new user,Pro Tools/Mbox2 help please!!!

Monsterpop

Monsterpop

New member
hi folks
i just posted this on a Pro Tools forum elsewhere,
cos im dyin to get into this recordin thing:o
Sorry if this is the wrong place,but i didnt see a dedicated Pro Tools section.

after buying the MBOX2 Factory WELL over a year ago,
i discovered it wouldnt work on this pc,and subsequently wasted more time and money buying a MacG4 that wouldnt run it either.
ive just got an old pc of mine back again,and it seems it will run on that.
its been all that time since i got it,and i havent managed to fire it up and record a single note.
i finally plucked up the courage today,and hit this already.

first of all id like to say that i do not have the first clue whatsoever how to
use it,so please be gentle with me. i used Fostex MR8 before, but was talked into an MBOX2 by guys in my bands.
jeez,,im wishing i hadnt right now.

i just plugged in a 300gb external drive that i was planning to save stuff too,but i have a pro tools warning onscreen straight away.
if anyone can help me resolve that,
so i can try and blunder my way through a first pro tools session:p


it says that
"Loss of plug in authorisation keys may occur.
This system contains one or more drives formatted with NTFS,
which have volume names longer than 11 characters.
this combination is know to corrupt some Interlok plug in authorisations.if you know which drives are authorised and they are not configured this way,or if you have no Interlok protected plug ins,then you may continue.
in order to remedy this issue before corruption can occur click"yes"to
quit pro tools and rename NTFS volumes to names that are 11 characters or less. next, relaunch pro tools and this dialogue should not occur"
i have no clue guys n gals


any and all help appreciated greatly by a new user

cheers
 
Seems like one of your volumes has too many characters? Go to "my computer" and change the name by right clicking and renaming it.
 
hi mindset
thanks for the reply
is it referring to the external drive?
i just tried to rename it from External Drive H,,to just Ext H,,but it wont let me
and just reverts back

;-9





Mindset said:
Seems like one of your volumes has too many characters? Go to "my computer" and change the name by right clicking and renaming it.
Click to expand...
 
Monsterpop said:
hi mindset
thanks for the reply
is it referring to the external drive?
i just tried to rename it from External Drive H,,to just Ext H,,but it wont let me
and just reverts back

;-9
Click to expand...

Is the drive firewire? You can't use USB drives with Pro Tools.

When you go to Windows Explorer what's the name of the drive? Does it have a name?
 
hi Blkdog

thanks for replying
i got the drive renamed eventually.
i have no idea if its Firewire to be honest
id also no idea i couldnt use a usb external drive

that would mean im now completely screwed all over again,
just when i thought i was gettin somewhere:(

blkdog7 said:
Is the drive firewire? You can't use USB drives with Pro Tools.

When you go to Windows Explorer what's the name of the drive? Does it have a name?
Click to expand...
 
blkdog7 said:
Is the drive firewire? You can't use USB drives with Pro Tools.

When you go to Windows Explorer what's the name of the drive? Does it have a name?
Click to expand...

this is not necessarily true. I haven't seen anything from Digi that say they do not work what-so-ever. They just recommend Firewire over USB for a better performance. It all depends on how much you're transferring with the drive.

Monsterpop...a lot of external drives are firewire AND USB now. Take a look at this pic:
http://www.thg.ru/howto/20020521/images/nlports.jpg

The top ports are USB and the bottom are Firewire. If you're already plugged into the firewire style ports, you're fine. If you aren't, but still have the bottom ports...then buy a simple firewire 400 cable and use those ports instead (assuming you have somewhere on the computer that looks like that port too)
 
bennychico11 said:
this is not necessarily true. I haven't seen anything from Digi that say they do not work what-so-ever. They just recommend Firewire over USB for a better performance. It all depends on how much you're transferring with the drive.

Monsterpop...a lot of external drives are firewire AND USB now. Take a look at this pic:
http://www.thg.ru/howto/20020521/images/nlports.jpg

The top ports are USB and the bottom are Firewire. If you're already plugged into the firewire style ports, you're fine. If you aren't, but still have the bottom ports...then buy a simple firewire 400 cable and use those ports instead (assuming you have somewhere on the computer that looks like that port too)
Click to expand...

USB 1.0/2.0 hard drives are not supported by Digidesign (I spend way too much time over at the Digi forums. Also, the Mbox 2 is USB. You don't want that bus being hogged with another USB device (the drive)):

Hard Drive Requirements

* Recording to the system startup drive is not recommended or supported.
* Although limited recording and playback of audio tracks may be possible using the startup drive, one or more separate 7200 rpm or faster hard drive or drives dedicated for audio is required for maximum performance and track count.
* Pro Tools does not support RAID technology. Please do not activate this feature on any Pro Tools recording drives.
* Although you may be able to use USB 2.0 hard drives for record and playback, they are not able to achieve maximum track count compared to FireWire drives, and are therefore not supported
* FireWire 800 drives are not supported for record and playback with Mbox 2 Pro systems
Click to expand...

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid=3&langid=100&categoryid=35&itemid=23159
 
blkdog7 said:
USB 1.0/2.0 hard drives are not supported by Digidesign (I spend way too much time over at the Digi forums. Also, the Mbox 2 is USB. You don't want that bus being hogged with another USB device (the drive)):

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid=3&langid=100&categoryid=35&itemid=23159
Click to expand...


no, I agree that you shouldn't use USB either...especially if you're using the Mbox 2 as well. But from you're own quote:

Although you may be able to use USB 2.0 hard drives for record and playback, they are not able to achieve maximum track count compared to FireWire drives, and are therefore not supported
Click to expand...

Digi supported means an entirely different thing than in the normal computer world. Digi says a lot of things aren't supported...and that usually means they have either not been tested or are not recommended. So in other words, don't come complaining to Digi if you can't get it to work properly. But like a lot of things, some people are able to get it to work. It's just with their experience it doesn't work 100% of the time so they're not going to guarantee it. Windows XP SP2 wasn't supported for a long time even though there were several of us who got it to work just fine with a round about way. Later on they made a patch/fix/update and got it working. SP2 is now considered supported.
Just like they say it's not supported to record to the system drive. But try it and I'm sure you'll find you can do it (I know I have).

I spend quite a bit of time with PT too ;)
 
h Benny
thanks a lot for posting on here too mate. i appreciate it .
im afraid the ext drive i have does not have one of those connections,
just usb.i wil have to just try and persist with that and see how it goes,
cos i just cant afford to buy anything else right now.

ive already wasted almost £150 a while back buying a Mac G4 that i was assured would run the Mbox,but didnt.
so thats no laying here gathering dust,with the Mbox on top of it:(

the G4's are going for £50/60 now,so the prospect of selling it on Ebay and having to try and get it safely to someone isnt a good one either.

when i bought this Mbox2 n Texas well over a year ago,id been assured by several friends,,and the GC guy that it would work on any modern pc or Mac.

but of course typically this pc im on now had to have a chipset that wasnt supported,and just wouldnt work at all.

i had asked questions on the Pro Tools forum at that time,
and yourself and some of the guys tried to help me.
only to discover it just wouldnt work.
so thats why i got my older pc back,and it seemed it will work on that.

maybe i will just have to save any stuff to the D drive in there
and see how that goes?




.
bennychico11 said:
this is not necessarily true. I haven't seen anything from Digi that say they do not work what-so-ever. They just recommend Firewire over USB for a better performance. It all depends on how much you're transferring with the drive.

Monsterpop...a lot of external drives are firewire AND USB now. Take a look at this pic:
http://www.thg.ru/howto/20020521/images/nlports.jpg

The top ports are USB and the bottom are Firewire. If you're already plugged into the firewire style ports, you're fine. If you aren't, but still have the bottom ports...then buy a simple firewire 400 cable and use those ports instead (assuming you have somewhere on the computer that looks like that port too)
Click to expand...
 
hi again guys
ive just looked at the back of the MBOX2
and it doesnt actually have any firewire outputs
so it must be more recent models that do
only USB. so it will work after all,,right?:confused:
please tell me it will:o

:)
 
bennychico11 said:
no, I agree that you shouldn't use USB either...especially if you're using the Mbox 2 as well. But from you're own quote:



Digi supported means an entirely different thing than in the normal computer world. Digi says a lot of things aren't supported...and that usually means they have either not been tested or are not recommended. So in other words, don't come complaining to Digi if you can't get it to work properly. But like a lot of things, some people are able to get it to work. It's just with their experience it doesn't work 100% of the time so they're not going to guarantee it. Windows XP SP2 wasn't supported for a long time even though there were several of us who got it to work just fine with a round about way. Later on they made a patch/fix/update and got it working. SP2 is now considered supported.
Just like they say it's not supported to record to the system drive. But try it and I'm sure you'll find you can do it (I know I have).

I spend quite a bit of time with PT too ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, I totally agree with you and I have recorded to my system drive too. But, I just knew that if he went to the Digi forum they would all tell him what I did. USB hard drives are a NO NO. (Yes, it's possible to make it work but not 100%.)

I think we are both saying the same thing. :)
 
Monsterpop said:
hi again guys
ive just looked at the back of the MBOX2
and it doesnt actually have any firewire outputs
so it must be more recent models that do
only USB. so it will work after all,,right?:confused:
please tell me it will:o

:)
Click to expand...


You're right, the Mbox 2 only uses USB 1.1. if you only have USB inputs on your computer you're still good to use the Mbox just fine. And you can just use your system drive or that USB drive. If it works for you right now, just keep using it.
 
HI again Benny/Blkdog
thanks again for your replies and help lads
i really appreciate it
im planning a full day at it tomorrow,
so i hope i dont go nuts and throw it out the window before then
thanks again;)

bennychico11 said:
You're right, the Mbox 2 only uses USB 1.1. if you only have USB inputs on your computer you're still good to use the Mbox just fine. And you can just use your system drive or that USB drive. If it works for you right now, just keep using it.
Click to expand...
 
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