[Solved by scook] Can't Scan VSTs in Sonar X3e Scan Button Greyed Out

Hi folks,
The title says it all. Can't Scan VSTs in Sonar X3e Scan Button and also reset button Greyed Out. Only difference in system is that I recently uninstalled Platinum demo and Control Center. Please help. Very frustrated! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really scook? No other options? So contrary to what Cakewalk says, uninstalling one version always screws up remaining versions?

The VST scanner is a shared utility. If the scanner is unavailable either the registry entry pointing to the scanner is bad or the vstscan.exe is missing from the shared utilities folder. The latter is easy to check. Either way, reinstall is the fix. If the scanner is not in the shared utilities folder, the new scanner supplied in the Platinum demo might be a better choice than going back to the X3 scanner. Shared utilities supplied in trial versions of SONAR are backward compatible, do not expire and usually perform better than older versions.

Thanks scook! Pardon my ignorance but I've never had to do a reinstall in all my years using Sonar. Do I have to uninstall first? Since I'm using X3e, do I have to install everything in the order it was released? I'm at a loss. :(

That's what I was hoping! Thanks a bunch!

In the Cakewalk/Shared Utilities folder I have a Plugin manager, but not a VST Scanner.

this really is a thread that needs cakewalk input - shared components/utilities are no longer backwards compatible? this is exactly the reason i put off installing a post-x1 demo, as the shared stuff gets updated but left behind after uninstall, noel even suggested it as a way of getting an updated plugin scanner... http://forum.cakewalk.com/demo-question-m3196110.aspx

The Cakewalk Plugin Manager DID overlay the older scanner, but that was - to the best of my knowledge - the only component that was forced to go to a new version.  All else was kept separate.
 
As scook indicated, a reinstall of X3e will put the older version of the scanning utility back in place for you.
 
Additionally, that reinstall process is not a particularly lengthy process to do - a matter of minutes, really, so it is a reasonable solution, and in this case, the best one.
 
I am additionally wondering if your computer has all Windows Update maintenance applied, and if not, I would suggest you consider getting it up to date on maintenance.
 
Bob Bone
 

robert_e_bone
The Cakewalk Plugin Manager DID overlay the older scanner, but that was - to the best of my knowledge - the only component that was forced to go to a new version.  All else was kept separate.

thanks bob, but i think cakewalk should say which bits really are left alone (like, is it really all else?) and which aren't, otherwise it's just speculation - i'll speculate that there's more than just the scanner... happy to be proved wrong though! we're engineers, we need to know where the goalposts are!

I would agree with the need for more input on what uninstalling a Cakewalk Sonar Demo actually removes.
I did quite a bit of searching on this topic to try and help pinguinotuerto solve this in a timely fashion.
The results returned were slim to none.
 
There were topics on uninstalling previous versions, uninstalling present versions but none that covered uninstalling Demo versions. 
Though its not often.This is not the first time I've heard someone say uninstalling the Sonar Demo has changed their current settings in some ways (not missing the VST Scanner) but similar subject lines.

Does anyone know if I can run only one of the install files to repair my problem instead of having to run every single one of them? I would have to download them again and they're not small.

2011 predates X2 so the scanner will not see VST3 plug-ins or have any bug fixes from X2 or X3.

Yes, but it seems that the original install is still broken up into several files that I'd have to redownload. Wondering if anyone can just send me their VSTscan file so I can just copy it into my folder. Thanks again.

Haven't downloaded it. Using my cellphone for internet right now. Don't have unlimited data.

scook
It is a single file and much smaller than downloading the full X3 installer set.

I don't see the X3e update by itself under my products only a full install broken up into 4 files. Not sure if the last file is the X3e update.