One of the unexpected challenges researchers face in academic or enterprise environments is software installation restrictions. If you’re working on shared, secured systems, you may not have administrator rights. This can create frustrating bottlenecks when installing tools essential to your work, such as molecular modeling platforms.
If you’re a molecular modeler, SAMSON might be on your radar for its integrative approach to atomistic and coarse-grained simulations. But what if you don’t have admin privileges on your system? Good news: SAMSON does not require administrator rights to install or run. In this post, we’ll explore how that works and why it matters, especially in institutional settings.
Why Install Without Admin Rights?
Many institutional computers enforce restricted user access to prevent accidental system-level changes or security issues. This can block researchers from installing important scientific software that requires elevated privileges. As a result, researchers often have to wait days or weeks for IT help, delaying their work.
With SAMSON, you’re free from that limitation. The installer was designed to work within your user space, specifically your home directory. This design decision makes SAMSON particularly accessible to students, academic researchers, and users in tightly managed environments.
How It Works
When you download SAMSON from SAMSON Connect, the application installs without touching system-level files. Everything is placed in directories that you, as a user, can write to. For example:
- On Windows: SAMSON installs under
C:/Users/%USERNAME%/OneAngstrom/ - On macOS: It is located in
$HOME/Applications/ - On Linux: The default path is
$HOME/OneAngstrom/
Moreover, SAMSON explicitly checks that it is not being run with admin rights and actively encourages users to run it with restricted permissions. This is a rare safety-focused approach in modeling tools, supporting better security practices.
What Else Do You Need?
Though it’s easy to install without admin rights, there are some system-level prerequisites to be aware of. SAMSON requires:
- A 64-bit operating system
- A graphics card capable of OpenGL 4.1 or higher
Most modern systems will meet these requirements. If you use NVIDIA or AMD graphics cards, make sure you are using drivers that support OpenGL 4.1.
Running in a Virtual Machine?
Some users experiment with SAMSON inside virtual machines. If that’s you, make sure to enable hardware GPU acceleration for the VM. Otherwise, you may experience performance issues or compatibility problems with OpenGL.
Bottom Line
If you’ve ever been held back by red tape or administrative restrictions, installing SAMSON is refreshingly smooth. It’s a great example of user-oriented design that empowers molecular modelers to stay focused on their research, not technical hurdles.
To explore this and more, visit the full SAMSON Getting Started Guide.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.