Install question Sonar 8 over Sonar 6

I know I'm hopelessly behind the times but maybe you guys can help me anyway:)
I have a version of Sonar 6 currently installed on my XP laptop.I don't know it really well yet but I'm getting there. I have a Tascam US428 control surface and a Ketron Sound module.Everything is working properly .
So I have a chance to buy Sonar 8 producer with the tutorial DVD for 32.-. I read that this version is very easy on the computer resources so I think I want to buy it.
My questions are
If install Sonar 8, will it recognize my previous installation of sonar 6 and keep all the settings and folder locations etc?
Or do I have to start from scratch?
The software I'm about to buy has been previously registered, the seller said it would be completely functional, only I won't be able to get support from cakewalk. Is that true?
There also is a Sonar 8.5. I don't know what it has that Sonar 8 doesn't have, but would I eventually be able to upgrade to that if I installed Sonar 8?
Thanks for your help

No Lynn, I do not want to get into it to the point that I have to replace my XP laptop. AFAIK newer versions of sonar don't run on XP, so if someone could please help me out and answer my questions (I just edited them a bit to make them clearer.) BTW My sonar 6 may have been registered (It came with my laptop) and the sonar 8 has definitely been previously registered.
So I'm not upgrading an existing installation in the sense that I'm trying to get something from Cakewalk for free... I just want to know if I installed Sonar 8 if it will recognize that I have Sonar 6 already. Will it use the settings I have created on Sonar 6 and give me Sonar 8 with my old preferences in place?
Thanks :)

I used all the sonars since Sonar 7. Not to versed in sonar 6. However from my experience like Jimbo said... when you install new sonar.. usually settings will transfer over. You can open up all your sonar 6 projects in 8 as long as they dont use any 3rd party plugins that ur Sonar 8 doesn't have access to anymore. Usually even then itll just skip that plugin. Sometimes you might have to change a directory or something but its rare. Like Jimbo said u might have to adjsut ur preferences a slight bit, but usually the new will just take over the old.

Hi Roxy:
 
Welcome to the Cakewalk forums! 
 
"If install Sonar 8, will it recognize my previous installation of sonar 6 and keep all the settings and folder locations etc?"
 
Yes. I believe it is when you start the new version of SONAR, that you will be asked if you want to import (or something like that) your settings from the older version of SONAR, select yes to transfer your settings from the older version of SONAR to the newer version.
 
"The software I'm about to buy has been previously registered, the seller said it would be completely functional, only I won't be able to get support from cakewalk. Is that true?"
 
Yes. The above is true.
 
"There also is a Sonar 8.5. I don't know what it has that Sonar 8 doesn't have, but would I eventually be able to upgrade to that if I installed Sonar 8?"
 
SONAR 8.5 is the most stable and fully featured version of SONAR before the SONAR X series of products and the SONAR newest series of products. SONAR 8.5.3 is so stable, fully featured, and customizable, that some users still use it rather than the newer versions of SONAR. SONAR 8.5 is a full upgrade version of SONAR, but at that time Cakewalk changed the naming convention, so it was called 8.5, instead of SONAR 9.
 
You will be able to install SONAR 8.5 if there is a version of SONAR 8 on your computer. SONAR 8.5 was a downloaded version that depended on some files from the SONAR 8 installation (unless you bought the SONAR 8.5 installation disks). So, if you have the SONAR 8.5 installation package (downloaded version), you can install 8.5 after you have installed SONAR 8. You will want to update to SONAR 8.5.3, after you install SONAR 8.5, if possible.
 
As, with SONAR 8, you will be asked if you want to import your settings from the older version of SONAR, when you start-up 8.5.
 
EDIT:
 
Oh yeah, if you use SONAR 8, you'll want to update that to 8.3.1, if you can. So the best version of SONAR 8 to use, is to update to 8.3.1. And the best version of SONAR 8.5 to use, is to update that to 8.5.3.

I used 8.5 the longest out of all the Sonars. It served me well. Made some great quality music with it. Was very very stable. I can't recall a crash off the top of my head that was due to sonar rather than my computer. I do very much enjoy the X series and most recently platinum.
 
I still got Sonar 8.5 on my less capable laptop incase i need to record on the go or do some quick mixing. Later on id transfer the project to x3 or platinum. Great program, especially if you're not ready for the x-series yet.

My advice?
 
Stick with what you've got until you're ready to embrace a full 64 bit environment
 
I started off with Sonar 6 and made some great songs with it.

If the main reason for you to go to SONAR 8 is that it's said to be light on the PC, I doubt you'll benefit anything.
Every version new version of SONAR includes something the previous ones didn't, and the lightness is relative.
When S8 came out computers were more powerfull than two years earlier and so on. My guess is that 8 in fact requires more resources than 6, anyway. But as mentioned, I'm only guessing.
 
I'd say that if you could move to 8.5.3 you'd really get improvements. As far as I can recall there were quite a bit
of debate on version 8, as if it was a bit unstable/buggy on some areas. 
 
I'm in the situation that no option for gear/SONAR upgrade is in sight for the next several years. I just have to hope my XP/SONAR 8.5.3 keeps ticking as well as it has for  so many years already. It may well be that Bristol_Joneseys advice is the best - stick to what you've got untill you can get a proper gear/software upgrade.
 
And to clarify once more: As SONAR lisences are not transferrable ( and support for those old versions doesn't exist) you're totally on your own, on the illegal side, actually (but as mentioned earlier, who cares as so old versions are in question) You can't register the software, so you'll get no support, no updates nor upgrades.
 
I hope you'll find a satisfying way to continue with your music making!
 
 

Sorry about repeating the "Dog" comment. It wasn't meant to be a slam on Sonar , I don't know enough about it to have an opinion one way or the other.I was merely referring to the fact that someone else on this forum described it as such. But thank you guys again for helping. I think I'll follow the advice and stick to what I have for now.
My new interface just arrived and I'll be able to check it out tonight.Then I'll know what software it actually comes with. But even it the Studio One doesn't end up being anything I can use on XP, just the fact that the interface has onboard effects will probably improve my setup.

Be aware that Sonar does not overwrite previous versions. Provided you have enough space on your drive, you can have both. I had S3 PE, S5 PE and S6 PE on my previous machine, which ran W2k. S5 and S6 were not supported on W2k, but they worked fairly well. I just had to find my own workarounds whenever it burped at me. I carried S6 over to my new W7 machine, same situation regarding lack of support....but it works.

Mind you if you can't register a particular version you won't be able to get the various updates so you'll be stuck with which ever version you have.

Like Sonar 8 started of as 8 but had numerous updates right upto 8.3.1

Sonar 6 also had numerous updates.

The release versions usually had numerous bugs that weren't squashed until the very last revision.

8 had several issues that weren't rectified until 8.3.1
 
8.5 was a significant upgrade culminating in 8.5.3
 
Sonar 6 was updated to 6.2.1 and at the time, was a pretty damned good program.
 
My advice?
 
Stick with what you've got until you're ready to embrace a full 64 bit environment 

A serial for Guitar Rig 3 LE came as a sticky on the disk paper that the Guitar Rig 3 disk came in, but if you tell Native Instruments you have SONAR 8 (but don't have a serial for the Guitar Rig 3 LE that came with your SONAR 8), they may give you a serial for Guitar Rig 3 LE.
 
SONAR 8.5 comes with Guitar Rig 4 LE and there is a serial for that in a user's Cakewalk Store Account.
 
You may be able to contact Cakewalk and get a serial for Guitar Rig 3 LE (since you were able to successfully register SONAR 8), cause I think for Guitar Rig 3 LE, the serial just came on a sticky that was on the disk paper the Guitar Rig LE disk came in.
 
Hope that helps.