Fresh install, lost sounds......

[Dirk Offringa]

When you plan a fresh install (a real fresh one from scratch) of your computer, plan ahead carefully. Some plugins do not store all their parameters inside their VST blob (which is saved in forte), but also store (global) stuff in .ini files, or other custom configuration files. These can be anywhere (in the install directory if there is one, an .ini file in C:\windows, or in Document and Settings\User\Local Settings\application data\xxxxxx, or even in the registry. For instance, Native Instruments Guitar Rig stores CC remapping/assignments in C:\Program Files\Native Instruments\Guitar Rig\Internal\Controller Assignments\DefaultController.shm and some other essential stuff in: C:\Program Files\Native Instruments\Guitar Rig\Internal\Fixed Components\FixedComponents.fcf.

If you do not restore these files, you will most probably not recover your original sounds, and you will not discover why because it's not in the NI documentation. You just spend hours trying to figure out why your volume pedal doesn't trigger the volume pedal module, but instead seems to increase/decrease distortion ratio, and then you start reassigning your controller to the volume where it was supposed to be using the midilearn function, which helps a bit (if it doesn't crash the plugin because of conflicts) but still the sound is weird......because the assignment by midilearn inside the volume module is a VST parameter, but there's a GLOBAL assignment that defaults (in THIS preset) to the distortion ratio of the distortion module and that is not replaced by what you just did because it's not part of the VST blob..... etc etc etc ....got the point?

Other plugins store essential globals in the registry. Some put them in .ini files, but these might not be where you'd expect them to be.

So a good advice: make sure you search for, and backup, these files before proceeding. Check every plugin you use in your precious rackfile!