Installation Guide (No Installer)

Paint Tool SAI 2 uses a portable installation method rather than a traditional installer. This means you simply extract the downloaded archive and run the executable directly.

Note

This portable approach allows you to run SAI 2 from any location, including USB drives.

Before You Begin

Ensure you have:

  • Downloaded the latest SAI 2 Technical Preview from the official website

  • A file extraction tool (Windows 10/11 has built-in ZIP support)

  • Administrator access (recommended for first-time setup)

  • Sufficient disk space (100MB minimum, plus scratch disk space)

Step-by-Step Installation

Step 1: Download

  1. Visit the SYSTEMAX official website

  2. Navigate to the SAI 2 download section

  3. Choose your version:

    • 64-bit - Recommended for modern systems

    • 32-bit - For older Windows installations

  4. Download the ZIP archive

Step 2: Extract Files

  1. Locate the downloaded ZIP file (usually in your Downloads folder)

  2. Right-click the ZIP file

  3. Select Extract All… or use your preferred extraction tool

  4. Choose a destination folder, for example:

    • C:\Program Files\SAI2\ (requires admin rights)

    • C:\Users\YourName\SAI2\ (no admin required)

    • D:\Art Software\SAI2\

  5. Click Extract

Warning

Avoid extracting to folders with special characters or very long paths.

Step 3: First Launch

  1. Open the extracted folder

  2. Locate sai2.exe

  3. Double-click to launch

    Tip

    Right-click sai2.exe and select Run as administrator for the first launch.

  4. SAI 2 will create necessary configuration files on first run

Step 4: Create a Shortcut (Optional)

  1. Right-click sai2.exe

  2. Select Create shortcut

  3. Move the shortcut to your Desktop or Start Menu

Folder Structure

After extraction, your SAI 2 folder should contain:

SAI2/
β”œβ”€β”€ sai2.exe          # Main application
β”œβ”€β”€ sai2_x86.exe      # 32-bit version (if included)
β”œβ”€β”€ blotmap/          # Brush textures
β”œβ”€β”€ brushtex/         # Additional brush textures
β”œβ”€β”€ elemap/           # Element maps
β”œβ”€β”€ papertex/         # Paper textures
β”œβ”€β”€ scatter/          # Scatter brush data
└── toolink/          # Tool settings

Configuration Files

SAI 2 stores configuration in the following locations:

  • User settings: Within the SAI2 installation folder

  • License certificate: In the installation folder

  • Scratch disk (temp files): Configurable in SAI settings

Updating SAI 2

To update to a newer version:

  1. Backup custom content:

    • Copy your custom brushes

    • Export tool presets

    • Save any custom textures

  2. Download new version

  3. Extract to a new folder (don’t overwrite immediately)

  4. Copy custom content to the new installation

  5. Test the new version

  6. Keep the old version as backup until verified

Troubleshooting

Application Won’t Start

Solution: Install the latest Visual C++ Redistributable:

  1. Download from Microsoft’s website

  2. Install both x86 and x64 versions

  3. Restart your computer

  4. Try launching SAI 2 again

Missing DLL Errors

Common DLLs and solutions:

  • MSVCP140.dll - Install Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable

  • VCRUNTIME140.dll - Same as above

  • api-ms-win-*.dll - Update Windows or install Windows Updates

Tablet Not Detected

  1. Ensure tablet drivers are installed

  2. Check that WinTab or TabletPC API is enabled in tablet settings

  3. Restart SAI 2 after connecting the tablet

  4. Try running SAI 2 as administrator

Slow Performance

  1. Check System Requirements

  2. Close other applications

  3. Increase scratch disk space in SAI settings

  4. Consider using the 64-bit version for large canvases

Uninstallation

To completely remove SAI 2:

  1. Close SAI 2 if running

  2. Delete the SAI2 folder

  3. Remove any created shortcuts

  4. (Optional) Clean scratch disk location

Note

Since there’s no installer, there are no registry entries to clean up.

See Also