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How to install Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 on Windows 11

 How to install Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 on Windows 11.









April 27, 2024

I love using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I have been using Dragon NaturallySpeaking ever since they had version 4. It is much faster than typing, and becomes more accurate the more that you use it.

I used my previous laptop for a few more years than I should have, happily Using Dragon 11 without problems or much concern.  When the laptop suddenly and catastrophically died, I had to go through the process of replacing software as well as recovering my files.

“No problem!” I thought, “I have installation disks from the last several licenses of Dragon NaturallySpeaking that I purchased, and I’m sure that they will install on my new Windows 11 laptop with no problem.”

Actually, the most recent to licenses for Dragon NaturallySpeaking were version 11,Premium. My new laptop does not have a DVD drive, so it was not a trivial thing to find external DVD drive plug it in and spin up the DVD to install Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.

It didn’t work. I got error messages about the wrong version of the operating system, and clicking [okay] only stopped the installation process.

“I wonder how much a Dragon NaturallySpeaking license costs these days?” I wondered, so I looked up the price on the Nuance website–

 www.https://nuance.com/dragon/business-solutions/dragon-professional.html

There is no longer a “home” or “premium” version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. The cheapest level seems to be “professional,” and the single license for the Professional version 16 is $699. To be fair, there is an upgrade price if you happen to have version 15, for only $349.

Yikes! Looking back through my records I realized that I had bought my Dragon version 11 licenses in 2010, nearly 14 years ago. As has happened for everyone else, since that time inflation has marched up the hill and the purchasing power of my wages have gone down hill. I can no longer afford a single license for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and I doubt that Nuance would give me the upgrade price, since I missed getting versions 12, 13, 14, and 15.  Even $349.00 is a severe strain.

“I wonder if I can get version 11 to install under Windows 11,” I asked myself, so I took a second look at the problem.

Making Use of Compatibility Modes

Using File Explorer, I took a look at the files on the installation disk. I went down the list, and identified all of the executable files on the disk. For each one, I right clicked file name, selected “Properties”,then “compatibility”, and selected compatibility for Windows 7.

Note: forget about the Windows Compatibility Troubleshooter. It was a good idea in its day, but Windows has decided to phase out the compatibility troubleshooter, and it really doesn’t work that well anymore. It’s a better use of your time to just guess which compatibility setting to use.

I guess I got lucky, because the installation process started working when I clicked on the installed program. It was a buggy, slow installation. At one point, Nuance may have installed an obsolete C++ runtime version that was nevertheless compatible with Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 11, but in the final analysis, it did install!

At the end of the process, after entering my license number, the software tried to direct me to a scan soft website that no longer exists.  I eventually found the current site:

https://register.nuance.com/login.aspx

Miraculously, my old ID and password still worked, and Nuance allowed me to register my license. This makes me optimistic that my installation of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11 will continue to function after the five trial uses that you get without a license key!

So I’m back in the saddle with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, once again. In fact, I am using Dragon NaturallySpeaking to write these notes.

Maybe, If I get lucky with the Lottery or somehow manage to pay off my credit cards, I will ask Nuance if they will give me the discount price on Dragon Pro 16.  I have bought a Version 4, A Version 7, and three licenses each for Versions 9 and 10, as well as two licenses for Version 11.  I also got Version 9 to work in Linux with Codeweavers CrossOver, and gave them the details of how to do that for free.  Maybe there’s a little bit of Loyal Customer Gratitude for me, somewhere in the depths of Nuance!  

I’m not sure this is going to work for me again in Windows 15!


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