First of all I want say hello to all members out there,
this is my first post.

The story in breief:
- Fresh installation with windows 10, Samplitude Pro X3, Cubase Elements 9.0, Kontakt5 5.7.3 R37)
- Kontakt 5 worked fine in windows 8.1 , but not any more in windows 10
- The strange thing: VST is loanding but with no GUI (just a small basic window), It happens both
in Samplitude and Cubase Elements 9.0
- The same happens with Kontakt5 5.8.1 (sym link)
So I end up with a useless installation and a useless PC.
- I have worked in computers for may years, but in this case I quit (so shame to me ... )
Has anyone met this ? (except Bill Gates himself ... )

 

Yeah, happened to me w/ latest (symlink 581) x64 Kontakt, C95, W10e latest. When I reloaded, it also locked up needing hard reset. I fiddled around uninstalling everything, fiddling around w/ services etcs. I dunno if it was coincidence or starting over from scratch (aka install 568 first, then 581) but when I let Cubase connect to the net, it worked. The standalone exe always worked. Twas mysterious, still dunno wtf was wrong. But seems ok nao offline.

 

Given that its a new Windows Installation there might be some requirements/dependencies missing. You might wanna try a Tool like AiO Runtimes which installs all relevant runtimes for Windows.

I also experienced rather strange VST behavior when the Graphics Driver was not installed.


Hopefully you can figure it out

 

You might want to try installing the Kontakt demo from NI first, as it will install a lot of crap that it needs. Like NI downloader app and two or three different VC++ runtimes. Make sure you have .NET 4.6, or whatever the newest version of it, too. In some cases you might also want to install the latest VGA driver for your card. I'd try in that order. Afterwards, just install the cracked Kontakt over the one you downloaded and uninstall the NI downloader crap. It should work.

Unfortunately, you do end up with some more bloat installed that way.

 

Probably to do with the fact that Kontakt seems to want internet access in the newer versions. Mine always asks for access on loading.

Get round it by using something like zonealarm. Grant kontakt access, bt disable your Internet connection manually. Kontakt will then launch as it should.

 

In that case Kontakt can crash, if I remember correctly. He didn't say anything about crashes. But this is always a good thing to keep in mind.

 

Thank you guys, I appreciate your answers ,
I took a deep breath an I have made a clear installation, from scratch ....
I have follow some of your suggetions:

1. So I am not alone (FamousLut thanks )
2. Installing the Kontakt demo and all the mess around it ... (thanks to SineWave)
2. Check runtimes by installing some very old programs (PlzNo, thanks...)
3. Different VC++ runtimes have been checked ( SineWave, thanks)
4. Firewall is a problem, I had to disable the Esset Internet Security (Who Me, thanks)
5. I had left .NET as it is, I had problems with many versions installed in the past ...
6. The new installation of version 5.7.3 had problem, it freezes. After a deep meditation and hours of checking I discovered a brand new enemy, System Mechanic!!! (I din't have problems in the past, may be the last update is the problem) those updates...
If you meet this case is better to uninstall System Mechanic and install it after .. (to me, thanks )

Everything works fine up to version 5.7.3 But version 5.8.1, symlink does not work at all in Cubase Elements. In Samplitude pro X3 only the 32bit version works. The projects and the sound are OK but the kontakt GUI is missing. It's definetely a Kontakt 5.8.1 problem. At least Samplitude pro X3 works with Kontakt 5.8.1 x32.
I test also all this mess with SaviHost (a free simple VSThost, http://www.hermannseib.com/english/savihost.htm )
and ... It works!!! with both x32 and x64. The problem I guess is mainly in the interface between
VSThost bridge x64 an Kontakt X64.
The best part is after buying all this expensive stuff to end up with all this mess!!!
(We are the best beta testers !! you know ...)

So I have to live with this mesh for now ..
Thanks again

 

using "5.8.1 symlink update" it's recommended to install 5.6.8 symlink first, as famouslat well said.

For those who experienced problem when blocked internet connection, did you guys have in Kontakt > Options > Usage Data tab the sentence "No, I don't want to contribute" checked? Because I suppose it clearly declares that Kontakt is willing to call home to send usage data.

 

If all your Kontakt versions are "no install" ones and v5.7.3 works v5.8.1 should work.
Can you share your .cmd files that switch versions?