Recently, I have been whining about some annoying MIDI latency-problems with C6.5. Instead of cleaning the HDs and reinstall everything as a “last solution”, I think I will try to install C7, and see if it solves the situation. Anyway, I bought the C7 upgrade license.
The Update Installer
From Steinberg, I got a link downloading:
Cubase_7_Update_Installer_win.exe - 1,7 GB
I have two questions about the update-file:
Is it required to have an existing installation of C6.5 before the update-file can be executed?
Will an existing C6.5-installation be converted to C7 - or will C6.5 still be there after the update?
The Complete Installer
I also downloaded the Cubase 7.0.2 Complete Installer:
Cubase_7.0.2_Installer_win.rar - 5.2 GB
The question here is: If the Cubase_7_Update_Installer does not convert the existing installation of C6.5 to C7 (6.5 remains) - are there still any advantages in running Cubase_7.0.2_Installer, instead of the Update?
The Plugins
If there actually existed a real “shared VST Folder” for all the plugins, everything would of course be a breeze. Then we could install/uninstall VST-plugins to the shared folder, and DAWs to their respective folders, totally independent of each other.
But now there are VST 2.x and 3.x, 32bits and 64 bits, residing in various folders. Cubase 6.5 tells me in Devices/Plug-in Information/VST Plug-ins/VST 2.x Plug-in Paths that I have three VST 2.x Plug-in Paths:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Steinberg\VST2
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Vstplugins
C:\Program Files (x86)\VstPlugins
However, the Windows Registry says that the following path is the one it calls the VSTPluginsPath:
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase 6\VSTPlugins
And the last one is actually the folder where most (not all) of my VST-plugins live. So questions are:
Is it possible to have C6.5 and C7 installed at the same time, and have them sharing the same plugins? Anyway - isn’t that part of the idea behind the VST-plugin concept?
Do the Cubase_7_Update_Installer_win.exe - if allowing 6.5 to remain on the system - take better care of the shared plugins questions than the Cubase_7.0.2_Installer does?
Together or alone?
Is it considered unproblematic to have two versions of Cubase installed on the same system? Or would the setup be considered more reliable if the existing installtion is completely removed before the new one is installed?
I don’t think you do actually need your previous version to be installed to update it as the update sequence runs from your existing license in the eLicenser utility (your dongle key), but at the same time its a really good idea to just leave it in place until you have Cubase 7 up and running (in case you have any problems) as they can both be installed at the same time (and many users on here have multiple version etc). Also you may need to refer back to your older version for some reason, so just keep it until you make the transition successfully then if its unused you can just get rid of it later etc.
I also thought that the old version would be updated then consequently lost forever, but this isn’t the case, when you upgrade you continue to own and be able to use any previous version you have owned, you don’t lose your previous license (but acknowledgment of an existing license is required during the update sequence). Beyond that you’re free to do with it as you will. I’ve got an old version of SL which I use as a lite/portable version as it will practically run on a pocket calculator he he!
There is a significant difference between the file size of the updater and the complete installer, I would run the update installer to be safe and sure, as it goes through the process of updating files it will download the latest version of C7 (7.0.4) and make sure that everything is as it should be (regarding the eLicenser etc). Myself I wouldn’t take the risk of just installing the full version instead as your ‘updating’ so it could be a recipe for more nightmare - keep it clean and straight forward is always the best way IMO.
Can’t speak from experience here as I don’t own C6 however I can say that lots of users on this forum have multiple version of Cubase installed on their system and have reflected that things work fine for them, so I would just install it and see if there is anything amiss/weird then seek advice - but I’d expect it to be OK (being an optimist)!
As above, there is no reason to remove your old version as many users keep them so that they can easily revisit old projects without updating things etc. As such it should be fine and as I say I would just leave your existing installation until the new one is up and running and you are happy then make a decision as to whether you wish to keep it!
Couldn’t help on everything but hopefully that will get you up and running, hope it goes well, let us know how it turns out!
Thanks for your answer! I’m finishing a piece in 6.5 I’ve been working on for a while. Just one more day (probably) - so I thought I will finish it first.
There’s also the KOMA Festival in Oslo this weekend, presenting some bands I have to see. So I will start upgrading next week…
