BOXED UPGRADE AND NEW PURCHASE:

If you select the "Install Avid Editor Suite" batch install, then on the screen to select the drive to which the installation will occur you select a drive other than "C:", the installer will ignore your selection and install to the C: drive.

WORKAROUND: Install all products one at a time changing the target drive in the appropriate dialog.

NOTE: Even using the work-around, the Utilities sub-dir and the AVX2 plug-ins will still end up in C:\Program Files\Avid.  You can move them manually, but you will then have to fix up your shortcut targets on the desktop / in the Start->All Programs->Avid->Utilities menu and registry entries for the AVX Plugins.

Regardless of where the editing suite is installed, the installation of AvidFX 5.8 from the included disk fails.  At the very end of the install, after all the fx library files etc. have been installed, the installer hits a fatal error

Feature: Avid FX for AVX 2
Component:   DLL AVX
File:              %ProgramFiles%
Error:             Access is denied.

and cancels out of the install leaving the files on the disk, but no entry in the add/remove program list to be able to uninstall it.

WORKAROUND: (only for the technically savvy/brave).  Edit the registry entry HKLM\Software\Avid\AVX_Plugins\AVX2Directory

change the value:

%ProgramFiles%\Avid\AVX2_Plug-Ins

to:

C:\Program Files\Avid\AVX2_Plug-ins

(or to the explicit path to where AVX2_Plug-ins ended up after your Media Composer 3 install).

AvidFX installation also does not offer any choice as to its installation location.  This may be the root of the problem since the AVX2_Plug-ins sub-dir changed location with the release of MC 3.  The included Boris Continuum Complete 5 also hits the same snag.  However, since it offers the option to change the installation location, you can navigate to the proper AVX2 plugin location to get around the error.  Not so with Avid FX so you will not be able to install and use Avid FX.

The above applies to BOTH UPGRADES AFTER FOLLOWING UNINSTALL INSTRUCTIONS FOR MEDIA COMPOSER 2.X, AND NEW PURCHASE CLEAN INSTALLS TO "VIRGIN" (I.E. BRAND NEW NEVER BEEN USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE) WORKSATIONS (in this case a dual quad-cor xw8600 configured to Avid's specs by HP).

bump

(new info on workarounds and severity)

wmc,

Thanks for posting this workaround.  Pretty amazing that Avid's Installer allows you to pick a target drive but then ignores it, and the Avid FX installer gives you no options at all.  I had figured out the individual installs for the Avid apps, but was stuck with Avid FX until I found your registry hack.  Has this been submitted to Avid a fix in the next release?

Thanks again,

Jeff