Video - DaVinci Resolve on windows

I am running Windows 11. I use chrome, go to the davinci download site, and it downloads a zip file. This is version 18.6.6. I doubleclick on the entry in the Chrome download subwindow and get a windows file manager showing the zip file contents. I click on the only entry contained there (which may be an exe file, it is truncated). The file inside is 2.1G in size. After a long wait (windows is a pig) I get a dialog asking if I want to run this. I do. I get an "extracting" progress dialog. When that finishes I get prompted for my admin password and say "yes" to making changes to my system. Now I get a dialog with a list of components it wants to install along with a request for permission. Presumably these are things it is getting from the network, namely:

DaVinci Control Panels
Black magic RAW player
Davinci Resolve 18.6.6.0007

The last is perhaps an update or new version?

I mistakenly clicked on the exe twice since it was not clear if anything was happening. I cancel the second extraction and hope it did not corrupt the first. Windows demands patience because it is slow and uninformative.

Now it launches a setup wizard. It will install to C:\Program files\Blackmagic design\DaVinci Resolve After a delay it says "installing component registration".

After copying files it wants to restart my computer. Windows is slow. And I have learned that even though it looks ready, it may still be busy starting up. I listen carefully for busy disk noises.

When I can finally log in, I find entries in the search for DaVinci Control Panels as well as Resolve. I try the DaVinci Resolve entry. This just fires up the nasty Edge browser on DaVinci Resolve.

The start menu has a Blackmagic entry now, which contains Davinci control panels. I try that. This is better. Windows defender detects it trying to communicate on public networks -- I tell it to allow that. Now it tells me that no control panels are found. This must be the interface to the speed editor (which I do not have). This is pretty weird, I find no way to start Resolve.

Try again

cd Downloads
mkdir DaVinci
cd DaVinci
Expand-Archive -Force ..\DaVinci_xxx.zip .

.\DaVinci_xxx.exe

Now it tells me DaVinci installer complete.

I am not the first to have this issue

• No way to start DaVinci resolve

Launch file explorer and go here:

C:\Program Files\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve

Find the file "Resolve.exe". Right-drag it to the desktop and click on "Create Shortcuts Here". Right-click the shortcut and select "Pin to Start". Open the start menu and verify the shortcut is in place. Delete the shortcut from the desktop to keep the desktop uncluttered.

Fire it up

It takes me through a startup dialog. It will use /Users/tom/Videos to store files. Then it starts Resolve proper (which takes a while). I have to tell Windows Defender it is OK for it to use public networks. This is probably to "call home".

Freezes in flash screen with "loading projects"

I see lots of reports on this. The cure one fellow says works is to run DR (DaVinci Resolve) as an admin user. I use task manager to "end task" which does immediately get rid of the broken splash screen.

I log out, then log in as my admin user.
Then I go to "Settings",
then Accounts,
then "family and other users".
There I can find "tom" and click on it.
Then a button that says "change account type" appears.
It offers me the choice of "standard" or "administrator".
I change it to administrator and click OK.

I log out of my admin account and back in as "tom".
I use the desktop shortcut to launch DR.
Indeed it now seems to work.

What does not work is the shortcut pinned to the start menu.
I unpin it from start, then pin it again.
Now it works.