SoundID Reference Systemwide Installation Fix for Windows 11 25H2

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share a fix for anyone having trouble installing SoundID Reference Systemwide (5.13.1.1019) on Windows 11 25H2 (Build 26200+). After struggling with constant failures, I finally managed to get it running via a manual installation.

The Issue: When trying to install SoundID Reference via the online installer on Build 26200, everything installs fine (VSTs, Measurement app, etc.) except for the Systemwide app.

This started happening right after a Windows update. I tried all the official fixes - clean uninstall/reinstall, registry cleanup, multiple attempts - but nothing worked.

It seems the bundled installer doesn't catch errors from the sub-installers; it just fails silently and acts like everything succeeded. The only clue is that the Reference app never launches at the end (because it wasn't actually installed).

How to identify the issue

1. After a failed installation, check this folder: `C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\`
2. Look for a log the latest file named `MSI*******.LOG` (e.g., `MSI10a2c.LOG`)
3. The log will contain the actual error message

The error in the log looks like this:

DIFXAPP: INFO: Could not open file C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\soundidreference.inf_amd64_afbdd05b51cc35f2\soundidreference.inf. (Error code 0x3: The system cannot find the path specified.)
DIFXAPP: ERROR: PnP Install failed. (Error code 0x3EE: The volume for a file has been externally altered so that the opened file is no longer valid.)
DIFXAPP: ERROR: InstallDriverPackages failed with error 0x3EE

The installation fails during the driver installation phase (DIFXAPP/DIFxApp driver installation framework), and the entire Systemwide installation rolls back. This happens even with:

- Windows Defender and real-time protection disabled
- Firewall disabled
- Running as Administrator
- No previous Sonarworks installation present

The interesting thing is that the driver itself can be installed manually without any issues - the problem is specifically with how the MSI installer's DIFXAPP component handles the driver installation on the newer Windows 11 builds.

Environment

- OS: Windows 11 Pro Build 26200 (25H2)
- Installer version: SoundID Reference 5.13.1.1019
- Error code: 0x3EE (1006) - "The volume for a file has been externally altered so that the opened file is no longer valid"

Manual Installation Workaround

STEP 1: Locate and extract the MSI

After running the online installer (even if it failed), the individual installers are saved to:

`C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Temp\Sonarworks\Installer\`

You'll find `SoundIDReferenceSystemwide.msi` there.

Extract the MSI contents using 7-Zip, lessmsi, or run the following command (adjust the target path as needed):

msiexec /a "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\Sonarworks\Installer\SoundIDReferenceSystemwide.msi" /qb TARGETDIR="%LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\Sonarworks\Installer\Extracted"

This will extract the files to the specified directory. The relevant files will be in the `PFiles` subfolder.

STEP 2: Copy files to Program Files

Open an Administrator PowerShelland run or do manully:

Copy-Item -Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Temp\Sonarworks\Installer\Extracted\PFiles\Sonarworks\*" -Destination "C:\Program Files\Sonarworks\" -Recurse -Force
Copy-Item -Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Temp\Sonarworks\Installer\Extracted\PFiles\Common Files\Sonarworks\*" -Destination "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Sonarworks\" -Recurse -Force

STEP 3: Install the driver manually

You have two options:

Option A: Right-click method

Navigate to the extracted folder:

… PFiles\Sonarworks\SoundID Reference\Systemwide\Winx64\

Right-click on `soundidreference.inf` and select Install from the context menu.

Option B: Command line

In an Administrator Command Prompt, run:

pnputil /add-driver "C:\Program Files\Sonarworks\SoundID Reference\Systemwide\Winx64\soundidreference.inf" /install

Both methods should complete successfully - the driver itself has no issues being installed manually.
 

STEP 4: Check for existing services and clean up if necessary

Before creating the services, check if they already exist from a previous failed installation.

Open `services.msc` (press Win+R, type `services.msc`, press Enter) and look for:

- `SonarworksAPOConfigService`
- `SonarworksWDMDriverService`

If these services already exist, delete them first in an Administrator Command Prompt:

sc delete SonarworksAPOConfigService

sc delete SonarworksWDMDriverService

STEP 5: Register the Windows Services

Run these commands in an Administrator Command Prompt (each command must be on a single line):

sc create "SonarworksAPOConfigService" binPath= "C:\Program Files\Sonarworks\SoundID Reference\Systemwide\APO\APOConfigService.exe" start= auto

sc create "SonarworksWDMDriverService" binPath= "C:\Program Files\Sonarworks\SoundID Reference\Systemwide\WDMDriverManagement\SonarworksWDMDriverService.exe" start= auto

Important note about `sc` syntax: There must be a space after `binPath=` before the path. This is a quirk of the `sc` command.

STEP 6: Register the APO DLLs

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Sonarworks\SoundID Reference\Systemwide\APO\SonarworksAPODriver.dll"

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Sonarworks\SoundID Reference\Systemwide\APO\SonarworksMDAPODriver.dll"

STEP 7: Start the services

You can start the services via command line:

sc start SonarworksAPOConfigService

sc start SonarworksWDMDriverService

Or use `services.msc`: find the two Sonarworks services, right-click each one and select Start.

STEP 8: Launch SoundID Reference

Navigate to `C:\Program Files\Sonarworks\SoundID Reference\Systemwide\` and run `SoundID Reference.exe`.

The application should now work correctly!

SUMMARY:

The root cause appears to be an incompatibility between the DIFXAPP driver installation framework used in the MSI installer and Windows 11 24H2/25H2. The driver and application themselves work fine - it's just the automated installation process that fails.

Additionally, the main online installer should better handle and report errors from sub-installers instead of silently continuing.

I hope Sonarworks can update the installer to address this issue for newer Windows 11 builds. In the meantime, this manual workaround should help others who are stuck.
 

*Tested on Windows 11 Pro Build 26200 (25H2) with SoundID Reference 5.13.1.1019*