I am moving my studio to a new laptop. I am about to install VST plugins on my new machine. How should I deal with compatibility of updated and new versions of plugins and older versions used in my previous projects on my old machine?

My projects from Live 10 will open in v11. But how about eg Pigments v2 and v3. If I install a newer version and it won’t be recognised, will it not block to install the older ver then? I remember once, I could install Neutron v1 after installing v3.

And what plugins have the continuity of their ID and when they change? Is it any info about it?

 

I would deal with it on a case by case basis. I'd install everything I know I wanted (office staplers); and then just fix the few old stragglers when opening old projects. It's also a good way of reducing your unused plugins that just take up space and add clutter. What better way to figure out you don't need something than your own usage history (inside your projects).

 

Hello @nmkeraj!
This problem have almost all. And it is a serious problem. And only partially solvable.
Some producers and musicians say: don't do updates.

Theoretically you should have a second PC or laptop where the original system, where all the projects are stored.
Otherwise, you may find that some projects will not open after you install updates.
If you are smart, you should create a project info on paper, where the plugins and the version number is noted.

Let's be realistic - it's always better to update everything and if it goes wrong you can reinstall the old version. Unfortunately, almost all products are buggy and with each update the bugs should be fixed by the manufacturer. But this is different from manufacturer to manufacturer. Quite a mess - but you hope and some manufacturers actually do a very good job and some manufacturers just not.

It is a dilemma and we all hope that the future blesses us with error-free products. Some manufacturers also have to work against Windows and take into account their changes to the operating system, which is why I am against operating system updates.

 

I can say I've got two versions of Arturia plugins on my machine, and they both installed fine. I needed it for CS-80 V3.

I think I had different versions of Fabfilter at one point too. But i don't really go back to old projects for long, and all my new projects would use the new plugins, so eventually I'm able to cut ties with the old plugin.

Anyways, as others noted, I tend to start with fully updated plugins first. If a project I'm working on won't open due to different plugin ID I might try and replace that plugin w new version or something else. If that doesn't work, then I'll try and install old version alongside new. That seems to frequently be possible. Can't recall a time it didn't.

 

If you're lucky, it's stated in the change logs, but it often isn't. Sometimes the devs change part of the codes, sometimes they change the name of the plugin (XY.dll -> XY2.dll), sometimes they do neither of it and fix bugs, add parameters/options, change the GUI, ... So sadly, it's a matter of trial and error.