I would tend to agree that it may be a 'computer + vst' specific problem IF I had the same issue in SX 3. I don't and never have. That's the issue. Something has changed in the VST loading code between Cubase SX 3 and Cubase 4 to cause this problem. If I load a project in SX 3 with any or all of these VSTs, I never have a loading problem.

If I load a project in Cubase 4, it hangs. That's the issue. Again, SOMETHING has changed in the VST loading codebase between SX 3 and Cubase 4 that is now causing this issue. If it happened in BOTH applications, then yes I would attribute it to a hardware specific issue.

However, since SX 3 doesn't display this problem, then the problem HAS to be something that was introduced into the codebase in Cubase 4 (perhaps the programmers were trying to reduce loading times in VSTs?). There are few other explanations that fit.

BTW, knowing that it is related to the VST loading code should give the programmers a HUGE clue as to where to look in the code. If the programmers have a proper changelog, they can review that changelog to see what code may have been altered related to VST loading. If they still have the Cubase SX 3 branch and the Cubase 4 branch in CVS (or whatever version control they are using), they should even be able to take that code into WinMerge and look at the differences.

Knowing where to look for code changes is half the battle. Once you can isolate the problematic code, then you can review it for possible issues. Of course, if you can't easily reproduce the issue, it makes it more difficult to debug. But, seeing the changed code should allow the programmers to revisit the optimizations they may have made.