How to install and license software?

Software requires a license to run in full (non-demo) mode. You can download and install software on any computer and use it in demo mode. When running software it will look for a license on the local computer, USB Thumb driver or SR License Server on the network. If a license is found, the software will run in full (non-demo) mode.

After you download your software, find the software in your download folder and double click on it to run. If your computer is up to date, the installation process will complete in a couple of minutes. If necessary the setup program will either update some components automatically or notify you of some needed updates.

Windows Update

Best to run Windows Update and apply all patches before installing new software. From the Start Menu, find the Windows Update icon and let Windows download and install updates.

Entering Serial Number

After software has completely installed on your computer, run the software. You will be prompted with window asking if you want to run the software in demo mode or enter the serial number to license the software.

Click the related button to register your software. The SR License Manager will run and prompt with a number of buttons. Click on "Register New Software".

The process is pretty simple, enter your Serial Number, Name and Email. Other fields are optional.

There are two processes to register, "Online Registration" and "Offline Registration".

Online Registration

When prompted, click on the button "This computer is connected to the Internet". The SR License Manager will connect to the license server and automatically obtain and apply a license. Once complete, a DONE dialog will appear, click close, then close the license manager. Software will now be licensed.

Offline Registration

If your computer is not connected to the Internet, click the button "This computer does not access the Internet". You will need access to another computer to complete the activation process.

After clicking the button, a new window will pop up showing your computer ID. You will need to use a computer that is connected to the internet and visit the registration page. Write down your Serial Number and Computer ID and take those values to a computer that is connected to the Internet. Browse to the http://store.stageresearch.com/register/ page and follow the online prompts by first selecting the product you are registering.

Enter your Name, Email, Serial Number and Computer ID on the registration form and submit the request. The page will refresh and you will be assigned a Key Code. Go back to your computer that you want to run the newly installed software on that is not connected to the internet and enter the Key Code and click “Complete Registration”.

After the Key Code is verified on your computer, the software will be registered and you will be able to run in full (non-demo) mode.

How to uninstall software?

In some cases it may be necessary to completely remove software and all license keys in order to re-install a newer or older version of our software. In order to do so, the process is pretty simple and outlined below.

Windows XP

1) From Control Panel select “Add or Remove Programs” and navigate to the software you want to remove and click the Remove button.

2) In RegEdit navigate to HKEY_CURRENTUSER\Software\Stage Research and delete the related folder(s)

3) Delete this hidden folder: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Stage Research

4) Delete the program folder from C:\Program Files\Stage Research

5) Reboot


Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10

1) From Control Panel select “Programs and Features” and navigate to the software you want to remove and click the Remove button.

2) In RegEdit navigate to HKEY_CURRENTUSER\Software\Stage Research and delete the related folder(s)

3) Delete this hidden folder: C:\ProgramData\Stage Research

4) Delete the program folder from C:\Program Files\Stage Research

5) Reboot Re-install the Software.


NOTE: This process will require that you contact us to re-register your license for your software. If you are able, run our software and under the Help Menu find the License Manager and click on the UnRegister button to release the current license or transfer the license to any USB Jump/Flash drive for later re-install. Failing to do that will require you to send us an email or call us to release a new license for your computer.

How to manually register audio engine if it fails during installation?

During installation of SFX, an audio engine is registered on the computer that'll be used to connect to an ASIO sound card.

If there is a failure in registering the audio engine, sound will not work on the computer.

The indication that the audio engine is not registered will be logged in the SFXv6Log.txt file located in Documents\SFX6 with a line similar to this:

[27/06/2020 3:01:19 PM] EXC : Could not load file or assembly 'Audio.Engine.Interface, Version=2.0.6563.24196, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=ce008ae731e2b29e' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.
 at StageResearch.Windows.SFX6.Engine.#ye(Object #G, ListChangedEventArgs #H)
at StageResearch.Windows.SFX6.Engine.#we()
 at StageResearch.Windows.SFX6.frmMainFrame.#Gk()
 at StageResearch.Windows.SFX6.frmMainFrame.#Bk(String #ee)

To resolve, follow these steps:

1) First try to install SFX in administrator mode. If that fails do the following:

1) Run an CMD Prompt in Administration mode. (Right click on the CMD icon and then Run As Administrator)
2) Navigate to the SFX6 folder
cd "\Program Files (x86)\Stage Research\SFX6"
3) Register the audio engine, type in:
c:\windows\system32\regsvr32 Audio.Engine.Worker.dll

A dialog box should pop up giving you an indication if the registration was successful.

How to play audio without using a ASIO sound card?

ASIO 4 All is a driver that sits on top of the existing Windows drivers and emulates the ASIO interface. Some additional latency will be added during playback so you will not be able to play as many tracks as you can using straight ASIO. Download from www.ASIO4All.com.

Because ASIO4All sits on top of the existing sound card drivers, ASIO4All will route audio based on it's settings in the ASIO4All System Tray application. In some cases ASIO4All will try to direct audio to a digital or SPDIF output and if you are expecting to hear audio through the analog outputs, no sound will be heard.

To resolve this routing issue, after running SFX and setting up your ASIO patch, an icon will appear in your System Tray (by the clock) called ASIO4All, click on it and open up the ASIO4All control panel.

The panel will list out all the WDM Devices on your computer. Verify that the sound is going to the correct WDM device.

How to move a license from one computer to another?

Option A

1) Unregister license from Computer A using the License Manager from Help|License Manager
2) Register the same license on Computer B Note: You will need internet access to unregister a license.

Option B

1) Transfer the license to any USB Drive/Stick from Computer A
2) Transfer the license back to the C: drive on Computer B Note: Place a USB Drive in a USB port before you startup the software you want to transfer, then click on Help|License Manager. Find the drive you want to transfer the license to in the drop down box and click the “Transfer to Drive” button.

Note: Move the USB Drive to Computer B and do the same except pick the C: drive as the drive to transfer to.

Option C

Just request a new license. Software is currently placed in the public domain and is free to anyone requesting a copy.

How to use a thumb drive as a dongle?

1) Plug your USB Flash/Thumb drive into a USB Port
2) Run the SR License Manager or find License Manager from Help in any of the Stage Research software products
3) Select the License you want to move from the grid by clicking on it.
4) Select the Drive Letter to move the license to located under “Transfer to Drive”.
5) Click the “Transfer to Drive Button”
6) Notice that the Grid will refresh and the License Manager will display what drive the license is located on.

NOTE: For a Thumb Drive to work as a Key/Dongle, it must be inserted before you run the application.

What is a subscription?

Software is provided on a subscription basis. That is, when you purchase any software program, all updates for one full year after purchase are available to you at no additional cost. If we release a new version, whether a major version or minor version, you may download and install at no additional charge within your subscription period. At the anniversary of purchase you may either purchase another year of updates, or choose to stay with what you have. A program with an expired software subscription will continue to run, however additional updates will not be available. If you have an expired software subscription and wish to gain access to current releases, simply renew your subscription using your assigned serial number.