Subject:No FX in 4.0

Posted by: Skeetch

Date:9/18/2002 5:35:53 PM

Just upgraded to the full version of Acid 4.0 (build 215) from 3.0. Installation seemed to go fine and when I fire up Acid I get no error messages. First clue that something's weird was when I opened any .acd file from the Acid 4.0 Contect CD.

As the file loads, it stops at a certain point and shows a dialog box containing the following message:

"An error occurred while loading the project file. Certain features are not available in this version of Acid."

There's an OK button and a Details button. Upon clicking the Details button, I'm presented with a list of the various track effects (usually EQ) that could not be loaded

OK. So I create a project from scratch using my own samples that worked fine in 3.0. I'm able to add the sample with no problems. Then I go into assignable effects and choose an effect to add to the track. In the Sonic Foundry folder, I see all the various effets that came with 4.0. When I click any of them and try to then add it to the track, I get the message:

"The Plug-in <name of any effect I choose> failed to load. Please make sure the plug-in is properly installed."

I notice that there seem to be a number .cab files in the main Acid 4.0 folder that look like they haven't been extracted yet. There's even one called TRKFX.CAB - which appears to the cab file for the track effects. And, yes, I did try re-installing Acid but get the same problem.

So my question - anyone know where these cab files are supposed to be extracted to? Do they go in the main Acid folder, or are other folders created when they're installed and extracted? Double clicking any of these cab files offers me a choice to extract them but I'm not sure where they go. Can I just create the folders?

Thanks for any help.

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: MyxMaster

Date:9/18/2002 6:59:29 PM

What's up, Skeetch. I'm experiencing the same problem, but I'm not going to do anything until I can speak to a tech guy. If you find out anything, let me know. As soon I have the solution, I'll post it on the forum.

Peace.

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: CDM

Date:9/18/2002 7:02:02 PM

my recommendation is to uninstall completely 4.0 and 3.0. There have been various reports of 4.0 working a LOT better without 3.0 on the system. Then I would reinstall 4.0.

This shouldn't harm anything.

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: MyxMaster

Date:9/18/2002 7:04:13 PM

I purchase an upgrade from 3.0 to 4.0. Will the app I downloaded install 4.0 without 3.0?

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: SonyNateM

Date:9/18/2002 7:24:51 PM

Hi all,

Yes, the 4.0 installer is standalone, and does not require 3.0 to be present on the machine. Are you using our plug-ins or someone else's here? If they are ours, it almost sounds like the Windows installer isn't properly registering the DX plug-ins with DirectShow. Do you get error messages during installation?

Nate

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: Skeetch

Date:9/18/2002 8:55:54 PM

In my case there were no errors during installation and I had already removed Acid 3.0 (demo version) prior to installation of 4.0. The assignable FX's do show up in the lists but just don't seem to be loaded properly. If I knew what folders they were supposed to be in I could create them myself. Don't know if that would work but it's just a thought.

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: Skeetch

Date:9/18/2002 10:22:05 PM

Update on this.

It appears that Sonic Foundry, like just about everyone else that writes applications for GatesWare, doesn't remove all of their registry entries when you use the Remove Programs process in Win2k. Even after running the removal process for 3.0 before installing 4.0 - and reinstalling 4.0 TWICE - I was still getting no assignable FX. Even after removing 3.0, I still found loads of entries in various keys throughout the registry for Acid3. I had to go through the rather laborious process of hunting them down and removing them manually. Took awhile but it seems to have remedied the problem. After removing the registry entries and restarting the PC, I installed 4.0 again and all was well.

CAUTION: If you've never navigated your Windows registry before I would NOT recommend using the above method - you could potentially cause Windows to misbehave much worse than it already does. For those of you who feel comfortable with this, get into regedit and CTRL F for "acid" (without the quotes of course). Have your favorite beverage ready cuz yer gonna be at this for awhile. Oh and by the way, if you've also got Fruity Loops installed you search will turn up a string called AcidBox. Don't delete it! Hopefully I'm not engaging in blasphemy by mentioning that *other* music app. :)

I dunno, maybe me and my PC are just whack and I'm the only one who's had to do this to get 4.0 to work. If no one has ever requested this of Sonic Foundry before, I'll be the first to ask for some kind of downloadable "cleaner" program that will positively remove ALL registry entries from a previous (or even current) load of Acid. Seems nuts to have to do this to get 4.0 to work but, like I said, maybe I'm the only one.

Oh and one other question. Why does it say "Ignore This User" after my username? I noticed others have this as well. Is it because I elected not to provide my real name in the registration process? Seems kinda rude and all but YMMV.

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: SonyNateM

Date:9/19/2002 10:35:22 AM

I dunno, maybe me and my PC are just whack and I'm the only one who's had to do this to get 4.0 to work. If no one has ever requested this of Sonic Foundry before, I'll be the first to ask for some kind of downloadable "cleaner" program that will positively remove ALL registry entries from a previous (or even current) load of Acid. Seems nuts to have to do this to get 4.0 to work but, like I said, maybe I'm the only one.

Our technical support department has faster ways of unregistering and re-registering DX plug-ins with Microsoft's DirectShow, and could probably have helped you out without you having to "seek & destroy". I don't know if you sent them an email or not, but they are always a great resource.

Many of the registry entries you found may have had to do with persistance of special data, such as presets for the plug-ins or other data that you wouldn't want to lose if you had to remove and reinstall the software. Most registry entries are removed when you use the standard Add/Remove Programs or Start Menu uninstall for ACID

Oh and one other question. Why does it say "Ignore This User" after my username? I noticed others have this as well. Is it because I elected not to provide my real name in the registration process? Seems kinda rude and all but YMMV.

This link allows you to "ignore" posts from a specific user. If there is someone posting here who just annoys you and you have no interest in seeing their messages ever again, you can click this link to have their posts filtered from your view. It is available for everyone, and has nothing to do with the way you registered.

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: Skeetch

Date:9/19/2002 11:47:48 AM

"Our technical support department has faster ways of unregistering and re-registering DX plug-ins with Microsoft's DirectShow, and could probably have helped you out without you having to "seek & destroy". I don't know if you sent them an email or not, but they are always a great resource."

I did not attempt to contact tech support on this. My experience with various tech support groups over the years has often proven to be an exercise in futility and aggravation. Having worked in various tech support roles in the last 20 years I'm sympathetic to the plight on the folks on the other end of the phone - it's usually not their fault. At present, I've no cause to believe SF's tech support folks are not a useful resource it's just that I've had more success relying on my own skills - you know the old addage "if you want something done right . . . . ". In any case, I may yet avail myself of their expertise.

"Many of the registry entries you found may have had to do with persistance of special data, such as presets for the plug-ins or other data that you wouldn't want to lose if you had to remove and reinstall the software. Most registry entries are removed when you use the standard Add/Remove Programs or Start Menu uninstall for ACID."

I don't doubt what you're saying, but the fact remains that I simply could not get Acid 4 to give up the FX without blasting those registry entries first. There was nothing about the demo version of 3.0 that I needed to keep. I don't know how many entries you folks put in the restistry, but I stopped counting after about 45 when I was deleting them. That seems like an awful lot of debris to leave laying around after a "removal" - especially since, as I've read elsewhere in these forums, Acid 4.0 is a standalone install and doesn't need anything from 3.0. But hey, what do I know? Overall, I'm very impressed with the functionality of Acid and liked it enough to buy the full version and am having loads of fun with it.

"This link allows you to "ignore" posts from a specific user."

Ah, well that makes sense. Thanks for the info.

Subject:RE: No FX in 4.0

Reply by: SonyNateM

Date:9/19/2002 12:57:55 PM

I did not attempt to contact tech support on this. My experience with various tech support groups over the years has often proven to be an exercise in futility and aggravation. Having worked in various tech support roles in the last 20 years I'm sympathetic to the plight on the folks on the other end of the phone - it's usually not their fault. At present, I've no cause to believe SF's tech support folks are not a useful resource it's just that I've had more success relying on my own skills - you know the old addage "if you want something done right . . . . ". In any case, I may yet avail myself of their expertise.

I understand. I have put in my fair share (read: 6+ years) of technical support in the past, and, like you, always try to avoid contacting support at all costs. I've always just thought of it as, "more work for everyone".

The only point that I was making was that the trouble you were having is not unheard of when it comes to DirectShow filters (this includes DX plug-ins). It can't always be determined if the problem is anyone's "fault", as a number of MS components and the plug-in writer's code must all function together to properly register and make a DirectShow filter available. Missing files or reg entries can cause strange behavior. Our techs have dealt with similar situations in the past and can generally get you on your way very quickly.

Anyways, glad to see you got it taken care of. It looks like you are good to go either way. If you have other issues, don't hesitate to post here, or drop a note to support. :)

Hope the rest of your ACID 4.0 experience goes smoothly!
Nate