Native Instruments - Knowledge Base
Knowledge Base
My sequencer does not recognize an installed VST Plug-in (PC)
Hinweis: Eine deutschsprachige Fassung dieses Artikels finden Sie als PDF unterhalb des englischen Textes.
If an installed VST plug-in is not recognized on your system, this may be for various reasons:
Wrong Plug-in Path in Sequencer
In order to load a VST plug-in, the host sequencer has to be pointed to the folder the plug-in is located in.
If the sequencer does not search for the VST plug-in in the correct folder, it will not find anything or possibly load a second, older installation of the plug-in in question.
To fix this, open SERVICE CENTER, go to the Overview area and click on Show Details in the line of the concerned plug-in. The section that opens contains a list of all installed instances of this software, e.g.: Standalone, VST, VST 64, RTAS. Below each entry you see the folder path where the software is installed (see screenshot below).
Check the installation directories of the VST plug-in versions listed there. Then make sure the same directory is selected as a VST folder in your sequencer (32-bit or 64-bit, depending on your sequencer). If this is not the case, add it.
If the sequencer loaded a wrong version of the VST plug-in before, make sure to either remove the wrong VST path from the sequencer or remove the older VST file (*Product Name*.dll) from the directory the sequencer loaded it from.
Note: If you use a 64-bit sequencer, make sure its VST path points to the location where the 64-bit VST version is installed. If you use a 32-bit sequencer, it has to point to the location of the 32-bit VST version.
If you don't know how to set a VST folder in your sequencer, refer to the sequencer's manual.
64-bit plug-in in 32-bit VST directory (64-bit Windows only)
The following steps explain how to check if a 64-bit plug-in has been installed into the 32-bit VST folder and if so, how to fix it.
Open the Windows Start menu and search your local disk for the name of the plug-in in question, followed by the extension ".dll":
"Plug-in Name*.dll
Example: "Battery 3.dll"; "Kontakt 5.dll"
Once you found one or more files with this name, you have to determine whether they are 32-bit or 64-bit versions:
Right-click all files you found and select Properties from the drop-down menu. In the window that opens, click the Details tab. In the line Product version you can see the version of the plug-in file and whether it is a 32-bit (IA32) or a 64-bit (x64) version (see screenshots):
Make sure the 32-bit plug-in file is located in your 32-bit VST plug-in folder and the 64-bit plug-in file is in the 64-bit VST folder. If you find files with different versions (e.g. BATTERY 3.2.0 and BATTERY 3.2.3), only keep the file with the highest version number and delete the others.
Then make sure the correct VST folder is defined in your sequencer. Afterwards it should find the correct plug-in version.
Plug-in disabled by sequencer
If the above steps do not resolve the issue, your sequencer may have blocked the plug-in in question. Since there are different possible reasons for this and plug-in administration varies widely among sequencers, please refer to your sequencer's manual or contact the respective manufacturer for further information on this.
Note: For useful installation hints, refer to the article "How to install NI applications on Windows 64-bit systems" in the Related Articles area at the bottom of this page.
If an installed VST plug-in is not recognized on your system, this may be for various reasons:
- The folder you have installed your plug-in to is not defined as a VST plug-in folder in your host sequencer
- A 64-bit plug-in is installed in the 32-bit plug-in directory
- The plug-in has been disabled by your sequencer.
Wrong Plug-in Path in Sequencer
In order to load a VST plug-in, the host sequencer has to be pointed to the folder the plug-in is located in.
If the sequencer does not search for the VST plug-in in the correct folder, it will not find anything or possibly load a second, older installation of the plug-in in question.
To fix this, open SERVICE CENTER, go to the Overview area and click on Show Details in the line of the concerned plug-in. The section that opens contains a list of all installed instances of this software, e.g.: Standalone, VST, VST 64, RTAS. Below each entry you see the folder path where the software is installed (see screenshot below).
Check the installation directories of the VST plug-in versions listed there. Then make sure the same directory is selected as a VST folder in your sequencer (32-bit or 64-bit, depending on your sequencer). If this is not the case, add it.
If the sequencer loaded a wrong version of the VST plug-in before, make sure to either remove the wrong VST path from the sequencer or remove the older VST file (*Product Name*.dll) from the directory the sequencer loaded it from.
Note: If you use a 64-bit sequencer, make sure its VST path points to the location where the 64-bit VST version is installed. If you use a 32-bit sequencer, it has to point to the location of the 32-bit VST version.
If you don't know how to set a VST folder in your sequencer, refer to the sequencer's manual.
64-bit plug-in in 32-bit VST directory (64-bit Windows only)
The following steps explain how to check if a 64-bit plug-in has been installed into the 32-bit VST folder and if so, how to fix it.
Open the Windows Start menu and search your local disk for the name of the plug-in in question, followed by the extension ".dll":
"Plug-in Name*.dll
Example: "Battery 3.dll"; "Kontakt 5.dll"
Once you found one or more files with this name, you have to determine whether they are 32-bit or 64-bit versions:
Right-click all files you found and select Properties from the drop-down menu. In the window that opens, click the Details tab. In the line Product version you can see the version of the plug-in file and whether it is a 32-bit (IA32) or a 64-bit (x64) version (see screenshots):
Make sure the 32-bit plug-in file is located in your 32-bit VST plug-in folder and the 64-bit plug-in file is in the 64-bit VST folder. If you find files with different versions (e.g. BATTERY 3.2.0 and BATTERY 3.2.3), only keep the file with the highest version number and delete the others.
Then make sure the correct VST folder is defined in your sequencer. Afterwards it should find the correct plug-in version.
Plug-in disabled by sequencer
If the above steps do not resolve the issue, your sequencer may have blocked the plug-in in question. Since there are different possible reasons for this and plug-in administration varies widely among sequencers, please refer to your sequencer's manual or contact the respective manufacturer for further information on this.
Note: For useful installation hints, refer to the article "How to install NI applications on Windows 64-bit systems" in the Related Articles area at the bottom of this page.
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