Missing vst errors loading old project with Kontakt plugins

[Sven]

I've seen this problem before and I know many other people have had the same issues.   I've got a Cakewalk project that's two years old that I want to remix.   Over the past two years I believe I moved the vst folders and probably have reinstalled Kontakt again for whatever reasons.   I was probably only using version 5.8 on this project at the time and not version 6.   Bandlab is currently updated with the latest version.

Now I have Kontakt version 5.8.1 and version 6.6.0 installed.  Everything works fine on new projects using either of the installed versions.  I recall having vst errors with Kontakt in the past or else it loaded but there was no sound.  The easiest solution seemed to be to reload a new Kontakt synth plugin with the same library and redirect the old MIDI to the new plugin.  I would then delete the old Kontakt synth plugin.  I couldn't be sure I had the same plugin settings if I didn't have a configuration file saved to reload.  It was a slight pain but it got me up and running again quickly.

This two year old project has about 90 tracks and a lot of them are Kontakt plugins.  I don't want to jump through hoops getting this running again if I can avoid it.  I can insert a new Kontakt plugin and use the same library as I did two years before and it works fine.   So the problem doesn't seem to be with the Kontakt plugins I used before not working or being 'found'.   It seem that Cakewalk is now confused and associating the plugin to a previous folder location or Kontakt version or perhaps something else.   

Does anyone know how to make this movie have a happy ending?

Thanks.

 

[bitflipper]

The best solution I can think of would be to recreate the original paths using symbolic links. This, however, requires that you know the original locations of the Kontakt executables, and possibly also the original locations of the libraries if they've also been moved.

The beauty of symbolic links is you can move programs and data to a new file location without the DAW or VSTs knowing you've done it. They continue to look in the previous place and the Windows file system quietly redirects them to the new folder. But again, this fix does require that you first know the old pathnames.

[Sven]

Thanks bitflipper,

  I'll look into that as a possible solution.  I believe I know where the vsts were located before.   In fact, they might not have even moved.   I can guess where Kontakt might have been located before pretty easily.

  I've never used symbolic links before so I'll have to research this.   

  Alternatively I could simple copy the two Kontakt .dll files for 5.8 and 6.6 to every location Cakewalk is currently searching for vst files.  That wouldn't be too difficult.   I don't think they've changed recently.  My hunch is it's the Kontakt locations and not the vst library locations that's causing the problem.  

  I've mentioned in other post how much I dislike Kontakt for several reasons.  Starting with the horrible interface it just seems like a terrible tool to be an industry standard.  I try to use any other plugin I can if I can avoid using Kontakt these days so it doesn't come back to haunt me.  I only seem to have these kind of problems with Kontakt.   

Thanks again.

[bitflipper]

41 minutes ago, Sven said:

...I could simple copy the two Kontakt .dll files for 5.8 and 6.6 to every location Cakewalk is currently searching for vst files.

Yes, you could do that but I wouldn't recommend it because you'll end up with multiple copies and the next time Kontakt is updated you'll be left wondering which of them actually got updated.

That's what's great about symbolic links - you still have just one copy of the file, but now the O/S can get to it multiple ways.

You create a symbolic link using the mklink command, which you run in a DOS window. This command creates a pseudo-folder that's actually a pointer to somewhere else. Let's say you have a project that references c:\VSTGone\VSTGone.dll, but either that DLL isn't there anymore or the whole folder is gone because it's been moved to the D: drive to free up space on your system drive. You can use mklink to create a fake c:\VSTGone folder, and tell it the real location.

The mklink syntax is: 

        mklink /d {new_folder} {old_folder}

Let's say Kontakt was originally installed at C:\program files\Native Instruments\Kontakt but that folder's no longer there, and has since been moved to D:\Kontakt. In this case, you'd use mklink to create a dummy folder that points to the actual location:

       c:

       cd \program files\Native Instruments

       mklink /d D:\Kontakt Kontakt

Now you have a pseudo-folder named c:\program files\Native Instruments\Kontakt. Any program that references it will be automatically redirected to D:\Kontakt. This happens at the file system level, so Cakewalk need not know of this sleight-of-hand and existing projects need not be modified. 
 

[Sven]

Thanks bitflipper,

  I did a couple of quick guesses as to where it might be looking but apparently they weren't the right locations.   I'll try again tomorrow.

  Is the problem really that Cakewalk has a project which previously found a Kontakt version 5 or 6 before and now that location has changed?  Shouldn't the fact that Cakewalk can insert either version of these plugins currently because they've been scanned be enough to open the old project?  I'm not sure I understand why moving a plugin's location would cause this error.  I can insert either version of Kontakt with the old plugin with no problem.  My only concern is if I changed any settings of the plugin and don't have a configuration saved for that tune.

  Another example is that I have a similar problem when I load an old project with a FabFilter vst or Amplitude 4 vst.  The 'vst missing' error message pops up when loading but as soon as the project is finished loaded I can simply insert either plugin with no problem.  My question is what confuses Cakewalk into believing a plugin is missing when it can obviously load the same plugin it griped about?  

  Is it the current plugin's location?  The current version of the plugin?  The alignment of the planets? 

  If I couldn't successfully insert Kontakt, FabFilter, Amplitude 4 or whatever without the 'missing plugin' message I would believe there was truly a problem on my side.  The fact that they all load with no problem with new projects or after old projects are loaded confuses me.

  I would think the Cakewalk/Bandlab crew would have some kind of tools to help straighten problems like this out.  What can they see inside a project that we can't?  I tried a Projectscope utility mentioned in another post but it didn't have the information needed.

Thanks again.

 

[bitflipper]

You can find the paths to plugins - as Cakewalk understands them - by looking in the system registry. Open REGEDIT and press F3 to pull up the Find dialog. Search for Cakewalk Music Software. Under that key will be a subkey called Cakewalk VST x64, and within that another subkey named "Inventory". Lots of information in there, some of it obvious, some of it obscure, but worth an examination.

That method works to locate registered plugins, meaning all plugins that were found and successfully initialized by the VST scanner. It won't help you find duplicate instances, though. I usually resolve that challenge with a global search, but I don't use the Windows Search feature because it's so slow and doesn't produce results I can refine my search within. Instead, I open a DOS window and run something like this (in this example, to find all FabFilter plugins):

        c:

        cd \

        dir FabFilter*.dll /s > fabfilter.txt & notepad c:\fabfilter.txt

This will create a file called fabfilter.txt that lists every DLL named "FabFilter[something]", and then open it in Notepad. To find every instance of Kontakt, just substitute "kontakt" for "fabfilter".

 

 

[Sven]

I think it's time to give up and just reinsert the plugins again.  I think I didn't change the presets on these instruments and I can get the volume and efx info from the old audio output that's not working.  The MIDI is there and I just have to appease Cakewalk as quickly as possible and get back to work.  

I do like your search ideas and will try them both out.

Thanks again.

[WalkerTalker]

You don't mention whether you have done a VST scan/re-scan recently?

I had a sudden issue with "plugin not found" that was fixed by rescanning.

Also: https://www.ghacks.net/2017/03/15/linkmaker-for-windows-create-shortcuts-and-symbolic-links/

 

[Sven]

I did do plugin scans several times including re-scanning all plugins.  I know the plugin Cakewalk is looking for is in one of the scanned folders.  That's the frustrating part.  What can cause this error if the plugin is actually there and I can insert it myself after canceling the 'plugin not found' error messages?  I think that's my main question.  Different vst version number?  32 vs. 64 bit version used in the project??

Thanks.