Audacity Forum

I am trying to install Audacity for the first time, and I'm getting an error message:

Error creating registry key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.AUP

RegCreateKeyEx failed; code 5.

Access is denied

If I click on "ignore" it seems to go through a number of files and then aborts the installation.

What do I do to overcome this please?

Thanks.

Do you have Admin rights on the machine? (run the installer as an Administrator)

Thanks for the response.

Yes, I attempted to install the item under Administrator user rights.

Try the instructions here: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Windows_Vista_OS

I've had a go at that, but without success. However, under 'Audacity Properties/compatability' I don't get the option to choose Vista under "run this program in compatability mode for:" The nearest is Windows XP (service pack 2), but that doesn't seem to work.

The Audacity version that I've got seems to be 1.2.6 for the record.

rpveary wrote: The Audacity version that I've got seems to be 1.2.6 for the record.

Try Audacity 1.3

I've tried Audacity 1.3.11 and I get the same error message. During the process it wouldn't let me direct the download to the 'Programs' file; I had to go to a users file. It said I didn't have the necessary permissions for the programs file, which seems odd given that it's a home computer and I've been able to download any other software that I've wanted to.

What next?!!

rpveary wrote:During the process it wouldn't let me direct the download to the 'Programs' file;

I don't know what you mean.

1) Download audacity the Audacity 1.3.11 installer to your Desktop
2) You should now have the file "audacity-win-unicode-1.3.11.exe" on your Desktop
3) Run the file as Administrator and enter the Administrator password
4) Accept the default settings.

If Audacity does not install, please say exactly where it goes wrong and exactly what error message is displayed.

I followed steps 1 and 2 without a problem. When I got to 3 everything goes fine until the installation is almost completed. The I get:

"Installing - Please wait while setup installs Audacity 1.3 Beta (Unicode) on your computer
Creating registry entries... "

Then right near the end of the above process an error message comes up:

"Error creating registry key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.AUP

RegCreateKeyEx failed: code 5.
Access is denied.

Click Retry to try again, Ignore to proceed anyway, or Abort to cancel installation."

Clicking 'Retry' seems to go around in circles, but when I click on 'Ignore' I get additional file detail added to the above as follows:

"HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTAudacity.ProjectOpenWithListaudacity.exe" then "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTAudacity.Projectshellopencommand" then "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion
UninstallAudacity 1.3 Beta (Unicode)_is1"

I then press 'OK' and the message comes up: "Setup was not completed. Correct the problem and run setup again". Pressing 'OK' then causes the whole thing to roll back, and I'm back to square one!

I hope this makes sense to you. Thanks.

The only reasons that I can think of for the error is that either you do not have Administrator permissions, or the installation is being blocked by some security software.
If you are absolutely sure that you downloaded Audacity from the Audacity web site, then it is safe to temporarily switch off your anti-virus/security software while you install.
If you do not have access to an Administrator account, there is an alternative that we can try - do you know how to "extract a ZIP file"?