Installing Cfast 7 on a windows 11 machine.

[NLGENG]

When I try to install the program there are multiple errors noted. The two folders "Cfast and SMV6" are created and several EXE files are copied. Then it runs into several errors. I tried several different possible solutions including selecting a different drive, folder in the root , I reinitiated all the permission attributes by opening windows in safe mode and using "Netplwiz". I also tried to manually set permissions for the folders that the installation program is required to access. Here is a screen shot of the errors during installation
*** Copying cfast installation files to C:\Program Files\firemodels\cfast7
*** Copying smokeview installation files to C:\Program Files\firemodels\SMV6
The system cannot find the path specified.
Invalid number of parameters
*** Setting up PATH variable.
The system cannot find the path specified.
The system cannot find the path specified.
*** Associating the .smv file extension with smokeview.exe
*** Adding document shortcuts to the Start menu.
The system cannot find the path specified.
***error: The shortcut "C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\CFAST7\Guides\CFAST Users Guide.lnk" failed to be created
The system cannot find the path specified.
***error: The shortcut "C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\CFAST7\Guides\CFAST Technical Reference Guide.lnk" failed to be created
The system cannot find the path specified.
***error: The shortcut "C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\CFAST7\Guides\CFAST Software Development and Model Evaluation Guide.lnk" failed to be created
The system cannot find the path specified.
***error: The shortcut "C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\CFAST7\Guides\CFAST Configuration Management.lnk" failed to be created
The system cannot find the path specified.
***error: The shortcut "C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\CFAST7\CFAST.lnk" failed to be created
The system cannot find the path specified.
***error: The shortcut "C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\CFAST7\Smokeview.lnk" failed to be created
The system cannot find the path specified.
***error: The shortcut "C:\ProgramData\Start Menu\Programs\CFAST7\Uninstall.lnk" failed to be created
*** Setting up the Uninstall script.
The system cannot find the path specified.
The system cannot find the path specified.
The system cannot find the path specified.

*** Press any key, then reboot to complete the installation.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Nick

[gforney]

i reproduced the problem after removing the directory c:\program files\firemodels (which I suspect is missing on your compuoter)

in any case, there is a bug in the installer script which shows up when the directory c:\program files\firemodels does not exist . here are a few work arounds until I can fix the installer (which may be awhile)

1. download the fds/smokeview installer from https://pages.nist.gov/fds-smv/downloads.html and run it. this will create the firemodels directory when installing fds and smokeview (this installer does not have the bug). then run the cfast installer as before
2. a 2nd work around - right click on the cmd shell icon and select run as administrator. then cd to c:\program files . then create the firemodels directory using mkdir firemodels . then run the cfast installer as before
3. a 3rd work around when you run the cfast installer select option 2 instead of option 1 that installs cfast in your "home" directory

[gforney]

have you tried any of the work arounds? 1 and 3 are the easiest

[NLGENG]

I had tried the work arounds prior, it installs creates and copies the cfast and smokeview executable files. It doesn’t create the shortcuts and update the windows registry. I can run the CEdit, but it doesn’t work properly, I am assuming that while it tries to run, it’s not finding what it needs. I tried manually creating the Firemodels folder and ran the Cfast installer I also tried to install in the root directory, install to a different drive, I installed FDS and SMV6 then tried cfast install, I also reset all the admin permissions thinking that it’s not able to access certain folders; and still get the same error messages. I previously had Cfast installed, I am not sure which version, but it was maybe three or four years ago. And it worked very well. I am in the middle of a project that is requiring a smoke simulation to assure that smoke is prevented from entering the egress path in the building. I started to investigate other software programs, however I know how to work with Cfast and get the information I need quickly. Any other software product will have a learning curve. I don’t have enough available for this project to absorb the time needed to learn a new program. Thank for your time and assistance. I am going to try to re-install on my laptop and see if I can get that to work. Nick Nicholas L. Guglielminetti, PE NLG Engineering, PC 3062 9w, Suite 500 New Windsor, New York, 12553 Email: ***@***.******@***.***> Web page: www.nlgeng.com<http://www.nlgeng.com/> Phone: (845)562-7005 Fax : (845)562-7007 Cell: (914)522-4142 From: gforney ***@***.***> Sent: Friday, June 12, 2026 5:32 PM To: firemodels/cfast ***@***.***> Cc: Nicholas Guglielminetti ***@***.***>; Author ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [firemodels/cfast] Installing Cfast 7 on a windows 11 machine. (Issue #2282) [https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/12403014?s=20&v=4]gforney left a comment (firemodels/cfast#2282)<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_firemodels_cfast_issues_2282-23issuecomment-2D4695615157&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=SjzMuB0NesEicqFcOU3QRjWx7rSBTculE7XUlDbgqJA&m=Oz56srGUgHvAqdwH7tJMKvKqrK8NvYr5cn82IHyuSvrT1UNnspEiuhePxzEWUndi&s=xM0V1T0OFP9LQmi9VHve6fZTdKNRJ9WZcAe41Ex6vI0&e=> have you tried any of the work arounds? 1 and 3 are the easiest — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_firemodels_cfast_issues_2282-3Femail-5Fsource-3Dnotifications-26email-5Ftoken-3DCF2FZ5MABBAJ25ED6GB2GJT47RZDJA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTINRZGU3DCNJRGU32M4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KYZTPN52GK4S7MNWGSY3L-23issuecomment-2D4695615157&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=SjzMuB0NesEicqFcOU3QRjWx7rSBTculE7XUlDbgqJA&m=Oz56srGUgHvAqdwH7tJMKvKqrK8NvYr5cn82IHyuSvrT1UNnspEiuhePxzEWUndi&s=8H7ExPtEMVAQCqrrzNkK9jBu-1R2yiUcr6qc29S0h58&e=>, or unsubscribe<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_notifications_unsubscribe-2Dauth_CF2FZ5PAYJJPAD5OM37OU2T47RZDJAVCNFSNUABEKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMZTQMBVGIZDANZ3JFZXG5LFHM2DMNBUGU4DSNBRG6QXMAQ&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=SjzMuB0NesEicqFcOU3QRjWx7rSBTculE7XUlDbgqJA&m=Oz56srGUgHvAqdwH7tJMKvKqrK8NvYr5cn82IHyuSvrT1UNnspEiuhePxzEWUndi&s=70GiYmgdLIsgh00-YdXLh_toS6DMthVVEcmhWSxm8gs&e=>. Triage notifications, keep track of coding agent tasks and review pull requests on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_notifications_mobile_ios_CF2FZ5L4YGIMWFKTBLEC2B347RZDJA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTINRZGU3DCNJRGU32M4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KUZTPN52GK4S7NFXXG&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=SjzMuB0NesEicqFcOU3QRjWx7rSBTculE7XUlDbgqJA&m=Oz56srGUgHvAqdwH7tJMKvKqrK8NvYr5cn82IHyuSvrT1UNnspEiuhePxzEWUndi&s=ZY-Bw_-pyyhs3tyqKQuUIwBx4tP7g3_TM5si595GRGs&e=> and Android<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_notifications_mobile_android_CF2FZ5NCBVN5MZQU7CAXVSD47RZDJA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTINRZGU3DCNJRGU32M4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2K4ZTPN52GK4S7MFXGI4TPNFSA&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=SjzMuB0NesEicqFcOU3QRjWx7rSBTculE7XUlDbgqJA&m=Oz56srGUgHvAqdwH7tJMKvKqrK8NvYr5cn82IHyuSvrT1UNnspEiuhePxzEWUndi&s=SEyh5LzhmqdhqRp632RXU0ZDaDlubyKQjTf0OQ-MLyY&e=>. Download it today! You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.******@***.***>>

[gforney]

I am not able to reproduce the problems you are seeing. I used work around 1 that is I uninstalled the existing fds/smokeview software then installed fds/smv, then installed cfast. then ran a case with cedit . these are the shortcuts I am seeing.. are there shortcuts you were expecting that you do not see in the attached image?

did you reboot your pc after the install

[rmcdermo]

Is this still an issue?

[preneke]

I can't speak for Rick but I think it is fixed. However what for him to tell you. From: Randy McDermott ***@***.***> Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2026 10:13 AM To: firemodels/cfast ***@***.***> Cc: Subscribed ***@***.***> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [firemodels/cfast] Installing Cfast 7 on a windows 11 machine. (Issue #2282) [https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/4418497?s=20&v=4]rmcdermo left a comment (firemodels/cfast#2282)<#2282 (comment)> Is this still an issue? - Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#2282?email_source=notifications&email_token=ADDV4MAXL4TJT2BG27XMZNL5FDPGRA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIOJZGI4DSOJRGA3KM4TFMFZW63VKON2WE43DOJUWEZLEUVSXMZLOOSWGM33PORSXEX3DNRUWG2Y#issuecomment-4992899106>, or unsubscribe<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADDV4MEANYXLQR53J7W7G4L5FDPGRAVCNFSNUABEKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHMZTQMBVGIZDANZ3JFZXG5LFHM2DMNBUGU4DSNBRG6QXMAQ>. Triage notifications, keep track of coding agent tasks and review pull requests on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS<https://github.com/notifications/mobile/ios/ADDV4MEFEMSSSOE4SGNBIDL5FDPGRA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIOJZGI4DSOJRGA3KM4TFMFZW63VKON2WE43DOJUWEZLEUVSXMZLOOSVGM33PORSXEX3JN5ZQ> and Android<https://github.com/notifications/mobile/android/ADDV4MENGMRIVIBXIUDCOZ35FDPGRA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIOJZGI4DSOJRGA3KM4TFMFZW63VKON2WE43DOJUWEZLEUVSXMZLOOSXGM33PORSXEX3BNZSHE33JMQ>. Download it today! You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.******@***.***>>

[rpeacoc]

I think Glenn was working on this

[gforney]

Ill look at this some more when i can get access to the computers i need.

To op do you have admin rights on your pc? Errors you are seeing indicate you may not. Also take a look at questions i asked earlier