Forte options are stored in a text file call OPTIONS.INI using traditional Windows-style ".ini" formatting. OPTIONS.INI is located in the user's application data folder. This folder has been located in different places in different versions of Windows. As of Windows 7, it is in the "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\brainspawn\forte 4" folder. A handy way to access this folder is to start Forte and select the menu command "Tools|View INI Files and application data folder" which opens the folder for easy access.
OPTIONS.INI has several [sections]. Many of the settings are configured via the Options|Preferences display (see Configuring Options and Preferences.) However, sometimes certain advanced troubleshooting options are settable by directly editing OPTIONS.INI. This section defines some useful troubleshooting options. Often the option does not exist in OPTIONS.INI by default, which means it takes its default state. To enable an option, navigate OPTIONS.INI to the specified section (the text with the [brackets] around it) and add or edit the line of text containing the option name and the "=" sign. After using a troubleshooting option, you may turn it back off by simply removing it or switching its 1 or 0 state. You must restart Forte after saving OPTIONS.INI for option changes to take effect.
If loading a rack file or switching to a scene results in unexpected sounds from your plugins, it may be because Forte is sending extra data it to the plugin that it captured when you created or updated the scene. If you think extra plugin data is being send, here is a way you can debug the problem and see exactly what Forte is sending to a VST plugin.
Open the OPTIONS.INI file in a text editor like Notepad (e.g use Tools|View INI Files menu item). Find the section called [Troubleshooting] and add a line under it like this::
[Troubleshooting]
SingleStepVSTPluginLoad = 1
<leave other stuff under Troubleshooting alone>
Then save the file and restart Forte.
If SingleStepVSTPluginLoad = 1, Forte prompts you before each step of sending data to a VST plugin during scene load. You may skip a step by selecting "No" on the dialog box. The data to be loaded is logged to the log file before loading into the plugin and is also logged if skipped. If a load operation causes the plugin to crash, the immediately preceding data item is probably to blame, and the raw content of the data is available in the log file. The log file is called "Forte.log" in the same folder as OPTIONS.INI. See Log File for more information. If you are doing this as part of a support ticket, email the log file back to support.
Once you are finished with the diagnosis, be sure the re-edit the INI file and set this value to 0 or remove the line, resave the file, and restart Forte.