Actually - on Windows - everyone keeps a copy though he may not be aware of it
The copies are kept under c:\Windows\Installer\
So even if a software is broke one can repair on the machine without an external copy.

 

Kontakt libs and samples make perfect sense to have backups. They are, say 1gb each, or more; just as an approximation. Meanwhile, individual plugins are more in the 100mb range, and big applications like DAW, etc; might be 1gb-2b or more. But the OP is talking about only program/plugin installers. Samples do not get updated versions, and Kontakt libs only rarely do. So instead of hunting down some installer from 5 years ago, or even a few months ago; that plugin/program has probably been updated since you last installed it.

You can find a new copy of almost amything online faster than you can digging around in hdds from the last 10 years or more. After that and things might get a little dicey.

 

Yeah, I keep my installs over the years for many reasons.

But I adhere to the (now for me lol) 5-4-3-2-1 backup method....

No, I don't generally keep large Kontakt library installers etc,(but I do keep the assets cloned) but everything I have is backed up in 3 places at least, and while I am now using SSD's for my work scratch/system/sample libraries etc, they are backed up routinely to large HDD spinners, which are then in turn backed up to other larger HDD spinners which are stored in different locations.

So if I lose a large Kontakt library etc or something else that I'm using on an SSD, I just have to grab it off the larger spinners for the most part, and same with testing installs and system updates so I can roll back if necessary.

I tend to save my installs for things in folders labeled by month and year (e.g "Installs 11-2025" etc), so I have a good idea where to find stuff and older versions etc... And with that advent of larger hdds in the 20+ tb range, I just have migrated older folders over time to aggregate simpler... (and still have the old drives on a shelf or in a box etc should need be).

Same thing with work and personal files/photos/movies/you name it... sure I spend probably more money on drives than I would like, but it's a small price to pay when it comes down to disaster if one cares.

It's up to everyone individually how they value their data.

While you can generally find something again for the most part, I keep particular notes on different installs regarding either what to block or my legit sn#'s and whatever and what else....and I'd rather have access to that to jog what I was thinking and doing rather than trying to re source material that may be from a different team, or dev that has gone under or whatever...

Ultimately I have never regretted that process... but everyone is different I suppose.

 

Last edited: Nov 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM

if I can get someone's Win 11 archived data corruption problem with install failues of the prior releases of Albino and Ozone 3, by using Linplug Albino 2.1 and IZotope Ozone VST.DX.AS.RTAS.HTDM.v3.15.incl.Keygen-AiR on Halloween 2025 instead of old backup copies from 10+ year ago; for an Operating System I don't even use regularly (via Crossover), I think this is pretty much proof positive that in 2025, you can find literally anything. You just have to know what you are doing.

 

stuff that is compact enough is all dumped to optical and cataloged. I can find anything from anytime in about 10 seconds. then again I don't grab stuff that is not useful. stuff that is too cumbersome (large) for 50GB optical is placed on HDD. large libs that span over multi-50GB's get broken into RAR parts and placed on to 50GB optical "sets" that get stored in its case with a cover on a shelf (like a retail box release), again not grabbing any dumb stuff that isn't worthy. everything crc'ed and checked for integrity.

complete image backups of computer systems are crc'd and placed on 2 6TB HDDS (one safety and one main). don't leave too much to chance...

 

Seed.

 

I tend to live loose and fast with these sort of things, they're pretty obtainable again if you misplace them.

It's sort of a mindset thing, to keep everything is akin to disaster preppers hoarding tins of salmon and loads of water incase of the imminent apocalypse, it's forward thinking but messy

 

It seems some skipped the meeting about Find Anything Technology™.

 

I make backups of my important programs that I always use on an external HD drive, I don't keep anything useless and nothing with huge libraries. I even have some old unavailable programs from over 20 years ago that work flawlessly even on Windows 10, I don't like resource hogs or huge huge libraries. An example, Jasc Paintshop Pro v7 .02 (35MB) that does every thing I require for Graphics, Photo repair and drawing, so why upgrade.

 

Last edited: Nov 7, 2025 at 8:56 PM

Huh?

 

For big stuff like Kontakt libraries, no, I just have them on my removable SSD. But typical installs for plugins and such, yeah, I keep them, as there have been times where I'd had to reinstall my Windows and the last thing I want to do is hunt down 100 plugins.

 

For me, I don't keep a lot of installers. For most of the programs, I don't keep them, because they update the software, so it really is wasted space. I used to keep most of the stuff before, but every time I had to install again, it was outdated and I ended up downloading the new installers anyways, so I stopped keeping them in the first place.
With todays internet speeds, the amount of time you need to download it again is not really a reason to keep the downloads. When it took hours or even days to download something "big" before, it now is mostly a matter of minutes to maybe a few hours max if you download something really big. Most installers are downloaded in a matter of seconds, so there really is no need to keep them in my view.

 

Last edited: Nov 7, 2025 at 9:29 PM

If you're worried about failure why not just image your whole setup?

 

That seems insane - can you give a solid example?

 

i started backing up all my installs on external drives , and also dumped them into iso disc images , and winrar zips (for sister site and torrents) around 2010.

to this very day there are now abandond , and freeware vst and vsti i just cannot find anywhere .

also i'll keep using de la mancha's thr33some forever , until somebody makes a better one like it

 

Yes mate!

 

Instead of having all this stuff stored locally, you would use a free decentralized network where you can find all this old stuff in seconds. And a smart debrid user might be using features they are already paying for to gain credit on such a service. Someone will find the compass joke amusing.

 

Yes, but it’s not really necessary because AN serves as a backup.

 

It seems like they changed it. I just tried to download the libraries again and now it seems to work. The last time I installed, they made it clear to save the libraries, or pay for a redownload. I guess it was a lot of bandwidth, but in todays world it is just not that much of a problem anymore. So I stand corrected. They are not doing it anymore as far as I can tell..
I kind of can understand it, if you have to pay for the bandwidth and you don't have a flatrate, I think it is kind of reasonable to make sure that people don't download stuff again for no reason. The whole download was about 500gb so that can add up quickly, if you have a lot of people downloading it again and again

 

Last edited: Nov 7, 2025 at 9:40 PM

I absolutely keep copies aside from the largest libraries. In fact I generally keep one version prior just in case the new one is all bugged up.