Hi All,

Ok, here’s my situation:
I currently have X1 installed (on Win 7 64-bit). I own X2, but never got around to installing it before finally jumping on one of the recent X3 sales. (All are Producer edition, and boxed versions, if that matters).

Before proceeding with the new install(s), I have a few questions in my attempt to make the process as painless and efficient as possible…
 
(Apologies in advance for redundant questions. I know some of these have already been addressed here before, but the forum's search engine never seems to want to be my friend, and one or two of these may not have been asked yet…)


1) What are the main arguments for/against keeping/uninstalling old versions of Sonar on the same machine? Are problems more likely to occur by leaving or uninstalling a previous version? And what is the approximate hard drive footprint of the actual Sonar programs themselves (excluding VSTs, samples, etc.)?

2) What 3rd party VSTs, segments of Sonar, and so on are still the same since X1 that I can/should skip during installation?

3) Would it be best to install all of X2 and just the new parts of X3; all of X3 and just the discontinued parts from X2; or all of BOTH programs?... (If option #2, what all is there to install from X2 that X3 does not have?)

4) All of the add-on Pro Channel modules (Concrete Limiter, etc.) still work in X3, right?

5) Should I install ALL updates (X3a, X3b, …) before ever opening the program to initialize? Or open the program once between each install?

6) I may want to upgrade my CPU chip sometime soon. Would it be wise to do this *before* installing X3? Or will Sonar automatically recognize the new CPU and properly utilize/display the new number of cores and everything else related to it?

7) Any other installation tips/advice?


Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

1) Just leave it there.
2) Just install all of it (or just what you want) Sonar will do the rest. Don't worry about what is already there.
3) Just install X3. You can separately install any missing plugins from X2 later via custom install.
4) Yes assuming you are on the latest versions.
5) Just install X3e followed by reset, then a rescan of your plugins. Ideally do not run X3 until you've installed X3E.
6) Assuming you won't need to reinstall windows all will be fine.

7) I also strongly recommend you run windows update several times and also review the optional updates (easier to do this first). Oh and don't forget to back up before and afterwards. Also now might be a time to make sure your firmware and drivers are up to date.

Thank you, Alex.
 
A couple of follow-up questions...
 
 
1) I was hoping to actual hear the reasoning behind keeping or uninstalling previous versions. I'm usually pretty minimalist, but in the case of Sonar, I've implemented a lot of customized VST tweaks and so forth, and wouldn't want to lose any of that. But am I at risk of encountering file location errors or any other issues in X3 if I leave everything in place as it is now?
 
2) I won't end up with doubles of Dimension Pro and all the other huge VST libraries if I install everything again?
 
3) What all does X2 have that X3 does not? I'm aware of V-Vocal and R-Mix, but what else?
 
6) I don't think I'll need to replace the mobo, so (as far as I know) I shouldn't have to reinstall Windows or anything else. Just wanted to be sure Sonar would adapt to the change without any problems.
 
 
Thank you!

1) It won't go as well for you on a nutshell and you might wanna keep some of your old plugs. X1 is small in space anyway.

2) Good Q. What I did was make sure all my projects run on Dim/Rapture Pro rather than LE and remove LE versions. Then avoid installing lite versions. Anyway don't worry about it too much. Any issues (unlikely) deal with them later.

3) Can't tell you off hand. Google it.

6) Should be no issue. You might want to rename AUD.INI afterwards (google for details).

Thanks for the tips, Alex.

Dimension Pro has been at version 1.5 for several Sonar releases now, and if you have it installed already you do not need to install it again - it has not changed.
 
The same is true for Rapture, which is at version 1.2.2, I believe.
 
As far as incremental maintenance, once you do your initial X3 install, you can then apply X3e directly after that, as X3e is a 'cumulative' update, meaning that it contains all of the updates from the earlier maintenance releases as well.  So, X3e has all the fixes from X3a, b, c, and d, as well as e).
 
The rationale behind leaving prior installations installed is that some things, like V-Vocal, were dropped, so if you have any older projects that contain V-Vocal clips, you would have some issues due to V-Vocal no longer being present.
 
V-Vocal was part of the X1/X2 installation, so the entire X1 or X2 base installation would need to be retained, to be able to preserve V-Vocal for use in X3.  Melodyne has replaced V-Vocal, but does have differences, so many folks just keep X2 around to be able to open things with V-Vocal, and also in case they want to use V-Vocal in new projects, instead of Melodyne.
 
There are some other things that had been dropped as well, but I cannot at the moment recall what they are - perhaps R-Mix?
 
Oh, Perfect Space and Session Drummer 3 are also the same in X3 as they were in X2 (and maybe even the same as from X1), so you would not have to install those again either, if they are already present on your system.
 
The actual installed footprint of the basic X1 or X2 products is pretty small, and they won't get in the way of anything else.
 
I guess the last consideration that comes to mind is that, for whatever reason, if you have issues with loading any projects in X3, that had been created in X1/X2, then having X1/X2 remain present might give you an additional safety net.  Things are supposed to be backwardly compatible, and there certainly are not bunches of posted complaints about it in the forum, but it is just a peace of mind thing, in case.
 
I hope I haven't further confused you.  :)
 
Perhaps others have additional thoughts on the whole thing.  I LOVE X3e, and hope you find it as stable and powerful as I have.  :)
 
The way I have always approached moving to a new full release of Sonar is that any projects that I had already started with the older version, I complete in the older version.  New projects would get started in the newer version.  It is NOT required that anybody approach it like this - it was just a choice I made, so that I would have no particular worries about anything changing detrimentally from having a project that spanned multiple versions of Sonar.  (This is just offered as an explanation of how I do things, not as something you have to do)
 
Bob Bone
 

Very helpful info, Bob. Thank you.
 
I wasn't aware that "e" was cumulative (this is verified with no reported issues?). That should save a good bit of time installing.
 
So is V-Vocal (if installed) actually usable in X3? Or were you implying that X2 is necessary not only to simply have the feature, but to run it as well?
 
And I like your M.O. for migrating from one version to the next. I will most likely follow suit.
 
Thanks again!

V-Vocal is part of the X2 install, which is why you need X2 in order to have V-Vocal on your system, but once it is there, it is indeed accessible to projects in X3.
 
Lots of folks keep X2 installed for retaining access to V-Vocal in X3, even though you get the basic version of Melodyne with X3.
 
I don't know if they are still doing it or not, but when X3 first came out, once you installed it, you would get notification of a special upgrade price from the Melodyne folks, to get 50% knocked off the cost of upgrading to the top of the line version of Melodyne - which is WELL worth grabbing.  The special price upgrade offer was good for 30 days, and if it is still in effect, I believe it was $150 to upgrade, rather than the normal $300 cost.
 
I hope I have cleared things up for you - X3 is my favorite release of Sonar since time began, and is quite stable AND has a lot to offer.
 
Bob Bone