Messy Installation...but lessons learned

Hello Everybody!

PART 1 of 2:

I just installed my K4 and updated several instruments. I thought I'd share some lessons learned here. Maybe others will add their experiences under mine and maybe it will help new K4 users...

1) The whole K4 is a monster. It's 50 GB. So prepare yourself and your system! There will be nothing fast or convenient about installing this bugger unless you're only installing a couple of the applications. In which case, I'd ask you why you sprung for the wole ball of wax, but that's another matter entirely.

2) Determine how much HDD space you have, and make preparations! Issues to consider:

** Do you EVEN HAVE a partition big enough to hold the samples?

** Even if you do, make sure that you add a certain percentage of freespace to your requirements so that your defrag program will continue to function efficiently. Most defraggers like to have about 20% freespace on a volume, or they're unable to move things to their most efficient locations. So your sample partition, if it's only holding the K4 samples, should be approximately 60 GB in size...or larger.

** Do you have a backup media capabile of holding the backups of this additional 50 GB of data? Most disk imaging programs compress the backups to about 75% of the original size of the data, so this backup will take something around 37 GB of tape, CD's, DVDs, or what I use, a separate hard drive.

** Note that you can place the NI "standalone" programs in their own folders, and these can be kept separate from the VST, DXI, or RTAS folders, and all of these can be kept separate from your Library folders!

Why is this a consideration?

For those of us still using a 32-bit operating system, there's a limit to the amount of memory that the OS and the applicaton can see. Most XP systems max out at 2GB of memory, unless they use the "3 GB Switch" to increase that capacity. Even so, samples are memory intensive, and even 4 GB will fill up quickly for all but the smallest orchestral arrangements, etcetera.

By using DFD (Direct From Disk), you have the opportunity to let the instrument read the samples directly from your hard drive while you are playing or recording. This will conserve RAM and Swap file memory, and may possibly allow you to work with larger projects.

If you use DFD (which appears to be the default in K4), try to use a faster hard drive (7200 RPM or faster) for your sample library. If you choose to use memory instead (by disabling DFD), then the speed of the hard drive matters only when you're waiting for your samples to be initially loaded, not when you're playing your instrument or your project.

There's another reason to carefully consider where you're going to put your VSTi's. I subdivide my Cubase Vstplugin folders into catetories such as Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Orchestral, Pads, and a special one called "Noise."

That way, when I am looking for plugins in Cubase, I can go to DRUMS, and see Percussive Adventures, Battery 2, Battery 3, and Stormdrum (or whatever else). And if I go to my Cubase Vstplugins/Orchestra dropdown, I can easily find Garritan Personal Orchestra, East-West Gold, Kontakt and Reaktor. Kontakt and Reaktor can do more than just orchestral sounds, so they may also exist in my "Keyboards" folder, among others.

Yes, updating the DLLs on my system is a little more involved for me, but it's worth it because I have a nicely laid-out Vstplugins folder, which lets the creative muse work faster...

** On my system, life is easier during installs if I just disable my firewall first. Use your own judgement.

** When you run the installer on DVD1, it may take an extraordinarily long time for your system to load it into memory. It's a fat-@ss program, and there's really no way to make it go significantly faster, so try to be patient, and don't cancel it.

** I recommend running the installer on DVD1 first. Then move on to the remaining DVDs and copy the requisite libraries to your designated large "library" partition. This will take a long time, so bring a good book or your iPod to your installation session with you.

** When you get to the AkoustiK Piano sample DVDs, run the installers from the DVDs. They work fine, and will let you attend to other matters while they run.

=================
My Next Post will contain "Part 2: Copy Protection headaches and how to reduce the pain."

 

Part 2: Copy Protection headaches and how to reduce the pain.

============================================

** After you have completed the installation of all of the applications and their requisite sample libraries, you'll need to run the "Service Center Setup" program, on DVD1. You could put SC on before you copy your libraries, it doesn't matter. But you DO have to put SC on BEFORE any of the programs will run.

Editorial Comment: I hear you cussing under your breath about copy protection schemes. Yes, it's all that bad. Just remember, your buddies down the street who are using software that they burned to a CD? This is their fault. Send a few cusswords their way. Write them a terse email if it will make you feel better. Or best of all: Resolve to have the courage and guts to turn them down when they ask you to copy software or music for them.

** Before you do anything with the Service Center, make certain that your internet connection is alive and operational.

** Okay, after K4, the libraries, and the Service Center are installed, take the Service Center for a ride. Yes, when it says there's a new version, let it update. It only takes a moment.

** After the update, I believe you will have to go authorize your K4 instruments before you'll be able to download their updates. This is a hassle because...

SPECIAL NOTE: Some of the individual instruments will require "re-authorization" after applying an update (Akoustik Piano), and others will not (Battery3, Absynth 4).

Depending on your specific circumstances, it may not be so terrifying. I did not have any problems "re-authorizing" any of the instruments.

** The SC dialog is actually not all that bad. To see the updates, just click on "main menu" and go to "updates." Navigating in the SC is easy when you just remember to go to the "Main Menu" whenever you want to do something new.

When you use the SC to download your updates, you can download more than one update at a time. The SC manages all concurrent downloads fairly well. But you have to keep track of which updates went to which folders and/or which updates you have actually applied.

So stay organized. If you're the type of person who gets confused walking, talking, chewing gum, AND BREATHING all at the same time, then either do each download one-at-a-time or take good notes with pencil and paper.

** Applying the updates (Part 1): All of the updates that I applied consisted of a single EXE inside of a ZIP file, or an EXE not in a zip file. In other words, they were "one-piece" updates; hence, I was able to apply them without unzipping the downloads themselves.

** Applying the Updates (Part 2): Stay organized and alert. Pay attention to the prompts, so that you don't accidentally put the standalone instrunent's executable into your Vstplugins folder, or your library folders on your C: partition. Inattention during the install procedures will just make your job harder when one of your instruments can't find its library files.

** Applying the Updates (Part 3): Some updates will also force the SC to be updated. When this happens, go find your open Service Center application, and shut it down.

Reply "okay", "yes", or whatever other affirmative action is needed to let the installer "update" the Service Center. Don't panic when you read the next paragraph! Keep reading, and I'll help you through this..

Surprise, surprise, updating the Service Center will "backlevel" the SC!

Sloppiness on the part of NI? Absolutely, but I had problems when trying to prevent the SC updates from happening, so just put your hands up in the air in surrender to the all-wise NI and forge on. Besides, it's easy to circumvent. Please see the next item.

** Applying the Updates (Part 4): After applying an update that requires that the SC also be updated (backleveled), you should let the SC get updated (see part 3 above). When all updates are complete for that instrument, confirm that your internet connection is still alive and start the Service Center. The SC will "phone home" to the NI Mothership and tell you that there's a more current update available.

Roll your eyes, and let it update from the Mothership. Then open the Service Center and use it to re-authorize your just-updated instrument.

** Applying the Updates (Part 5): I suggest that after each product has been updated, you should consider starting that instrument. Test it out! Set up your ASIO and MIDI settings, and test a couple of patches. Fix any problems before you move on to the next instrument.

If you made any mistakes runnig the installers (or the update-installers) and ended up sending a file or a library to the wrong partition or the wrong folder, you'll very likely find out about your mistake the first time you start that instrument. Because of the commoon way that NI instruments are designed and programmed, most mislocated file problems are fairly easy to correct.

If it's a VST that went to the wrong folder or partition, just find and move the DLL to the correct "Vstplugins" folder manually. If it's a library, move it before you start the instrument for the first time; or optionally, "cancel" and shut down the instrument, then move the library before restarting the instrument.

One way to handle it for people less picky about library file locations would be to just respond to the startup prompts and define the library path to wherever your library went. You can also modify the library location via the "options" or "settings" dialog (sometimes in the "file" drop-down) to make corrections.

Then restart the instrument to be certain that it works.

====================

General Advice for testing your instruments:

When setting up your ASIO (in each instrument), use your sound card's ASIO driver if available.

When setting up your MIDI (in each instrument), pay attention to which MIDI interface you are using. For example, I have two MIDI interfaces, an old-fasioned one in my PCI sound card, and a new-fangled one via USB for my M-Audio controller keyboard.

If you have more than one MIDI interface, you'll need to access the "MIDI" tab on the settings screen and make the appropriate MIDI interfaces "visible" or "active" to the instrument.

Note that the above adjustments may have to be done for each NI instrument in your K4 package. I think NI should have automated this during the common installer on DVD1, but what's done is done...and you know how to fix it now, right?

=====================
For all of the complicated installation and licensing issues that may come up, my initial reaction to the K4 bundle is that it's a good update.

I am especially excited about the AkoustiK Piano sounds.

Focus on your tasks to be done, and stay organized, and I'm confident that you'll have success. =====================

Additional tips would be greatly appreciated. Good luck, folks.

 

Great advice. I have a similar scheme.

I was not aware that each update again required a re-authorisation via the control center (my DAW is NEVER connected to the internet). Is that true?

 

you do not need to install the service center again from the update installers! so you can easily avoid replacing a newer version with an older one.

best, henning

 

if you install a major update (e.g. FM7->FM8) you'll need to activate FM8. its a complete different application, with a different serial number, so it needs its own activation.

minor updates (maintenance updates) normally don't require their own activation.
however, for some of the recent universal binary updates, a new serial number is required, and thus a new activation.

you can perform an offline activation for several updates at the same time, so it should not require much more time than an online activation.

best, henning

 

Thanks for getting involved.

I have updated sequentially from K2 to K3 to K4 (in Nov 06) without problem to date. All the individual instruments were shown to be authorised by this SC in November (except for the K2 and K3 packages themselves). I'm pretty sure I did not update anything after January.

However, I did convert my C drive from FAT32 to NFTS, and was then unable to run most K3 instruments, but all K4 instruments (FM8, etc) and Massive were still authorised.

Of course my sequncers (nuendo and reaper) don't like all those nags and crash. So I am effectively prevented from working on that machine due to the NI behavior.

These are fully paid for, previously authorised versions which suddenly act weird. Because all of them say that the Sytem ID has changed, I am wary of reauthorising them because I don't want to lose an authorisation, which I expect will happen.

NI seriously needs to fix this. No other challenge-response programs do this (i.e. melodyne).

 

NI would be smart to NOT include any Service Center updaters at ALL within an update for one of the instruments. The instrument installer should prompt at the end of it's install routine to "download" the latest Service Center and then install it - but ONLY if:

A: The machine has no Service Center installed at all
B: If Service Center is already present - the installer should probe it to determine that in fact a newer version of Service Center is available and ask if the user if they would like to grab the new one or stay with what they have.

Including - what ends up to be an outdated Service Center in every instrument update is a complete waste of time and space in the archives.

 

Vocalpoint is right, the updates should not attempt to update the Service Center except in certain instances. The update installers are obviously not working correctly.

I had a problem with one update that failed when I responded "no" to the SC update dialog. So from then on, having had my hand slapped once, I responded "yes" to the update/downdate dialog, and "yes" again later on when SC needed to be "re-updated" to get to the correct, most current, version.

Whatever the case may be, the prompts are confusing to the user, even somebody with computer experience and know-how such as myself. I agree that NI should re-assess the logic of all these SC updates.

And on another matter, I am very concerned about all of the "re-authorization" problems that people have been having. I may be building a new DAW later this summer with 8 CPU cores. Am I going to have problems during the installs and re-re-re-update processes? Am I going to have to wait for days or weeks to get reauthorizations worked out with the NI support people?

I certainly hope that things are a little better organized by 3rd Quarter this year.

 

If you're changing out everything - motherboard and all, it should work out.

I've had problems just changing a broken hard disk (others have had same problem it seems), but I think you should be OK.

I don't blame you for being nervous though given the problems I've had over the last couple of weeks.

 

This is a GREAT idea -