Hi,
I'm finally going to be upgrading my motherboard to the 20th Century.

I figure I might as well do a clean install of everything. So, after formatting the main drive and re-installing the OS, can I just use Command Center to re-install Sonar Platinum? My license is still active, I believe.

My main worry though, is not only saving the work I've done in Sonar,
but also reloading the plugins and soft synths I've accumulated.

Can anyone offer any tips with this process to hopefully avoid as many problems as possible?

Many Thanks!

Windows 10 is very forgiving.  I and others have upgraded hardware and used the same OS drive and Win 10 booted up, did what it had to do to install new drivers, and ran just like before.  I had to reauthorize some add-ons but that was all in Sonar.  
 
I would try that before doing through the compete reinstall.
 
 
 

fireberd
Windows 10 is very forgiving.  I and others have upgraded hardware and used the same OS drive and Win 10 booted up, did what it had to do to install new drivers, and ran just like before.  I had to reauthorize some add-ons but that was all in Sonar.  
 
I would try that before doing through the compete reinstall.

+1 to that.  Format and re-install is no longer required with Windows 10, after a motherboard upgrade.

Hmm...
I've always done clean installs because I've always feared bringing any old problems of the past into the future.
But you guys are right. It would be so much easier.
 
The system HAS been acting a little buggy lately. But that's could be "user error" as I've only just found out that I needed to render my clips! I'd been leaving them open without knowing, duhh...
 
But on the safe side, what folders should I transfer to my external drive for safe keeping, in case of blunders?
 
Thanks again!
 

One thing to consider is that if your software is authorized for a single computer or limited installations on multiple computers, a new motherboard is likely to look like a new computer. That will certainly be the case with Windows 10, so your activation of your existing Win10 will not occur automatically. You may be able to talk a Microsoft employee into letting you activate by phone if you can convince him that this new motherboard is a repair and not an upgrade, but that is in no case guaranteed. You may need to buy a new license. You plugins may require you to uninstall them or deactivate them from the "old computer" before they will let you install it on the new computer, so take care of that before you swap your board.

I also do "clean" installs.  Windows is so easy to install these days.
 
One suggestion if you do a clean install (and I am sure that you have already though of this) is to unregister any plugins first - Waves, Arturia, ILok, etc. 

husker
I also do "clean" installs.  Windows is so easy to install these days.

True for Windows, but not so much for my 300+ plugins and other software. 
 
I keep my system scrubbed and don't let crap build up and cause performance or other issues.  I would reload my system from a backup image in case I ever need to recover.  I plan to never install Windows again.

BassRocket
 
But on the safe side, what folders should I transfer to my external drive for safe keeping, in case of blunders?
 

The advice about de-activating your plugin licenses in advance is a good one.  Have heard many stories of pain involved for those who forgot to do this.
 
In addition, it is always a good idea to back up your Cakewalk Projects folder, your user folder (My Documents, etc.), and any folders that your plugins keep their custom settings and presets in.
 
That last one can be a challenge, because all developers seem to think differently about how to do this, and there is no standard.  You may have to research each one yourself.  To be safe, you could easily just make a copy of your current system drive onto a separate drive, for reference after the migration.  That way you can just drag and drop anything that you are missing.
 
I always take a system image before making any changes, and that has always worked fine as an archive for future reference.  Just mount the image as a drive (varies with image software, but most allow this), and drag and drop files/folders from it as needed.
 
And make sure that you have all of your application software and plugin installers (and serial numbers) on hand.
 
Good luck!

BassRocket
Hi,
I'm finally going to be upgrading my motherboard to the 20th Century.

I figure I might as well do a clean install of everything. So, after formatting the main drive and re-installing the OS, can I just use Command Center to re-install Sonar Platinum? My license is still active, I believe.

My main worry though, is not only saving the work I've done in Sonar,
but also reloading the plugins and soft synths I've accumulated.

Can anyone offer any tips with this process to hopefully avoid as many problems as possible?

Many Thanks!

I would never bring over the old stuff on a new PC. And also, some installation may not work seamlessly with a new Motherboard, meaning the install will require a serial number given it see this as a new PC, so make sure you have a serial number.

There are also issues with drivers, what I am mean, the motherboard may require it's own drivers and configuration given it is different from what was there before.

If your resources are installed on separate directories, then simply do a clean install and later bring over all of your resources.

If I were you, I would simply start clean.

slartabartfast
One thing to consider is that if your software is authorized for a single computer or limited installations on multiple computers, a new motherboard is likely to look like a new computer. That will certainly be the case with Windows 10, so your activation of your existing Win10 will not occur automatically. You may be able to talk a Microsoft employee into letting you activate by phone if you can convince him that this new motherboard is a repair and not an upgrade, but that is in no case guaranteed. You may need to buy a new license. You plugins may require you to uninstall them or deactivate them from the "old computer" before they will let you install it on the new computer, so take care of that before you swap your board.

Jim Roseberry mentioned this in another thread here.  http://forum.cakewalk.com/FindPost/3642672
 
It's not an insurmountable problem, and most likely won't be a problem if you don't do it too often.  If you are just running the one copy of Windows on one machine, you should be covered.