Touble with Installation of Diva Despite Cautious Attention to Installation Instructions

[Guitarman1]

Hello:

I was anxious to take advantage of the trial version of Diva. I am frustrated because I have followed the installation instructions in the attached PDF file to a T and the synth is not finding its presets. When I click the presets button, the black presets field is absolutely blank. In the lower left corner is indication of a single folder called Local (which usage I am familiar with in Zebra), but all that the Local folder contains is "Midi Programs". Clicking on Local just closes the folder and the Midi Programs disappear. Clicking on Midi Programs does nothing.

I installed Diva to the same folder with all my other u-He synths: C:/Program Files (x86)/Cakewalk/Vstplugins/ u-He/Diva (in fact I tried both giving it its own folder in the u-He folder as that indicates and not doing so and just leaving the Diva.dll and the Diva.data shortcut free in the u-He folder, but the outcome is the same in either case). I went as far as deleting the Diva.data shortcut that was created as part of the installation and replacing it with a Diva.data shortcut that I created by right clicking on the Diva.data folder, and that made no difference.

As recommended, I put the Diva.data folder in my Documents folder. It sits there containing Data, Presets, and Support folders, as I presume it is meant to do. I open the Presets folder, and there certainly are a number of Local, free-floating presets, as well as a number of folders full of presets of particular types, as is typical of Zebra, as well.

I believe you will have found on reviewing the above that I installed this according to the installation instructions. However, when I open Diva in my host, I hear only one sound, and there is not even a name listed for that preset—I am guessing it is what is commonly called the "initial" preset, but I don't know. I hope you can help me sort this out promptly, as the trial is time limited, and I am anxious to give it a good try before the trial period is exhausted . Thanks in advance for consideration and any assistance.

Rob Redden

[Howard]

Hi Rob

Did you make sure that the shortcut has no hidden "shortcut" extension in the name, and that no Diva.data folder remains in the Program Files area (see "Notes" below)? Here's a (possibly) more detailed explanation of the problem, and what to do about it (replace "Zebra2" with "Diva" in the following - sorry).

Hope that helps!
Howard

---------------

By default the u-he installers save their .dll files and resources (Zebra2.data, ACE.data etc.) into the "Vstplugins" folder. Most people have this directory somewhere under C:\Program Files\. Since Windows Vista, Microsoft decided to write-protect this directory - which means that plugins can't save preferences, registration codes or presets in there. Even crashes are possible. However, the u-he data folders can be moved elsewhere (e.g. into your Documents folder, which is always accessible).

The following instructions describe what to do for Zebra - substitute ACE.data etc. if necessary:

1) find the Vstplugins directory that contains Zebra2.dll. It also contains a folder called "Zebra2.data"…
2) move the Zebra2.data folder into C:\Users\(your name)\Documents\
3) right-click Zebra2.data in its new location, and create a shortcut / symbolic link
4) move the shortcut back into the Vstplugins directory that contains Zebra2.dll
5) if the shortcut is called "Zebra2.data shortcut", rename it "Zebra2.data"

While searching for its resources, Zebra will now follow the shortcut. Same for the other plugins. Future installers will address this problem so you won't have to do anything by hand!

Notes:
- do not keep an extra Zebra2.data folder in Vstplugins - only keep the Zebra2.data shortcut!
- if you get a "demo expired" message despite having entered the code, delete Zebra2.data/Support/com.u-he.Zebra2.user.txt, then restart your host software. If the problem persists, you still have a com.u-he.Zebra2.user.txt somewhere on your hard drive (so find it, remove, and restart your host application). Once the "demo expired" message is gone, enter your registration codes.
- if you still have a folder C:\Program Files\u-he\Zebra2\ then please rename it to "Zebra2backup" or similar.

cheers
the u-he team

[Guitarman1]

Hi & thanks for the prompt response.

The trouble is, I understood the message from the PDF Installation file, and I really believe I set it all up appropriately. My VST plugins folder contains (in this regard, anyway!) my u-He folder with a Diva folder that contains only the Diva.dll file and the Diva.data shortcut (without the shortcut suffix). I put the Diva.data folder in my Documents folder as suggested. There are no extra files anywhere (specifically, there is no Diva.data folder anywhere in Program Files). Just to assure it was not a matter of a problem with the installer, when I found it did not work, I deleted the shortcut it created and I recreated it myself by right clicking on the Diva.data folder and dragging it into the folder with the Diva.dll file, again after removing the shortcut suffix. It made no difference. I really believe I have installed it correctly and it is not working as it should. The GUI looks great, I can manipulate controls on it, and the one sound it produces is quite nice, but it is frustrating to be unable to use any other presets!

Now I am really anxious to try it because I got a nice set of pro headphones as a Christmas gift !

Thanks, again, Rob

[xh3rv]

For a quick fix you might try saving a preset and finding it on your HD with a search? This would at least establish where you are configured to have presets (well, I would hope anyway)

[macmurphy]

i'm not one to read instructions so i just presumed the Diva.data file went in the same folder as the .dll file. it works here - could you try that? we need to give those new headphones a thorough workout!

[Guitarman1]

Thanks again for responses.

xh3rv suggested "For a quick fix you might try saving a preset and finding it on your HD with a search? This would at least establish where you are configured to have presets (well, I would hope anyway)"

The thing is, I know right where the presets are. That's not a problem. I put them where the instructions advised they go (they are in the Diva.data folder, which I put in my Documents, as recommended).

macmurphy said, "i'm not one to read instructions so i just presumed the Diva.data file went in the same folder as the .dll file. it works here - could you try that? we need to give those new headphones a thorough workout!"

The trouble is, I am one for instructions, and following the instructions perfectly, as far as I can see, has not worked for me. I tried your recommendation with some hope, but no dice. I can say Diva functioned no less well with the Diva.data folder stuck together with Diva.dll and trying it both with and without a Diva.data shortcut in my u-He VST folder, but it functioned no better, either. I still get one tone, a GUI that functions normally, and an empty "Local" folder with no other presets on the preset page.

I remain hopeful that I can try this out! Thanks for trying to help. BTW, the headphones are great. I've had a little time today to try them with several other synths.

Rob

[Guitarman1]

It occurred to me to add that I have Windows 7-64 bit, and I have tried installing Diva individually as both a 64-bit and a 32-bit VST, and that has not helped either. It works just as I have outlined in either format. My PC is fast enough that I can play the existing tone with the divine/best settings, so I am going crazy hoping that I will be able to use this!

Rob

[Howard]

Unfortunately, I don't have a Windows/PC system running at the moment - otherwise I could (perhaps) understand what's going wrong. Christmas tends to gets in the way of software support!
Anyway, chin up - I'm confident that your problem will be solved very, very soon

[xh3rv]

xh3rv suggested "For a quick fix you might try saving a preset and finding it on your HD with a search? This would at least establish where you are configured to have presets (well, I would hope anyway)"

The thing is, I know right where the presets are

Let me clarify the suggestion - assuming Diva is looking somewhere for presets (but not where they actually are) - you might figure out where Diva is actually looking if you can save a preset and then locate it via a file browser, then move the preset library there. If that assumption holds (only thing I can think of why it wouldn't work is some kind of permissions thing)

Hope *something* works, just user to user

[bmrzycki]

Hi Rob,

I find it best to avoid the C:\Program Files* directories completely. Anything newer than Windows Vista really watches what can be written into there. Here's my setup:


I keep my VSTs (64-bit) in D:\EMusic\VST64\u-he (the bottom window). The top window is what the Diva.data shortcut folder looks like if you open it, found at D:\EMusic\Plugin Data\u-he\Diva.data and it works perfectly for me. Maybe this helps?

[Guitarman1]

Alright, are you ready for crazy?

xh3rv clarified his suggestion. I'm sorry I missed it in the first place, but I had thought you were recommending I hunt down the existing presets, when in fact you were suggesting that I create and save one and see where it was saved to. That sounded like a great idea, so I created one and saved it. The Search function in Windows 7 found it very promptly. I asked it to open the folder that contained it, and where do I find myself but in the existing folder of presets that come with Diva, so Diva knew where the presets were all along.

That was a positive finding, but it left me afraid that Diva was not even going to offer me the option to use presets I create, myself. Anyway, I decided to give one last shot at clicking on the presets button, and of all things, now after I created a single preset, all the presets that came with Diva have appeared where they should have been in the first place! I have no idea how that all worked out, but the important thing is, after I created a single (awful, I might add, but I was in a hurry ) preset, Diva is now working as it should have in the first place and I can give it a good try.

Let me just leave it at this in case anyone else finds themselves in the same position:

IF YOU TRY DIVA AND FIND THAT IT IS NOT DEMONSTRATING ITS PRESETS, CREATE AND SAVE A PRESET ON YOUR OWN, SEARCH FOR WHERE IT PUTS THE PRESET, OPEN THAT FOLDER, AND THEN CLICK ON THE PRESETS BUTTON AGAIN, AND YOU MAY FIND THAT THE PRESETS HAVE MAGICALLY APPEARED.

Thanks to all for their input. BTW, I had one other issue as this unfolded, but I will start it as a new topic, as it is not directly tied to this problem.

Rob Redden

[Guitarman1]

He, again:

I jumped the gun in my joy. After it appeared the problem had been resolved, I was going crazy trying out Diva presets--they are amazing--I've never heard such an excellent imitation of the organ in "Whiter Shade of Pale" as Protocol! Unfortunately, I overwhelmed my sound card at some point in all the fun and I had to shut down my host. I reopened it and found that, once again, the presets failed to appear on the preset page .

I hoped that creating another preset on my own and saving it would fix the problem as it had the first time--I thought it would certainly be a bit of a nuisance having to create a preset every time I wanted to use the synth, but I was anxious to try some more presets and hoped it would work as it had the last time. I created a preset I actually liked this time. I named it "Mud Bass" and was actually able to type in all the letters of the name, unlike my experience the first time (I put up another topic on that issue).

After I saved it, I tried to follow the same steps I had the last time. I got stopped right from the start. The search function in Windows 7 could not find the preset anywhere. I looked in the presets folder where the preset I had created the first time was saved, and it was not there. I opened the preset page in Diva, and it looked almost exactly like it did when I first installed it: In the left lower corner I am back to having only the "Local" folder, which is empty of presets. The only difference is that my single self-created preset, "Mud Bass", is listed in the black presets field, sitting there by itself! It suggests that Diva did save it somewhere, and it is clear that somewhere is not where the rest of the presets are, but Windows can't find it.

Unfortunately, obviously the problem is not fixed yet, and after having had a chance to try some of the presets I am even more anxious than ever to get this fixed. I am also fearful to purchase Diva, which I am already convinced I would love to have, until I am certain I can get it to function normally and reliably on my machine.

Thanks, again Rob

[bmrzycki]

Rob, it still sounds like you're having trouble writing to the Program Files directory. My guess is that Mud Bass wasn't saved because Windows blocked writing of it in some way. I really recommend moving the Diva.data folder outside and trying again. A good place would be Libraries\Documents\u-he\Diva.data\*.

Finally, I've seen others have trouble with keyboard input to u-he plugins with Sonar. Something about Sonar intercepting keystrokes (especially space-bar). People have worked around it by typing into something like notepad, then cutting and pasting into the save dialog box. It's not pretty but it seems to work around the problem until Urs can fix it properly.

[Guitarman1]

I am quite confused. It plainly wrote to somewhere. I just opened Diva after a number of hours off, and Mud Bass remains there as the only preset. I played the initiation preset for a moment and then clicked on Mud Bass, and there it was. Windows 7 Search function still fails to find it for me, though! I do not know what to make of that.

If writing the name of a preset to a word processor and then copying and pasting works to name a preset, I'm perfectly happy with that, if I can get the synth to work correctly anyway. That is not a big deal.

I know you mean to be helpful in suggesting that I put Diva.data in Libraries/Documents/u-he/Diva.data, but I really don't think that would be significantly different from what I have done. According to the installation instructions, the only place not to put it is in Program Files, and one user even told me they put it in Program Files somewhere and it worked fine.

In fact, the instructions advise basically the following:

1. Put the Diva.data folder in Users/(name)/Documents. That's where it is--in my case, Users/Rob/Documents.

2. Put the Diva.dll file somewhere in the VST plugins folder. In my case, it is C:/Program Files or Program Files (x86) (depending on whether you are installing the 64-bit or 32- bit version--I have tried both with the same results)/Cakewalk/VSTPlugins/u-He/. I have tried both leaving it in the u-He folder and creating a Diva folder within u-He, but neither worked correctly.

3. Create a shortcut link to Diva.data by right clicking on it, renaming it to remove the"-shortcut" suffix, and dragging it to the same folder where Diva.dll sits. In fact, if you install it correctly informing the installer where the VST should go and where the Data file should go, it creates the Diva.data shortcut for you and puts it in the right place, and I have tried that both ways, letting the installer create the shortcut and creating the shortcut myself, as well, with the same outcome.

The thing is, this really strikes me as pretty straightforward and easy stuff as it is spelled out. I believe (as I said right from the start) that I've done it correctly in several different ways, and for some reason it is not working correctly for me on my PC. I am hopeful that Urs is still following this and thinking about what might be going on, because I fell in love with the synth during and after the brief period I was actually able to use it with its included presets. I will be disappointed if I can't get it and put it to good use!

At one point I thought and expressed the belief that I had fixed it by creating a preset, so Urs may think the problem is resolved. I think I will reinitiate the discussion as a new topic, explaining that, to assure that he is still on it. I hope that is appropriate here.

Thanks, again, Rob

[Urs]

Finally, I've seen others have trouble with keyboard input to u-he plugins with Sonar. Something about Sonar intercepting keystrokes (especially space-bar). People have worked around it by typing into something like notepad, then cutting and pasting into the save dialog box. It's not pretty but it seems to work around the problem until Urs can fix it properly.

Hehehe, that makes it sound like it's my fault - I strictly follow Microsoft's sample code, and it's Sonar/Samplitude that jump through hoops to make plugin's life difficult. I will however try to workaround these hosts as I don't believe they'll correct their behaviour after all those years...

Now on to the new thread, I'll try to figure it out...