Let me answer the multiple installs first. I do still have that ticket in "my support" and in fact, when I have the time I can dig out where I found online that you can install it on multiple machines as long as it's in use on only one at a time (which is the case). Two are at home, in the very same room, because it at least runs on one (weaker). The other installation is at work, and ok, I can uninstall that. It's just convenient for doing tutorials during lunch, but not at all necessary.

I'll be glad to list other software which understands the customer's desire to install on home machine, laptop, and work computer. Check http://123di.com, roxio, and MemoriesOnTv (http://codejam.com/). I bought 123di and MemoriesOnTv, and how refreshing that someone's found a way to balance protection of intellectual property WITH customer rights. You seem to come down only on one side.

I didn't mention that I'm actually a project manager for a project we're doing with another company, so trust me, I understand IP. Sorry if I misunderstand your tone, but it came across as "holier than thou" rather than offering any real advice.

As for the other problem, yes, I had move the hard drive to a new motherboard - with the same chip set. This is done all the time (check around), and I've had ZERO problems with anything until Vegas. So ok, I like Vegas enough that I decided I'd try to fix it. But I figured I'd try a SATA drive first, and then decided that if I'm going to reinstall anyway, I'll just use two SATA drives rather than two IDE drives.

By the way, I have five computers at home. I do generally know what I'm doing with hardware and software, which is why this is so frustrating. As with you, until this situation, "I've never had any trouble with install" of any sort, with any company.

Anywho, have a great weekend. I hope Sony will actually make this right. After all, I have the CD, the receipt, and have registered the software on their site. I don't know what else I can do. I'm just glad I bought Platinum rather than Pro. Then I'd REALLY be upset (ironically, my son wants to get Pro).

Trust me - there is nothing holy about me -I didn't mean to come across that way. My comment was simply surprise that a person who writes software was frustrated with Sony exercising their EULA rights when I would have expected you have confronted similar circumstances:

1. GRANT OF LICENSE. Sony hereby grants you a limited, non-exclusive license to use the Software on one (1) computer at a time upon the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. In the event your Software title is also equipped with a Software application-related network renderer (with which you can render projects on additional computer(s)) (each a “Renderer”), Sony hereby grants you a limited, non-exclusive license to use such Renderer(s) on up to two (2) additional computers at a time, solely in connection with the use of Software on a single computer and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. Sony reserves all rights in and to the Software and the Renderer(s) not otherwise granted in this Agreement.


2. RESTRICTIONS ON USE. You may not: (a) use the Software on more than one computer at a time without purchasing additional licenses, (b) copy the Software (except for one (1) back-up copy), (c) distribute, share, sublicense, lend, lease or otherwise make the Software available to any third party (on the Internet, an information network or tangible media, by broadcast or in any other manner), (d) modify, adapt, create derivative works from or translate any part of the Software, (e) reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software or otherwise attempt to obtain its source code, (f) remove or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notice contained in the Software, or (g) use the Software in any manner not set forth in this Agreement or in the Software's documentation.


Respecting your rights in and to the Renderer(s), you may not: (a) use the Renderer(s) on more than two (2) computers at a time and only if a copy of its associated Software title is validly and legally in use on a single computer, (b) copy the Renderer(s), (c) sublicense, lend, lease or otherwise make the Renderer available to any third party (on the Internet or tangible media, by broadcast or in any other manner), (d) modify, adapt or translate any part of the Renderer(s), (e) reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Renderer(s) or otherwise attempt to obtain its source code, (f) remove or alter any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notice contained in the Renderer(s), or (g) use the Renderer(s) in any manner not set forth in this Agreement or in the Software’s documentation. For the purposes of this Agreement, the definition of “Software” shall hereafter also mean and refer to the Renderer(s).

Now I am no attorney and sometimes I think you almost need one to interpret some of this stuff, but to me this is saying if your software is "equiped with a network renderer" you can use the software under the original license for the "network renderers". So is Vegas Movie Studio equiped with a network renderer? I don't know. If you aren't using the other computers as "network renderers" I would guess this disqualifies you (exceeds the limits)from using it on other machines. I believe some guys put the software on their laptop so they can actively use it in the field to collect video (such as HD work for the Pro Vegas users) and do some prelim work - and then bring it back to their network - main computer to process - which does qualify - I think. A video processing studeo that is networked (two renderers) - probably qualifies.

I post all this stuff - not to berate you or anyone else - it is strictly for the sake of discussion. Heck, maybe I will learn something here. It would be nice if a "plain language explanation" of the legal jargon would be provided in say - the frequently asked questions. Then again - maybe it is!?! I haven't looked yet. I haven't had to worry about this as the software is only on my main computer - I haven't had occasion to use my laptop - or any other computers.

As far as advice goes - I really didn't interpret your post as anything more than venting frustration and not really soliciting advice, but opening up a discussion which I decided to chime in on - after taking a look at my EULA.

I wish you the best in your software writing, computer building - whatever technique you use, and your Vegas Movie Studio experience - which I hope is straightened out soon. Peace.

Let me first say I sympathise with your ordeal. I am aware of all the problems you've had with Vegas.

I can accept that you have installed and uninstalled your software several times.
But you made a mistake when trying to install it on another machine. Any licence stipulates that you can only run it on one machine.

Though you've been on this forum discussing your problem for a long time, this forum is not the official sony supportline, and now you're being punished for trying to solve the problem yourself... Instead you should have contacted sony support immediately, and waited for them to come up with a solution.

I recall reading something related on a forum: if you want to sell an old version of Vegas second hand, you first need to contact sony support, so they can update their licence database, and reset your account. Conversely, I can imagine they want to be in the know if you install their software on a second machine, even if that machine is in the same room! My guess is you should have installed the trial version on the second machine, to avoid this mess you're in.

The frustrating thing is that you could have easily downloaded an illegal version of Vegas, and you wouldn't have had this problem. I hope sony support is reading this, and that they will do a better job in the future...

I guess your ordeal only confirms what others already found out the hard way: Vegas Full support is much better (with more patches) than VMS support. If you have Vegas full, you won't have to wait several days either... This is unfair, but hey, VMS is really cheap, not?

I have to ask, after reinstalling Windows, did you install anything else before installing and trying Vegas? Could there be some other software on your system that is conflicting with Vegas in some way?

In any case, as you have already heard, most of the people who own VMS run it without any significant issues. I think I have had one crash in two years. I know that info doesn't help you in your situation, but I think it is fair to state that there isn't a lot of grousing about quality in this forum, and there is definitely a lot of people who exclaim what a relief it is to use a quality product like VMS instead of the product they used to use.

There must be something unique about your environment; the hard part is pinning it down. I wish I had some good suggestions, but I really don't know what to tell you.

You guys are very gracious, and I mean that. As you said, this isn't the Sony forum, and so any time someone takes time out to help someone else, it's grace. I apologize for being frustrated, since all you're doing is helping, and it's not even your job. Ttrust me, last night, I wound up having to apologize to both my sons, because I had yelled at them. I had to tell them they hadn't done anything wrong, I was taking my frustation out on them. Of course, they forgave me, but I think I'm now on record for doing special with them tonight. :-)

So, I have two problems. One, that I can't activate VMS8 on my computer, but it works fine on a second one at home. Two, that my hardware had issues.

Ok, I'm willing to buy another copy of VMS8 and give the other to my son (and PRAY that I don't have to rebuild his PC any time soon, or that Sony straightens out the registration problem).

And I'm hoping that reinstalling Windows has taken care of my freezes, since my previous installation had zero problems in any software other than Vegas.

Now, as for installing on multiple machines, please check out this site, which a sony tech had suggested to me:

http://www.custcenter.com/cgi-bin/sonypictures.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?
p_faqid=455&p_created=1042178400&p_sid=RM7GjhMi&p_access
ibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5
PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9OTM1LDkzNSZwX3Byb2R
zPTAmcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hb
nN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PW
luc3RhbGwgbXVsdGlwbGU*&p_li=&p_topview=1

(wish I could shorten that, I had to break it up, it messed up the whole topic page)

It says:
Our licensing agreement permits you to install the software on as many machines as you own, as long as you are not running the programs at the same time. For instance, you can install the software on your home machine and on your laptop. You are not allowed to install the software on multiple machines if you are going to be using them simultaneously, such as in a home studio setting. If you are going to run the software concurrently on more than one machine, you would need to purchase a separate license for each computer.

Note that when you install the software on a different computer you will need to complete the registration process again. Register the software as you did the first time to unlock the program on each machine. You can register online directly within the software, via the phone, or on our website through our online form.


Now, you're right, that seems to conflict with the EULA. I guess I should have been a lawyer to understand all this stuff ...

Ivan123, exactly. The music, software, etc industries are struggling with ways of protecting their IP, but they also need to make sure they don't leave legitimate customers in the lurch, as in the debacle when Sony installed root kit files with music CDs.

Paul, all I've done so far is install Windows XP Pro, all the Windows updates, my drivers (motherboard, video, audio), and VMS8. I don't know if VMS8 is still locking up, because I haven't had a chance to work with it. Until now, the only video editing software I've used is Nero and MemoriesOnTV, and they are worlds apart from VMS. I probably won't install Nero again, and MOTV is still one of the absolute best pieces of software I've ever bought. I'll use it for slideshows (I'm the de facto photographer in our Cub Scouts pack and Boy Scouts troop).

I might look at Adobe Premiere Elements or Roxio, but if my son really gets into VMS, it's worth me buying another copy so we can both have the same package, rather than having two.

Try downloading and running the trial on your newly installed windows. You should find out if it works!

D'oh, you're right! That would be really bad. I shouldn't just assume it's ok. I wonder if it'll read the project files I made? I guess I'll find out.

You don't mention which OS you are using. I suspect more than a few people missed the specs for the latest version (at least for Platinum) is that it requires XP 2nd edition or Vista. Could this be contributing to the problems you are having?

The issue isn't the number of computers it's installed on. The issue is the number of installs. SONY counts installations of each license key. I have no idea if they also tag installs with anything that identifies the computer it's being installed on or not, but it really doesn't matter. There's just plain and simple a limit to the number of installs they'll let you do. Say that number is (just picking something out of my hat at random) 20. Now, it doesn't matter if you've installed it 2 times each on 10 different computers, or 20 times on just one single computer. Your next install attempt will fail with the 'too many activations' error.

Generally all it takes is a quick phone call to SONY's installation support line (toll free in the USA) and explain that you're having hardware or other problems that require installing your own license on your own computer again. They'll mark down the reasons in your profile and reset the installation counter. Last time i did this i think it was about 2.4 minutes from when i picked up the phone to dial until i had the software activated and running again.

Personally, i think the install limit that SONY has is very generous. I've only encountered it once. Compare it to the old dBase III+ installation that deactivated the floppy disks during the install so that it was physically impossible to install it on another computer. The only way to move it to another computer was to insert the original floppies and run the uninstall program which then reactivated the floppies. Heaven help you if the floppies got damaged or if the uninstall process failed. In those cases you were stuck buying the whole package over again at full price.

Chien, I think that's precisely the case, but I can't seem to get any help from Sony. When my machine was locking up, I had read that Sony files can get corrupted, and that a reinstall would fix the corrupt files. I imagine I reinstalled several times on my PC. So, basically, I had

1 install to second computer in my study
1 install to my work computer
1 install to my newly refreshed computer (Windows XP SP 2, all updates)
and several to my original main PC

I would LOVE to talk to someone at the installation support line, but all I could find were links to "Live Chat" and when I tried that, the person told me, "You've registered it too many times, you have to file a case in your Support page." I've done that, but haven't heard back from Sony.

BTW, I have other software which does this (123di, MemoriesOnTv), but I've just never had to reinstall so many times.

I'm with you, though. Counting the number of installs and somehow insuring the software is running only on one computer at a time is a solution which protects companies AND still gives consumers flexibility. But even Sony's own web page (I looked up "too many activations" in support) says this can be caused by too many reinstallations on the same computer.

This being Friday, I doubt I'll hear from them. But I found that I can enter the LONG activation code which came in VMS8 (right below the serial number) and get 30 days usage, so I'll use that rather than a trial.

I love the software, now I'll see how Sony supports the lower end (VMS). I'm optimistic, since, if they log registrations, they can easily verify everything I've said and hopefully make it right.

BTW, great point about disks, too. I've had my sons scratch one CD once, but the company replaced it ($5, but cheaper than repurchasing it).

My version of VMS8_Platinum has a temporary activation number with it. It will allow the software to run for about 30days I guess. It's a very long listing of numbers below the serial number. I thought this was a nice feature for them to include with the program so I could port the program temporarily to another machine. There's also a temporary activation number for DVDA Studio 4.5

dogwalker,
Hardware problems are very hard to troubleshoot because cpu's are running so fast. But in the windows log/messages you may find some useful information. I once had a nice 6 in / 8 out 20bit pci audio card that worked only on win98 or 2000. Seemed to work OK in XP, well no, I was having problems and in the logs a message from the network card displayed "Cannot access pci bus request" / "Bus request failed". The end result was the audio card wasn't freeing the pci bus which all pci cards are supposed to be able to share it's bus now (by the newer pci specs). Point being the computer runs so fast these errors weren't obvious. Of course I removed the audio card.

I'm curious what is the actual format of the source videos causing a crash.
What happens if you capture DV in VMS, edit it and export to a mpeg2 file.

First place I would look at is my source videos whether they are corrupt.
Second place I would look is a creative audio card that advertises itself as 24bit capable along with the creative programs they install and memory resident bull that creative dreams up.
Third place, video drivers.
I can't think of any other programs that are as stable as VMS, except for Linux.

Wish you luck, all my motherboards are Intel cpu's w/intel chipsets.
I know what your going through, most of us have been there. My last non-intel computer accidentally fell under a 20lb sledge hammer.

LOL, oh my gosh, tell me you're joking about the sledgehammer!

Yeah, it's bizarre. When things go well, I really enjoy tinkering with computers, and I've wondered why several of my coworkers have gone to Macs. But lately I've come to really appreciate their machines. :-)

I will say this, they've motivated me quite often. Last year a fellow showed me a slideshow he made on his Mac, with the Ken Burns transitions, and it blew me away. It was so much better than the static slideshows I'd made in Nero Studio 7. After research, I bought MemoriesOnTV and love it.

Then came videos and screencasts. I'm learning a lot for an old dog.

Yeah, I let this get me down, but part of it was being mad at myself for not taking a break from trying to fix it. And now, of course, the frustration with the registration. So tonight, we're going to just have dinner and watch a movie, and I'll work on the PC later this weekend.

You mentioned the audio card. I've wondered if it might be my Audigy, so I removed it, but still locked up. Now, the lockups aren't frequent. I can go an hour or so, but when the machine locks up, I have to power it off, and I know in the old days that would tear up a Windows install quickly (I don't know if it's still true for XP Pro).

I've looked in the Event log and haven't seen anything. Apparently, whatever's happening is so catastrophic and low level (drivers?) that it completely bypasses the OS, killing the system.

EXCELLENT question about the video files! I did not use VMS to import them. Rather, I did as I've always done, using WinDV to import them via firewire. I don't know how to check to see if there's any problems.

My audio files are from my own CD's. I used iTunes to rip them in mp3 format.

Thanks for the tips. I love your moniker.

Have a great weekend!

Oh, and I used the temporary activation number, and you're right! I'm up for 30 days, and hoping Sony will help out with the registration.

I hope I can someday be of assistance here. Right now, I am a level one noob. :-)

I wonder if there's nothing wrong with your hardware and the source files are not compatible with VMS.
I wonder if your source DV Videos are DV-Type1.
WinDV can capture both DV-Type1 or DV-Type2.
VMS as far as I know is optimized for DV-Type2 like most of the advanced editors.
I don't know the codec used to create your mpeg3 audio files but mpeg3 audio files can go from simple to complex encoding.

If your source videos are DV-Type1 & audio files are Mpeg3 compressed audio this may not be the best scenario for VMS. Especially editing in a compressed audio format and you don't know how it was created (constant / variable bit rate, emphasis, joint stereo etc).

It's worth a try, VMS is a great DV Type2 editor. So that would be DV-Type2 with uncompressed audio 16 bit, 48khz stereo.

I would first go under preferences and change any temp folders to new location, or cleanup any temp files created by VMS.
Then start a new project, "File | New" follow the prompts and make your project settings to DV 4:3/16:9 (whatever your going to capture), then in the audio tab change the default settings to 16bit 48khz stereo. Save this project setup. Then using VMS capture about 30 minutes of DV-Type2 (approx 6gig) with uncompressed audio, save everything.
Edit using this new DV-Type2 file and see how everything goes.

I would suggest doing this to see if you really do have a hardware problem, maybe there isn't a hardware problem. I can load a HDV (highdef video file) that's corrupted about 2/3 into the file. VMS crashes on frame number xxxxxx everytime. It's not VMS, it's that corrupted video file.

Also rule of thumb with almost all video editors is make your "Project Properties" equal to the source videos properties.

Have a nice weekend,
I still have that sledgehammer if you need it :)

Wow, thanks for taking the time to write all that, 4eyes (I feel funny saying that - I wear glasses <grin>). I wish I'd tried that before going to all the trouble of reinstalling windows. I kept my other Windows installation (it's on an IDE/PATA drive), since I installed on a new SATA drive.

But those are excellent guidelines, and I'll copy this down and use it. I think I'll switch over to the IDE drive and start windv to see how I imported. I think I chose DV-Type2. I seem to remember, back when I first dabbled with editing my home movies, I used Nero Studio 7, and I'm pretty sure it imported as Type1, so I'll definitely see if I used any of those.

Wow, I am clueless in this area. Nero was so simple. Now I need to learn codecs, etc.

BTW, for encoding from AVI to MPEG2, I bought CCE Basic long ago, and my plan is to export AVI from VMS, use CCE with 2-pass VBR to encode to MPEG2, and then import that into DVDA. Actually, my hope is to make multiple files. I want to experiment with having an intro movie and a background video for the main menu screen. We'll see. It's sure more than I did with Nero, although my family did like the few I did with Nero.

Thanks again for the suggestions - definitely keepers!

Hey, GUESS WHAT!!

Sony verified what I'd told them, and upped my number of registrations, so I can re-register. I've already left one very complimentary comment regarding Matt, the great support guy who's been so patient, and I'm going to leave another one for this latest support.

Yeah, it's frustrating not getting to speak to people, but I have to say, support from Sony has been very personal. I feel bad, expressing my earlier frustration now, and I'm glad they took the time to check my story.

But I'm going to stick with the 30-day period I got from using the activation code to test this installation before I register it again.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone who commented. I'm really not a negative person, this all just hit at a bad time, and now what started as a bad day has ended well - just in time to hit the sack!

Enjoy your weekend!

I think we all understand your frustration, dogwalker. I'm a software developer too (I've been messing with computers for over 30 years), but there are many days where I sit and fume grumbling "I hate computers". Personal computers have gotten amazingly complicated, and frustratingly prone to problems.