Hi,
My first post here, hoping you guys can help. Apologies for the history/scene setting preamble, but, eventually, if you can please read on, you'll get to the on-topic bit about serial numbers.
I'm a long time Cubase user ... in fact I was a beta tester for Cubase 1.0 on the Atari back when Evenlode Soundworks distributed Steinberg gear in the UK. I got roped into that due to the contacts I made while using Pro24.
Anyway, when the Atari was usurped in my house by a PC, I crossgraded to VST 3.5/24 and then VST 5/32. Since then, I've carried upgrading all he way to the current 7.5, nowadays working on Mac computers.
So, here's the thing. I used to run VST 5/32 with a fully kitted out set of Yamaha DSP Factory cards (2x DS2416, 1x AC-16XT and 1x SW1000XG, with an ADB AX88 8 i/o 24bit front end for it). I've always fancied resurrecting that kit since my last PC with 5volt PCI slots died. I had the motherboard repaired several times, but after that I never found another PC motherboard with enough 5v PCI slots.
So, I thought to myself, seeing as I'm now Mac centric, I wonder if I could get a suitable old Mac to put the cards in and run VST 5/32.
I've spoken to Steinberg Tech Support, as I only seem to have ever had a PC install disc, and they kindly linked me to an .iso of the VST 5/32 Mac Installer. I burned the .iso to a CD, and I've also copied the files onto one of the internal drives (not the OS drive). I also downloaded the updates from ftp.steinberg.de .
I've bought a great condition Mac G4 (for £10.61! off ebay), with dual 1.25ghz processors and 1.75gb Ram, and have successfully installed OS9 to boot natively. The Yamaha drivers are also installed, as is OMS. Everything is working fine so far.
Next step then is to get Cubase installed. And here's the problem ...
My serial number ... 9 digits beginning with 11, is not accepted when I'm prompted to enter it, whether trying to install 5.0 from the CD or the internal drive. The same problem occurs if I try to install 5.1, as when it accesses the CD, I get the same prompt and the serial number is not accepted.
So, any ideas, where do I go from here? Is the '11’ series serial number just for PC versions? Do I need to get a different serial number for installing on a Mac?
I saw that there is a Cubase VST 5/32 'Authorizer' file available. If I use that, will I still get a 'full' properly working installation of Cubase, or is it in some way 'hacked' and therefore unstable.
It seems a shame to have to use this authorizer when I'm a legit owner, but I'm struggling to see the alternative. I've had no response as yet from Steinberg regarding the non-working serial number, but from what I've read here, it seems you can use any 9 numbers so long as the first two are '11'.
Or is there something else I'm missing?
Help/ideas please!