How to run Waves Plugins on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1

Apr 25, 2023

In order to run Waves plugins on Windows 7 or Window 8.1, please follow the steps below:

Step #1 - Activate licenses to a USB Flash Drive using a supported system

On a computer running an operating system that supports the current version of Waves Central (Windows 10 and up / macOS 10.13 and up), follow these steps:

Download and install Waves Central for Mac | Windows
If you already have Waves Central installed, skip to the next step.
Launch Waves Central:
On Windows: via the desktop shortcut or via Start Menu > All Programs > Waves Central.
On Mac: Applications > Waves Central.
Select the Licenses page.
Select Not Activated at the top of the page.
Choose the license/s you wish to activate. Selected licenses will appear in the list on the right.
On the right panel, choose your connected USB flash drive as the target device for license activation.
Click the Activate button.

Step #2 - Install Waves plugins on the Windows 7 / Windows 8.1 machine

If you are installing bundles or single plugins:

On the Windows 7 / Windows 8.1 computer, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features and uninstall Waves Central.
Download the V10 Offline Installation Folder for Windows.
Once done, disconnect your computer from the internet.
Extract the downloaded zip file and run Install_Waves_Central.exe (It will auto-launch at the end of the installation).
Since you are offline, when prompted to log in, click ‘Continue Offline’.
In File Explorer, browse to the Waves V10 Plugins folder (which you just extracted) and double-click on the file named “install.cen”. Waves Central will open on the Offline Installer page.
Select the products you wish to install and click on Install.
Once done, connect the USB flash drive you have prepared in Step #1 to this computer to activate the plugins.

Important Notes:

For V10 products to work, you will need to have corresponding licenses that are V10 or higher.
If you own V9 licenses, please follow the steps listed here to install V9 plugins.
Products released after October 27, 2019 will not be available in the V10 Offline Installer.
To see a list of the plugins available in the V10 installer, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
When installing using the offline installer, sample libraries for Waves instruments must be installed manually.

If you are subscribed to Waves Creative Access:

On the Windows 7 / Windows 8.1 computer, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features and uninstall Waves Central.
Download the V10 Offline Installer Windows.
Once done, disconnect your computer from the internet.
Extract the downloaded zip file and run Install_Waves_Central.exe (It will auto-launch at the end of the installation).
Since you are offline, when prompted to log in, click ‘Continue Offline’.
In File Explorer, browse to the Waves V10 Plugins folder (which you just extracted) and double-click on the file named “install.cen”. Waves Central will open on the Offline Installer page.
Select All Waves Plugins and click on Install.
Once done, connect the USB flash drive you have prepared in Step #1 to this computer to activate the plugins.

Important Notes:

Only plugins that are part of your Waves Creative Access subscription will show up in your DAW.
Products released after October 27, 2019 will not be available in the V10 Offline Installer.
To see a list of the plugins available in the V10 installer, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
When installing using the offline installer, sample libraries for Waves instruments must be installed manually.

Your products are now ready to use.

Please note: If you launch Waves Central when online, it will auto-update to the latest version which is not supported on Windows 7 / Windows 8.1. Please make sure to only run Waves Central when you’re offline.

If you need any further assistance, please Contact Technical Support.