Manual VST Plug-in Installation for Windows (Plug-ins)

If, for any reason, Midi Quest's automated process for installing the VST2 and VST3 plug-ins is not successful, it is possible to perform the installation manually.

(Over the years, we have received reports that Windows Defender, McAfee, Webroot, and other Anti-virus software has interfered with the process of creating Midi Quest plug-ins. While the following process allows plug-ins to be created manually, another solution might  be to temporarily disable any anti-virus software running on the computer.)

Typically, when automated plug-in installation fails, the following error message is displayed:

In order for Midi Quest to automatically install plug-ins, the support program "SetupMQRegistry" must be run in administrator mode. When the program elevates to an administrator, on some systems the result is a user change. When this occurs, the software can no longer find the "MQ.regupdate.bin" file that is created to manage the plug-in installation. The result is the above error.

When this occurs, it is necessary to install the plug-ins manually using the following instructions:

For VST3:

1/ Using File Explorer, go to the directory where Midi Quest is installed. By default, this is c:\Program Files\Sound Quest\Midi Quest 13 Pro\Win64.

2/ Copy the file "MidiQuestVST3.vst3" and paste it in the directory "c:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3". (Create the folder if necessary)

3/ In the c:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 directory, rename MidiQuestVST3.vst3 to the name of the instrument as found in Midi Quest.

   Using the Yamaha DX7 as an example, the module must be precisely renamed to "Yamaha DX7.vst3"

For VST2:

1/ Using File Explorer, go to the directory where Midi Quest is installed. By default, this is c:\Program Files\Sound Quest\Midi Quest 12 Pro\Win64.

2/ Copy the file "MidiQuestVSTi.dll" and paste it in the vstplugins directory. Vstplugins can be anywhere on the hard drive but is frequently: c:\Program Files\Vstplugins.

3/ In the Vstplugins directory, rename MidiQuestVSTi.dll to the name of the instrument as found in Midi Quest.

   Using the Yamaha DX7 as an example, the module must be precisely renamed to "Yamaha DX7.dll"

Repeat the above process for as many instruments as required. One per instrument to support. The names of instrument modules must match exactly. Any misspelling will result in the plug-in failing to load.

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