A complete noob to Cubase (coming from Sonar) I set up a few things, like adding to the plugin manager the folder where the Kontakt dll could be found. On restarting Cubase it starts loading plugins and keeps pestering me with the message “For this plugin Adobe Premiere is required”. Click OK and the next problematic plugin with the same message. I certainly never added an Adobe folder to the plugin manager! Trouble is, it keeps returning to these dll’s it cannot load with the same message, again and again. Dehummer, Declicker, Flanger, I’ve seen them pass by again and again. So I never get a chance to get in to Cubase and check the plugin manager.
So, is there a way to enter Cubase without the plugin scan at the start?
Well, I sort of resolved the issue by removing the Adobe Media Encoder folder, so I was able to enter Cubase. However, I noticed that it scans the complete C drive on startup (and that’s taking quite a while). Looking at the paths in the plugin manager there are only a few regular VST-folders mentioned. Why does it scan the whole drive?
And another thing: I’d added the path to the Kontakt dll, but it is not mentioned in the list of paths in the plugin manager. ???
Well, it seems that everyone around here is concerned with their own problems and there seem to be a quite a few. Anyway, after two more long startups and scans, the plugin manager seems to have quietened down and I even have Kontakt in my VSTi list, even though the path to it is still not to be seen in the plugin manager. As a noob to Cubase I’ve decided to take my time to get the feel for the program, and rightly so, it turns out…
I suspect there aren’t a lot of people that can answer your question without more information but I will try to offer some help…
VST 3 plugins work a little differently than VST 2 does. I am definitely NOT an expert on this and I may get it slightly wrong. With VST 2, you have to tell the host where to look for the plugins. With VST 3, the plugins register themselves with Windows in some way and Cubase knows about them through that registration (or by PFM!). So the software merely being installed may cause it to show up in Cubase (or at least try to). As far as why Kontakt is not being found even though the path to the .dll is listed, I don’t know but I do know there was someone else experiencing something similar here…
https://www.steinberg.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=250&t=129154#p699916
I have a video editing software and I remember it trying to scan my audio plugins (some of them use VST technology). Perhaps that has something to do with it.
It might be scanning the whole drive for media (the Media Bay app in Cubase and it is also used in most of the VST Instruments as well) such as presets, samples, etc. Does it scan the whole drive on every start or just the first one?
When you say you added the path to Kontakt but it doesn’t appear in the Manager, do you mean that you added and it then disappeared from that same window? Like it removed itself?
Thank you for giving this a try.
When you say you added the path to Kontakt but it doesn’t appear in the Manager, do you mean that you added and it then disappeared from that same window? Like it removed itself?
This issue is resolved; I have Kontakt in the Instruments list. The path is still not in the manager, but as you pointed out, maybe it looks more at the registry than at paths.
Does it scan the whole drive on every start or just the first one?
Seems to me there’s a scan of the whole drive at every startup. It’s quick when nothing’s changed. It’s a little longer when a new effect or instrument is added. It’s endless when the Adobe Media Encoder folder is where it’s supposed to be.
I’ve completely removed the Media Encoder folder from the C drive as a sort of roundabout solution, but if I put it back where it belongs the whole scan loop which I have described starts all over again. That’s why I am looking for a way to circumvent that folder in the scan. Or any other way to get out of the loop.
Cubase should not be scanning your whole drive. It should only scan those folders listed in the VST manager. The reason you’re not getting any solutions from other users is no one else is having this issue. If you haven’t, you should open a ticket with customer support and have them work the issue with you.
Oops, this has recently been resolved with the help of support. I forgot this thread was still open. And you’re quite right, Cubase shouldn’t but it did, because somehow the whole Program Files folder became a scan path.
Sounds about right. Glad you got things fixed.
“And you’re quite right, Cubase shouldn’t but it did, because somehow the whole Program Files folder became a scan path.”
How did you fix this? (Getting no response from Steinberg customer service)
This problem has been resolved for me - Cubase kept freezing on startup on ‘VST 2 manager’, so after some trial and error and force quitting program: pop-up window after rebooting Cubase allows you to select ‘deactivate third party plugins’. Check that box, and then go into plugin manager (studio tab for Cubase 11) once inside an empty project, you wanna remove all plug in paths in the options tab. Manually select your plugin paths. Worked for me thought I’d pass that on after a headache