Welcome to Native Instruments' Mac OS X guide. This tutorial contains general tips for troubleshooting and optimizing your computer for use with audio software. We will cover the main points regarding using our software and its interaction with the Apple Mac OS X operating system.
On this page we offer a few tips to help optimize your Mac OS X system. Alternatively you can use the following links to jump another page.

The following are suggestions and recommendations to help attain optimal performance form your Mac OS X system when running audio applications in general and Native Instruments products in particular.

Always keep your NI software up-to-date.
NI Products are constantly being improved. For optimal performance and additional components please make sure that you always use the latest version. You can download updates from the Native Instruments homepage in the "Support" section.

Avoid using special characters
Don't name your hard drive or enclosing folders with special (non ASCII) or illegal characters. Our tests have shown that using the following characters / \ • in your hard drive or folder name may cause unpredictable behavior. Please do not use them.

Never change your hard drive name after installing products
Native Instruments products are dependent on the installation path. This means that when you change your hard drive name, on the system level the path is no longer correct. Please avoid unnecessary conflicts by deciding on a hard drive name and sticking with it. If you have recently changed your HD name and now experience errors, it may help to change the name back to the original.

Never move an application folder after installing the program
Native Instruments products are dependent on the installation path. If you move the application after installing it, then the installation path is no longer correct. Please consider your install location at software install time. With NI installers you may always choose an alternative installation directory than the suggested one. To do so, choose Select folder after you have accepted the license agreement.

Do not place plug-ins in subfolders
This is not recommended and can cause unpredictable problems. It is best to leave files where they were installed.

  • Keep at least 10% of your total drive capacity free
  • Use an external or second hard drive for your data (i.e sample libraries)


Important system preferences settings
Although you could potentially have a great running system with all the following settings active, we recommend that you consider turning these items off to get the most performance out of your computer. To access the OS X system preferences click on the Apple menu in the top left corner and choose System Preferences

Energy Saver
Under the Options tab there is a section called processor performance. Select Highest from the list.
Under the Sleep tab set all sliders to never. Uncheck put hard disk to sleep when possible

International
If you have issues with a program not starting, it may be due to a keyboard layout conflict
Under the input menu tab check the U.S. , British, or German layout. Check the "show in menu bar" box to make sure that it appears in the Finder's menu bar. Now use the flag in the Finder's menu bar to switch to that layout.

Desktop and Screensaver
Under the Screensaver tab set start screen saver slider to never.

Dock
Turn magnification Off
Minimzie using: scale effect
Uncheck animate opening applications and hide and show the dock

Sharing
Under the Services tab turn personal file sharing and other active (checked) services Off. Select them and press Stop.
Under the internet tab turn internet sharing off.

Network
Select your active network connection and press configure
Select the Apple Talk tab and turn Apple talk off
If you are using a WLAN connection such as Airport, you should turn Airport off as well.

Accounts
Startup Items tab. Disable any unnecessary startup items.
Login Options. Uncheck turn on fast user switching