Windows 10: Big Posts, Big Screens, Big DAW/Plugin Migration & BBC News On Windows 7

[THE INTRANCER]

Originally I was going to just ask a question, but went further with a tutorial as well which might help with those who still haven't migrated to Windows 10... so I'm kinda doing both, which might seem strange but there we go...it's a point of reference.

As most people within the computer audio / graphic arena know, Windows 7 will theorectically be reaching the end of life support in terms of security updates *if you don't to otherwise pay for an extension for this, and whilst Windows 7 still remains a solid platform for productivity and support and will do for many years to come from product developers and hardware manufacturers, there's that point in time where one will be interested in just what Windows 10 is going to give them. There has been many like myself who have waited till the cracks and potholes have been filled in what has really been something like a 5 year development and transition period. Windows 10 the (RC version) has been on my own laptop since 2015, and it's not been on my desktop system ever. I had to figure out the puzzels and navigate my way through to install it the way I wanted because it's not been the same easy path as it was on my laptop.

I've written up a how to based on a week long of research to over come issues I've had to install windows 10 from USB stick, in the next paragraph.

----------> Tutorial - Installing Windows 10 To USB Stick ( 2019 ) <----------

Whether Microsoft changes this in a future update I can't be sure.. but one of the files doesn't copy to the USB stick due to the 32 Bit filesystem of FAT32 that is required for the boot sequence of installing Windows 10. You can't format the stick as NTFS, copy over the files and expect it to boot because it won't. You need a USB stick that is at least 8 Gig in size which is partitioned correctly for FAT32 & NTFS for the larger partition and to make them active.

The problem is that if you're using Windows 7, you will only be able to view the first boot partition of the USB drive only, even if you create a drive letter for it in your partition manager software. For this you will require a free utility which will allow you to switch between them so you can copy the large file (install.wim) which is 4.6 Gigs in size. For this you can use Bootice which you can download from this site. https://bootice.en.lo4d.com/screenshots. With this you can select the drive partitions of the USB stick which you have created, enabling you to switch between them.

You can set the USB stick up vie the MBR (Master Boot Record) and PBR options. Once you have selected your option to configure it for your USB stick, you can go to the 'Parts Manage' tab and create partitions on the drive to format to FAT32 & NTFS. Selecting the Activate button will switch the drive letter of the USB stick for you. ( removing and reinserting the USB stick may be required ).

For more info on using Bootice https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-t ... ot-record/

Additionally there is a clear video that documents the program...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Td8PcW5EY

So you want to copy all the files from the ISO disk image of Windows 10 to the NTFS section of the USB stick which will now fit including the file which wouldn't. For the FAT32 section of the USB stick, you want to copy all the other files and folders with exception to the sources folder to that partition which is the boot partition.

Next you want to create a new folder called sources on the boot FAT32 partition and copy the file called boot.wim to that folder which you will find in the sources folder. With any luck, you should have a working USB stick in which you can boot from. Just ensure that you have selected the USB stick from the list in your BIOS if using an older system.

The process negates the need to use the Windows 10 Install Tool, it's just a matter of extracting the ISO file and copying the files and folders across.

There are other methods such as splitting the files and using the command line, but I've found this to be the quickest and easiest way to do this without corruption of files.

I tried using the Rufus way previously but that didn't work this time. For reference I used the May 1903 release ISO of Windows 10.

I'll follow up with my thoughs in how I like Windows 10 in the next day or so...

I wasn't really sure if Windows 10 was going to activate at all with my Windows 7 license but it did. I wouldn't want to place my bets on that beyond January 2020 however.



______

[THE INTRANCER]

Rather than create a new thread around Windows 10 I thought I'd change the title so it will actually highlight something of a topic area that will become ever more important in the future as you progress in the field of music production. There are some DAWs like Studio One 4.5 which do now support VST scaling of plugins. Many plugins already have scaling ability built right in to handle higher resolutions, but it's well known that many don't... Right now knowing which do and don't remains illusive in there not being a list of them, a least on KVR when used in conjunction with Windows 10 which provides the requirements for it.

Primarily the list will favour free plugins...over paid for plugins as this is the first port of call for those wanting to build up their collection, but not strictly so to speak as there are many reasonably priced and good value paid for options.

As for the title.... (no THE INTRANCER is not a plugin )

[antic604]

You need to make a distinction whether you're looking for high-DPI aware plugins (like FabFilter, Madrona Labs) or those that can be independently scaled (e.g. Arturia, U-He, Spire), or both?

Also, why would we do the work for you? Go through the pains of figuring this shit out like the rest of us did...

[Scotty]

Also, why would we do the work for you? Go through the pains of figuring this shit out like the rest of us did...

Yeah, no point in leveraging the community in a volunteer capacity ... we are all in it for ourselves here.

[antic604]

Also, why would we do the work for you? Go through the pains of figuring this shit out like the rest of us did...

Yeah, no point in leveraging the community in a volunteer capacity ... we are all in it for ourselves here.

Don't be a smart-ass.

I'm always there to help solve an actual problem.

But making a lists of all my plugins and categorising them into "scales itself", "scaled manually", "doesn't scale at all", "doesn't work", etc. because someone can't be bothered to check the website of plugin developer isn't the best use of my time!

How TF should I know he's even intereseted in plugins that I own? Maybe he does classical music so is after sampled libraries & general-purpose FX, whereas I only use modular synths & creative FX? How is my effort gonna benefit OP? Why should I bother to put in work, if OP did not specify even a broad range of what he's interested in?

Lastly, if you're so eager to help why don't I see a list of your own? Go ahead - spend time preparing it and maybe OP will generously decide to use that info...

[antic604]

Also, why would we do the work for you? Go through the pains of figuring this shit out like the rest of us did...

Yeah, no point in leveraging the community in a volunteer capacity ... we are all in it for ourselves here.

Oh, and if OP's looking to create a universal list for benefit of all KvR, then instead of doing a completely off-topic 1st post, he should outline the critaria for the list and make some table or something where he'll aggregate and edit the answers from user posts.

This is something I'd gladly participate in.

But this here is a joke.

[Scotty]

The poster was asking for help and offering assistance in the form of a tutorial. He clearly defined a method and made it clear this might be of value to others if he got some participation.Your response was unhelpful, impolite and toxic. Maybe you are having a bad day but he didn't deserve your snotty response - not in the slightest.

[Scotty]

Intrancer you are about 2 months ahead of me here. I am on Windows 7 64 bit on my 3930k but planning on building a new system in January. Hdpi scaling and migration to Windows 10 are both very topical conversations for me. I am building a new system but waiting for the new Intel and the Ryzen 3950x to drop followed by some dawbench scores so I can make an informed decision. I decided that I wouldn't upgrade this system (3930 k) as I have a lot of plugins authorized and I don't want to risk having to reauthorize all of them to migrate this older 3930k .

Question: In your migration as you described - were you able to pull all of your plugin registrations in tact when you went to Windows 10 or did you have to re-authenticate them? It is this unknown that is keeping from modernizing the OS on my current system. Obviously in January I will be running Windows 10 on my new box If the process were painful in that regard I'd just do it once and then repurpose this machine once my new computer was 100% functional and loading all of my projects.

Regarding hdpi - scaling - I think your idea of compiling a list of plugin behaviors could be very useful.If you are still compiling your list and I decide to upgrade this older box I'll provide some observations for you. Do you plan to post them here on KVR?

Also useful would be some insight into how specific daws handle hdpi scalilng. Cubase is still a work in progress although we should see an update later this month if past practice holds true. Looking forward to your thoughts on Windows 10 from a DAW perspective. Cheers - Scotty

[antic604]

The poster was (…) offering assistance in the form of a tutorial. He clearly defined a method and made it clear this might be of value to others if he got some participation.

We're clearly not reading the same thread

Not to mention I've no idea how this ties to the very 1st post about migrating from Win7 to 10 - plugins behave the same way regardless of whether someone migrated or started fresh in Win10. If he wanted to emphasize he's new to this, a single sentence would suffice - no need for multi-paragraph story. I understand the OP's narrative appeals to you due to similar situation you're in, but that's not an excuse for writing a confusing, messy post by the OP.

[Psuper]

I'm with Antic, and the reason no one was replying for a couple days is because the OP was a "Look at me guys!" post that offered semi-technical information that to technical people is novice, to non techs is soporific, and not worth discussion. Especially in this forum, its off topic.

As for the dead horse hi dpi stuff... have at it in a post that starts off with something tangible and useful to those who care about it, or at the very least combine info from the million threads that already exist about it in one bitching form or another.

[THE INTRANCER]

Intrancer you are about 2 months ahead of me here. I am on Windows 7 64 bit on my 3930k but planning on building a new system in January. Hdpi scaling and migration to Windows 10 are both very topical conversations for me. I am building a new system but waiting for the new Intel and the Ryzen 3950x to drop followed by some dawbench scores so I can make an informed decision. I decided that I wouldn't upgrade this system (3930 k) as I have a lot of plugins authorized and I don't want to risk having to reauthorize all of them to migrate this older 3930k .

Question: In your migration as you described - were you able to pull all of your plugin registrations in tact when you went to Windows 10 or did you have to re-authenticate them? It is this unknown that is keeping from modernizing the OS on my current system. Obviously in January I will be running Windows 10 on my new box If the process were painful in that regard I'd just do it once and then repurpose this machine once my new computer was 100% functional and loading all of my projects.

Regarding hdpi - scaling - I think your idea of compiling a list of plugin behaviors could be very useful.If you are still compiling your list and I decide to upgrade this older box I'll provide some observations for you. Do you plan to post them here on KVR?

Also useful would be some insight into how specific daws handle hdpi scalilng. Cubase is still a work in progress although we should see an update later this month if past practice holds true. Looking forward to your thoughts on Windows 10 from a DAW perspective. Cheers - Scotty

Hi, from one 'Scott' to another , my own Coolermaster Scout system is that of an air cooled Core I7 920 from 2009, but with just over 20 Gigs of ram currently whch is now properly recognised and usable which wasn't in Win7 and a new AMD Sapphire RX570 8 Gig card I got earlier this year...it's been benificial in bringing my system upto date without having to think about even upgrading to a new complete system like going Ryzen...at least in terms of music production.

The migration of plugins from those I have registered through that of Studio One is still a work in progress, in which Studio One claims I have over 900 during startup scan, although the reality is somewhere closer to 600...With that though I only use small fraction of those and many of those do require some online registration / reactivation which is a bit of a minefield to discover with many being several years old.

My DAW installation hasn't changed from the location of where everything related to plugins, soundsets, samples ect reside... on the external hard drive I use to keep everything, however I have had to make separate folders for the Windows 10 installation for Studio One because I don't want songs and data mixed with the Windows 7 installation folders that I have created. In essence, I don't want Windows 7 screwed up in the migration.

The good..
The plugins I've managed to have no problems with are currently UHE's Hive, and UHE's Effects suite thus far...For the Native Instrument ensembles for Reaktor 6, VST Effects, Native Access has been required for a complete re-download of everything again which is a bit of a pain on slower broadband connections but once it's done and with a redirection of new folder for a specific Windows 10 location just I did for Studio One, it's easy with no additional steps.

The bad...
Melodyne Essentials which comes with Presonus Studio One Professional is proving to be problmatic in activating for some reason. Can't connect to server and no browser window pops up, it will run in demo mode which is no good. It works without issue in Windows 7 where it was first registered and activated.

The rest...
Well I think I'll need to keep some paper / digital reference of the plugins that require codes and hunt down them down from emails again. That will be useful for when and if I take this machine off line in the future.

With so many plugins I have that are not yet made into thumnails and those that still require registering, it will take a while to identify if any of the plugins will actually have any effect in enlarging to a bigger size to account for the Hi-DPI setting that Studio One implemented from it's tab option. Thus far out of the dozen that I've scanned, I've not found any that have had any effect, but it was one of the key highlights that was shown in version S1 4.1 last year...by Presonus.

As for my general experience of Windows10 so far, it has been tidied up alot from when I used it from an earlier build. Personalising it was one of the first things I did although there are limits still in being unable to adjust window bordering. Didn't like the tiles on the Start menu so installed Windows 7 start bar utility found here http://www.classicshell.net/, and loaded up Photoshop CS6 to create my own custom transparent one and my own custom animated Wiondow 10 icon. (Photoshop CS6 was easily registered again)... Windows 10's Startbar is still easy to select from if one wants...Control Panel will look like Windows 7, but is redirected back to Windows 10 Control Panel if otherwise not accessible in the way Windows 7 provided.

Customising is more limited than what Windows 10 is able to provide although there is and easy switch to use a dark mode which is like that of Linux Mint or Photoshop's GUI colour. Windows 7 browser / application transparency is pretty much devoid although there are a few limited free utilities which try and do that like AeroXP but ends up making the whole Window transparent and another commercial Windows 7 skin set of utility tools for 50 bucks you can find online.

Installing Davinci Resolve/Fusion 16 was a bonus as I was limited to version 12 / 9 of those programs.

There are quite a few utility programs that control Windows 10's 'activities', some of which you may want to turn off, for me..I decided to go for this one as it's very informative and a breeze to use whilst being kept up to date. https://wpd.app/

Other utilities I've installed are https://www.moo0.com/software/SystemMonitor/ which covers 43 different aspects of the computer system and is fully customisable whilst also the Mac like rocketdock https://rocketdock.en.uptodown.com/windows

One of the things I noticed when I had set up everything, was that I forgot to install the drivers for the graphics card I have. Everything is setup including the Adrenaline GPU configurator software by default so you wouldn't see any difference. That's until you wanted to change the colour and brightness settings that Windows 10 May 1902 release has.

This ended up in me re-downloading the Adrenaline drivers as I think by default it's set to do this by auto when installing. I don't know if Microsoft has updated this as I have auto updates turned off but Windows 10 is 20% brighter than Windows 7 and is really quite eye straining, so adjusting this vie the Adrenaline GPU application is for me the only way to properly address this anomoly.

Hardware wise, my Focusright Pro 14 audio interface works as well as the saffire control software, printer scanner works..ect as expected. DirectX12 is now a reality although I've yet to experience it... For convience I installed a clean version of Windows 7 on another partition of the drive I have for Windows 10, whether I'll need it in the future or not I'm not sure..

So that's a round up / follow up to my initial post I made in the early hours a few days ago...

For the subject of this thread, it will be helpful for people to post the details of plugs that do actually scale using the high DPI settings which don't have scaling options themselves by default.

____

[Scotty]

Migration: Thanks for a very detailed response. It looks to me that I best fully migrate to a new system and keep this one working so that I can reverse the authentication as I gradually build my new PC in January. I just don't think I can justify the time to build two systems within a couple of months. I'll have to keep my current system locked down until the new one is up and running due to the security risks. Then I will re purpose this machine for some light video tasks.

Ironically the much maligned dongle based plugins as well as any that are managed through a cloud system will be the easiest to bring across. I have tons of IK stuff but I have lots of remaining validations there. Arturia and Plugin Allliance make it easy to suspend authentication on specific computers. I gave a couple of NI Komplete licences as I run a few computers here and it will interesting to see if NI complains when I build a new box in January. The sample content can all be easily relocated but I'll have to download all of the apps and plugins. Like you I have been at this a long time and some very old projects which I have managed to keep working so therefore I have a ton of one-off plugins that would otherwise be abandoned but I have the intention of revisiting at least some of them in the future; thus hundreds of plugins. Bad habits die hard.

I have a load of Ilok plugins where I have another computer on the Ilok dongle and a second authentication on the CPU. Those CPU authenticated ones will have to be suspended and then reactivated; something which I have never done before.

High dpi : The legacy stuff: Waves, Native Instruments and most of the Universal Audio catalog have been requiring me to run a dedicated 3rd LCD monitor here at 1080p as they are just too small on the 2.5k - 28 inch monitors that I am running. Windows 10 does have superior scaling features which may make those legacy plugins usable... a bit chunky but usable. I doubt I will be able to help you with the quest to get some of these issues documented given my timelines but I certainly do appreciate your attempt to gather the information and I know the resource will be useful to me and others if you manage to get it off the ground.

Thanks for reaching out to the community here. I just noticed your FOH credentials in your signature. Congratulations on those credits - some big acts have come through there no doubt. I haven't mixed a lot live concerts , preferring instead the relative safety of a controlled studio environment. I have much respect for the skills needed to mix under live conditions where anything that can go wrong is an ever-present possibility.

I hope this thread attracts some positive attention.

All the best... - Scotty

[THE INTRANCER]

Just quick post Scott before I head to bed 5.30am, I'll come back to your post later today sometime, but I did fix Melodyne by going back to Windows 7, logging in and downloading the latest version. In Windows 10 I extracted the zip file to a folder that resides where Studio One is and ran the exe to install it where it wants to go and rebooted as it requested.

On topic I did find this blog from 5 years ago that relates to plugin Hi-DPI scaling of a plugin, which is kinda interesting for as it relates to Kontakt...

https://blog.cantabilesoftware.com/vst- ... 1a850537c/

[Scotty]

Yes NI has some work to do across most of their product range.

[THE INTRANCER]

Migration: Thanks for a very detailed response. It looks to me that I best fully migrate to a new system and keep this one working so that I can reverse the authentication as I gradually build my new PC in January. I just don't think I can justify the time to build two systems within a couple of months. I'll have to keep my current system locked down until the new one is up and running due to the security risks. Then I will re purpose this machine for some light video tasks.

Ironically the much maligned dongle based plugins as well as any that are managed through a cloud system will be the easiest to bring across. I have tons of IK stuff but I have lots of remaining validations there. Arturia and Plugin Allliance make it easy to suspend authentication on specific computers. I gave a couple of NI Komplete licences as I run a few computers here and it will interesting to see if NI complains when I build a new box in January. The sample content can all be easily relocated but I'll have to download all of the apps and plugins. Like you I have been at this a long time and some very old projects which I have managed to keep working so therefore I have a ton of one-off plugins that would otherwise be abandoned but I have the intention of revisiting at least some of them in the future; thus hundreds of plugins. Bad habits die hard.

I have a load of Ilok plugins where I have another computer on the Ilok dongle and a second authentication on the CPU. Those CPU authenticated ones will have to be suspended and then reactivated; something which I have never done before.

High dpi : The legacy stuff: Waves, Native Instruments and most of the Universal Audio catalog have been requiring me to run a dedicated 3rd LCD monitor here at 1080p as they are just too small on the 2.5k - 28 inch monitors that I am running. Windows 10 does have superior scaling features which may make those legacy plugins usable... a bit chunky but usable. I doubt I will be able to help you with the quest to get some of these issues documented given my timelines but I certainly do appreciate your attempt to gather the information and I know the resource will be useful to me and others if you manage to get it off the ground.

Thanks for reaching out to the community here. I just noticed your FOH credentials in your signature. Congratulations on those credits - some big acts have come through there no doubt. I haven't mixed a lot live concerts , preferring instead the relative safety of a controlled studio environment. I have much respect for the skills needed to mix under live conditions where anything that can go wrong is an ever-present possibility.

I hope this thread attracts some positive attention.

All the best... - Scotty

Thanks, for the kind words..Funnily I started the process of collecting parts for a new PC build back in June 2009 and didn't actually assemble it all till January 2010. I was using a combination of a Dual Core 1.73 Ghz Toshiba laptop which I mentioned as well as a desktop AMD Athlon 64 3500 which I had for 4 years up until 2008 which had one of the last of the fastest AGP cards there was, a Gainward Bliss 512MB. Still have my Sinclair ZX81 and Atari 800 XL from the 80's also but they don't count...in terms of longevity.. But yeah... rush building a PC isn't always the wisest move, particularly if you're on a set budget.

Dongle wise, the only one I have is for Propellerheads Record / Reason from years ago, which has been more of a forced necessity than a desired one at times whilst on trips. I otherwise avoid anything that has anything to do with PACE and dongles if I can avoid it. There was an issue with dongles, Windows 10, VST plugins and Studio One a few years ago. It didn't affect me, but I know it was a huge frustration for those it affected because Studio One simple wouldn't start.

Monitor wise I have a proper 24" computer screen and a equivalent sized TV screen. The graphics card can boost the resolution of them up to 4K from the standard 1080P using the AMD super-scaling feature, but for optimum screen estate I pretty much use 1440P.

As many here know, sharing my work, knowledge and technical know how is something I've been doing for years, all of which really started in the early 1990's on the Commodore Amiga platform...

Trying to find plugins that are going to comply with the scaling options in Studio One so that functionality they included actually works, is gonna be like digging for gold I think... as it requires plugin developers to actually enable it..

As you mentioned the details in your last paragraph on my sig, I thought I share for the first time some actual video footage of one of the events in which I was working at along with a few photos...
Essentially the work involves not the actual control of the mixing desk but control of the mixing engineer.. Monitoring and recording the decibel levels using a mic and computer system and instructing the mixing engineer to lower the volume levels to within certain limits based upon the environmental conditions which are reported to me externally through the headset whilst notes are recorded manually by hand. Essentially the mixing engineer must comply or the event organisers will face huge fines into the thousands. Sound levels can be upward of 70 to 120 decibels... Stage events and festivals which are spread out with tents where you have anywhere from 10 to 40,000 people to try and navigate on foot is more of a challenge besides trying to juggle multiple engineers.

The stadium was simply amazing... fortunately I had some ear protection unlike a lot of people there..

Less of a PSuper... More of a Super Screen & Lots of Green

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaO0TLh ... e=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COl-8Nm ... e=youtu.be

Oh and here's me..