Need to point PT toward .big files

[Blissful World]

After changing some drive names after upgrading to an SSD OS drive, I just realized that I installed the virtual instruments for 10.3.7 and 11 to my Audio drive instead of my Samples drive! Right idea, wrong drive!

What's the easiest way to break the news to PT so that it can find the content?

Hopefully I don't have to open every effect and instrument and point them individually ...

Would it be best to delete and reinstall both sets of "instruments?" (calling an effect an instrument is confusing btw). The less iLok interaction the better, but if it's the best way I'll brave the operation.

I'm on the Windows side if it matters.

Thanks!

[albee1952]

I would remove them and reinstall on your system drive. Having said that, I believe the trick is; point to the folder where the .big file lives, and NOT to the .big file itself(this worked for me on the last install I did)

[Blissful World]

Hi Albee,

A close reading of your reply begs several questions.

"I would remove them and reinstall on your system drive." Did you mean to say my Samples drive? If you really meant the system drive, could you explain a little more? I thought there was a general consensus to use a Samples drive if you can.

Also, if I go the other way and point one instrument to where the .big files lives, will they all know to look there?

That dialog box which jumps up when installing the instruments is really confusing. I believe it wants you to install the instruments themselves to a default location, which I assume is on a system drive, while allowing you to install the sounds on another drive. Do I have this right?

Thanks again.

[panamajack]

Have a similar problem: I told the PT11HD install to put the virtual instruments and AIR stuff on an SSD (instead of my system drive), and when I load PT it tells me the VI are not in the plug-ins folder. Seems to me I had a similar issue when I installed the VIs that come with Sibelius.

[Blissful World]

It's a bit of a diabolical dialog box. I'm sure if you saw it three or four times you'd figure it out, but it can create a little havoc the first couple of times you engage with it. There needs to a button to click on that offers more info on your options and why you would choose each one.

But I get to engage with it again; something is weird with my new SSD and Windows -- the SSD OS drive is fine after Windows loads, with incredibly great latency numbers and 32 bit buffer size option I'd never seen before, but Windows takes forever to boot. So I get to reinstall Windows and PT again. Yippee!

[albee1952]

Sorry, but I'm not an expert on some of this stuff. While, using a samples drive is good, not all sample-based instruments allow for library content to be installed to a different drive than the basic plugin. While my Superior Drummer setup has the sound libraries installed to my samples drive, I don't believe the AIR plugins allow for this, so I simply install them to the C: drive as they choose by default(and they all work fine this way). When I have needed to make the connection to the .big files manually, I needed to do that for all 5 of the AIR instruments(DB-33, MiniGrand, BOOM, etc). Once the connection is made, it should never need to be redone.

To panamajack, to the best of my knowledge, Pro Tools and all stock(and AIR) plugins need to be installed to the C: drive, and to their default destinations(IOW, let them install where they want, and don't try to send them somewhere specific). Using this method, I have never had an issue(and chasing the .big files is a story for another day)

[Blissful World]

I could be wrong but it didn't seem like any big deal to install the AIR stuff for PT 11 on another drive.

Once again, we're talking about two different things:

1) Where the instrument, say Expand, lives.
2) Where the sounds contained in a .big file lives.

Or at least I think we are! My impression is you should accept the default for #1 while you are free to put #2 where your method of working is best served.

But PT is its own world, and I haven't live in it that long and might not move in now because as an artist I find Studio One more inviting. I probably will wind up using them both -- so I still need a robust installation.

In my case, since I didn't feel like springing for a 256 GB OS SSD, I want to keep as much space open on my 128 GB OS SSD as I can.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by Blissful World

,,,,,
In my case, since I didn't feel like springing for a 256 GB OS SSD, I want to keep as much space open on my 128 GB OS SSD as I can.

One reason I am not all over the SSD bandwagon While I have a 128GB SSD with a PT install on it, most of my work gets done on 500GB to 1TB system drives. I guess that meas I have more time than money