Help downloading Notion

[Erpoab]

So I bought Notion today at a local Best Buy, and after I download the program it tells me that the software can not be installed and I need to adjust my user interface dll. I've tried re-downloading it but I keep getting the same message every time.

I run a Windows Vista 32 bit laptop, is there anyway for me to run this software or do I need to return it?

[Surfwhammy]

So I bought Notion today at a local Best Buy, and after I download the program it tells me that the software can not be installed and I need to adjust my user interface dll. I've tried re-downloading it but I keep getting the same message every time.

I run a Windows Vista 32 bit laptop, is there anyway for me to run this software or do I need to return it?

It will be helpful if you can provide more information about what you did on the computer and which version of NOTION you were trying to install . . .

To the best of my knowledge, NOTION 3 is sold only as a retail package, which maps to its being in a box and being installed from DVD platter(s) . . .

So, my best guess based on what you wrote is that you purchases a retail package of NOTION 3 and either (a) tried to install it and then attempted to download the update or (b) tried to install the DVD version but the installation program directed you to the Notion website where the current update was downloaded, but it would not install . . .

Another possibility is that you purchased one of the NOTION SLE versions that is limited to a specific custom VSTi instrument library (for example, NOTION SLE for Miroslav Philharmonik) . . .

Regardless, the fact of the matter is that you can install NOTION SLE and NOTION 3 on a Windows or Mac computer, but there are some requirements for these two operating system platforms . . .

I use NOTION 3 on the Mac, but I know a bit about Windows, although I stopped using Windows around the time that Windows XP and a later version of Windows Server were current, but so what . . .

So what!

I know enough about Windows Vista and Windows 7 to provide a few clues regarding what might be happening . . .

(1) It is important that Windows Vista is properly setup and configured so that you can install software, which includes being able to get to the web, since NOTION SLE and NOTION 3 use a web-based "challenge and response" licensing system that occasionally needs to send a small amount of NOTION 3 data to a licensing server, which then determines whether your installation is registered and properly licensed. This is a typical way to do application licensing in the music industry, and while it is a bit annoying to know that it occurs, it is not invasive and it is better than having to mess with dongles. It also has the advantage of making it possible to avoid having to wait days for a retail box and DVD to arrive in the mail or to have to go to a store and breathe air that other people have breathed, as well as to touch things like shopping carts, which we know have cooties . . .

(2) It is important that you keep current on updates from Microsoft to Windows Vista, since this is the best way to ensure that you have the latest version of everything, and so forth and so on . . .

(3) You need to have a high-speed broadband or DSL web connection, and it needs to work . . .

(4) You need to have Adminstrator privileges on the machine to which you expect to install software or you need to have the person who has Adminstrator privileges to do the installation for you . . .

(5) You need to be logged-in or signed-on with an account that has the required permissions and privileges when you expect to install software that requires elevated privileges . . .

(6) And you need to have the license and registration codes or keys, since you need them to install from the DVD that comes in the retail box . . .

SCENARIO 1

If the specific Windows Vista user account you are using does not have sufficient permissions and privileges for you install Notion 3 and the required licensing and security software, then you need to determine how to do this with what colloquially is called an "elevated privilege" account . . .

SCENARIO 2

You were able to install the retail box version of NOTION 3 from the in-box DVD, and everything was working nicely, but you then responded to an update notice or discovered that there is a newer version available for download, hence you downloaded the latest update and attempted to install the downloaded update, in which case you need to call Notion Music technical support to get help, since as I recall there were a few people who had difficulties doing the most recent upgrade, and as I recall those folks were running some version of Windows (Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7), and the specific problem has a solution but I have no idea what it might be . . .

SCENARIO 3

Your version of Windows Vista is not current and there is something that interferes with the NOTION SLE or NOTION 3 update and its installation, in which case you need to call Notion Music technical support, since I have no idea how to determine whether your Windows Vista machine is properly setup and configured . . .

SCENARIO 4

Everything generally is fine with your Windows Vista laptop and the retail NOTION SLE or NOTION 3 DVD and subsequent download, but for some reason at installation time your Windows VIsta laptop was not connected to the web, hence the required licensing and security software could not be installed and the registration could not be completed or the required licensing and security software was not able to connect to the web and verify the previous installation and subsequent registration , in which case you need to ensure that your Windows Vista laptop is connected to the web when you do the install . . .

SCENARIO 5

The licensing and security software runs as what in the Windows universe is called a "SERVICE", and installing a SERVICE requires the user account doing the installing to have certain permissions and privileges. If your Windows Vista user account does not have the required permissions and privileges or does not allow the installation program temporarily to elevate the permissions and privileges, then the installation will fail . . .

For the most part, this is a combination of (a) the way WIndows user security is setup and configured for the machine and (b) the specific user account you are using . . .

One possibility is that the required licensing and security SERVICE was installed but it is not enabled to run automatically, in which case you can use the search function of this FORUM to find some technical support advice on how to configure the SERVICE correctly so that it will work . . .

SCENARIO 6

Your Windows computer has been overtaken by not so friendly aliens from outer space, in which case I strongly advice that you get a Mac; that you line your baseball cap with aluminum foil; that you stop wearing underpants; and that you design and build a sound isolation studio which (a) has plenty of Helmholtz resonators and (b) is painted Cosmic Blue, which is what I did, and it works very well, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :)

P. S. It is very important to read error messages and to write what they say on a piece of paper or to do a screen capture so that you can tell technical support people exactly what the error message said. You can do a screen capture in Windows Vista, as you can on the Mac, and you can look at the error message and then if it has no personal information, you can post it to this FORUM as an image (JPG or PNG file) . . .

A "DLL" is a dynamic link library in the Windows universe, and there are user interface focused DLLs, but they usually have names that do not include spaces, so I am not certain that the error message actually said "user interface DLL" . . .

On the other hand, Windows is not noted for its abundantly clear error messages, and one might suppose that anything is possible . . .

For while, in Windows 2000 and earlier versions there was a scenario in which the hard drive temporarily could become unrecognized, at which time Windows would display a system modal error message that read something along the lines of "Your hard drive has failed catastrophically and all you data is lost. Please click OK to reformat your hard drive", where the only available button was an "OK" button . . .

The correct response was immediately to disconnect the power cord to the machine and to wait a few minutes, followed by doing a cold boot, perhaps after banging on the computer case a few times, because if you clicked the "OK" button, then your hard drive would be reformatted and all your data would be lost . . .

It was one of the more illogical messages produced by the fine folks in Redmond, and one might hope that it has been retired by this time . . .

So, my best guess regarding the actual error message is that it was informing you that the Windows Vista security for your machine currently is setup and configured specifically to disallow doing the required type of installation, which can be remedied simply by changing the security levels and so forth at least for enough time to run the installation successfully . . .

If you enjoyed the Apple "I'm a PC, I'm a Mac" commercials, then you probably remember this one, which is one of the most likely explanations for the problem you experienced trying to install the update to NOTION SLE or NOTION 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuqZ8AqmLPY