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Found an AAX plugin folder with over 1GB - safe to delete?


abacab

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I was doing a disk space checkup today, and I found that I had over 1GB of AAX plugins that I never use hiding in here: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins".

With sub-folders put there by various installers, including Cakewalk, AAS,  XLN, AIR, Arturia, SONiVOX, NI, etc.

I don't use any Avid products and generally uncheck any plugin types other than VST and VST3 in their setup dialogues if offered. So this was a surprise to me.

Anybody else run across this? I'll probably just rename the path and see what happens, as I can't imagine there are any dependencies. This appears to be just another plugin installation annoyance, to be added to the several companies that assume I want my plugins installed in a "Steinberg" folder! xD

 

Edited by abacab
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This is exactly one of the reasons that I began to extract plugin installer content to a folder (most time with innounp.exe), delete what I don't need and create then a zip file to install the plugins by hand on my PCs. Runs perfect for most plugins (without garbage: Avid, menus, uninstallers, ...). This way I had also the possibility to have one central docu folder (with provider subfolders) where I really find the plugin documentations (because in one place). Of course, I have to uninstall by hand, but I have found out that this is the much cleaner way!!! 😄

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10 hours ago, abacab said:

I was doing a disk space checkup today, and I found that I had over 1GB of AAX plugins that I never use hiding in here: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins".

With sub-folders put there by various installers, including Cakewalk, AAS,  XLN, AIR, Arturia, SONiVOX, NI, etc.

I don't use any Avid products and generally uncheck any plugin types other than VST and VST2 in their setup dialogues if offered. So this was a surprise to me.

Anybody else run across this? I'll probably just rename the path and see what happens, as I can't imagine there are any dependencies. This appears to be just another plugin installation annoyance, to be added to the several companies that assume I want my plugins installed in a "Steinberg" folder! xD

Wow, abacab, you read my mind with this question! I was going to inquire about this very subject. I think my folder had over 2 gigs of data. So far, no issues with deleting all that never to be used stuff. 

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7 hours ago, balinas said:

Wow, abacab, you read my mind with this question! I was going to inquire about this very subject. I think my folder had over 2 gigs of data. So far, no issues with deleting all that never to be used stuff. 

I renamed the folder, then ran all of my plugin scanners, and none of them complained. So I assume it is only needed if I am running Pro Tools, which I am not.

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Thanks for bringing it up, abacab.

Gee, since I always tell installers not to install AAX plug-ins, I naively thought that I didn't have any installed! Turns out that's not any more reasonable than expecting not to find any newly-installed 32-bit plug-ins on my system. I clean those out about monthly.

My haul of freed-up SSD space was 1.5G

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Good find abacab! 👍

Like others, I always deselect everything except 64bit VST on installers but I also had 2.5Gb of worthless content there cluttering up my SSD.

Not any more!

Edited by ZincT
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  • 3 weeks later...
6 hours ago, abacab said:

Your best bet is to use a 3rd party image hosting service such as https://www.imgur.com and post the direct link here.

The forum software shrinks images to very tiny proportions if you upload them directly.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I will try linking to an uploaded image on a hosted site, but at least I figured out that cutting and pasting in-line images results in duplicates--the in-line image and an uploaded image--with no way to delete the non-in-line image or to replace it (so far as I can see). I had better luck earlier today saving very small images (cropped to the essentials) and linking to the file on my PC.

Steve

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Yeah, MusicMan, I can't read your screen cap, but I assume from context that it's a folder with AAX plug-ins?

I go further and hunt around for possible extra content that the installers may have left around, like convolution files, samples and whatnot. Meldaproduction, much as I love their products, is one for shoveling unnecessary content in with installs.

And if you've installed the Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol stuff, be aware that you now have at least 3 software drivers running on your system that are useless if you don't also own one of Native Instruments' hardware controllers.

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14 hours ago, MusicMan11712 (aka Dr. Steve) said:

BTW, in one Avid folder, 5 of the 9 aaxplugins were put there automatically by NI on 6-9-2019 when I opted to download and install a new basic/free set of tools rather than update versions I hadn't updated in like 3 or 4 (or more) years.

You only need AAX if you are running Pro Tools. Unfortunately some plugin installers don't give you a choice.

I also find that some installers will drop VSTs in a Steinberg folder for some reason, without asking. I don't typically have Steinberg in my VST scan paths, so those plugins will remain lost until I move them into my main VST folder.

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14 hours ago, MusicMan11712 (aka Dr. Steve) said:

I figured out that cutting and pasting in-line images results in duplicates--the in-line image and an uploaded image--with no way to delete the non-in-line image or to replace it (so far as I can see).

You can go into your forum user settings and click on "My Attachments" and manage them there.

The trash can icon should take care of your issue for any items you wish to remove.

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16 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

And if you've installed the Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol stuff, be aware that you now have at least 3 software drivers running on your system that are useless if you don't also own one of Native Instruments' hardware controllers.

Thanks for the heads-up.  I will double check to see what was in the package.

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