• Computers
  • Moving plug-ins to another computer
2015/06/24 20:43:46
silvercn
Getting a new laptop so I can re-download my Sonar DAW and upgrade it to a 64 bit. What is the most effective/foolproof way to copy/transfer my current VSTs from current desktop to this laptop. I assume that for some of them I can log into the company sites if my download files are still there - but I assume many of them don't have my plug-ins on file.....   
 
thanks ! 
 
Charles 
2015/06/24 23:32:46
bitflipper
I just went through this earlier this year. It was not an entirely pleasant experience. I'll relate some of the challenges I experienced...
 
You can start by simply copying your previous VSTPlugins folder to the laptop. You don't have to worry about overwriting the 64-bit versions of SONAR-bundled plugins, because they're in another location. 
 
After a re-scan, many of them will just work. But many, perhaps most, will have to be re-authorized. 
 
How much of a pain that is varies a lot from vendor to vendor. For example, Meldaproduction makes it very easy: just copy over the license files. FabFilter was almost as straightforward. Waves, as usual, was the biggest PITA.
 
Like you, I was also migrating to 64 bits. That meant having to download 64-bit versions of existing plugins. For the customer-friendly vendors (Valhalla, Melda, FabFilter, Voxengo) that was painless. Of course, a few had no 64-bit counterparts, but fortunately only one of my 32-bit plugins (SampleTank 2.5) failed in the 64-bit environment. I was sad to lose it and went as far as buying SampleTank 3 so I could import and continue to use the old libraries.
 
A few plugins see their 64-bit and 32-bit plugins as separate products. Ozone was like this. Every project I brought over from the old machine had to have Ozone deleted and re-inserted. I saved presets on the old machine using the names of the songs they came from, and copied all those presets over, which eased the transition. Most products don't have this problem, and SONAR is perfectly happy to load the 64-bit version into existing projects without complaint. I was relieved when Pro-Q dropped in without any fuss.
 
One sticking point was the few plugins that could not be re-installed because they were obsolete versions and no longer available for download. For those I had no choice but to remove them from old projects and replace them with contemporary versions. 
 
Whenever I'd load an old project, SONAR would give me a helpful dialog listing all the plugins it couldn't find. I'd press CTL-C to copy the list into a running text file, where I could cross items off the list as problems were resolved.
 
Altogether it took a couple weeks and $300 (for ST3) before I could pull over all of my old projects and run them on the new machine.   
2015/06/24 23:37:35
mettelus
This is a tough one... some VST's simply need to be in the proper directory, others have software with them that needs to be installed, and some required registry entries to activate.
 
One place to start is run Bitflipper's VST Inventory (is in the OP of that thread) so you have an actual listing. You can play with copying VSTs, but that will be very much hit or miss. Also bear in mind when going to 64 bit, using some 32 bit plugins can be problematic (you can install both 32/64 versions of SONAR on the same machine which is probably a good start).
 
I just reformatted this machine to wipe the registry, and been manually installing things as they come up. I have been going by the inventory list mentioned above, and realized how many "garbage" VSTs I have installed over time, so am only re-installing ones I actually use.
 
If you have both machines fully functional, it is significantly easier to look from one to the other, but as one is 32 bit versus 64 bit (seems from your post?), any "imaging" wouldn't work for that. Also be mindful to keep plugins separated on 64-bit... 64-bit plugs default to C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Vstplugins and 32-bit default to C:\Program Files (x86)\Cakewalk\Vstplugins... for future ease of "finding things" is best to keep this structure.
 
Edit: The VST Inventory tool is linked in the top of a sticky in the Software forum.
2015/06/25 00:31:12
silvercn
Some really good tips --- thank you ! Yes the old computer is 32 bit. New one arrives on Friday - so soon will deal with these issues...    
 
Thanks !
2015/06/25 02:13:44
...wicked
Ugh, I had this issue a couple of years back and it was a nightmare. Just be prepared for it to be an iterative process. Open as many SONAR projects as you can to see what didn't take. Some, like Pentagon, DimPro, and Rapture, can have serious difficulties when you jump to 64 bits. I was able to fix Rapture by getting an earlier installer and then upgrading it though.
 
Copy your VST folder(s) onto the new machine, just on your desktop or something. You never know when one of those .dll's will come in handy.
 
Oh, also, if you're a VST whore you may want to take the opportunity to cull the herd. I had so many from back when I grab anything free. I never used them, and my system was so obese and giltchy. On the new machine just start by adding the ones you need to open projects and your faves and then you can always add others later. I found I didn't miss them.
 
2018/12/21 18:43:27
salexmatei
I managed to migrate my Waves plugins (only AU's, tho I can't remember if those are the only ones I installed... might be).
 
Copied Applications/Waves folder, and everything from Library/Application Support/ and Library/Audio/ that pertains to Waves. I had the licenses already transferred to the new workstation so my DAW just loaded up without any issues.
2018/12/23 15:37:50
bdickens
This is the kind of thing that, when I think about it, actually makes me glad I can't afford to continually upgrade to the latest and greatest.
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