Sequence of upgrades for 64 bit

[billgers]

I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere, but I could not find an answer to this specific question: If I want to join the 21st century and go 64 bit on my Mac Pro, what is the recommended route? Do I start with DP and then the VI's and then the OS? Or do I do the OS first and then the others? Does it really matter what order I do the upgrades in?

For reference, I am in OS 10.6.8 and I am using DP 7.24 with a wide variety of VI's, but primarily Kontakt 5, E/W Play, Mach Five 2, Trillian and Stylus RMX, Ethno 2, Sampletank 2.5 (bu-bye!), Addictive Drums, Alchemy (love it!) all on an early 2008 Mac Pro. Also, will I need to do anything special to continue using my 828 Mk. 3 and my MIDI express xt?

I'm assuming that I will go the full Monty to the latest version of Mavericks and DP 8.0.6, but I am open to hearing reasons that I should not do so.

Thank you!

[mikehalloran]

DP 7.24 works in Mavericks. It will remain 32bit but most of your plugs will still work in it - unless they were old PPC apps that need Rosetta to work in 10.6 - those won't work at all from Lion on.

Some of your 32bit plugs will not work in 64bit; others will if you use wrappers like J-Bridge (VST) or 32lives (AU).

MachFive 2 will not work as a plugin in DP 8 64bit but will stand-alone or as a plug in 7.24 or 8 32bit.

Tons o' threads on these subjects now. Use the search function now that I've given you some terms to search for.

[FMiguelez]

When I changed my G5 for Mac Minis, doing a clean instal worked wonders for me.

I started with the OS. I got Mavericks and then I made sure I had the latest update.

DP followed. I did some tests at this point, and everything worked.

From there, I started installing all my plugs and VIs. It's a lot of work, but totally worth it. Having a clean instal and only audio apps, seem to agree with a dedicated studio computer.

[FMiguelez]

MachFive 2 will not work as a plugin in DP 8 64bit but will stand-alone or as a plug in 7.24 or 8 32bit.

Mine works perfectly, Mike. Actually, it ONLY works as a plug-in here. If I try it hosted inside VE Pro, I get constant crashes and stuck notes.

Unless I've been running it in 32 bit mode and don't know about it (but I don't think so. How can I know for sure?)

[James Steele]

MachFive 2 will not work as a plugin in DP 8 64bit but will stand-alone or as a plug in 7.24 or 8 32bit.

Mine works perfectly, Mike. Actually, it ONLY works as a plug-in here. If I try it hosted inside VE Pro, I get constant crashes and stuck notes.

Unless I've been running it in 32 bit mode and don't know about it (but I don't think so. How can I know for sure?)

Maybe you have been running in 32 bit mode? Was MachFive available as an AU? Perhaps it was and you're using it inside a wrapper? I thought it wouldn't work, but I may need to look again. I have MachFive 3 anyway, so I guess it's not a big deal.

[James Steele]

Sampletank 2.5 (bu-bye!)

That works for me in DP8 64-bit with 32 Lives

[mikehalloran]

I have helped diagnose the problem in a couple of threads - MV2 can't be seen by DP 8 but works standalone. The user changes DP 8 to 32bit and there it is. Then someone posts that it's time to upgrade to MV3 and so on...

Starting with MachFive 3, I don't have a way of duplicating the results.

[FMiguelez]

Maybe you have been running in 32 bit mode? Was MachFive available as an AU? Perhaps it was and you're using it inside a wrapper? I thought it wouldn't work, but I may need to look again. I have MachFive 3 anyway, so I guess it's not a big deal.

I have helped diagnose the problem in a couple of threads - MV2 can't be seen by DP 8 but works standalone. The user changes DP 8 to 32bit and there it is. Then someone posts that it's time to upgrade to MV3 and so on...

Starting with MachFive 3, I don't have a way of duplicating the results.

I am SO SORRY, guys!

I didn't see the 2 in the MachFive part... My brain just saw the MachFive part and it assumed it was MF3

Note to self:
When I find something about hardware that seems to contradict what MIke Halloran says, I should really double check my facts (or reading) first.

[billgers]

Thank you everybody for the responses. I know this will be a lot of time and energy to do all the updates, but I feel like I really need to escape the RAM limitations of 32-bit. I am hoping that by going 64 bit, I can continue to use my ancient computer well into the future, since the only thing that really gives me trouble is projects with lots of sample data.

I guess I should be thankful that at least I'm not dealing with the limitations of my old rack of Akai hardware samplers (still useful to have around as a light show when a client needs to feel the bling factor).