Apple DAW Set-up tips

This page explains how to create and set up a new user profile, which forms the basis of a default user that 'refreshes' on log-in. The procedure works on OSX 10.12 and is used The Edge Recording Studio.

Create a new user

Power on all recording studio hardware in the correct order and power on the computer.
Log on to a admin user account.
Under 'System Preferences' create a new user.
Detailed instructions can be found on the apple website here
Disable fast user switching in the 'Login Options' menu.

Set up User

Log out and log in to the new user and set up everything:
Modify the dock to show only the apps relevant to the recording studio.
Open the various DAWs and set the audio playback engine to 'HD'.
Adjust any other default settings.
Download any packs/loops/instruments etc.

Save default user and set up login script

Log out and log back in to the admin user.
Go to terminal and sudo su.
Save the user settings you just created by running the renew_profile.sh script located in /usr/Local/bin/
Nano renew_profile.sh to point to the right user.
renew_profile.sh contains the following commands:

   ditto /Users/username /Library/RecordingStudio/Templates/UserAccounts/username
   rm -r /Library/RecordingStudio/Templates/UserAccounts/username/Library/Application\ Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/
   rm -rf /Library/RecordingStudio/Templates/UserAccounts/username/Library/Keychains/*
   rm -rf /Library/RecordingStudio/Templates/UserAccounts/username/.bash_*
   chown -R root:wheel /Library/RecordingStudio/Templates/UserAccounts/username
   chmod -R 755 /Library/RecordingStudio/Templates/UserAccounts/username

Go to /usr/Local/bin/ and nano the Login.sh script
Edit the script to point to the desired user account (the one you just created)
Save the script.
Login.sh contains the following commands:

   USERNAME="$1"
   LAB_USER_USERNAME="username"
   LU_TEMPLATE_FOLDER="/Library/RecordingStudio/Templates/UserAccounts/edgeuser"
   LU_HOME_FOLDER="/Users/username"
   
   # Did the lab user just log in?
   if [[ "$USERNAME" == "$LAB_USER_USERNAME" ]] ;
   then
   #echo "Recreating username Account."
   
   # Delete the directory
   rm -rf "$LU_HOME_FOLDER"
   # Recreate the directory
   ditto "$LU_TEMPLATE_FOLDER" "$LU_HOME_FOLDER"
   chown -R "$LAB_USER_USERNAME:staff" "$LU_HOME_FOLDER"
   # Remove the notification
   # kill $!
   fi

Log out of admin and log into your new user to test that everything works ok.
Enable the Login.sh with

sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /path/to/script

The new user should now be fully set up.

Updating HD drivers

From at least OSX 10.15.6 installing HD drivers to use the HD Native soundcard requires a work-around for System Integrity Protection. This is from the avid forum.

Firstly, in the MacOS platform release notes, there is this: HD Driver may not load on macOS Catalina after installing Pro Tools (PT-257898) When installing Pro Tools version 2019.12 and HD Driver version 2019.12 or later on macOS Catalina, HDX cards may not be detected when rebooting the computer. To correct this issue, do one of the following: • Manually load DigiDal.kext after every boot; Launch the Terminal and enter: sudo kextload /Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext • For a more permanent solution, force an update of the pre-linked kernel via Recovery Mode in the Terminal: touch -c “/Volumes/Macintosh HD/System/Library/Extensions”

What it fails to mention is that you'll need to reboot in recovery mode (Cmd-R), go into “Utilities” and choose Terminal.

In the terminal enter:

csrutil disable

This will disable the System Integrity Protection (SIP). You'll then need to reboot in normal mode and do the: sudo kextload /Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext

This will load the HD kernel extension.

If you start Protools and go to “Setup→Playback Engine”, you should now see HD Native or HDX depending on your system. You can use Digitest as well.

You can also do the “touch” step from above rebooting in recovery mode (Cmd-R) and bringing up the terminal. Rebooting in normal mode may take a little longer as it builds the “pre-built” kernel.

It is not recommended that you run with System Integrity Protect disabled, so you'll need to do:

csrutil enable

Oddly, the latest security update that Apple released (which took an incredibly long time to install) undid the kernel extension load and I had to re-do the (above) steps again.

Table of Contents

Apple DAW Set-up tips

Create a new user

Set up User

Save default user and set up login script

Updating HD drivers