Should I uninstall PX3 first before installing New Sonar (SSD space issue)

i never uninstall any sonar installations.  
When i get a new computer, i start fresh again.
unistalling has UNintended consequences.
don't do it.
 

What kind of consequences? New Sonar is almost the same as old PX3 Sonar version, but Installer is different. You mean- install it on the top of existing PX3? Then it going to attempt to install all the samples and content... And then it going to install data in to existing Cakewalk folders next to X3 files...
 
I could get new hard drive- I was going to start all over this summer or fall when they release Windows 10. My computer is 2013. Hard drive is replacable, but all the software synths installed may get confused. Na- new hard drive is not solution. This is why Cakewalk should offer upgrade installer for those that have previous version.

It wont be a large draw on your hard disk. I like to keep the old version so the new will transfer the settings from the old. Very handy. 

Thank you for replies. I am not trying to defrug it, I just try to install New Sonar and have some space left for Windows updates. I have Protools box sitting on my desk and I do not install it because I have no space.
 
My C drive shows with 185 Gb out of 223 full, so I have under 39 Gb left. When I calculate content of each folder, including Windows, Program Files, Program data folders, I only have 73 Gb. Where is all other space? I am afraid New Sonar installation will take all 39 Gb as space disappears uncontrollably.
 
I was advised to install https://windirstat.info/ to get graphical presentation of disk space but this thing looks like malware. What you think?

vladasyn
Dimentia Pro 5.10 Gb

It come with age
 
My system is not too different from yours. Maybe you could look at rearranging the way you have the content installed.  I have a 240 GB SSD for my main system drive and have X2, X3 and Komplete installed, its just under half full after periodic clean outs of temp files and downloads. All the programs are installed here, but all the content goes on one of the hard drives.
 
SSD - OS and program files
HD1 - Sonar projects and Audio
HD2 - Komplete, FXPansion, Toontrack, Cakewalk  etc.
HD3 (Cached HD) - Third party Kontakt libraries.
 
I may add a second SSD for my most commonly used large Kontakt libraries at some stage, but the cached drive does load them quite quickly as long as they have been used recently.
 
Backups go to an external HD.
 

1.  If you uninstall X2, make sure you don't need V-Vocal, because it went away with X3.  There are a couple of other things that went bye bye, but I am too tired to think of what they are.  You can check the Cakewalk site for the page that lists all the included plugins for X3, and that will tell you what you would potentially lose by removing X2.  If an X2 plugin is not part of the basic install, it won't go away, but V-Vocal will definitely go away.  Melodyne from X3 does a really good job for me anyway, so I don't happen to miss V-Vocal, but some folks prefer it over Melodyne.
 
2.  Check your Windows Page File size - sometimes that can be really big.  I cannot guide you on how to optimize it, but others here can provide that info.
 
3.  If you buy a larger drive, you can CLONE your existing SSD to the new drive, as long as the new drive is the same size or bigger than the one you are cloning.  When you clone your primary drive (C: drive), the new drive will have an EXACT copy of whatever was on your original C: drive, and then it will also have however much free space there is - AND your programs will not know the difference and will simply continue to run.  Many SSD's come with certificates for downloading a free copy of good cloning software.  I JUST went through this a few days ago.  No problem to clone a drive whatsoever - it just works.
 
4.  Where do you have your Cakewalk Projects folder located?  You might consider housing it on a different drive than your primary drive (your SSD that is filling up) - copy/paste it to a different drive, then go into Sonar Preferences and point Sonar to the new location for the Cakewalk Projects folder.  I have things set that way for multiple computers here, and everything loads and plays just fine with that configuration.  That will free up a ton of space, IF you were running with your Cakewalk Projects folder on your SSD with the OS and the applications.
 
5.  Some of the Cakewalk-supplied plugins, and actually others too, by default store their sound files/folders in either program data or in sub-folders in the Programs folder.  During installation, you MAY be given the means of choosing a different path for the data files/folders, OR some programs have Options dialog boxes or otherwise simply display the folder where you could alter that path to a new location.
 
I hope some of the above helps you, 
 
Bob Bone
 

I had a similar problem with the system drive filling up on my work laptop and IT used TreeSize to find the offending folders.
http://www.symantec.com/connect/downloads/treesize-free-disk-space-analyzer
 

Thank you for all replies and software suggestion. I installed it and it did show me all the folders, and it says- there is no space loss. The main offender and space taker is Native Instruments and Maschine libraries. When I was installing NI, I told it to install on other drives, but it still managed to install their tentacles everywhere. The sounds and libraries are under Users/Public folders. And many other software synth libraries are there even through I was trying not to install on C. I thought I have enough experience with this. Back in a day when hard drives were small- I was always running out of space and then had to install everything on other drives. This time I did everything I could not to install on C, and it all there. Ugh. Looks like I may be rebuilding this system again when Windows 10 are released.
 
Recently I saw some indie developer posted Utility software on KVR that can move Native Instruments tentacles on other drives. I thought, "That is nice, I could use it..." and then I did not download. But NI is very sensitive with moving. It's updates will not install if they are not where it thinks it should be, and removing NI is near-impossible. I had to manually take it Maschine controller parts out of the registry and use Windows Fix it because it would fail to uninstall. And I have Komplete 10 upgrade sitting on my desk for 4 months. Keep contacting NI tech support asking how to install and they would not reply...

I have IK Multimedia folder that is 30 Gb. This is my fault- I let it install there- did not realize it will be 30 Gb. Sonic Synth 2, Miroslav Philharmonic, Sample Tron, Sample Tank 2.5 and other similar products. I now have Sample Tank 3. I do not need ST 2.5. But I dont know if it would uninstall smoothly- it is at least 6 Gb...