Fix for Plugins that just won't show?

[mb719]

Anybody know how to go into the config file and actually make a plugin work?

I've got a trance synth that won't show up for any 3 of my reaper installations on my laptop, but both versions show up on my desktop.

My desktop also has stuff that won't show up no matter what I do.

[nait]

Well, the first thing you should do in this instance is check if Reaper attempted to load the plugin when scanning for new plugins.

Options->Preferences->Plug-Ins->VST.

Single left click the re-scan button. Hover over "Plug-ins that failed to scan". Are the plugins "that won't show up" showing here?

If no, then the problem is almost certain to be that you don't have the path to appropriate the plugin file set up. That's that first text box in that preference window from above.

If it DOES show here, then there's appears to be something wrong with the plugin itself that caused Reaper to be unable to open it. This happens from time to time, and unfortunately can be tricky to figure out. In that case, it's probably best to specify which plugins you're having trouble with.

In that aforementioned "Plug-ins that failed to scan" preference, you can actually click on any line in there and Reaper will attempt to reload that single plugin. If you're lucky, it will just work. If not, when, then there's troubleshooting to do.

You could also do a "Clear Cache and rescan" (click the Re-scan button and then that option), but this will re-scan all of your plugins and can be a slow process.

FYI, the file reaper-vstplugins64.ini is what holds all the VST/VSTis that Reaper found, whether successfully loaded or not. You *can* edit this, but you should make a backup of it first if you do (although you can always regenerate it with a Clear cache/rescan)... but really I don't think this is going to be what will fix the problem for you.

[Stella645]

Missing runtimes is often a cause of plugins failing to scan (assuming they are installed to the correct folder)

[dom64]

What's the plugin called?

[serr]

Said plugin may require a graphics card more capable than what your laptop has. Or you upgraded OS to a version that is supposed to require a more capable graphics card for hardware acceleration but chose to work around it. And that leads to some apps not working. (I don't mean to accuse - just spelling out a common scenario and decision often made around it.)

Graphics requirement is a thing now, FYI.

The OS requirement for a "metal" capable graphics card has been a thing for a minute now. And it's VERY popular to work around it! Because new graphics cards cost money and all that.

Anyway, that's my first guess.