How to restore/recreate nicnt files?

I recently did a fresh install of Windows 11 to my machine (previously had done only an upgrade to Windows 11).

All my Native Instruments content files are located on a separate/untouched drive, which shows all the folders for everything there. After a tedious locate process (no obvious auto-locate or auto-repair function in Native Access 3.8.1), I'm now left with a non-trivial amount of Expansions which don't give me the option to locate them - only Install (the 3-dot menu only shows 'Release Notes').

It appears that the only difference between the all my other NI instruments & effects is that each of these NI Expansions has no .nicnt file in its subroot directory. From the size of each 'Expansions' folder tree, all the other needed files appear to be there.

Is there a way to force Native Access (or some other NI tool) to rebuild each nicnt file?

I don't want to unnecessarily download 100GB+ of data, if there's a workaround.

Native Access - Available Expansions.png

Expansions files avaliable - No nicnt file.png

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Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/22207/how-to-restore-recreate-nicnt-files

.nicnt files are used by Kontakt libraries only.

Those expansions in your image are Maschine expansions.

The easy way is (but only if you know how) to change their paths in the Registry.

To do so, go in your registry at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Native Instruments\

then check the subfolders (for example Backyard Jams), find the key named as "ContentDir", double click it and change its value to your new path.

However those subfolders must exist already (with their old path).

If they don't exist at all, then you have to reinstall the expansions through Native Access.

All comments

Sunborn

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/22207/how-to-restore-recreate-nicnt-files

.nicnt files are used by Kontakt libraries only.

Those expansions in your image are Maschine expansions.

The easy way is (but only if you know how) to change their paths in the Registry.

To do so, go in your registry at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Native Instruments\

then check the subfolders (for example Backyard Jams), find the key named as "ContentDir", double click it and change its value to your new path.

However those subfolders must exist already (with their old path).

If they don't exist at all, then you have to reinstall the expansions through Native Access.

Var

@Sunborn Thanks for the clarity of your response!

Great information concerning what Expansions "are"; something learned, and will soon need to be explored.

Since this was a new/fresh install of Windows 11, all my pathing is lost - so a new expansions install will be the way to go.

This was the answer i needed!

morbyd

Just a little FYI, but I have 3 computers I used my vst's on for Native Instruments. The method I have always used and never had issues with when you move your files somewhere else is to go into Native Access and then on the bottom left hand corner of their screen there is a cog wheel with Preferences listed. If you click that you can go to the File Management option, under Content Location you can click Brose and select the new folder you moved your library to without having to worry about making sure the old location and new location's are available. Doing it from there will automatically change everything over for you. So far I've upgraded all my pc's 3 times each and never had issues doing it this way. Might be useful for any time you have to do it again.

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