Sound Forge 10 suddenly requires registration to launch

travis-n wrote on 1/13/2023, 12:08 AM

I am aware this problem has been raised a couple times on this forum but none of the solutions posted in earlier threads have worked for me, so I'd like to have another stab at it.

I have had Sound Forge 10 for... maybe 8? years now and it has never had this issue before. When I try to launch the program, it instead produces a popup saying:

Registration of Sound Forge Audio Studio 10.0 requires elevated privileges.

If your user account does not have sufficient privileges, you will be prompted to provide administrator credentials.

After this step is completed, Sound Forge Audio Studio 10.0 will be registered for all users.

From Googling I have found two suggested solutions to this. The first is through the registry editor, by deleting Sony's key at HKEY_USERS/<S-1-5-###############_Classes>/VirtualStore/MACHINE/SOFTWARE/WOW6432Node/Sony Creative Software. I have deleted this key outright, backing up the folder just in case.

No change. Sound Forge still complaining about needing "elevated privileges" and wants registration.

The other solution I see brought up is to right click the audiostudio100.exe > Properties > Compatibility > Run this program as an administrator. I'm pretty sure my account has admin privileges; just in case I set it to run as administrator for all users.

No change. Sound Forge still complaining about needing "elevated privileges" and wants registration.

The only other thing I've seen brought up is "try just reinstalling". I can't, because I don't have the original disk I installed it from - if it's still kicking around at all, it's multiple states away - and even if I did, this laptop doesn't have a CD drive. It got onto this SSD by being is a clone of a clone of the original hard disk drive it was installed on, and that had never posed a problem until a couple weeks ago for no apparent reason.

So... what else can I try?

Comments

rraud wrote on 1/13/2023, 11:00 AM

Usually either the registry tweak (which may be temporary) or 'Run as admin' resolves the "elevated privileges" issue.
Here a link to my original "elevated privileges" comment.

I recommend uninstalling/reinstalling SF-10 but use a third-party uninstaller like 'Revo Uninstall' to uninstall. Revo can remove the left-over registry entries and other pertinent data the OS uninstall leaves behind, which can cause issues to reoccur.. Revo Uninstall has a pro and freeware versions. The free version is adequate in most cases,

You can download the SF-10 installer from the "Magix Service Center> My Products" or Magix Download Center. You will need your log-in info or a valid serial number for the version you wish to download. If you cannot log-in to access the SF-10 download from Magix, download the SF-10 installer from the SCS (Sony) archives.

btw, your SF-10 serial still entities you to upgrade to SF-16 at a discounted price.

travis-n wrote on 6/9/2023, 1:47 AM

Hi rraud,

Months later I still have not gotten Sound Forge 10.0 to launch like it used to. I do not know the serial number for my installation because, as I said, if the original disk I installed from is still kicking around at all, it is several states away; I have moved since then.

I do however apparently still have the 10.0 installer .exe in my downloads folder (probably copied from the original disk) and I took your advice and used Revo Uninstall to uninstall 10.0, and then reinstall. This did not fix the problem; SF-10 is still saying it requires registration (which I can't do even if I wanted to - again, don't have the serial number on hand) which requires elevated privileges. Effectively reinstalling just 1) changed the program icon and 2) added an additional popup saying my "free trial" of SF-10 has expired.

I have double checked that the Sony registry folder in HKEY_USERS/S-1-5-21...Classes/VirtualStore/Machine/SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node is completely gone, and based on this related thread on another forum I also wiped the Sony folder at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/VirtualStore/Machine/SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node. Also wiped Sony's folder in Users/Travis/AppData/Roaming to see if that would affect anything - it did not.

As a final Hail Mary I uninstalled SF-10 again and simply copied the program files directly, without the use of an installer, from a backup SSD from when I know I was able to launch the program just fine. Again, this did not work - it still demands registration.

I don't know how it somehow managed to un-register itself out of the blue or how it would even know it's allegedly unregistered unless there's some other Windows registry key or file it's left somewhere on my laptop that I just haven't found yet. I shouldn't have to repurchase it but even if I were inclined I can't afford to at this time.

So... is that it then? I just can't use Sound Forge anymore? Just get used to Audacity from now on?

rraud wrote on 6/10/2023, 11:22 AM

If the Elevated Privilege registry tweak and 'run as administrator' does not work, try uninstalling SF-10 with Revo Uninstall using the 'advanced' scan mode. Restart the PC and reinstall. Revo will remove the left-over registry entries and other pertinent data the OS uninstall leaves behind, which can cause issues to reoccur.. Revo Uninstall has pro and freeware versions. The free version is adequate in most cases.
The 'Elevated Privilege' issue may reoccur at some point though with a Win 10 update.
I do not know about SF-10 and Win 11