn't enough LoL. F
I've never used a non-admin account on my own computer, so that didn't even occur to me. You'll definitely want to be logged in as an administrator when installing and troubleshooting installations.
I'm pretty sure that "running as administrator" is only going to give you as many privileges as your user account allows. If your account has administrator equivalence, then running as administrator gives you full administrative access. If your account has anything less than that, you'll only get up to the max of what your account allows (just short of full administrative privilege).
I've always made my account administrator equivalent, as I'm the only one that uses the computer anyway, and I'm the guy installing all the software and updates. Perhaps a security risk, but I also have my firewall, anti-virus, and anti-malware running to help in that regard.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
In the earlier days of Windows the standard advice was to create an administrator account but also a ‘normal/limited’ account for your everyday use, and I’m talking about the situation John just mentioned where only one person uses that computer. More recently, and especially in the case of BIAB, I’ve found I might as well just log in as an administrator-level account all the time.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
I've never used a non-admin account on my own computer, so that didn't even occur to me. You'll definitely want to be logged in as an administrator when installing and troubleshooting installations.
Cheers Kent PG Music
Was always warned against doing that, and subsequently had to use 'take ownership' assigning my 'adapted' user account and even use edited security settings on specific installations and editing options. Kind of habit since i started using windows (89,XP).
Now this is important (for me): do you all think i should switch to a full administrator account from now on? Never had such problems before, especially with PG stuff, 'running as administrator' was often the advice here in this forum LoL. One won't needing that anymore i understand then. My user account has been always 'set' for administrator privileges .... F
Just remember, being an administrator and running as administrator are two different things. The first is the rights you have on the computer; the second is the rights the application has on the computer. I think as long as you are prudent about how you use your computer, you should not have a problem having your regular account as administrator equivalent. I just make sure I keep anti-virus up to date, firewall on, do regular data backs, and do regular boot drive images to easily recover in the event of catastrophe.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
Exactly, I run as admin at all times, but I'm also careful about where I click and what I install. When I use a limited account, my computer sometimes doesn't do what I tell it to, which I don't want when trying to work on tunes. I also keep User Account Control turned off on my home computer, but that might not be the safest thing for all users.
At the very least, I'd make sure I'm using an admin account when troubleshooting installations.
By the way, I found out about the ads in PDF995. It runs as a fully licensed version, but only when used with PG Music programs. If you use it as a PDF writer in other applications, you'll see ads and that's normal, so might want to keep another PDF writer installed for those situations.
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