x86 VSTs with BitBridge not working

[yoktobit]

Hi, I have a bunch (43) of x86 VSTs (that all work with another popular x64 DAW) which I want to use with my new favourite Tool SONAR Steam Edition. Sadly, I can't get any of them to work. If I understood correctly, BitBridge should detect them automagically when adding a folder with x86 VSTs. But that is not the case. It doesn't find any of them.
I have a folder:
C:\Tools\vst\x86
that I already added to the search path.
I tried:
* Preferences/VST/Reset (German "Zurücksetzen")
* Preferences/VST/Scan (German "Prüfen")
* check the two boxes above and exec both commands
* open Cakewalk Plugin Manager, do a reset there
* check the two boxes there, do a rescan
* make a new folder, just put one of the plugins inside (FreeAmp 3), add it, try all the steps above again
It doesn't even seem to scan the dll files. It should take a while for all the 43 plugins but doesn't even mention any of them.
If I open the x86 version of SONAR it works just perfect, but I want to be able to use them in the x64 version and BitBridge should make that possible (that's what BitBridge is for, not?). Please help me, VST support is one of my most needed features in SONAR.
I'm using Windows 10 Pro x64.

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Did you have a previous version of SONAR installed on this system?

Or is this the first installation?

[yoktobit]

Yes, I installed the demo version of SONAR Artist before to evaluate it, then uninstalled that one before installing the Steam Edition.

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Originally posted by yoktobit:

Yes, I installed the demo version of SONAR Artist before to evaluate it, then uninstalled that one before installing the Steam Edition.

SONAR's registry key for shared utilities is probably pointed to the wrong place then.

1. Make sure SONAR is closed.

2. Open the Run Prompt.
In Windows 8, 7 and Vista, this can be done by holding down the “Windows” key and pressing “R” on the keyboard.
In Windows XP, this can be done by going to the Start menu > Run.

3. At the Prompt, type regedit and click [OK].

Click [Yes] if asked to allow the program to make changes to your computer.

Important: When you access the Registry Editor, create a backup by going to File > Export. In the Export Registry File window that comes up, make sure “Export range” is set to “All” and that “Save as type” is set to “Registration Files (*.reg)”. It is very important to create a backup of your registry because if you accidentally delete a registry key there is no undo function. You can, however, double-click on the Registry backup you made above to re-import your registry keys if you make any mistakes. You must re-import your backup (if needed) before restarting your computer.

4. Delete the following Registry keys. If you do not have one of the Registry keys below, simply proceed to the next one on the list.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cakewalk Music Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Cakewalk Music Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Cakewalk Music Software

5. Go into the STEAM client, right click on SONAR and go to 'Properties'

6. Under the 'Local Data' tab, click on the [Verify Application Cache...] button.

7. Launch SONAR, this will re-write the registry keys and point them towards the STEAM Edition location.

You should be good after that, let me know if you run into any issues.

[yoktobit]

Great, that did the trick! Many thanks! Just one addition, I had to manually move away C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\Misc\InsHelp\InsHelpExe.exe, because the preinstallation steps hang at copying that file. Maybe it was irritated that the file already existed.
Thanks!

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Originally posted by yoktobit:

Great, that did the trick! Many thanks! Just one addition, I had to manually move away C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Cakewalk\Misc\InsHelp\InsHelpExe.exe, because the preinstallation steps hang at copying that file. Maybe it was irritated that the file already existed.
Thanks!

Awesome, glad you're up and running.

The one thing that may impact is Z3TA+ 1.5, double check that it inserts correctly.

If it doesn't, move that file back, launch STEAM as Administrator, and re-verify again.

Sometimes that file can hang up the install a bit for a few minutes, but it's ususally pretty quick.

[yoktobit]

z3ta+ is ok, but I had to do these steps with TH3 that "failed to locate resources". One error is left with Rapture Session (x64). It fails to load the vst3 and dll. "Sorry, a fatal error occured. Failed to locate resources" is the error that I get. I already tried to delete the Rapture Files, and repared both Rapture and SONAR, but it still "fails to locate resources". When I try to open a project that is including Rapture then SONAR crashes after displaying the same error message. Don't know how to fix that now.

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Did you actually run the Rapture Session microhost so it finished the install and authorizes?

Just re-verifying won't finish the whole setup.

[yoktobit]

Ha, didn't even know (any more) that this microhost existed :-D That solved it. Great support. Thanks! Everything working fine now so far.

[GibsonPro-Audio]

Originally posted by yoktobit:

Ha, didn't even know (any more) that this microhost existed :-D That solved it. Great support. Thanks! Everything working fine now so far.

Awesome!