Why does Cubase shut down when I update plugins?

[Tea]

Hi guys,

When I boot up Cubase SX (1.0.6) go to plugin information and press the update button it runs through the list then at an (un)certain point Cubase just shuts down! Poof!and its closed!

Does the number of instruments and FX in my VST folder effect this? Is it a particular dodgy VST? Is there a Cubase problem I shuld know about? Is it something silly which makes me look a complete arse?

If anyone has any good ideas I'd be dead grateful...

T

[Scotrick]

yup, you've definitely got a dodgy plug-in causing your problem...
you should rename your public VST plug-in folder and see if that allows Cubase to start, and if it does, then remove all of the VST and add them back five at a time and see which one is causing the problem...

[Tea]

Thanks alabamian,

I don't have a problem running Cubase, just updating those darned plugins... The idea of removing the plugins and returning them one by one terrifies me - I have so many (which is probably a bad thing and now is my opportunity to strip back a bit...)

I'll try removing them one folder at a time (i.e. delays, EQs, dynamics etc...) and see what happens.

Do you happen to know if a very full VST folder has a detrimental effect on performance?

Cheers,

Tea

[bduffy]

alabamian is right, you have probably one particular plugin that is causing a problem. I usually don't remove everything, I just move the dll's or the folders out of VSTPlugins and then load Cubase. What I'm wondering is: if you can open Cubase - meaning it's already scanned the whole VSTPlugins folder, why are your re-scanning in the Device dialogue?

[Rabid]

What have you added or updated lately? I would start there. But chancer are even a file that has been in your folder for a year can become corrupted.

[cptgone]

you could have a look at the cubasesx.log file, it may mention the faulty dll.

[Tea]

alabamian is right, you have probably one particular plugin that is causing a problem. I usually don't remove everything, I just move the dll's or the folders out of VSTPlugins and then load Cubase. What I'm wondering is: if you can open Cubase - meaning it's already scanned the whole VSTPlugins folder, why are your re-scanning in the Device dialogue?

Well, I removed alot of old plugins that I don't really use after I read a post on KVR where someone said they were reluctant to have too many plugs cluttering up their VST folder, and I guess I thought it might be an idea to do a bit of housework as it were so I dumped some old stuff and thought refreshing the folder from within Cubase might be an idea... (n.b. I'm not a pro-user, so still find quite alot of aspects pretty mysterious...).

Anyway, I followed cptgone's suggestion and checked the cubasesx.log file and found a .dll mentioned in it, so removed it and the update went fine! So I guess I've identified the culprit, though its a mystery why the .dll causes no problems when starting up Cubase and works fine in a project, but rejects the update function... But I guess I can live with that.

Thanks you guys. Any thoughts about my other Q regarding whether having densely populated vst folder makes any difference to performance?

Thanks again...

T

[bduffy]

alabamian is right, you have probably one particular plugin that is causing a problem. I usually don't remove everything, I just move the dll's or the folders out of VSTPlugins and then load Cubase. What I'm wondering is: if you can open Cubase - meaning it's already scanned the whole VSTPlugins folder, why are your re-scanning in the Device dialogue?

Well, I removed alot of old plugins that I don't really use after I read a post on KVR where someone said they were reluctant to have too many plugs cluttering up their VST folder, and I guess I thought it might be an idea to do a bit of housework as it were so I dumped some old stuff and thought refreshing the folder from within Cubase might be an idea... (n.b. I'm not a pro-user, so still find quite alot of aspects pretty mysterious...).

Anyway, I followed cptgone's suggestion and checked the cubasesx.log file and found a .dll mentioned in it, so removed it and the update went fine! So I guess I've identified the culprit, though its a mystery why the .dll causes no problems when starting up Cubase and works fine in a project, but rejects the update function... But I guess I can live with that.

Thanks you guys. Any thoughts about my other Q regarding whether having densely populated vst folder makes any difference to performance?

Thanks again...

T

Here's a hint: there's no need to manually update Cubase. Cubase scans all its plugins - including new ones - upon opening (that's the only good thing about waiting 12 years for it to open). If you made it past the splash screen and you see your new plugin in the menu, you're done. I'll only use the manual update if some stupid installer rewrites the registry and Cubase "forgets" where the default folder is, or if I want to add a folder outside of the usual VSTPlugins location.

[cptgone]

Any thoughts about my other Q regarding whether having densely populated vst folder makes any difference to performance?

my guess: them being plugins, it shouldn't - except for Cubase's boot time. i'll eat my shorts if it does make any significant difference.

[Tea]

bduffy and cptgone - thanks for your thoughts, your knowledge is welcome!

[bduffy]

[DevonB]

Cubase scans for new plugins and loads in the plugins it knows it can work with. If it's something it's already marked as 'bad' or 'unknown', it's not going to try to scan it again. Forcing a new scan will do a complete interrogation of all plugins. Either way, he got his problem fixed, which is a good thing.

Devon