Step by step instructions for deauthorization/reauthorization

[Jim Tartas]

Searched the past threads/still confused:This is kind of convoluted but...
Could someone please explain step by step with acute specificity,(as in what screen prompts will I get?) how I safely remove my PT authorizations and then reinstall them when I do a Mac HD clean install? Do I NEED to remove and reinstall them to do a clean install when using 4.0?

I currently need to replace my logic board battery as all files have defaulted to Aug. 27, l956. I also have had a previously fixed session refuse again to have its cursor scroll to the "next screen" during playback.(this happened before the clock and date went wacky.)
I fixed this once with a track transfer, then foolishly trashed the original session with the transfer going right along with it. Oops.

Now a newly recreated from scratch version of this same original session did the same no scroll thang. Norton Disc Doc and Speed Disc say files are fixed but they're not. My assistant MAY have defragged the Mac system drive without backing up. Lastly, my CDR data back-up disc seems to have only copied SOME of the tracks. (Toast) MY BIG QUESTION IS THIS: WILL A NEW BATTERY AUTOMATICALLY FIX/RESTORE ALL MY FILE MODIFICATION/CREATION DATES and cursor scrolling OR DO I NEED TO DO THE CLEAN INSTALL and modify each file? *TERRIFIED OF LOSING THOSE AUTHORIZATIONS/KEY DISCS.PLEASE INSTRUCT ME HOW NOT TO. THANKS FOR THE HELP (AS ALWAYS) IN ADVANCE! Jim T.
PT 4.0, 7300 POWER PC 162 RAM 180 MHZ. 2 GIG
MAC HD. OS 7.5.5 EXTERNAL AUDIO DRIVE: DYNATEK 2 GIG NO PARTITIONS. Please e-mail me or respond on the UC. Whew!

[DigiTechSupt]

When you say a "Mac HD Clean Install", do you mean an initalization of the drive (i.e. erasing the contents of the drive) or a MacOS Clean Install which creates a new System Folder and renames the previous one "Previous System Folder"?
The PACE copy protection keys that we use to authorize our software live on a different part of the drive and not with the application. While a MacOS Clean Install does not remove any data from your drive (and thus your keys remain intact), the keys should also survive a hard drive initialization.
However, much like life, nothing is perfect and sometimes the keys do get corrupt druing an initialization. To be safe, I would suggest deauthorizing your copy protected software before proceeding. Insert the disk and you will get the "You are running this application from the key disk..." message. Click "Setup". In the next window click on the pop-up menu above the list of your drives and select "Remove". Highlight the drive with the yellow key over it and click "Remove". Check to see that your authorization count has increased and Click "Done.
Remember, the authorizations are disk specific, so you will need to deauthorize the application with the same disk that you used to authorize it. If you don't have the original disk, you will see a red question mark over the keyed drive as opposed to the yellow key.
Once the creation dates or a file are altered in any way, they retain that date, regardless of a new lithium battery. You will need to use a program such as ReEdit or Creator Changer in order to further modify these file settings.

Brent
Digi Tech Support

[Jim Tartas]

Brent: Tech Support:
Brent, thank you so much for clarifying the procedere for me. I'll give it all a "whirl" and hopefully have no further questions!
I know that you've explained this to hundreds-hundreds of times! WELL A BIG THANK YOU FOR ONE MORE! Jim.

[Jim Tartas]

Brent, Yup, I realize that I do still have one question. I'm trying to isolate the cause of the cursor not following playback even though the preferences are correctly checked off,still. Do you think that just an Apple Clean install or complete initialization is called for? Would it be best to just do both?
Thank you again! Jim.

[ragbor]

A note to Brent and Digi. I'm a newcomer to all this as well and like Jim, have been dismayed at how much outside tech help I needed (and long distance calls to Digi) just to get up and running, largely due to the sometimes confusing and unclear manual, at least for a beginner such as myself. Icons are misrepresented, some screen prompts are inaccurate or not addressed at all, ect. If it were as simply and accurately represented as Brent has done here it'd be great!

[Jim Tartas]

Yes! Thank you for saying this! I am by day, a school teacher and I must say that the manual for the version I'm still using is extremely poorly written, It is not at all intuitive or nearly cross-indexed enough to help someone who is a beginner at either recoding/engineering or at DAWS/computers or perish the thought(!) all 3 at once!!!
Digi has been marketing TDM systems to the "average guy on the street" for some time in magazines, etc. but the tech phone calls costing an amazing amount of money after the lst year, knowing that it's possible to lose authorizations, etc. and NEVER ONCE including even a procedural explanation for saving them (or for track transfer use either) in the manual. THIS is why guys like me trash the original session after creating a track transfer version BECAUSE no one teaches us not to!
THANK THE HEAVENS FOR THE USER CONFERENCE! IT HAS BEEN A COMPLETE GODSEND and I've enjoyed at last, tech help from your generous people, replying to our pleas for h..e..l..p! I'm starting to like Digi again. But you see, that's the point I'm trying to make here. The established/experienced engineers can read between the lines but the rookies can't. I am still kinda mad that a certain degree of confusion and "fear paralysis" kept me from enjoying and getting more effiecient use out of this gear 3 years ago! THAT's WHY I'm still using 4.0 because I'm just NOW learning it via enough magazine reading and via this conference. I hope that nobody throws stones at me, but check out the Cakewalk 9.0 manual.
IT'S A a great teaching tool! It makes it's users feel like they are learning and understanding audio recording and learning the program in a very clear and sequenced mannner. I hope that Digi will start to provide manuals like that in the future or hire someone to write the PT for Dummies.
ragbor and I and thousand$ of others would really really appreciate it. Thank you everyone for being generous with us new guys/gals.

[ragbor]

Jim, I am so WITH you on all of this. And the 5.0 manual is STILL just as maddening as the 4.x one is. Especially in terms of the poor cross indexing you mention. I'm sure that you, like myself, have probably ended up resorting to a tedious page-by-page search for info on a significant function because there were NO index references for it. I hope this isn't interpreted as ungrateful bitching, because support by phone is excellent. But it would certainly be more economical, time and money-wise, for we users AND Digi if it were more out-of-the-box friendly and didn't require so much post-purchase tech support. How can we be sure Digi gets this message of constructive criticism? I hope they're still reading this thread.

[This message has been edited by ragbor (edited May 03, 2000).]

[DigiTechSupt]

Thanks for your input on this subject. Although the Pro Tools Reference Guide for 5.0 is far from perfect, it is much better than any of its predecessors.
We at tech support have been brainstorming for quite some time on this topic of how to make information more readily available to end users. We have talked about producing more tutorial-based documentation outlining different features of the application and the idea of a "Pro Tools for Dummies" book has also been discussed. Currently, a company called Cool Breeze Systems (http://www.coolbreezesys.com) manufactures interactive CD-ROMs for Pro Tools. However, I am not sure if they have been updated to include the feature set of 5.0.
We need to start illiciting feedback from users as to what they find to be lacking or missing from the current documentation. What specific sections/features do you think needs to be better cross-referenced? Maybe we should start a new thread for people to just submit their suggestions?


Jim,
In regards to your mysterious cursor behavior:
I would start off by reinstalling the Pro Tools application. If that doesn't fix the problem and you have too many applications loaded onto the system, then a Clean Install is the next logical step. However, if you are running a fairly clutter-free system, I would suggest reinitializing (high-level) the drive and starting fresh. This eliminates any and all possible varibles that may still be causing the strange system behavior.

look forward to your suggestions
Brent

[MichaelL]

I dunno....think of the vintage sounds you could get in 1956.

[Avid]

Cool Breeze Systems is in the process of making a new Pro Tools 5 interactive tutorial CD. I don't when it will be available, but you can check their site at www.coolbreezesys.com

Ragbor:
You wrote, "And the 5.0 manual is STILL just as maddening as the 4.x one is. Especially in terms of the poor cross indexing you mention. I'm sure that you, like myself, have probably ended up resorting to a tedious page-by-page search for info on a significant function because there were NO index references for it."

There is one significant difference for someone using Pro Tools 5 rather than Pro Tools 4. The entire Pro Tools 5 Reference Guide is in your Pro Tools/Release Notes and Documentation folder in Acrobat form. If you use the "Find" and "Find Again" functions you can probably locate what you are looking for much faster than physically paging through the printed manual. I use this all the time.


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Bruce Paine
eMarketing