You're right about folders and dupes, I'm working on that now. As for the max number, the scan has never failed to add what I was trying to add but I recently installed a Waves bundle and they include x86 and x64 versions so that's probably what put me over the top. 

I ran into an issue of my own over the weekend.
 
i downloaded and installed the free version of Proteus VX and although the plugin shows up in my list, when i go to open it comes up as just a blank window.  strange enough if i just go to "program files > proteus VX" I can open it as a standalone.....i just can't get Sonar to open/view it properly
 
i probably screwed this up because during the installation process it asked me two questions where do i put my "folders" or maybe it had said "data"....and then it asked where my plugins go.  in both cases i just directed it to my vstplugins folder. 
 
any thoughts on what i could have done wrong or how i can fix?
i really need to sort out my folder structure but that's for a new thread.
 

ugh.....i JUST learned that "x86" means 32 bit
 
 
what a mess :(

It sounds like you screwed something up during the installation such that Sonar doesn't have the correct path. Some plugs have an exe as well as a dll, others just a dll. You might only have one of those in your path(s) and it can't find the other. The missing path is probably Program files (x86)\Cakewalk\vstplugins\Proteus
 
I'd start again and make a note of where you put stuff.

when you say "start again" - you mean uninstall and try to install it again?
i'll have to check when i get home tonight but i believe i put everything in that vstplugins folder so i'm not sure where that leaves me
 
 
 
another random but related quirk....when i pull up "insert soft synth"....why do i see my list of dropdown plugins.....and then in that list is "vstplugins" where there is a dropdown for 3 more synths?  why are they not all together?
 

>when you say "start again" - you mean uninstall and try to install it again?
Yes, if you can get it all off your system with an uninstall that would be best. If not, you can install again and then get rid of the extra 'data' folder, if it's not in the right place.
 
>why are they not all together?
That was probably done by the Sonar installation but you don't have to keep it like that.
 
If you want to see all your Soft Synths together, go to Insert > Soft Synths > Manage Plugin Layouts. You can now make folders or remove synths from folders, organize by type or with separators between categories, etc.  
 
 

If you've got a bunch of x86 plugins that you don't need, just drag them into another folder, one that's not under your vstplugins path, then re-scan.
 
The blank window problem could be an installation issue. Soft synths sometimes use separate bitmap files for their graphical elements and expect to find those files in a specific location, usually in the same folder as the DLL or in a subdirectory below it. Re-installing it may fix the problem. If not, I'd email the vendor for advice. (I have seen that same problem with other plugins in the past, and it magically disappeared after a version update.)