Using Plugins From An External Drive

Hi all

I was wondering whether it'd be possible to use the sound packs and plugins that come with Komplete Ultimate from an external hard-drive?

My Mac (OS X is 10.12.3) only has an internal drive of 500 GB (SSD) - the size of the Ultimate edition - and would not be able to install all the plugins directly onto my computer. I have a 1TB Lacie external HDD drive.

Any help/answer are greatly appreciated! Apologies if this is the wrong section of the forums for this post.

J

PS: I've read the NI FAQ which implies that it is possible but the posts I've found all relate to Komplete 8-10, with little mention of 11. Not sure if things have changed with the latest edition.

 

Download and install locations can be changed in the preferences of Native Access:
https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/211577305

So make sure to set the Content Location to a folder on your external drive, first (before starting the install).

 

Thanks! That's a great help... would it affect software performance (slower loading of sounds, ie)?

 

FWIW - I do the same thing with my laptop and NI Ultimate Suite. NI runs from an external drive. I haven't seen a lag - but I am running a beefed up MacBook Pro - 16 GB RAM - 500 GB Flash Storage - 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7. I do most everything from my iMac at home but I know eventually I'll be transitioning to a more a mobile rig. Hope some of this helps you out!

 

In general, drive performance can depend on the drive speed and connection type. If you don't have an internal/external SSD, make sure to use a HDD with at least 7200 RPM.

Most users have the library content installed on a separate drive. So one drive is used for the operating system and applications + plugins. And the second drive is only used for the libraries.

Another advantage of using an external drive is if you want to share the libraries between different computers:
https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/articles/210281485-How-Can-I-Share-the-KOMPLETE-Content-Between-Several-Computers-Using-An-External-Hard-Drive-

 

Hey JDRadford, thanks very much! Very reassuring - gonna go ahead and purchase the Ultimate Suite myself.

 

I installed some of my Kontakt virtual instruments and/or libraries to an external Samsung T5 SSD but it loads sooo slow in my DAW. Is it because I'm using USB 2.0?

 

What OS and how is the external drive formatted?

 

High Sierra. exFat

 

Ok, Kontakt does not play well with ExFat. The drive should be formatted using Journaled (not a Mac user but think that is what it is called). With ExFat, you will also see high disk usage spikes as well as loading times...also, if you have any kind of “Real Time” Anti virus, make sure to exclude the library folders from any real time scanning/monitoring... hope that helps!

 

Should I move all my files to another drive, then reformat, and then move them back? Or will it not accept the Kontakt files after it's been formatted to something different?

 

I think as long as you keep the folder structure and drive name the same, you should be able move them and then move back. It’s worth a try because if you don’t, you would have to reinstall all the libraries anyway.