Reinstall Pro 12 to solve issues. Is it possible?

Cubase
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1

Hi

Is it possible to uninstall Pro 12 and then reinstall it ?
Obviously, Pro 12 uses the new way of licensing which is stored on the actual PC hard drive rather than the previous vcersions which used the USB fob system.
I know I could do this pre version 12, but am not sure if I can do it with the license residing on the hard drive.

Here’s why I want to do it:

I came to Pro 12 via buying Pro 11 within the grace period for update to 12 (I also have 10 and 10.5 previously).
When I installed Pro 12 the process did not go as it should from the very first click.

I got the download code from Steinberg OK.
When I entered the download code, I got the “want to upgrade now?” message.
When I pressed OK, I got the following error message:

Steinberg Screenshot 2022-03-16 192338

When I received the license activation code, I clicked the “upgrade” in answer to the question “do you want to upgrade your license now?”.
Again I got the error message shown above.
When I clicked “abort”, I got a different error message

"Application ‘Unknown Application’ has caused the following error: An unknown interapplication communication error occurred. In case the problem persists, please close all applications and restart your computer. "

After I had other unsuccessful attempts to upgrade to Pro 12 I eventually managed to install Pro 12 using the download assistant.

However, when I load pro 12, I always have to reset the audio input or output or both before I can actually use it, so something somewhere is still not 100% working.
Also, if I try to record drums using Groove Agent SE I hear the sounds as I press the relevant buttons, but the sounds do not record, nor do they show on the bar as the cursor moves across the screen.
Plus, quite a few of the VST instruments appear to not have loaded, as I get the following error message for some of the instruments (although I also got this in Pro 11 pre this recent issue):

Screenshot 2022-03-06 200956

So, overall, I thought that maybe if I uninstall Pro 12 and reinstall it, I may be able to resolve the issues and have a 100% working correctly programme.

I also wonder what would happen to my license for Pro 12 if I had to reinstall windows on my computer !

2

Before you re-install 12 you must remember to deactivate it through the Steinberg Activation Manager. I know they say that you don’t need to do this if you are just reinstalling, and not changing the system components, but I have found it is better to do this.

I re-installed Cubase 12 and activated it through the Activation Manager, after re-installing Windows 11 on my PC and had no issues at all.

The issues you are having with aspects of the program, maybe due to errors elsewhere in the Operating System or conflicts with other programs. I know it’s time consuming but, it is often better to re-format the hard-drive and start again, especially if you have been using the system for a while.

I did this last weekend and, so far, Cubase has been running perfectly. However, it did take take me about a day to get Cubase 12, NI Komplete Ultimate and all my other programs reloaded.

3

Hi absicrocks.
Thank you for your reply.
I think I need to reinstall, and maybe even reformat the hard drive.
I have reformatted the hard drive before and it took me ages to reinstall Cubase and NI Komplete (not ultimate though!).

I guess if I reformat, I won’t be able to reload Cubase Pro 11 though.
At the moment, that’s what I’m using due to Pro 12 issues. I tried earlier today to use 12 and as well as the issues already outlined, it would not see my Steinberg interface. :confounded:

Presumably you can use the original activation code after re installation.

Thanks again.

4

No, you cannot. These codes are single use only. If you are going to reformat the hard drive deactivate Cubase first, then sign in to Steinberg activation manager and activate again after installation. No need to use any activation code this time.

1 Like
5

As you have already activated Cubase 12, you don’t need the activation code as Cubase is now linked to your account. Once you reinstall Cubase you just need to login using the Activation Manager to re-activate it.

Cubase 11 still needs the USB dongle, so no need to worry about reinstalling that either. Just remember to plug in the dongle, whenever you run 11.

I have both 11 & 12 running on my system now, without issue.

6

Hi misohoza.
Thank you for this.
I was thinking that reformatting the hard drive would remove any link to any licenses.
Good to know.