Hello all,
I purchased X1 Producer a couple of years ago.  Installed flawlessly.  Sometime later, Cakewalk gave me X2 upgrade for free and I think I might have made a few mistakes in installing, but overall it worked well after I got it up and running.  A couple of months ago, I purchased X3 as an "upgrade" and downloaded it on top of the others.  I believe now that may have been a BIG mistake. 
 
I need to correct this problem.  I wish to replace my SSD-HDD with a new one anyway so I decided to uninstall all of my Cakewalk stuff first.  Clone the drive with Windows 7 Professional over to the new SSD and start fresh.  My question is this:  Can I do a new download of X3 and install it without having to re-install X1 and X2?  (I'm unsure if the "upgrade" includes all of the basic components of the software, or is it just updates and the like)
 
If I do this, will I still be able to have some of the older VST's that came with X1 and X2 or will I lose them?
 
I was a little confused when I did the X2 upgrade and ended up with Cakewalk and Cakewalk1 folders in both program folders, ie: Programs and (X86) Programs, so essentially, my VST's are scattered everywhere.  My Plugin Manager has to scan all over the computer to get to stuff.  I'm starting to get hard freezes that require re-boots and sometimes it freezes so that I have to crash the computer to get it to re-boot.  This is NOT good.
 
Frankly, I made a mess of it and unfortunately, it's getting worse.
 
Thanks for any help you may give
 
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Intel Core i5 2500k processor on an ASUS motherboard / 16 gb RAM / 128gb SATAIII SSD / 1TB WD HDD / M-Audio AP192 Internal Sound Card / Windows 7 Professional / Sonar X3 Producer / Yamaha KX61 Midi Controller

see http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3136820 a response to a similar thread. It covers changes from SONAR 8.5 through X3
 

BTW, if the clone process also clones the registry (I would imagine it would have to do so), you may want to remove the old SONAR registry entries for all the SONAR versions BEFORE installing X3. Here are the instructions for a clean install of X3 http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013371/SONAR-X3-Clean-Install-Instructions, the X1 and X2 registry entries are similar to X3.

Thank you for that link.  It's funny, I looked all over the place for this information, not wanting to start a thread over it.  LOL, it was right there and I missed it.  I'm glad to know I can do a clean install of X3.  This will help clear up some things.  It will be interesting to see what I can salvage from the older versions.  I forgot that I even have some Proaudio9 and Sonar 7 PE files on my system.  The MIDI worked just fine when I transferred them over, but the audio disappeared, even though I thought I was saving them as bundles.  Fortunately, I still have that old XP machine and it still works, so all is not lost.
 
Thanks again, scook!
 

Bear in mind you will lose certain plugins if you remove X2, X1, 8.5
 
Things that spring to mind are:
R-Mix
Pantheon (but you'll have Breverb)
V-Vocal (But you'll have Melodyne)
 
I'm sure there are plenty more

No mention of pre-X series in the initial post. There are more plug-ins which were never ported to 64bit. It may be necessary to install both 32 and 64bit versions of X3. The 32bit and 64bit versions install in separate directories.

Thanks for the information guys.  As soon as I get my new SSD installed I'm sure I'll be back with some new "doh" questions, LOL!  I know that I want to replace the AP192 with a with a new Audio Interface.  Too many pops and crackles in my audio.  I wish they would write new drivers for it as the sound quality is excellent but for the crackling.  Can't make up my mind which interface to get but there is time yet.  My main focus is getting the PC back up and working right again.

Just got my new SSD.  Standing on the board, getting ready to dive into very cold, dark water.  Can't make up my mind where to go.  I did a full backup of my 128g SSD so it's stored safely on my external storage drive.
 
I'm thinking my best bet is a cold install of Windows 7 Professional and start from scratch.  If I clone over my 128, I'm just passing along some problems to a newer, slightly bigger drive.  I know I'll lose a lot of plugins and while that is a bit of a dilemma  I 'm now worried about saving old files that I've been keeping from several years back.
 
Once operational, should I just install X3 or would it be possible to install X1, X2 and X3 together?  My simple-mindedness is obvious, I know, but truth is, I'm not sure what to do.
 
I'm reading every post I can find!!!

I'm sort of in the same boat.  I would re-load windows 7 again.  Why not.  It is not that much time!   

Befor I go watch the hockeygame !
 
Rt1 : You have a chance here to make a stable upto date system build here !
Your SSD did you chk for firmware updates , befor installing ?
Your asus motherboard ..have you read the latest bios revs and looked at the drivers you will require ?
As  for cloning < doing a clean proper install is the only way to go >
Post your motherboard model il do some reading ! video card too .