: Services like OneDrive or iCloud lock or relocate the default user folders, blocking local read/write access.

Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access .

Soundtoys V5 Preset location, presets not saving and hardlinks

Ensure your licenses are explicitly "Activated" to your computer or a physical iLok dongle. Summary of Default Installation Paths

Soundtoys V5 Preset location, presets not saving and hardlinks

Press Cmd + Shift + G in Finder and go to /Library/Application Support/Soundtoys . Delete any remaining version folders.

The installer may lack the "Write" permissions needed to create the root preset and version folders. Navigate to C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\ . Right-click the folder (if it exists), select Properties > Security , and ensure "Everyone" or your user account has Full Control Navigate to /Users/Shared/ . Ensure the folder has read/write permissions for all users. 3. Perform a Clean Reinstall

Navigate to your public documents on your system drive: C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\ .

By following this guide—starting with running as administrator, then manually deleting broken link files, cleaning folders, and temporarily disabling antivirus—you will almost certainly resolve the problem. In the rare case you don’t, the manual symlink creation or a clean reinstall will do the trick.

Some security software blocks the installer from creating new directories in protected system areas.

typically occurs due to restricted folder permissions or incorrect system environment variables during the installation or initialization of the plugins. 1. Reset the Windows Temp Folder A common cause on Windows is a redirected

This fix addresses the 'phantom install directory' issue. It seems the SoundToys installer can sometimes get confused by old or moved folder locations. A user reported a "phantom install directory" being created on a secondary (E:) drive instead of the correct system default (C:), a problem often linked to the use of Windows hardlinks.

Your user account does not have administrator privileges to write to the designated folder.

). Setting this to a different drive can cause installer failures. Phase 2: Installation Actions Run as Administrator: Right-click the Soundtoys 5 installer and select Run as Administrator Temporarily Disable Antivirus: