Chapter 5: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 29
6 After restarting, the computer displays a Sys-
tem Configuration message. Check to see if
Pro Tools performance has increased before you
deselect the “Don't show this message again”
option. If performance has not changed, run
“msconfig” and return your computer Startup
Selection back to Normal Startup - load all device
drives and services. Alternatively, try disabling
Startup items and non-essential processes indi-
vidually.
Optimizing a Mac System for
Pro Tools
(Mac Only)
To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools, configure your computer before using
Pro Tools hardware and software.
Before configuring your computer, make sure
you are logged in as an Administrator for the ac-
count where you want to install Pro Tools. For
details on Administrator privileges in Mac OS X,
refer to your Apple OS X documentation.
Turning Off Software Update
To turn off the Software Update feature:
1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple
menu and click Software Update.
2 Click the Software Update tab.
3 Deselect Check for Updates.
Turning Off Energy Saver
To turn off the Energy Saver feature:
1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple
menu and click Energy Saver.
2 Click the Sleep tab and do the following:
• Set the computer sleep setting to Never.
• Set the display sleep setting to Never.
• Deselect “Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when
possible” option.
Setting Processor Performance
(Mac G5 Computers and G4 Powerbooks Only)
To set the Processor Performance:
1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple
menu and click Energy Saver.
2 Click the Options tab and set Processor Perfor-
mance to Highest.
Disabling Spotlight Indexing
The Mac OS X Spotlight feature indexes files and
folders in the background, affecting system per-
formance. It is recommended that you disable
Spotlight indexing before using Pro Tools.
For Windows System Optimization, see
“Optimizing a Windows System for
Pro Tools” on page 26.
Do not use the Mac OS X automatic Soft-
ware Update feature, as it may upgrade
your system to a version of Mac OS that has
not yet been qualified for Pro Tools.
For details on qualified versions of Mac OS,
refer to the latest compatibility information
on the Digidesign website (www.digide-
sign.com).
Disabling Spotlight indexing will cause the
Find function in Mac OS X to no longer
work. You will no longer be able to search
for files on drives set to private.