Protools 8 running really slow at 2048 sample rate on Mac with 12 GB of ram

[nfm420]

I'm sure some other users on here have had this issue at one point. When I got this Mac, Protools ran brilliantly. As I added more PT sessions on to the hardrive, I began to get the error messages telling me to change the sample rate, or remove plugins. My mac came with 4 GB of RAM and I since had it upgraded to 12 GB. Is my hard drive running out of space, or is 12 GB of RAM not enough to process the many plugins I have? I do tend to run a lot of tracks on my sessions, but I can hardly get through half a song without it stopping with an error message. I guess I am asking what my options are in terms of fixing this problem. I am pretty new to using a mac so hopefully someone can guide me here. Thanks a lot.

[albee1952]

You left a lot of unanswered questions here:
how full is your recording drive?(try to leave at least 20% open)
Are you recording to a separate hard drive and NOT the system drive?
What sample rate and bit depth is/are the sessions?
What exact version of OS and Pro Tools LE?
Did the problem start immediately after adding the RAM?(maybe bad RAM)

[nfm420]

I didn't have all the answers when I posted this, as I am still learning how to use a mac. I have OS X version 10.6.8 3.06 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, with 12 GB RAM. My sessions are all 24 bit, 44.1 Once I learn how to check my drive space, I will let you know that answer. Like I said, very new to a mac. I am assuming that I have taken up way too much space on my hard drive, because I didn't dedicate a separate drive for the audio. Luckily I got a hold of a few external hard drives and I am going to attempt to transfer all of my desktop recorded material, on to those drives. I have Protools 8.0.4 Running the Waves Mercury bundle and some extras. No the problem didn't start right after I got the additional RAM. It happened before I got the 12 GB upgrade and then worked well for a few more songs- then it happened again.

[nfm420]

It says I have 242 GB available on the hard drive. Just found that out. Thanks a lot!

[albee1952]

Recording to the system drive is not supported(never has been), so its really the first troubleshooting step. Since you missed that detail, there are a few others you need to be aware of.
USB drives are not supported on Mac
FW drives must use an Oxford chipset
You probably should update to LE 8.0.5(its free)
Disable SLEEP mode and screensaver
maybe search for the getting started guide and review as I might be missing some stuff as I'm more of a PC guy