N key alternative?

[khaotic intent]

I desperately need to find a way to force the playback engine dialogue before pro tools gets fully started up, I just get an error.

holding the N key does not work, does nothing.
shift and n key doesn't work
run as administrator and n key doesn't work
alt and n key doesn't work.

i installed asio4all, that didn't work
I deleted my sound card, that didn't work either.

any ideas? I am truly struggling to get pro tools to launch. been trying for 7 hours now.

[Wizzoboy]

If the N key does not work,ie. holding it down as PT launches, you either have a corrupt PT download, or you are doing something wrong when installing. Download the zipped PT file, and the relevant Air files. Unzip them, and click the setup file and follow the onscreen instructions. You should not need Asio4all for the Eleven Rack or the Fast Track as they have their own Asio drivers. Make sure PT is run as administrator, plug in your ilok, launch PT, and off you go. If none of this works I would then suspect your Win 7 installation.
I run Win 7 Ultimate on my Dell and have never had problems with PT.

[albee1952]

Are you allowing Windows to use the FT as the default audio device? Change that(let Windows use the internal sound card and let the interface be available only to pro tools). Ditto on dumping ASIO4ALL and using M-Audio driver

[khaotic intent]

no, no. ignore the stats yours looking at. I am, trying to put a second copy on my laptop.

[khaotic intent]

I have been trying for days to get pro tools 12 to launch on my alienware m14rx2.

It is low ram, but i have 16 gb coming.
I also have a glyph studio mini coming.
as usual with pro tools, problem after problem trying to get it to run for the first time on a computer.
I am at the playback engine error stage of trying to get it to launch.
holding n during pro tools startup DOESNT WORK!
I get the beep of death when I fist push n (error sound)
I think that holding n during pro tools startup is trying to activate something else but I can not figure out what what.
is there ANY other way to get to the playback engine settings without holding n?
The specs in the signature ARE NOT THIS COMPUTER, THAT'S MY STUDIO COMPUTER. THERE ARE NO INTERFACE, OR PERIPHERALS OF ANY KIND ON THIS LAPTOP.
I just want to get pro tools to finally launch, so I can move on with my life.
below, is the pointless difficult to get report that will not help at all:

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : ALIENWARE-PC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : AlienWare (Dell) M14xR2 103C_5335KV
Serial Number : 3CC****
Chassis : AlienWare (Dell) Portable
Mainboard : AlienWare (Dell) M14xR2
Serial Number : .3CC*****
BIOS : AlienWare (Dell) A13 05/17/2013
Total Memory : 5.9GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM CPU @ 2.30GHz (4C 8T 3.09GHz/3.3GHz, 3.1GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 6MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC PGA988 (G2)

Chipset
Memory Controller : Dell Core (Ivy Bridge) Mobile DRAM Controller 100MHz, 2x 3GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Samsung M471B5273DH0-CK0 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-12800SO DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)
Memory Module : Micron 8JTF25664HZ-1G6M1 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-12800SO DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : ChiMei Generic PnP Monitor (1600x1200, JCGRY€141BGE
, 13.9")
Video Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 (16CU 128SP SM5.0 350MHz/1.1GHz, 320kB L2, 1GB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 (128SP 16C 350MHz/1.1GHz, 2MB L2, 1.6GB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)
OpenCL GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (384SP 2C 745MHz/835MHz, 32kB L2, 1GB 4GHz)
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (384SP 2C 745MHz/835MHz, 32kB L2, 1GB 4GHz)
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (384SP 2C 745MHz/835MHz, 32kB L2, 1GB 4GHz)
OpenGL Processor : GeForce GT 650M/PCIe/SSE2 (1GB)

Storage Devices
HGST Hitachi HTS727550A9E364 (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:)
MAT****A DVD+/-RW UJ8A7 (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS, 4kB) @ HGST Hitachi HTS727550A9E364 (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Hard Disk (C:) : 466GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ HGST Hitachi HTS727550A9E364 (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ MAT****A DVD+/-RW UJ8A7 (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell Panther Point LPC Controller
Audio Device : Dell Panther Point High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Creative Labs 0011
Disk Controller : Dell Mobile SATA RAID Controller
Disk Controller : Dell PCIE CardReader
USB Controller 1 : Dell Panther Point USB xHCI Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Dell Panther Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #2
USB Controller 3 : Dell Panther Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus
SMBus/i2c Controller 2 : IPMI T0 Controller

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : TAP-Win32 Adapter V9 (Tunngle) (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : Hamachi Network Interface (Ethernet, 100Mbps)
Wireless Adapter : Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 2230 (802.11g (ERP), AES-CCMP, 130Mbps)

Power Management
Battery No 1 : SDI PABAS0241231 64.53Wh/3.88Ah

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

[Darryl Ramm]

Low memory is not the only worry, its also mismatched, you want to match the SO_DIMM size and exact vendors/exact part numbers if possible. Hopefully you are already doing that.

You also have a single internal HDD, you should have a separate dedicated audio/system drive, yes I see the glyph. I would be buying only SSD for both internal and external drives, especially in a laptop.

But none of that explains 'N' not working. Start up Pro tools and keep the 'N' key held down until the Playback Dialog appears. What exactly happens?

If Pro Tools crashes what is the exact error?

If the dialog does not appear what exactly happens in Pro Tools? When you go to Setup>Playback Engine what playback engine options show up?

If Pro Tools is not crashing then there is nothign that using 'N' would get you then going to Setup>Playback Engine won't, it just takes a little more time.

What exact playback engine/interface do you expect to use? What driver version for that do you have installed?

[khaotic intent]

no interface.
yes, i purchase matched ram. directly from dell, their specs for this pc.
the hd thats in the laptop, is the hd thats in the laptop, not able to change it, nor can afford to.
when i press n, it goes "beep" thats it.
it continues to load ALMOST all the way, then i get my error.
first it says something about a ae 6117 thing
i hit ok, then another error comes up that only give me option to quit.
I uninstalled it, and am installing it AGAIN.
I know i did it right the first time, but am doing it again so people stop suggesting it.
After days of reading and searching, i NEED to get into the playback engine dialouge so i can switch it to whatever it is supposed to be to get around the error. It's the only thing i have not tried, because i can not get to it. I need another way around. i am not buying another interface just to get it to launch so i can change the option either. I dont want an interface. I only want to perform SIMPLE functions here. label tracks, a little mixing, write drum beats, the simplest of functions when i am not in my studio, this is just for on the road stuff. I don't want to record on this laptop. i have tried explaining all this so many different ways and am getting nowhere.

[Darryl Ramm]

You don't just 'press' N you have to keep it held down until the dialog appears. Are you holding it down or just pressing it once?

There is a fuzzyness in how you are describing things that is not helping you get help here.

Including ah it might be useful to know every exact error Pro Tools is throwing.

OK no external interface.

Pro Tools will not run without an interface of some kind. So you hoping to use ASIO4ALL with the motherboard Dell sound chipset.

You deleted the sound card? How? You mean unisntalled the driver?

You need the standard Windows WDM drivers for the Dell Panther sound chipset installed and working for ASIO4ALL to work. ASIO4ALL is just a wrapper around those WDM drivers to make them look like an ASIO driver.

Start over, unisntall ASIO4ALL, install the latest Dell supported sound drivers and make sure thy wotk from som other app. Then reinstall teh latest ASIO4ALl and see if that works.

Or even better, give up and get yourself a currently supported interface with good Windows ASIO driver support and use that. ASIO4ALL is a bit of a crock and a good native ASIO driver will work better... some Windows laptos will have native ASIO drivers for their sound chipsets. -- Why can't you use one of the external interface you have now at least to verify that works.

Windows latops especially are crap shoot with good Pro Tools performance, that is one area I'd just recommend a Mac Book Pro.

[Darryl Ramm]

What exact version of Pro Tools are you using? Pro Tools 12.5? Pro Tools First?

[khaotic intent]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

You don't just 'press' N you have to keep it held down until the dialog appears. Are you holding it down or just pressing it once?

There is a fuzzyness in how you are describing things that is not helping you get help here.

Including ah it might be useful to know every exact error Pro Tools is throwing.

OK no external interface.

Pro Tools will not run without an interface of some kind. So you hoping to use ASIO4ALL with the motherboard Dell sound chipset.

You deleted the sound card? How? You mean unisntalled the driver?

You need the standard Windows WDM drivers for the Dell Panther sound chipset installed and working for ASIO4ALL to work. ASIO4ALL is just a wrapper around those WDM drivers to make them look like an ASIO driver.

Start over, unisntall ASIO4ALL, install the latest Dell supported sound drivers and make sure thy wotk from som other app. Then reinstall teh latest ASIO4ALl and see if that works.

Or even better, give up and get yourself a currently supported interface with good Windows ASIO driver support and use that. ASIO4ALL is a bit of a crock and a good native ASIO driver will work better... some Windows laptos will have native ASIO drivers for their sound chipsets. -- Why can't you use one of the external interface you have now at least to verify that works.

Windows latops especially are crap shoot with good Pro Tools performance, that is one area I'd just recommend a Mac Book Pro.

I will never, as long as I live, buy an apple product. They support terrorism, and fell their company is above the orders of a federal judge.

I went digging for an old pod farm interface, installed it, and i got in. I changed a setting in the playback engine window to see if it would work otherwise AND AM LOCKED OUT AGAIN. this holding n thing doesn't work...at all. weather i hold it, click it many times, click it once, during, before, after the splash screen.

I already uninstalled and reinstalled pro tools too many times to stomach doing it again.

I uninstalled the asio4all thing, no help.

i reinstalled the line6 interface again, still locked out.

This is ******** at this point.

in regards to to having to carry an interface, on top of an external hard drive, cables, ect the answer is no. no no no no no no no no no no no no.
this completely defeats the idea of being portable.

There was still a list of choices to try, but I CANT ACCESS IT.

THE N THING DOESN'T WORK, AND THERE ISN'T A SINGLE ARTICLE ON THE ENTIRE INTERNET ON HOW TO FIX IT.

This pc isn't that old, and when purchase was really expensive. there is no reason why it shouldn't be able to work, outside of avid's refusal to allow it to work, which makes no sense.

I can't do this anymore. One of the reasons i paid all that money for pro tools 12 full, is so I can be one more than one pc.

i can't believe, that avid would make this CRITICAL menu so unaccessable!
on top of that NOBODY in the neitre avid community can fix it either. What are you supposed to do? say "oh well, its only 800 bucks". This is beyond ridiculous, evenmore so that I had the damn thing open and cant back in. i can't even trash the preferences, there nothing to trash.


what I need to do is trash pro tools alltogether, and use one of the so many other more friendly, and way cheaper daws out there. it is not necessary to have a 10,000 dollar laptop for what i want to do.