I have 95 VST's that Sonar searches for and verifies every time I start Sonar x3.  Grrrind . . .
 
I am thinking that - when I do a fresh install on a new computer - it may behoove me to customize VST installation and not even install the VST's I never use.
 
Thoughts?

A couple of hundred plug-ins should take no time to scan. Check Preferences > File > VST Settings and make sure the scan options are set to "Automatic Background Scan" (or "Manual Scan" if you prefer to scan on demand) and the two rescan check boxes are not selected.

Actually - my settings are already set to this - maybe it's time to upgrade the hardware??

Scanning more than the 64bit default scan path? If you are not adding plug-ins, turn off the scan. 

I will try that.

There's no need to re-scan unless you've added or removed some plugins since the last scan. Turn it off.
 
The time it takes to scan depends not only on the number of plugins but also the types. If I actually sit and watch the scan - it takes about 20 minutes, so I usually go make a cup of tea - some plugins take a lot longer to initialize than others. 

There have been a couple of threads on this topic. I found that removing the VST folder from my real-time anti virus scan worked, and took my scan time from 30 seconds to about 5 seconds.

I agree with bitflipper!
 
Unless you've added or removed any VSTs why bother scanning every time you fire up Sonar?
 
I did exactly what he suggested, switched the function off and I only scan when I've added or deleted a plug-in.
 
My Sonar now fires up quickly!