It's been awhile since I've upgraded ( x2 producer was installed for me when I had my computer built).What do I have to watch out for? Reinstalling efx/instruments wiping out my presets? my work? How seemlessly does Sonar migrate preferences. Maybe I'm being over cautious , but I just don't want to: A) kill everything by overwriting it B) end up  with a confusing sea of directories and folders from redundantly creating them. (It's bad enough having to remember about x86 directories as the location of some legacy 32 bit VST's and such, I'd hate to double them).
It would seem to me that since a lot of this is default stuff, it would be able to migrate them or just point to the same directories for both programs. I'm not completely green to this, as I have been using cakewalk products since the Windows 3.1 days, but all the more reason to look before you leap. How'd it go for you?

I have never found it a problem. I just install the new version. Seems to look after the details for me and yes it will ( should ) ask if you want to migrate your settings. 
Sometimes the old versions are worth keeping as they might have had different plug ins. 
Hard drives are huge, no need to worry about drive space anymore. 

The file list is in a link at the bottom of http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013359/SONAR-X3-Download-Installation-Instructions
 
Download and install the 02_SONAR files and the 05_XLN instructions. Skip the 03_Loops and 04_Dimension_Pro files, they are unchanged from X2 Producer. The XLN instructions detail how to download the XLN installer and install addictive drums. Some virus scanners (Avast for one) interfere with the download so it may be necessary to disable the virus scanner during download.
 
After installing run the reset and rescan http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2007013315/SONAR-X3-Full-VST-Rescan-Recommended-for-Upgraders
 
Apply the X3e update http://www.cakewalk.com/S...13361/SONAR-X3e-Update

not a bad idea to keep x2.
if you have projects that have V Vocal in them, you will want to keep x2.
Melodyne pretty much replaced V Vocal so unless you have x2 installed you wont be able to have any access to it ( V Vocal)

I would also suggest keeping X2 - at least for a while.  
 
As posted above, it allows you access to plugins that aren't there anymore, like V-Vocal, and it also gives you access to work on projects in X2 - in case you either cannot load them into X3 for some reason, or because you have any trouble grasping some difference in doing things with X3.
 
Bob Bone
 
 
 

Thanks guys. i was pretty sure it would be relatively painless,(otherwise people wouldn't bother) I just wanted to make sure in case I'd missed something. I plan on keeping X2, I just wanted to make sure I don't completely wipe something out, or worse yet, have 100 folders of stuff that are just duplicates of each other, so if you ever did HAVE to search for something it would be that much more cumbersome.
So, to recap:
1)Download and install the 02_SONAR files and the 05_XLN instructions. Skip the 03_Loops and 04_Dimension_Pro files
(being mindful of any prompts regarding preferences,migrating, settings etc.) 
2) rescan VST using full rescan
3) apply the "e" update
3) keep X2, at least for awhile
That pretty much cover it?
I'll chime in and let you know if everything was a success.
Tim

I would add Noel on several occasions has recommended against importing previous version settings, for example http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3031243

Ok, that would also be the path of least resistence for me. Just treat it as it's own install, sounds good. I was hoping that I might be able to use my current settings, file paths ,etc. and thus save a little time. Maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than I need to. thanks