After numerous Sonar upgrades, which older files or versions are safe to remove?
 
I out started with Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 and have upgraded through Sonar 4 Producer , Sonar 7 Producer, Sonar 8 Producer, Sonar 8.5 Producer, Sonar X1 Producer and now Sonar X2a Producer. What previous versions, if any, are safe to delete without losing plug-ins bundled with any particular upgrade?
 
For example, is there a way to uninstall Sonar 8 and then re-install only plug-ins that may not be included (if any) in more recent upgrades? I'm just trying to clean up my pc.
 
 

A number of plugins that come with Sonar are simple VST dll-type, and you can copy them off to some folder and dump them back into wherever you want them to reside - adding that path through the Plug-in Manager to get them to show up again.
 
Some of the older DX-type plugins may not work any more in either later versions of Windows, or in a 64-bit Sonar environment.  Even some 32-bit VST plugins may not work in a stable manner (or at all) if they are used with either BitBridge (Cakewalk software included with Sonar that lets 32-bit VST plugins run in 64-bit Sonar) or with JBridge (3rd-party software that lets 32-bit VST plugins run in 64-bit Sonar).
 
Another consideration is whether or not those earlier versions of plugins are 32-bit, and whether or not there are either later updates to them in later releases of Sonar, or perhaps there might be 64-bit versions of them available should you choose to run 64-bit Sonar now.
 
And, there are plugins like Dimension Pro and such, that have their own installation process. Those generally do not uninstall if you remove a Sonar version, as they would have their own uninstall process.
 
Hopefully some other folks will jump in here with some better responses for you.  I myself did not keep anything prior to Sonar 8.5.3, and once I became happy with X2a, I even removed 8.5.3 as well as X1d.  I also try to run with only 64-bit plugins these days whenever possible, but a DO have a 32-bit install of X2a present if I have any issues with including the remaining 32-bit plugins in my 64-bit Sonar X2a environment.
 
I have been copying and pasting ARP2600VA and MinimogueVA for years now, both of which are freeware VST synths that I happen to really enjoy, and I just have them saved off in a backup folder and plop them into a VST Plugins folder whenever I move to a new computer, and they cheerfully run just fine that way.
 
I don't know if any of the above is of any help whatsoever, but maybe it will help you to think of some things you might not have, and that you come up with a workable game plan for cleaning things up.
 
And, as long as you have the various installation files for prior versions of Sonar, you can always recover any particular plugins by doing a custom install and selecting just the plugins you wish to recover, while skipping the rest of the components.
 
Bob Bone
 

I think somewhere in the Cakewalk help files (online) for Sonar, there is a list somewhere.
 
Faced with the same situation, I ended up making my own, tracking Excel spreadsheet. It was necessary because I had many free VST's and VSTi's that I wanted to track errors, crashes, etc.  To make a long story short, there are now just a handful of tested freebies in my arsenal.
 
The List from Sonar X2: (Guaranteed to be Somewhat Accurate)
ProChan - Console Emulator
ProChan - PC4K S-Type Bus Comp
ProChan - PC76 U-Type Channel Comp
ProChan - Tube Saturation
ProChan - Softube Saturation Knob
ProChan - EQ
ProChan - Breverb 2
Sonitus:FX Multiband Comp
Sonitus:FX Surround Comp
Sonitus:FX Delay
Sonitus:FX EQ
Sonitus:FX Gate
Sonitus:FX Phaser
Sonitus:FX WahWah
Sonitus:FX Modulator
Sonitus:FX Reverb
Sonitus:FX Surround
Cakewalk Analyst AN-879 Spectrum Analyzer
Cakewalk Bit Meter
Cakewalk Pitch Shifter
Cakewalk Multi-Voice Chorus/Flanger
Cakewalk Mod Filter
Cakewalk Stereo Comp/Gate
Cakewalk TH2 Producer-64
Cakewalk LP-64 Comp
Cakewalk Para-Q (Parametric EQ)
Cakewalk Channel Tools
Cakewalk Tempo Delay
Cakewalk Alias Factor
Cakewalk Classic Phaser
Cakewalk LP-64 Multiband Comp
Cakewalk PX-64 Percussion Strip
Cakewalk TL-64 Tube Leveler
Cakewalk TS-64 Transient Shaper
Cakewalk VC-64 Vintage Channel
Cakewalk VX-64 Vocal Strip
Cakewalk FX2 Amp Sim
Cakewalk FX2 Tape Sim
Cakewalk Perfect Space Convolution Reverb
Cakewalk Boost11 Limiter
 

Well I had Sonar X1 producer, then I installed X2 and was surpriseed they are separate but recently I had a real f*** up with my computer and had to re-install the OS, etc.  I thought I could just install X2 and have it work as before but things seem to be missing.  They are still there in a way because I was able to back up certain things.  They just don't appear, despite directing the scanner to them. On the other hand I now have some Cakewalk effects that I thought I'd lost.  If I now install X1 after X2 does anyone know what will happen?

And by the way I am not a new member.  That signature was added ages ago.

Thanks Robert, that's exactly what I was looking for when you said,
 
"And, as long as you have the various installation files for prior versions of Sonar, you can always recover any particular plugins by doing a custom install and selecting just the plugins you wish to recover, while skipping the rest of the components."
 
Sorry it took me so long to get back on this, but I seemed to have lost connection to my posts for awhile.