• Important information for Windows XP Service Pack 2 users

    The information in this article applies to:

    • SONAR 4 Producer Edition
    • SONAR 4 Studio Edition
    • SONAR 3 Producer Edition
    • SONAR 3 Studio Edition
    • SONAR Home Studio Version 4
    • Home Studio

    Service Pack 2 (SP2) is the newest update to Windows XP. It installs a new security feature called data execution prevention, or DEP. DEP works by preventing viruses from entering your computer through a data buffer or protected memory address. Once a virus enters your system this way, it can successfully run its code from the memory location. The protection provided by SP2 therefore is very valuable.

    Our initial testing with SP2 and current Cakewalk programs revealed an adverse interaction that does not appear to manifest in the released version of SP2. In the unlikely event Windows ceases your Cakewalk program, citing a security violation after installing SP2, complete the follow instructions.

    Because Cakewalk programs use self-generating/modifying code that runs in protected memory, certain functions within our programs may cause Windows XP to stop the program and display a security warning. To prevent Windows XP from stopping your Cakewalk program, follow these simple steps:

    1. After installing SP2 for Windows XP, right-click My Computer and choose Properties from the menu.

    2. Next, go to the Advanced tab and click the Settings button in the Performance section.

    System Properties

    3. In the Performance Options window click on the Data Execution Prevention tab and choose "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:".

    Performance Options

    4. Click the Add button towards the bottom of the window and navigate to your Cakewalk program. For example, the default location for Sonar is C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Sonar. Once inside the Sonar folder, double click the file SONARPDR.EXE to add Sonar Producer Edition to the list of programs that will be excluded from DEP. If you are using the Studio Edition of Sonar the default location will be the same, but the program's executable file is SONARSTD.EXE. For Home Studio users the file is CWHS.EXE. As you can see the file name you need to add will depend on which Cakewalk program you are using. For all of our programs the default location of the program folder is C:\Program Files\Cakewalk.

    5. Click Apply and OK.

    That's it. Now Window XP will continue to protect your system from viruses and your Cakewalk program will remain unaffected.

    Keywords: techkb, S3P, S3S, CWHS, SR3, SR4, CWHS4, service pack, patch, update

     
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