Installation Best Practices: Location & Functionality

When installing the Command Center open the Settings page by clicking on the gear in the upper right-hand corner and change the "Download Path" to relocate the installer cache.
 
All you need to install is the "SONAR Platinum" core, Anderton FX Chain Collection and the "Help and Tutorials" package (to get the local help file). Installing the 32bit and 64bit versions of three packages should take less than 3GB. If your previous installation relies on a relocated Cakewalk Content, the GB of tutorials will be installed in the relocated path, otherwise you can move or delete it after install. Recently I looked at the disk usage by a new install http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3179366.

The command center (C3) will install the application only on the C drive but provides alternate locations for plug-ins and installers. The installers have been broken into smaller packages. There is no need to install the plug-in packages again, they are the same as X3. The Anderton FX Chains install in the Cakewalk Content folder. C3 will only install the version of the application which is native to the OS. IOW, if you are running 64bit Windows, C3 will only install 64bit SONAR. To install 32bit SONAR, you will need to run the installers manually. The installers will be in the download folder you define in the C3 Settings. It is possible to use alternate drives but as I mentioned earlier, if you only install the changes to your existing installation, Platinum will only take a couple of GB on the C drive. Where is your "Cakewalk Content" folder?
 

The default location for "Cakewalk Content" is "C:\Cakewalk Content". It contains several GB of loop libraries and version specific folders for a variety of things used by SONAR. It is easily relocated with a directory junction created by mklink:
1) Use Windows Explorer to move the folder to the D drive
2) Run cmd.exe as administrator and type at the command line:
mklink /j "C:\Cakewalk Content" "D:\Cakewalk Content"
 
The mutliple instances of Dimension and DimPro does not sound correct unless there are old projects with using the P5 synth. Dimension is an old synth which came with Project 5. There never was a 64bit version of Dimension. I have a feeling there may be a need for the old DirectX version of Dimension Pro due to old projects which were never updated to the VST version. If this is the case, it may argue against uninstalling DimPro. The bulk of a Dimension Pro installation is the "C:\Program Files\Dimension Pro\Multisamples" folder. The easiest way to relocate it is just like the method described above for Cakewalk Content. For example, if I wanted to move the dim pro multisamples to D:\Cakewalk\DimPro\Multisamples the steps are:
1) Use Windows Explorer to create a folder "D:\Cakewalk\DimPro"
2) Use Windows Explorer to move "C:\Program Files\Dimension Pro\Multisamples" into "D:\Cakewalk\DimPro"
3) Run cmd.exe as administrator and type at the command line:
mklink /j "C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Dimension Pro\Multisamples" "D:\Cakewalk\DimPro\Multisamples"
 
You can do the same with Rapture and Studio Instruments (but these are not very big). If you use C3 to change the plug-in installation paths, the rest of the synths put their samples in the VST folders.
 
Perfect Space and Pentagon were dropped from Platinum. If you choose to clean X3 off the PC, those two plug-ins can be added later with an advanced install of X3. 
 
 
 
 

The user directory and registry are not touched by the uninstall process, the data will still be there. I am not sure the new installer will pick it up though. It should but there have been a few reports that the migrate dialog did not appear.  Noel does not recommend migrating settings so I no longer do it myself.

Yes, the installers may be moved, removed or the path relocated in the Settings screen (click the Gear in the upper right in C3 to access). If C3 ever needs an installer and cannot find it locally, it will be downloaded again.