SAM Is Installed Locally but Does Not Start When Dolphin Software Launches

 Overview

If SAM (Speech and Accessibility Manager) is installed on a client device but does not start when Dolphin Software launches, the issue is often caused by missing or incomplete registry entries required by SAM.

In most cases, this occurs when the user account used during installation did not have sufficient permissions to create the required registry keys and values within the Windows Registry.

This article explains how to verify the necessary registry entries and resolve the issue.

Symptoms

Users may experience one or more of the following:

• SAM does not launch when Dolphin Software starts.
• Speech or accessibility features are unavailable.
• Dolphin Software appears to start normally, but no SAM functionality is available.
• SAM-related services or components fail to initialize.

Cause

SAM requires specific registry entries to be created during installation.

If the installation was performed without appropriate administrative permissions, the required registry settings may not be written successfully, preventing SAM from launching correctly.

Resolution

Step 1: Verify the Registry Key Exists

Open the Windows Registry Editor and navigate to:

Confirm that the following registry values are present:

The registry structure should resemble:

Step 2: Check Permissions

Ensure that the user account used to install SAM had sufficient permissions to create and modify entries under:

Administrative privileges are typically required to create these entries.

Step 3: Reinstall SAM as an Administrator

If the SAM registry key, PIIK, or PIIK2 values are missing:

1. Log on to the workstation using an administrator account.
2. Uninstall SAM if required.
3. Reinstall SAM with administrative privileges.
4. Verify that the registry entries have been successfully created.
5. Restart Dolphin Software and confirm that SAM launches correctly.

Additional Checks

If the registry entries exist but SAM still does not start:

• Confirm that the Dolphin Software installation completed successfully.
• Verify that antivirus or endpoint security software is not preventing SAM from launching.
• Check Windows Event Viewer for application or service-related errors.
• Ensure all Dolphin Software components are installed and up to date.

Summary

When SAM is installed but does not start with Dolphin Software, the most common cause is a missing or incomplete registry configuration. Verify that the following registry location exists:

and that the PIIK and PIIK2 values are present. If they are missing, reinstall SAM using an administrator account to allow the required registry entries to be created correctly.

This article was last updated 22/07/2026.