“DAW hangs indefinitely during the 'Loading VST3 plug-ins' phase of startup.”
Hi Paul. After installing the Seventh Heaven reverb plug-in from LiquidSonics my Cubase Elements 10 software no longer loads. It gets to a screen that says ‘Loading VST3 plug-ins’ and then freezes. I have to shut down my PC. Can you help? – Tony
I received the above message from a client and we arranged a remote support session for later that day. I called Tony via WhatsApp voice chat and we used AnyDesk so that I could see his screen and take control of his PC.
After spending a bit of time checking over Tony’s system, I found that the problem was with the licensing portion of the Seventh Heaven plug-in. As the VST3 plug-in is loaded within Cubase it should trigger the iLok License Manager app to open and allow the user to register the software with an activation code provided on purchase.
For some reason iLok was not opening as it should, so I manually downloaded an updated version of the iLok software and helped Tony set up his user account on iLok.com. We opened the iLok license manager on his PC and signed in with his iLok account. We then used the activation code to register a license for Seventh Heaven on his PC.
After everything was sorted with the license we reopened Cubase and Tony was pleased to see that Cubase now loaded without issue. We tested Seventh Heaven was working by loading it as an insert plug-in in one of Tony’s songs.
We spent the remainder of the hour’s booking having a look over Tony’s filing system for his Cubase projects and I made some recommendations on how he could move his projects to free up disk space whilst avoiding missing audio file errors. At the end of the session Tony was kind enough to leave me this nice review:
“Very efficient and professional service! Cubase problems were dealt with patiently and Paul took time to explain what was going on. I would recommend his services to anyone.”
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Paul is absolutely fantastic! an absolutely amazing help to me setting up my audio equipment and a lovely guy also! would 100% recommend!
Matt Masters
2026-01-25
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Had a follow up session face to face this time where Paul came to my studio. I had a long list of requirments and we got through all of them during the 5 hour session. Very knowledgeable and able to answer all of my questions. Thanks so much for your help! Matt
hg2008
2026-01-20
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Paul is both extremely knowledgeable, experienced and skilled at solving Pro Tools problems for musicians like me but also patient and good humoured. I cannot recommend his services highly enough.
Aria Editions
2026-01-15
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Fantastic help from Paul in getting started on Cubase and setting up audio and MIDI. Highly recommended.
Patrick
2025-12-12
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Paul was so helpful, friendly and professional. He solved my problems and made sure I understood how he'd solved it so I wouldn't have problems later on. Fantastic.
Lindsay Legane
2025-11-26
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I have been trying to fix my Computer problem between my Yamaha 816C Audio Interface and Cubase 15 for a week and failed. Then I came across Paul. Paul has been brilliant, the problem was solved within the hour. I'm a happy client. I would definitely recommend Paul.
Robert Douglas Wilford
2025-11-19
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Clear concise calm advice, sit back and let the tech wizard do it. He did in 1 hour what I couldn't do in 3 weeks working via email with other support groups. Many thanks Paul.
Timothy Thomas
2025-11-13
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Rapid response to my call for help. Booked quickly. Healed my (big) problem within the hour meeting. Appointment started and ended right on schedule. Very knowledgeable. Highly recommend.
Geoff Campbell
2025-11-04
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My request was complex, but Paul resolved it. To link to an audio interface, then Zoom for guitar lessons that could be seen on video with the guitar and backing track meshed for recording. While at the same time being able to see/hear my tutor via webcam. And then, when not so connected, to run a simple Zoom call or listen to a streaming audio service and hear the audio/video through the PC speakers. I wish to connect to a friend to jam via Zoom. When I've mastered what Paul has set up today I'll be back to route that connection. And then it's onto my DAW for recording. It's complex as I say but Paul understands it. Today's session was so valuable. You can read all you like and watch YouTube instruction but it's nothing like Paul taking control. We had blips too and Paul resolved them. A*
will angeloro
2025-10-23
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Had a very perplexing problem. Found a work around, He has tremendous knowledge of midi and audio. Was clear with every step of the investigation. I couldn't recommend any higher
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