Log of software changes and installations?

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Babz
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Log of software changes and installations?

Post by Babz »

Does anybody know if in OS X there is a log of changes you've made to your computer over time? I am trying to troubleshoot a problem (which I won't go into, but it tangentially involves DP and possibly my MTV-AV) and I have come to suspect that something I installed some time in the last month may be causing the problem. I have installed several new plugins and software updates (but I can't recall them all), and I know that I updated my MOTU MIDI driver (for my MTP-AV) on Oct. 11.

Is there any place in the system logs that keeps track of these changes? Does anyone know?

I'm thinking of trying to revert back to my previous MOTU MIDI driver, but I don't know if this is possible or how I would determine what version I was using before I updated.

Thanks in advance, Mac wizards.

Babz
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Babz
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by Babz »

OK, partially answering my own question, I found from the MOTU website that a new version of the MIDI driver was just released on Nov. 1. It doesn't mention bug fixes, mentioning only 10.12 support added (I'm still on 10.8 so that doesn't apply for me), but maybe I could give that a try and see if it improves my situation.

Image

It also appears that there haven't been that many updates to the MIDI driver over the years, so it should be fairly easy to figure out which one I was using before. But, these questions still remain:


- Has anyone ever reverted back to an earlier version of a MIDI driver? Are there any issues I need to know about, preferences that need to be trashed for a "clean" retrograde install?

- Does anyone know about a log of changes in OS X? (my problem may not even be related to the MIDI driver, so I still need to trace back the changes I've made).

And, FYI, no I don't use Time Machine or have any incremental back ups?

Thx,
Babz
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mikehalloran
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by mikehalloran »

Is there any place in the system logs that keeps track of these changes?
Not really.

Console can but you would have had to keep it active and then good luck figuring out how to interpret such a massive log.

Console.app is your friend here. You need to examine the log at the moment something goes wrong. Drill down till you see the actual event. Google the results if the action is not obvious.

If you didn't reinstall DP after installing a number of plugins, do that first.

Do a Safe Boot by restarting with the Shift key held down. Reboot again. This resets your default caches and a number of paths. If your alias icons have gone blank, this will normally restore them, too.

Repair Permissions in Apple Disk Utility. This is important with DP through Yosemite and not a bad idea in El Cap.
(I'm still on 10.8
10.8 was a watershed release. Much older code was no longer compatible. I probably spent a year chasing gremlins such as old HP print drivers, Finale 2009 help files, Bresink crap and CD Spin Dr X — all of which messed with my system and DP. Console and crash logs were how I found and fixed it.

Your video card may have the Apple ATI Radeon firmware graphics bug. I've posted the list a few times. If so, certain apps will be incompatible including MOTU Audio Setup.app (the workaround: always quit when done with setup). Apple never fixed it but later OS worked around it.
And, FYI, no I don't use Time Machine or have any incremental back ups?
Can't help you there. That is a disaster waiting to happen. There is no reason not to have a Time Machine backup. The $299 Time Capsule tower in the Refurb Store connects via ethernet, works in the background and is reliable (except in OS 10.9.4). You would have been able to restore your system to a month ago if it had been in place.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
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magicd
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by magicd »

Babz,

Don't go backwards, look forward!

What is the symptom with your MTP?

What I've seen is that it's not uncommon for older system backups and migrations to bring old drivers into new systems. This can cause problems. If you are having MIDI driver problems, going back to older driver installations is most likely not the solution. Flushing out old incompatible files and installing the latest updates is usually a better path.

Dave
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Babz
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by Babz »

Ok, first and foremost, thank you everyone!

However, I see now that by being vague about what my actual issue is (which I didn't want to go into because it is a long story and I would have to describe all the steps I've already tried, and it involves workflow that I imagine almost no else on this list uses, and because suspecting it has anything to do with a MIDI driver update at all is a bit of a stretch, but I've exhausted a whole list of possibilities, and "whatever remains, however improbable, must be ..." as Sherlock Holmes says...) Let me start over... :|

I see that by being vague about my actual problem, I have opened myself to every fix suggestion in the book, many of which don't apply.

Let me try to explain how I got to this point without going into ALL the details.

I use an iPad app called MusicIO, which routes MIDI and audio into your DAW using a standard lightning cable. It has worked well through several projects, and was working fine the last time I used it. But I haven't used it for like a month or so.

Then when I tried it last week, MIDI was working fine, but I was getting audio dropouts. These dropouts seemed to get worse when I increased MIDI activity (like mod wheel). So, if you are following me, it's an audio glitch, but MIDI and audio are sharing the same USB connection, and MIDI demands seem to cause the audio to hiccup.

I checked to see if I had changed anything on the iPad in the last month, and I have not. I'm still on iOS 9.3.5, and I have not updated the MusicIO app itself, which hasn't received an update since July 2016.

So what changed? Why did it work fine back in Sept/Oct, but now I'm getting glitches in early Nov. Had to be something changed on the Mac side, right?

I then started chasing steps of anything I might have changed since the last time I used MusicIO. I haven't changed much. But, IRRC, I updated Falcon to v. 1.2 and installed a couple of new plugins. I doubt these would have any impact on USB bandwidth or audio performance. (Looking at my AU components folder by Date Modified I see SieQ, bx_limiter, Noveltech Character, but I think all of these except SieQ were installed after I started having MusicIO problems. I *may* have updated Waves Central or iLok License Manager. Maybe.

But then I remembered that I updated the MOTU MIDI driver back in Oct. And that does have something to do with USB, so that's how I came to start questioning if that may have affected things.

Also, after I started having problems with MusicIO, I have now tried an alternative iOS/OS X app called Studiomux that does the same thing. I do not get the audio dropouts with Studiomux, however, with Studiomux, I have another problem, which is that I can't get my iPad to show up when creating an aggregate device in Audio MIDI Setup. This also led me to think maybe the MIDI driver thing might be involved.

So there you go, a brief explanation of a pretty arcane issue. I have left out things like that I have repaired permissions repeatedly, and I haven't reinstalled DP, because this issue is mostly happening at the Finder level, not necessarily when DP is involved.

So, what I gather from advice so far is that there is no Console log that keeps track of changes going back over a month, and I should move forward w/ the MIDI driver update. I shall give it a try.

I apologize for leaving out details, but this hopefully gets us all more on the same page. Thanks, everyone.

Best,
Babz
Last edited by Babz on Fri Nov 11, 2016 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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leigh
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by leigh »

Babs,

I think there is a database of package installations somewhere (called packages.db maybe), probably the System folder. You might need an SQLite DB access front end. I think there may be one for FireFox.

**Leigh
I don't care what you play. I care how you play.— Karl Berger

iMac Pro 3 GHz 10-Core Intel Xeon W, 128GB RAM, Mac OS X 14.2, DP 11.3
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mikehalloran
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by mikehalloran »

I'm with MagicDave on this. Time to move forward.

iOS 9 works best with OS 10.11. There are connectivity/compatibility issues over wireless and USB so there's a good chance that is part of your issue. I use MIDI and audio through my iPad and iPhone into my Mac and DP. My workflow is different and accommodates my handicap so I'll spare you the details except to say that my MIDI and audio connections are rock solid.

Get a Time Capsule and back up your system. Once you've a full backup, update to El Cap following the instructions I've posted a few times—if you run into problems, this allows you to revert.

Unlike MacOS, it is difficult–impossible to revert iOS once updated. Otherwise, I'd be recommending iOS 10 / Sierra.
DP 11.31; 828mkII FW, micro lite, M4, MTP/AV USB Firmware 2.0.1
2023 Mac Studio M2 8TB, 192GB RAM, OS Sonoma 14.4, USB4 8TB external, M-Audio AIR 192|14, Mackie ProFxv3 6/10/12; 2012 MBPs Catalina, Mojave
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cleamon
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by cleamon »

Babz wrote:Does anybody know if in OS X there is a log of changes you've made to your computer over time? I am trying to troubleshoot a problem (which I won't go into, but it tangentially involves DP and possibly my MTV-AV) and I have come to suspect that something I installed some time in the last month may be causing the problem. I have installed several new plugins and software updates (but I can't recall them all), and I know that I updated my MOTU MIDI driver (for my MTP-AV) on Oct. 11.

Is there any place in the system logs that keeps track of these changes? Does anyone know?

I'm thinking of trying to revert back to my previous MOTU MIDI driver, but I don't know if this is possible or how I would determine what version I was using before I updated.

Thanks in advance, Mac wizards.

Babz
Have you looked at the System Information page(s)? Might be some hints there. Not sure if everything gets logged there or not. Worth a try.


"To find your app installation history in OS X, head to the System Information window (f.k.a. System Profiler). You can get there by clicking on the Apple icon in the Menu Bar, holding the Option key, and selecting System Information, or you can launch the System Information app located in Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities/."

https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/app-instal ... -mac-os-x/
----------------------------------------------
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Babz
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Re: Log of software changes and installations?

Post by Babz »

Well, I downloaded the latest MOTU MIDI driver (Nov. 1, 2016) and it made no difference in terms of my MusicIO audio dropout issues (as I expected, but it was a last ditch act of desperation).

Thanks everyone for suggestions. Here's what I learned.

The Console has a lot of information, but it is vast, daunting, and difficult to make sense of, and doesn't seem to go back as far as a month. The "packages.db" idea was promising, but I could find no such file and without more information or guidance I would have no idea how to locate or read it. I did find a Receipts folder, but it yielded no useful information. "System Information" profile provides a lot of details on the current state of your Mac, but I could find nothing that shows the history of when you installed things. Some things that CAN be helpful include: viewing your AU Components folder by date, or your download folder by date, or your download history in Safari (but I regularly delete it, so I don't have browser download history).

In conclusion, I have no answer for why MusicIO suddenly developed this audio hiccups problem, but I'm moving on. At the same, I've got Studiomux working well (no audio dropouts), but it took a long time to sort out because the documentation is so bad, almost incomprehensible. (MusicIO is so much more intuitive and better documented.) The problem with Studiomux is that it works differently for every DAW. They include instructions for several DAWs, but not DP, so I had to work by trial and error, analogy, and guesswork. Once I finally cracked the Studiomux setup and workflow, I decided to write up my own step-by-step guide to using Studiomux with Digital Performer, and I am happy to share it with the cyberverse, if anyone ever needs it. Just text currently, but eventually I hope to add screen shots.

On a positive note, the new Korg Arp Odyssey app for iOS is absolutely incredible, and I can't wait to use it in a project! (Wish they would release a desktop version, but for now it's iOS only.)

Sheesh, I try to live by a philosophy of just getting a system that works and then not changing anything, but that seems increasingly impossible in today's world. :banghead:

Thanks everyone!

Babz out.
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