Many molecular researchers experience a common yet frustrating obstacle: installing advanced molecular modeling tools on systems where administrative permissions are limited or completely restricted—especially in academic institutions, shared labs, or virtual environments. If you’ve ever faced such a hurdle, you’ll be pleased to know that SAMSON, the integrative molecular design platform, does not require admin rights to install. Yes, really.
This makes SAMSON more accessible to students, researchers, and educators who may not have administrative privileges on their systems, enabling quick deployment and use without waiting for IT support.
Install in User Mode
SAMSON installs directly into your home directory, avoiding the need for administrative privileges entirely. This is particularly helpful in university settings or high-security corporate labs where installing software typically involves a lengthy approval process.
Interestingly, SAMSON explicitly checks during startup whether it’s being run in admin mode—and if so, it politely discourages you from doing so. The aim is to reinforce responsible security practices by running applications with only the permissions they need.
Installing SAMSON on a Virtual Machine
Running SAMSON on a virtual machine (VM) is entirely possible as well. Just one caveat: you need to make sure that your VM has hardware GPU acceleration enabled. Without this, SAMSON may not launch properly, as it depends on certain OpenGL features typically not well-supported by default VM display drivers.
Depending on the virtualization software you’re using (e.g., VirtualBox, VMware, Parallels), the process of enabling GPU acceleration can vary. Refer to your VM’s official documentation to see how to provide access to the host GPU.
Common Fixes for Installation Issues
Even though SAMSON’s setup is designed to be user-friendly, you might occasionally run into issues. One of the common messages users see is about “invalid credentials” or “non-working activation keys.” In this case, make sure:
- Your email matches the one registered with SAMSON Connect.
- You copied your activation key without any spaces or special characters.
Need an Older Version?
If your workflow requires compatibility with a previous SAMSON release, you’re in luck. The installer allows you to select and install older versions of the software. To do this:
- Launch the regular SAMSON installer.
- On the second installation step, check the box that says Install an older version.
- Choose the version you need from the list.
This allows for backward compatibility with tools or extensions that might not yet be updated for the latest SAMSON version.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re working on a university computer without admin rights, running experiments on a VM, or simply trying to avoid unnecessary hassle, SAMSON’s user-level installation makes it easier to start modeling molecules right away.
To explore everything you need about system requirements, installation tips, and FAQs, check out the full SAMSON FAQ documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.