# Does batch-resave permantly alter the kontakt instrument in some way?



## TheContrabassoon (Jan 17, 2021)

I (perhaps stupidly) did batch resave on a few libraries without backing them up. I'm aware that now these VSTis will no longer work in previous kontakt versions, but are there any other unintended consequences of having done this? 

Can I still use them if I reinstall kontakt, or in future kontakt versions, of if I migrate to a new computer? Should I have made copies of the virtual instruments before doing batch resave?


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## EvilDragon (Jan 18, 2021)

Yes you can use them just fine, just mind the Kontakt version.


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## TheContrabassoon (Jan 18, 2021)

EvilDragon said:


> Yes you can use them just fine, just mind the Kontakt version.


OK thanks. Do people usually make copies of their instruments before doing batch resave? Or this is mostly unnecessary...?


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## Hadrondrift (Jan 18, 2021)

Before installation, I always make a full backup of my libraries in their original state and save that on an external hard disk. In case of emergency I always have the untouched original version of the instruments at hand.

Batch resaves I then do in place, that is, directly on the installed versions, without backing up the instrument file.


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## EvilDragon (Jan 18, 2021)

TheContrabassoon said:


> OK thanks. Do people usually make copies of their instruments before doing batch resave? Or this is mostly unnecessary...?


It's definitely not a bad idea.


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## tack (Jan 18, 2021)

I always backup downloaded libraries before batch resaving. While newer versions of Kontakt are backward compatible with resaved NKIs, older versions are not forward compatible and as I have needed to downgrade Kontakt in the past the backups have saved me some pain.


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## Markrs (Jan 18, 2021)

Should I be batch resaving all my kontakt libraries? This isn't something I currently do.


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## davidson (Jan 18, 2021)

Wait, i thought batch resaving only lasted as long as you have that particular instance of kontakt open? Once you restart your daw, all the batch resave 'magic' is gone, no?


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## tack (Jan 18, 2021)

davidson said:


> Once you restart your daw, all the batch resave 'magic' is gone, no?


No, batch resaving rewrites the patches on disk.



Markrs said:


> Should I be batch resaving all my kontakt libraries? This isn't something I currently do.


I recommend it. The speed improvement in loading patches (the initial patch load before samples begin background-loading) can be significant.


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## davidson (Jan 18, 2021)

@tack That's what I always thought but I'm sure @EvilDragon said in the past that batch resave is only temporary?


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## EvilDragon (Jan 18, 2021)

The loading time can only be improved for old libraries before Kontakt 4.2 times (which had packed XML file format rather than binary format), and in the case a Player library was done on Mac but loaded on Windows or vice versa.

In all other cases from my experence, the speedup you get after batch resaving (which is basically opening the NKI and saving it over itself, and opening a file automatically caches it in the OS for faster fetching later) is lost after you power cycle the computer.


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## tack (Jan 18, 2021)

EvilDragon said:


> In all other cases from my experence, the speedup you get after batch resaving (which is basically opening the NKI and saving it over itself, and opening a file automatically caches it in the OS for faster fetching later) is lost after you power cycle the computer.


That's not my experience at all.

Here's an example with CSW, showing the NKIs were saved out with Kontakt 5.8.1. Batch resaving with Kontakt 6 improves initial patch load time (the period where the UI is blocked) from about 6.5 seconds to around 1.5 seconds.

I loaded the patches multiple times to remove filesystem cache as a factor.


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## davidson (Jan 18, 2021)

EvilDragon said:


> The loading time can only be improved for old libraries before Kontakt 4.2 times (which had packed XML file format rather than binary format), and in the case a Player library was done on Mac but loaded on Windows or vice versa.
> 
> In all other cases from my experence, the speedup you get after batch resaving (which is basically opening the NKI and saving it over itself, and opening a file automatically caches it in the OS for faster fetching later) is lost after you power cycle the computer.


I'm still confused tbh, but I haven't batch re-saved any libraries on my new system since I heard you say this and I don't notice a difference in loading time at all, so I'm happy


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## davidson (Jan 18, 2021)

tack said:


> That's not my experience at all.
> 
> Here's an example with CSW, showing the NKIs were saved out with Kontakt 5.8.1. Batch resaving with Kontakt 6 improves initial patch load time (the period where the UI is blocked) from about 6.5 seconds to around 1.5 seconds.
> 
> I loaded the patches multiple times to remove filesystem cache as a factor.



Once you reboot your machine, are you back down to the slower load times?


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## tack (Jan 18, 2021)

davidson said:


> Once you reboot your machine, are you back down to the slower load times?


No, which is consistent with sanity, since I eliminated filesystem cache as a factor in my test.


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## EvilDragon (Jan 18, 2021)

So I guess this can then vary between different machines, then...


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## tack (Jan 18, 2021)

EvilDragon said:


> So I guess this can then vary between different machines, then...


Or maybe platforms. Maybe it's a Windows vs Mac thing?


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## EvilDragon (Jan 18, 2021)

Dunno, you know I'm a Windows you. And I know you did your SSD/NVMe with Kontakt test on Windows, so.... shrug


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## TheContrabassoon (Jan 19, 2021)

EvilDragon said:


> The loading time can only be improved for old libraries before Kontakt 4.2 times (which had packed XML file format rather than binary format), and in the case a Player library was done on Mac but loaded on Windows or vice versa.
> 
> In all other cases from my experence, the speedup you get after batch resaving (which is basically opening the NKI and saving it over itself, and opening a file automatically caches it in the OS for faster fetching later) is lost after you power cycle the computer.


Having just entered this world of batch resaving, I can say that even after a power cycle, the speed is drastically improved... my loading time pre batch-save for Damage 2 was 5-10 minutes (crazy!) and now it's less than 10 seconds...


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