Hi all,
 
Just upgraded my laptop data disk to 1tb to make room for Komplete Ultimate.
 
Now thinking of reinstalling Win 7 from scratch and X3 too on the old disk and eventually cloning to the spare as a backup.
 
How do I save my settings and where do I start?
 
i.e. with X3 first and than backwards through X2, X1 for plugins/V-Vocal etc. and also earlier versions to make sure I have 32-bit Bitbridge functionality and older synths?
 
Thanks for any tips!
 
Cheers!
M

Maarkr posted a thread last week with a checklist for doing an new installation (very comprehensive list!).
 
FWIW, unless you are replacing a hard drive, a fresh install may not be as easy as:
   1) uninstalling (or install elsewhere) things you never use (free space)
   2) disabling process/programs from automatically starting on boot (trim machine processes)
   3) if you uninstall things, using a utility to verify registry entries are removed (also trimming Win7 overhead)
 
   I have had Win7 installed over 2 1/2 years now and would not even consider a re-install unless I was forced to do so.

Thanks mettelus, unfortunately I uninstalled Sonar 8 and now none of my widely used 32-bit plugins work.
 
Apparently there is no way of getting them to work again and a reinstall of Win 7 64-bit is the only way for me. I wish it weren't as I am busy enough.
 
Thanks for the thread. So it seems installation of X2 is the way, then X3 plus patches?
 
Would I need anything from X1? I'll have to hunt for which synths and plugins I need from older versions too.
 
Cheers
M

The program files for Cake take up very little space. Especially on a 1 TB drive. I have all the versions of Sonar, 32 and 64 bit, from 8.5 up on a couple of computers. It pays off to do that because I have had older projects done on 8.5 that clients would like to now take advantage of the newer options they have in X3.

Thanks sidroe, actually the C drive will still be 320 Gb but ample in conjunction with the 1tb data drive where I can put audio and samples.
 
Should I start with 8 or 8.5 and then go forwards perhaps? Not sure how much of the Cakewalk content I have ever used - maybe the ProChannel presets.
 
Cheers
M

To get V-Vocal does not require a full install of X2. An advanced instal including the actual SONAR program itself will do. What a full install of X2 does, is get practically all the 64bit plug-ins from pre-X series SONAR through X2 and most of the 32bit plug-ins that work in a 64bit host. The 64bit Lexicon Pantheon does require a pre-X series installer. While not necessary to run the advanced installs oldest first, the order does make sense.

Thanks scook, which order are you suggesting?
 
Full X2 first then X3 and any partial older versions for odd missing synths?
 
So then any 32-bit VSTs will work with BitBridge's help?
 
Cheers
M

It might be easiest to follow that install order. Especially if historic plug-in coverage is what you are after. You are not going to find much in SONAR 8 or 8.5 after a full X2 install. I believe the only plug-in you will pick up is the Lexicon Pantheon. The only thing you may want after that is the actual 8.5 executable as a fall back for older projects. It also may depend on your past plug-ins use. If you relied on the older 32bit DX plug-ins and need to re-open those projects, you are going to need a 32bit host install too.
 
Bitbridge does work for most 32bit plug-ins. Where it fails, jBridge may be the solution. Ultimately running older projects which rely on 32bit plug-ins in a 32bit host may be the best solution. A while back, Noel mentioned that Cakewalk now owns the Bitbridge code so an improved version may be in the future.
 
I have read a couple of recommendations to increase Bitbridge stability, run Bitbridge as administrator and set compatibility mode to XP. I do not use 32bit plug-ins anymore so I have no direct experience to suggest whether the setup tweaks make any difference or not.

Great, thanks, it's a plan!
 
I use Lexicon Pantheon a lot, so yes that will be useful
 
Do I need to export or save some X2 settings/config files, so that I can import them later?
 
Cheers
M

You could it depends on how customized you setup is. I usually start with a clean slate but I have all my tweaks and custom presets, and the like stored in a special directory away from the rest of the installation. If you have performance tweaks, drum map, changes to master.ins, etc. you may want to copy off the user directory located in "your user directory\AppData\Roaming\Cakewalk\your version of SONAR". I am not sure if I would blindly copy that data back though, rather use it as a reference. If you added presets to Cakewalk DX plug-ins, those are stored in the registry and would need to be exported using the plug-in manager.