How to install samples on external drive

[fishbellyrocks]

Hi all, new guy here just trying to optimize my setup before I get deep-in and realize I should have been more organized from the beginning.

From what I gather, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I should be running Pro Tools from my main drive and running my samples from an external SSD. Should I also be running everything (samples and plugins) from the external drive? Should I be recording my sessions to that same external drive? I don't think I have enough ports to run two external drives (one for session data and one for samples/plugins). Please advise.

Also, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to install the samples and plugins to my external drive, and I cannot find any tutorial about this anywhere. With some dmgs it won't allow me to chose the installation site and defaults to the main drive as the only option.

I also don't know what I should be downloading and attemping to install on the external. I'm using the new subscription Pro Tools 2020.9, and in the Avid "Products" (/downloads) section of my account there are a ton of sections (Drivers, ProTools Plugins, UVI Plugins, Complete Plugin Bundle) with collectively 20 or so items, but I don't know what-all I even need. The "complete bundle", judging from file size, doesn't have everything from above links so it's not complete per se, and this to won't allow me to install on the external SSD... Just confusing and hard to troubleshoot.

Can someone link me to an Avid forum or video of how to get where I need to be? Thanks all!

[Darryl Ramm]

Why are you doing this? What exact problem are you trying to solve?

You will likely make more progress with Pro Tools as a beginner if you clearly describe the problems and ask for suggestions and not leap to assume you know the solution and asking for help doing that.

Let’s start with exactly what model Mac you have. Date code name or better the EMC number.

What problem are you seeing? E.g. slow startup of VIs that cache samples, run time errors or glitches with streaming samples? Something else? What exact errors/error numbers/text?

And with what exact VI plugins... you should be able to work out if those plugins are caching samples or streaming them from the drive. Or if you can configure them to do either, and what other tuning options the plugins provide. Some third party VI vendors provide good optimization/tuning documentation.

If it had an internal NVNe/PCIe SSD and samples will fit on that there is likely no reason to put those on an external SSD. And if that external SSD is only a SATA drive that may reduce plugin performance. And with a NVMe/PCIe SSD you should just record sessions to the same drive. And hopefully with enough RAM in your Mac you should be able to set disk cache to fully cache the sessions you are working with.

But again what exact Mac do you have... NVMe/PCIe drive performance increased rapidly after being first introduced as Apple went to 4xPCie 3 SSDs.

If you actually ever need to install samples for a VI you just run the installer and most installers will let you place the samples where you want. Any that are not obvious you read the documentation for the plugin.

[albee1952]

It might also help to know the exact plugins you are wanting to install on the external drive as not all allow it. Example: Toontrack Superior Drummer can have samples installed where you like, but EZdrummer will only allow them on the C:drive

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by albee1952

It might also help to know the exact plugins you are wanting to install on the external drive as not all allow it. Example: Toontrack Superior Drummer can have samples installed where you like, but EZdrummer will only allow them on the C:drive

Yes more info would help.

But EZ Drummer Version 2 and above let you move samples to other locations easily.

Toontracks is near the top of my list for vendors actually making stuff easy to install, update and manage. Avid OTOH does not even make it to the list.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by fishbellyrocks

From what I gather, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I should be running Pro Tools from my main drive and running my samples from an external SSD. Should I also be running everything (samples and plugins) from the external drive? Should I be recording my sessions to that same external drive? I don't think I have enough ports to run two external drives (one for session data and one for samples/plugins). Please advise.

To answer this we need to know about the drives.
System, programs, and all essential files on the fastest drive.
Sessions and sample libraries on the not so fast drives if you have to.

Originally Posted by fishbellyrocks

Also, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to install the samples and plugins to my external drive, and I cannot find any tutorial about this anywhere. With some dmgs it won't allow me to chose the installation site and defaults to the main drive as the only option.

Simply install it on the default drive, then copy any large sample folder to another drive, make a alias (or symbolic link) of that folder and put it where it was originally installed. Then you can free up the disk space.

Originally Posted by fishbellyrocks

I also don't know what I should be downloading and attemping to install on the external. I'm using the new subscription Pro Tools 2020.9, and in the Avid "Products" (/downloads) section of my account there are a ton of sections (Drivers, ProTools Plugins, UVI Plugins, Complete Plugin Bundle) with collectively 20 or so items, but I don't know what-all I even need. The "complete bundle", judging from file size, doesn't have everything from above links so it's not complete per se, and this to won't allow me to install on the external SSD... Just confusing and hard to troubleshoot.

Avid has not made this easy, I know, but if memory serves me, I think with a basic subscription you download and install, in addition to PT of course,

• First AIR Effects bundle
• First AIR Instuments bundle
and
• XPand 2

And of course, you install plugins in the system folder on the OS boot drive.

[fishbellyrocks]

Hey, thanks everyone! I think I got it figured out :)