Running/registering a 32-bit plugin on a 64-bit host - Q&A
Can I use 32-bit "legacy" plug-ins on 64-bit Windows computer and 64-bit audio host application?
Yes, in most cases you can. Moreover, if you are using a 32-bit audio host application on 64-bit Windows computer the plug-ins will run just like they are running on 32-bit Windows computer.
When using a 64-bit audio host application, a bridging plug-in is always necessary in order to be able to load 32-bit plug-ins. For example, REAPER, Sonar, and some versions of Steinberg Cubase offer a built-in bridging plug-in for running 32-bit plug-ins.
Alternatively, you can use the jBridge bridging plug-in. jBridge can be obtained here: https://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/
I'm having stability issues, crashes with 32-bit plug-ins running on 64-bit Windows computer, in both 32-bit and 64-bit audio host applications. These plug-ins never crashed when I worked on 32-bit Windows.
This is a generally known problem. In some cases the bridging plug-in that comes with the audio host application works incorrectly, in other cases the crashing may be due to availability of more than 2GB of memory to the plug-in (if you have more than 2GB of physical memory installed on your computer): some older 32-bit Voxengo plug-ins may work unstably in such environment.
The first case can be resolved by using an alternative bridging plug-in like jBridge.
The second case is a more complex one to handle. You will have to use jBridge and force running its "auxhost.exe" module in the Windows98 compatibility mode - this can be done by right-clicking on the "auxhost.exe" file which is usually located in the "Program Files\JBridge" folder.
When running a 32-bit audio host application on 64-bit Windows computer with more than 2GB of memory available, using jBridge as "32-bit to 32-bit" bridge in Windows98 mode may solve crashing.