Perhaps the architectures of Max and the plug-in don't match? I believe you have to use 32 bit versions of plugs if you are running 32 bit Max, etc.

-Ben

thanks for your answer, I just found that yes it's a 32/64 bit problem!

Hi guys

I am running max 7 on windows 8, 64 bit pc. I also downloded the 64 bit version of the max 7 from the website. But when ever i try to load any of the builtin plugin from max i get the error "no format VST exists" . i also tried on windows 7, 64 bit pc but i have the same error. Any idea why and how get out of it.

Hi, I don't know about the "builtin plugin" you are talking about but I just know that you must use 32-bit VST plugins with 32-bit Max and 64-bit plugins with 64-bit Max. I personally stick with 32-bit Max because almost none of my plugins have 64-bit versions.

Hi thanks a lot for the quick reply, i will download max 7, 32 bit and try again. I am attaching two pictures, One shows the builtin plugins i refered to and the other one to the error i am facing. in the patcher window i attached in the image, i just dragged one vst plugin from the plugin toolbar and i got the error on the max console. Just to be clear, i just need to drag and drop the dll file for the vst plugin into my vst object in the patcher or i can use the plug message to locate the vst plugin. Do i need to save the vst plugin to some special locations or anywhere in my pc is fine.

EDIT: THANKS FOR THE TIP, DOWNLOADED MAX 7, 32 bit. NOW THE PLUGINS ARE WORKING FINE

I'd like to share my experience here. I was also getting the message "no format VST exists" . My system (Windows 10), the plugins, everything was 64 bit and it worked on other similar machines. The problem only occurred in a recently installed machine. Installing Visual Studio 2015 solved it.