Some of Cliff's other posts related to this issue, for anyone who's interested:

• https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vp15-crashes-on-startup--108372/
• https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/laptop-vp15-trial-crashes-on-start-up-vms14-trial-opens-no-problem--108411/
• https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vp15-is-a-crashing-disappointment--108529/
   

Cliff, as requested previously, please try and keep your related posts on one thread so someone who is interested in helping you can see the history of the case. Do you want help still or is it just a rant?

I personally only use one account in my PC...

But, let me make this clear first...

You are installing Vegas Pro as 'Administrator' account..., but then, you are about to use it from different Windows account ?

Did you install it as Administrator or did you login with your username and install it?

I received specific instructions via email from @VEGAS_EricD Regarding the install & activation process.

Here's what was recommended and I followed it to the letter:

Lets have you install the application to the hidden administrator profile for troubleshooting purposes. 

Windows comes with a hidden administrator account which must first be enabled.  To do so:
1. Type  "Command Prompt" into Windows search or Cortana 
 2. right-click on the Command Prompt result that appears and choose  "Run as administrator" 
3. After the command prompt opens, type:   net user administrator /active:yes
4. Double check to make sure the command is entered correctly and hit Enter on your keyboard.
5. After running this command, the prompt will respond with:  command completed successfully
6. Switch to the administrator account by clicking control+alt+delete, then click switch user, and choose Administrator.
7. Install and activate your VEGAS application onto this profile.

I did EXACTLY as outlined with a fresh install of Windows 10 with updates only applied first before installing a fresh download of Vegas Pro 15 via the download manager. Latest Graphics drivers were also installed as well. As stated before, VP15 opens perfectly in the hidden administrator profile but once I log back in with my Profile which has full admin rights, VP15 locks up hard and crashes with the Error reporting window popping up or just closing completely.

@NickHope - This is not a Rant - this is an ongoing problem that has yet to be resolved over a month after the initial release of Vegas Pro 15. I'm no slouch to trouble shooting Windows as I did tech support with Symantec several years ago and it was part of my job to help others resolve software issues and I still do tech support on the side for family and friends. If a fresh install of Windows 10 Pro and VP 15 only can't be resolved, I have no business trusting my work in the application. In fact I did THREE fresh installs of Windows 10 pro following the above steps and tried the install of VP15 only - all with the same results. As a side note, I did not have to log in with the hidden admin account on my desktop to run the trial of Vegas Pro 15 which has now expired.

Sure VP13 works pretty well save the occasional crash, but the feature set of VP15 was what I have been waiting for to make my post production process go more smoothly.

If someone has a solution that is different to try I'm all ears but as of now, I can't rely upon Vegas Pro 15 to edit my paying gigs in it's current state as I do edit remotely a fair amount.

I scanned through the previous threads, and I have to say there seems to be a lot of thrashing about for an quick answer without really trying to locate the exact source of the problem. e.g. Why do a fresh re-install three times? I mean, if it didn't work the first time...?

So some questions:

1) The problem is only on your one laptop, yes? Have you tried installing on another PC? (Maybe your download is corrupt.)

2)What do you mean by "A fresh install of Windows 10 Professional with latest updates on my laptop as Administrator works fine" ? You mean Vegas 15 works fine or some other meaning?

As an ex tech support pro, you should at least be able to pinpoint the place where the conflict occurs by working backwards and disabling everything and then turning on one by one. It may not fix the problem, but you should know where the conflict is (e.g. registry, .NET, graphics, some other piece of hardware...)

Anyway, please first confirm that you can get something working on some machine. Then at least you can isolate to the one laptop.

PS: CS6 is now officially ANCIENT!!!!! Can't really see that as a viable option. :)

I scanned through the previous threads, and I have to say there seems to be a lot of thrashing about for an quick answer without really trying to locate the exact source of the problem. e.g. Why do a fresh re-install three times? I mean, if it didn't work the first time...?

So some questions:

1) The problem is only on your one laptop, yes? Have you tried installing on another PC? (Maybe your download is corrupt.)

2)What do you mean by "A fresh install of Windows 10 Professional with latest updates on my laptop as Administrator works fine" ? You mean Vegas 15 works fine or some other meaning?

As an ex tech support pro, you should at least be able to pinpoint the place where the conflict occurs by working backwards and disabling everything and then turning on one by one. It may not fix the problem, but you should know where the conflict is (e.g. registry, .NET, graphics, some other piece of hardware...)

Anyway, please first confirm that you can get something working on some machine. Then at least you can isolate to the one laptop.

PS: CS6 is now officially ANCIENT!!!!! Can't really see that as a viable option. :)

 

 

1. No issues whatsoever on installing on my Desktop but now it wont run due to the trial expiring.
2. I mean I reinstalled Windows 10 from scratch with only installing latest updates for Windows and graphics drivers. When I am logged in to the Hidden administrator account as listed above, Vegas Pro 15 runs without issue. Once I switch back to my user profile with admin rights, Vegas Pro will not run. That means Registry is clean, all .NET updates are installed and no other hardware is attached. The reinstall 3 times resulted in different results - one install didn't see my nVidia drivers, another did, and a third one didn't see them again. That's the inconsistency I've been facing for over a month now.
3. I get CS6 is so called "Ancient" - yet it works as expected, albeit a kludgy workflow - Vegas Pro 13 is considered ancient yet many on the forums will not upgrade because it just works. Something to consider...

Maybe something... Admin is not Admin on Windows 10 anymore, you don't have full read/copy/write permissions on your OS drive, maybe VP15 can't access some crucial file, you (and everybody should do this anyway after an install of W10 AND after a big update (e.g. Anniversary, Creators) because M$ will set this back to "enable"):

RUN > secpol.msc > Local Policies > Security Options > "User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode" > Disabled > Reset > Done

Done this on several desktops/laptops, no more nagging about accessing files on OS drive (e.g. ProgramData)

Just read the part where you say :

As stated before, VP15 opens perfectly in the hidden administrator profile but once I log back in with my Profile which has full admin rights, VP15 locks up hard and crashes with the Error reporting window popping up or just closing completely.

Well clearly that means it is NOT a Vegas problem, it is a Windows problem. I cannot remember the exact details, but I have seen this before with other programs ( and files from Apple Mac's). I think it DOES have to do with the registry and thus system security. There is info on Microsoft's forums about these Admin/user account conflicts. The fact that you are getting inconsistent results with your Windows re-installs also indicates instability that needs to be explained. Something is being left behind....

I don't have the depth of knowledge to recommend a registry edit, but here are two ideas you may consider:

1) Just work with the admin account.

2) Can you properly wipe the boot drive? (Dell may have something stored there, so you need to be sure you don't lose anything and can reinstall Windows.)

PS Oh ya, just realized, now your trial is finished so you are SOL until the next build unless Magix give you an extension.

Maybe something... Admin is not Admin on Windows 10 anymore, you don't have full read/copy/write permissions on your OS drive, maybe VP15 can't access some crucial file, you (and everybody should do this anyway after an install of W10 AND after a big update (e.g. Anniversary, Creators) because M$ will set this back to "enable"):

RUN > secpol.msc > Local Policies > Security Options > "User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode" > Disabled > Reset > Done

Done this on several desktops/laptops, no more nagging about accessing files on OS drive (e.g. ProgramData)

Just tried your recommendation -no change for the better but I appreciate your input.

My 2 cents ...

Cliff, you can also modify the Vegas shortcut key on the desktop .. right click, select properties, select advanced and select run as administrator.

Its just a little quicker than right clicking Vegas in either the programs list or Vegas on the task bar and then selecting to run as administrator.

Cliff, you sad "No issues whatsoever on installing on my Desktop but now it wont run due to the trial expiring."

Can you not activate/register it as aren't we allowed two installations with a license?

Edit: Oops I've just realised you haven't purchased it yet.

Have you run memtest to check your RAM? After years of wondering why some programs wouldn't run properly & I would get random windows crashes, turns out two slots (not RAM stick) on my motherboard were bad. Strange thing was, some programs could use all the RAM & would never have an issue, some programs would always have an issue. Taking RAM out of those two slots solved my problems.

...But it DOES run on his machine. Problem is it only runs in the admin account. So this is a permissions/registry mess up in windows.

Could be accessing memory differently. If it happened to everyone all the time (which running software in an account other then Admin on windows is very common) there's be more posts about it, there's something specific to his setup. Might as well rule out a simple RAM issue.

...But it DOES run on his machine. Problem is it only runs in the admin account. So this is a permissions/registry mess up in windows.

Windows 10 has a tendency to completely screw up permissions and will not correct them with a re-install. It also trounces routers and causes them to reboot. It also stops everything during updates if your on a system. It also has a tendency to start transferring codecs from one app to another without you telling it to. If you have some older hardware that it doesn't like (It can tolerate that hardware) it will randomly screw your machine up while running or during the boot. That's why I went back to Windows 7 Pro.

 

JJK

...But it DOES run on his machine. Problem is it only runs in the admin account. So this is a permissions/registry mess up in windows.

Windows 10 has a tendency to completely screw up permissions and will not correct them with a re-install. It also trounces routers and causes them to reboot. It also stops everything during updates if your on a system. It also has a tendency to start transferring codecs from one app to another without you telling it to. If you have some older hardware that it doesn't like (It can tolerate that hardware) it will randomly screw your machine up while running or during the boot. That's why I went back to Windows 7 Pro.

 

JJK

 

I have not experienced any of this. Not on my Surface Pro 3, not my very old Dell XPS laptop from 2010 and not on my editing machine, a 3930K that is about 5 years old.

Reinstalled Windows 10 AGAIN with all updates and then installed Vegas 15 - No change in running outside of the hidden Administrator account. I'm still resisting going back to Adobe's products and I guess I'll just keep editing in Vegas 13 as it works well especially when using files transcoded to MXF in Catalyst. Vegas 15 doesn't look to be a stable product in my testing so far...

Reinstalled Windows 10 AGAIN with all updates and then installed Vegas 15 - No change in running outside of the hidden Administrator account. I'm still resisting going back to Adobe's products and I guess I'll just keep editing in Vegas 13 as it works well especially when using files transcoded to MXF in Catalyst. Vegas 15 doesn't look to be a stable product in my testing so far...

I wouldn't bother much with VP15, for now anyways. There are too many issues and the latest seems that it needs periodic internet connection to call home. Stick with SVP13, I do the same and wait for something really "magical", VP15 isn't it.

ON a side note. Are you logged in with a local account or your MS Account?

Reinstalled Windows 10 AGAIN with all updates and then installed Vegas 15 - No change in running outside of the hidden Administrator account. I'm still resisting going back to Adobe's products and I guess I'll just keep editing in Vegas 13 as it works well especially when using files transcoded to MXF in Catalyst. Vegas 15 doesn't look to be a stable product in my testing so far...

I still think your permissions are messed up because Windows 10 will copy and default what was there before and possibly install that data on the hard drive which might have to be double zeroed to clear out. Anyway this is too wild a guess so you might take it with a grain of salt. I am reciting to you what my guru friend always tells me. Windows permissions are getting more difficult with every upgrade and require a "Microsoft dictionary" to decipher what they mean by "Object", "Inherit", etc., and they have no "Battle Short" to remove them.

JJK

Reinstalled Windows 10 AGAIN with all updates and then installed Vegas 15 - No change in running outside of the hidden Administrator account. I'm still resisting going back to Adobe's products and I guess I'll just keep editing in Vegas 13 as it works well especially when using files transcoded to MXF in Catalyst. Vegas 15 doesn't look to be a stable product in my testing so far...

I wouldn't bother much with VP15, for now anyways. There are too many issues and the latest seems that it needs periodic internet connection to call home. Stick with SVP13, I do the same and wait for something really "magical", VP15 isn't it.

ON a side note. Are you logged in with a local account or your MS Account?

@OldSmoke Local account - I refuse to use a MS account to log into my computers.

I think you're right about Vegas 13 v545 IMO - it seems to just work and has been pretty solid for me since moving to 422 MXF intermediates for editing. Still debating about whether to use Cineform (another thread I started)

Reinstalled Windows 10 AGAIN with all updates and then installed Vegas 15 - No change in running outside of the hidden Administrator account. I'm still resisting going back to Adobe's products and I guess I'll just keep editing in Vegas 13 as it works well especially when using files transcoded to MXF in Catalyst. Vegas 15 doesn't look to be a stable product in my testing so far...

I still think your permissions are messed up because Windows 10 will copy and default what was there before and possibly install that data on the hard drive which might have to be double zeroed to clear out. Anyway this is too wild a guess so you might take it with a grain of salt. I am reciting to you what my guru friend always tells me. Windows permissions are getting more difficult with every upgrade and require a "Microsoft dictionary" to decipher what they mean by "Object", "Inherit", etc., and they have no "Battle Short" to remove them.

JJK

I may have to do a hard core nuke and pave of my hard drive (Reformat completely but not sure how that will affect my license for Windows 10 Pro) - but that's a day long process for me. Vegas 13 v545 just works so I'm sticking with it for the foreseeable future... Maybe I'll upgrade if MAGIX offers a Black Friday sale in November...

@OldSmoke Local account - I refuse to use a MS account to log into my computers.

That might just be it. Win 10 can be very picky when it comes to accounts and user rights.

I may have to do a hard core nuke and pave of my hard drive (Reformat completely

I am quite certain that it wont make a difference as long as your installation process, including setting up users is the same. If you still have a Win 7 copy, try that.

@OldSmoke Local account - I refuse to use a MS account to log into my computers.

That might just be it. Win 10 can be very picky when it comes to accounts and user rights.

I may have to do a hard core nuke and pave of my hard drive (Reformat completely

I am quite certain that it wont make a difference as long as your installation process, including setting up users is the same. If you still have a Win 7 copy, try that.

@OldSmoke - I don't have a copy of Windows 7 any longer but do have a copy of Windows 8.1 - Means taking a day out of my schedule to deal with reinstall yet again. I'm going to stick with Vegas 13 for the time being until MAGIX gets the issues around Vegas 15 get ironed out.