How do I sort 32bit VST plug-ins for X1-64bit use

I am having trouble with some (not-so-very much) older projects, created in SONAR 8 and 8.5 with regards to the VST plugins they use.

They are the same plugins I have had on my system (Win7 64bit) throughout all three versions. Now, though, X1 64bit shows all these plugins as missing or improperly registered when loading only these older projects. They work fine when I instill a fresh instance in new, or within these same projects. The projects themselves play fine, only without any of the original plugins (they have placeholder "Missing Plugin" messages in their place) The plugins show up in Plugin Manager and otherwise work fine. I have it set to scan both "\Program Files\" and "\Program Files(86)\" VST folders.
In addition the, presumably 32bit, plugins open with Bit-bridge when appropriate.


Could it be I have the wrong plugins in the wrong folders? I didn't change anything when I set up X1 64bit, only allowed it to set up the 64bit VST folder in "Program Files", so presumably only 64bit plugins were installed there,right?

Here is a suggestion from a post on using both bit-depth versions of X1:

I created a VSTPlugins folder under C:\Program Files\

I also created 2 folders under C:\Program Files (x86)\  One called VSTPlugins and one called VSTBridged

On Sonar (x64) I set the scan paths to C:\Progam Files\VSTPlugins and C:\Program Files (x86)\VSTBridged

Then on the 32 bit version set the paths to C:\Progam Files (x86)\VSTPlugins and C:\Program Files (x86)\VSTBridged

All the 64 bit specific plugs then go in C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins. Likewise 32 bit specific plugs go in C:\Program Files(x86)\VSTPlugins

32 Bit plugs to be shared by both apps then go in C:\Program Files(x86)\VSTBridged.

I do not have a folder for just bridged plugs in my setup. How does one know which plugins to put in where? (i.e. bridged or not? - 32 or 64?) I assume the only 64bit plugs are the ones X1 installed as such. I don't believe any of my third party plugs are 64b because I've had them for a little while.

The issue seems to be only with third party stuff originating in older projects.

I will install X1 32bit as well (haven' done so yet) to see if it can run these projects OK.

I would put your plugins somewhere easier to find - like c:\vst-plugins. I use

c:\vst-plugins\32 bit and
c:\vst-plugins\64 bit

You can set both your versions of SONAR to look at the same paths.  That's just for organising things.

For you "missing plugins" problem, SONAR shouldn't be looking for paths - it just uses the long ID, so maybe the 64 bit version is confusing 32 bit versions with 64 bit versions? It's hard to tell - but at least if you get all your plugins in to one place, you can start to hunt down the problem.

Most DAWS insist on their own location for plugins by default. Fortunately SONAR allows you to be very flexible in where you put plugins BUT there are some reasons behind the default locations.
Windows (x64) itself seperates 32 bit and 64 bit programs into different folders as follows.
64 bit programs by default go into C:\Program Files - while
32 bit programs by default go into C:\Program Files(x86)
I decided to stick with SONAR's default locations but I also understand that there are some weird things that happen because plugins themselves don't always conform to a standard of behavior let alone standard installation locations.
I've chosen to do the following. You can apply the principles but use a different folder structure if you prefer.
 
Depending on how many 3rd party plugins you might have and how co-operative they are you may find the following useful. If it doesn't apply to you feel free to ignore it or use only any bits useful to you.
Having both the 32 and 64 bit versions of SONAR on the same computer doesn't of itself cause any problems. Many of us run multiple version in both 32 and 64 bit without problem.
Problems can however occur when you tell SONAR to scan for VST plugins. when running 64 bit SONAR there may be 32 bit plugins that you want to run because a 64 bit version doesn't exist yet. That means having to scan the location where those 32 bit plugins are as well.
That's not a problem either except that when using 32 and 64 bit versions of SONAR you may want both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of a particular plugin so each program can make use of it. The rub is that some plugins don't behave and you end up with both the 32 bit and 64 bit version being scanned by SONAR's VST Scanner and you have 2 of that plugin appear in each version of the Plugin manager ie the 32 bit and 64 bit Plugin manager. That's right; there is a Plugin manager in both the 32 and 64 bit installations of SONAR.
 
To get around all that I have my system setup as follows.
 
I have an additional folder just for 32 bit (x86) plugins for those where the manufacturer wants to always install both a 32 and 64 bit version. When it works properly then the 64 bit VST scanner doesn't load the 32 bit version but when it doesn't work properly it means I end up having 2 of the same plugin where the 32 bit one is also running through  Bitbridge. For those plugins only I use the 3rd folder. Working out which plugins don't cooperate has to be worked out by trial and error.
1. Program files\Cakewalk\Vst Plugins\Manufacturer\plugin
All 64 bit Plugins
2. Program files (x86)\Cakewalk\Vst Plugins\Manufacturer\plugin
All 32 bit plugins you want to run in x64 because no native 64bit version exists.
3. Program files (x86)\Cakewalk\VST Plugins(x86)\ Manufacturer\plugin
All 32 bit plugins for which you already have 64 bit versions and the VST scanner insists on installing the 32 bit version as well under bitbridge giving you 2 copies of the same plugin in SONAR's Plugin manager.
SONAR x64 scans 1 & 2
SONAR x86 scans 2 & 3
Apart from folder 3 the others are all default locations if you allow SONAR to just perform it's normal installation.
 
 

glad to see others give these things some thought as well. great minds think alike. I think I even mention that the principles I apply can be translated to other folder configurations as you've discussed

I've got a bunch of txt files that I've written over the years from my own hard earned experience (mistakes) about all sorts of topics. I just copy and paste them into threads that ask those same common questions.

Good Information. Thanks.