DLM manager fails to load on installation, so no built in plugins

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/23/2025, 9:45 AM

I've just installed Windows 11 Home (22h2 64 bit) on my laptop, but now when I install Acid Pro 8  the DLM Manager fails to load, which prevents built-in plugins such as ReverbFX and ExpressFX from appearing. I have already performed a thorough set of troubleshooting steps, but the problem persists.


Here is a detailed summary of what I have done:

Verified that all required Visual C++ redistributables and .NET 3.5 are installed.

Completely cleaned all leftover files and folders in %AppData% (including ACID Pro 8, Magix, and Sony folders) and Program Files.

Checked and deleted any remaining ACID registry entries under:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ACID

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ACID

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ACID

Disabled antivirus and Windows Defender real-time protection.

Attempted running the installer normally and as Administrator.

Redownloaded the installer directly from the official Magix website to ensure file integrity.

Ran SFC and DISM scans to verify system file integrity.

Ensured that Windows 11 Home is fully updated.


Despite all of the above, running the ACID Pro 8 installer still results in a grey flash, and the DLM Manager does not load, meaning no plugins appear.

Notably, this issue does not occur on the same machine running a newer Windows 11 build using the same installer. Therefore, the problem appears to be specific to this system, and is not caused by Windows edition, missing runtimes, leftover files, or permissions issues.

Could you please advise on how to resolve this issue? Is there a DLM-specific patch or fix available that can allow the manager to initialize correctly on my system?

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

Comments

SP. wrote on 12/23/2025, 9:47 AM

@Andrew-Goode Is there a crash event log in the Windows Event Viewer or Windows Reliability Monitor with more details?

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/28/2025, 8:10 PM

The issue is not that ACID Pro crashes during installation. The installer completes successfully, but the DLM appears to fail silently, resulting in ExpressFX / ReverbFX never being installed or registered.
There is no crash event during installation.


However, ACID Pro does now crash at runtime when opening projects that reference missing ExpressFX plugins, and I can provide crash logs for those if useful.

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/28/2025, 8:17 PM

Source
ACID Pro 8.0

Summary
Stopped working

Date
‎29/‎12/‎2025 09:14

Status
Report sent

Description
Faulting Application Path:    C:\Program Files\ACID\ACID Pro 8.0\acidpro.exe

Problem signature
Problem Event Name:    APPCRASH
Application Name:    acidpro.exe
Application Version:    8.0.12.26
Application Timestamp:    5f804059
Fault Module Name:    acidpro.exe
Fault Module Version:    8.0.12.26
Fault Module Timestamp:    5f804059
Exception Code:    c0000005
Exception Offset:    000000000099016d
OS Version:    10.0.26200.2.0.0.768.101
Locale ID:    2057
Additional Information 1:    daa0
Additional Information 2:    daa063a04da3dc53115f4fcc9e272f81
Additional Information 3:    8eca
Additional Information 4:    8ecac42f7b85f41d2cba9d22e4d3bc85

Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID:    fa9fd3d68b5ec821008b74240acd7cef (1192174224518511855)
 

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/28/2025, 8:26 PM

Faulting application name: acidpro.exe, version: 8.0.12.26, time stamp: 0x5f804059
Faulting module name: acidpro.exe, version: 8.0.12.26, time stamp: 0x5f804059
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x000000000099016d
Faulting process id: 0x3F4
Faulting application start time: 0x1DC7868533330C7
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\ACID\ACID Pro 8.0\acidpro.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Program Files\ACID\ACID Pro 8.0\acidpro.exe
Report Id: f2e9532a-8f17-4c2c-9527-9681786fc30e
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID: 

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/28/2025, 8:27 PM

Faulting application name: acidpro.exe, version: 8.0.12.26, time stamp: 0x5f804059
Faulting module name: acidpro.exe, version: 8.0.12.26, time stamp: 0x5f804059
Exception code: 0xc000041d
Fault offset: 0x000000000099016d
Faulting process id: 0x3F4
Faulting application start time: 0x1DC7868533330C7
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\ACID\ACID Pro 8.0\acidpro.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Program Files\ACID\ACID Pro 8.0\acidpro.exe
Report Id: 35f23f5a-4cbb-4e74-9ca9-b332136bd494
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID: 

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/28/2025, 8:29 PM

The two crash events above happened milliseconds apart. Any help appreciated - thank you.

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/28/2025, 8:34 PM

One more thing: I've now upgraded to Windows 11 Home 25h2, and that hasn't fixed the problem. When installing I run as administrator and disable antivirus, and I remove any registries and folders from previous installations before reinstalling. The baffling this is that I ran Acid Pro 8 on the same machine absolutely fine before.

johnebaker wrote on 12/29/2025, 6:24 AM

@Andrew-Goode

Hi

. . . . I've now upgraded to Windows 11 Home 25h2 . . . .

That may have made matters worse, especially if you are logging in with a Microsoft account.

You may have OneDrive activated and syncing your Documents, Desktop and Music folders to OneDrive.

You can check this in the program settings to see if OneDrive is mentioned in the folder path options.

See this Microsoft article on how to modify the OneDrive settings to either, remove the Acid folder where your projects etc are stored from syncing to OneDrive, or stop syncing everything. Do ensure you have backup copies stored locally on your computer.

John EB
Forum Moderator

VPX 17, Video deluxe 2026, and earlier versions MEP 2015 and 2016, Music Maker Premium 2026.

PC - running Windows 11 24H2 Professional on Intel i7-8700K 3.2 GHz, 16GB RAM, RTX 2060 6GB 192-bit GDDR6, 1 x 1Tb Sabrent NVME SSD (OS and programs), 2 x 4TB (Data) internal HDD + 1TB internal SSD (Work disc), + ext backup HDDs.

Laptop - Lenovo Legion 5i Phantom - running Windows 11 24H2 on Intel Core i7-10750H, 16GB DDR4-SDRAM, 512GB SSD, 43.9 cm screen Full HD 1920 x 1080, Intel UHD 630 iGPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB GDDR6)

Sony FDR-AX53e Video camera, DJI Osmo Action 3 and Sony HDR-AS30V Sports cams.

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/29/2025, 9:25 AM

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. OneDrive isn't running on my laptop, and I'm not signed in to my Microsoft Account. I also checked the documents folder location path and it's local (not OneDrive), and in Acid the folder options all save to C:\Users\Username\Documents\ACID Pro Projects

Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Andy

emmrecs wrote on 12/30/2025, 3:29 AM

@Andrew-Goode

 OneDrive isn't running on my laptop

Are you certain of this? My understanding of Win 11 Home edition is that OneDrive is always running by default.

Jeff
Forum Moderator

Win 11 Pro 64 bit, Intel i7 14700, 32 GB RAM, NVidia RTX 4060 and Intel UHD770 Graphics, Audient EVO 16 audio interface, VPX, MEP, Music Maker, Vegas Pro, PhotoStory Deluxe, Xara 3D Maker 7, Samplitude Pro X7 Suite, Reaper, Adobe Audition CC, 2 x Canon HG10 cameras, 1 x Canon EOS 600D, Akaso EK7000 Pro Action Cam

Andrew-Goode wrote on 12/30/2025, 4:14 AM

OneDrive isnt "always running” on Windows 11 Home.

It's installed by default and configured to start automatically but it doesn't actively run or sync unless it is signed in and enabled.