Force PT To Open Without Internet?

[Tweakhead]

System Preferences > Network
Location popup > Edit Locations
plus button, or cogwheel

[Siegfried Meier]

Originally Posted by Tweakhead

System Preferences > Network
Location popup > Edit Locations
plus button, or cogwheel

By removing everything though, how can I still get ethernet to work? Are you suggesting to just start up Pro Tools this way, then flip over to the other location that has ethernet connected?

[Tweakhead]

I wasn't suggesting anything.
You asked how to set up a Network Location. I simply obliged.
I know nothing of your specific problem that led to someone suggesting this as a course of action in order for you to launch Pro Tools.
However, maybe once PT is launched, you could switch back to "Network ON" (or whatever you name your Location presets in the Apple Menu / Location submenu. Not ideal, but possibly a simple workaround. Try it and let everyone know if it works for you.

N.B. You could also try only enabling the Ethernet port which is "non-internet". For example my V-Control software is running via Ethernet Port 2 > Hub > Controllers, and I have a location named "Internet OFF with V-Control (E2)". This is my standard working location, since I don't like all of Apple's background processes constantly connecting behind the scenes. When I do need Internet access, I simply switch my Location to "Internet ON with V-Control (E2)"

If you want more specific connection control, try Little Snitch, Hands Off, or Lulu.

[Rich Breen]

Originally Posted by Siegfried Meier

...The issue is that Pro Tools simply will not open if it sees an ethernet input that has no internet signal...

Hi Siegfried - FWIW, my machine (which does not have wifi) is connected hardwire to a Netgear managed switch with multiple control surfaces / tablets on it - that switch then has a connection via cable to the router/gateway/internet. I can pull the switch's connection to internet and Pro Tools still boots and runs just fine while connected to that switch and the control surfaces.


best,
rich

[simonchase]

Originally Posted by Siegfried Meier

Are you suggesting to just start up Pro Tools this way, then flip over to the other location that has ethernet connected?

Yes - It may be that you have to time it right in order for PT to "See" the ethernet when you want it to. But it's relatively straightforward workaround. Worth a go.

[simonchase]

You can even install this helper app so your network location is right there in your menubar

https://xbarapp.com/docs/plugins/Net...ion.1h.sh.html

[Tweakhead]

just to be sure . . . your Pro Tools authorization is on a local iLok . . . correct ?
you're not running some cloud-based thing are you?

[jeffro]

Can't repro, though my internet router is in another room so can't set it up exactly the same way. I have Carbon connected to my iMac's Ethernet, and a Thunderbolt adapter with a switch for my Dock and S1. PT launches for me with WiFi/Carbon/etc on or off. Other than iLok Cloud (which should throw an error without internet) or a 3rd party plug-in that 'phones home' the only other thing that comes to mind is Pro Tools' Preferences > Operation > Usage and Diagnostic Data Collection. Any diff with that disabled?

[Darryl Ramm]

Mmm lots of stuff here not seeming to make progress, it is worth stepping back and and thinking what is happening. Also missing is any basic info about macOS versions etc. (which can change code signing checking behavior).

I suspect this is Catalina or later version of macOS and Pro Tools is likely not starting up because macOS is trying to verify the code signing of the Pro Tools app. It will only do this this when it thinks it can connect to Apple's certificate servers. So here macOS likely thinks it has a network route to the general Internet (aka a default route), and that route in fact does not exist.

The network route does not exist at an Ethernet or WiFi physical network level, it's higher level TCP/IP. I will guess that route is likely being created when connecting to the DHCP server on your network, that will likely be the DHCP server built into the Apple router (or maybe there is a DHCP server built into the Presonus console? I have no idea) and that is likely advertising a default route. You likely want the DHCP server in the router (or other box on your network) to hand out IP addresses so iOS devices can connect over TCP/IP to do stuff but it should not be including in that DHCP info that it has a route to the outside world. How you stop it doing that for your DHCP server(s?) I have no idea, don't care. Read the manual and/or buy a hub/switch that may be a more appropriate device for this use.

You should focus on troubleshooting the network by looking at the routing information, i.e. seeing if the Mac thinks it has a route to the outside world (and therefore apple servers), don't focus on low level physical layer networking stuff to start with, yes even if it's all related.

And you can easily whack your Mac so it has no routes to outside networks. So let's start by trying that. I'm going to assume the simplest case here of the problem is just a default route and you are only using IPv4. Doing anything else contact your network team

On the Mac in Terminal look at the route tables with netstat (only asking here for inet (IPv4) routes, and -n to disable name resolution (since you won't have access to external name servers). I'm showing part of my mac's output yours will be different. You can post your output here, I'm looking for what the default routes are. Then regardless in the example below just going to clobber the default route (which happens to be for en0--the Wifi at least on my MacBook Pro), the interface listed for the default route may be different if say it thinks it has a route to the outside world via Ethernet.

$ netstat -rn -f inet
Internet:
Destination        Gateway            Flags        Netif Expire
default            192.168.4.1        UGScg          en0
default            link#24            UCSIg        utun2
100.67.132.28      100.67.132.28      UH           utun2
100.100.100.100/32 link#24            UCS          utun2
127                127.0.0.1          UCS            lo0
127.0.0.1          127.0.0.1          UH             lo0
169.254            link#13            UCS            en0      !
192.168.4/22       link#13            UCS            en0      !

....lots more lines of output not shown, utun2 is related to VPN, etc just ignore other stuff.

Delete the default route...

$ sudo route delete default

See that it's gone...

$ netstat -rn -f inet
Internet:
Destination        Gateway            Flags        Netif Expire
default            link#24            UCSIg        utun2
100.67.132.28      100.67.132.28      UH           utun2
100.100.100.100/32 link#24            UCS          utun2
127                127.0.0.1          UCS            lo0
127.0.0.1          127.0.0.1          UH             lo0
169.254            link#13            UCS            en0      !
192.168.4/22       link#13            UCS            en0      !

You can restore the default route if you need to, in the case of my local IP addresses that would be.. (but you need to use the address of your actual router in your actual setup)....

$ sudo route add default 192.168.4.1

And over time the Mac may renew the DCHP lease from wherever it is getting that... and reset the network routes. You need to go fix the misconfiguration in that DHCP server and/or use a better setup.

The other attack here is disabling the security subsystem that checks code signing. But I really don't want to advise messing with that.

[Siegfried Meier]

Originally Posted by Rich Breen

Hi Siegfried - FWIW, my machine (which does not have wifi) is connected hardwire to a Netgear managed switch with multiple control surfaces / tablets on it - that switch then has a connection via cable to the router/gateway/internet. I can pull the switch's connection to internet and Pro Tools still boots and runs just fine while connected to that switch and the control surfaces.


best,
rich

Precisely what I was saying...if there's no ethernet or WIFI connected, Pro Tools works fine - it's when a router is hooked up via ethernet, that has no internet connection, that the trouble starts. And I use an iLok, no cloud.

A few things to try from some of the users here - I appreciate the help!
Thanks,
Sig