A copy of the PTv3.4 application and all necessary extensions (Stuffit archive) is available here (5.3MB)

If you have a copy of the original CD-ROM, don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t run the included installer - it fails on Nubus machines or when running MacOS 8.0 or higher. Instead, just copy the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Digidesign\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" folder on the CD-ROM to your hard disk via the Finder. The ProTools application with supporting files is located inside the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Digidesign\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" folder.

Next, run the appropriate DAE/DSI installer (DAE = Digidesign Audio Engine, DSI = Digisystem INIT) to place the necessary extensions in your System Folder. If you have a PCI Mac use version 3.01 of DAE/DSI (this is the version supplied on the CD-ROM). If you have a Nubus Mac, use version 3.11 instead.

If you have a Digidesign card in your Mac these items are all you will need. If you have a PowerMac, a PowerPC-based Performa or a PowerPC-based PowerBook, you can also run PT in native Powermix mode with no audio cards required. To do this, you need the DAE Extension \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Powermix\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" to be installed on your system. This is typically installed by the DAE/DSI installer automatically. The installed file-folder structure is as follows:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"System Folder\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Folder\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Extensions\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Powermix\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" (file)

For PCI machines running DAE/DSI v3.01, use \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Powermix\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" v1.1.1
For Nubus systems running DAE/DSI 3.11, use \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Powermix\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" v1.1.2


IMPORTANT: Before trying to use PT in Powermix mode for the first time you need to make sure that the Playback Buffer Size is set appropriately in the DAE application. To do this, run the DAE application by itself (located inside the System Folder) without running PT, and choose \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Set Playback Buffer Size\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" from the File menu. Set this to the highest possible value, quit DAE, then relaunch ProTools.

See Notes below for additional information and troubleshooting tips.

DIGIDESIGN STATEMENT - PRO TOOLS 3.4 USERS, PLEASE TAKE NOTE:
Running PT v3.4 on any NuBus Mac is not an approved or supported practice by Digidesign, and there is no official recourse for support lest things go wrong. The following was posted by Digidesign in response to my request to receive clarification on this issue:

>From: Techsupt, Tuesday, January 20, 1998 - 04:59 pm:
>
>Pro Tools 3.4 is not supported on NuBus machines. The Pro Tools 3.4
>software as well as the software installer were not tested or qualified
>for use on these machines.
>
>Since Pro Tools 3.4 has not been tested on NuBus machines, we do not
>know what problems you may run into. Any \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"work-arounds\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" to the supported
>configuration will be run at your own risk.
>
>A list of Pro Tools 3.4 supported computers and hard drives are included
>on the Pro Tools 3.4 CD ROM.


SYSTEM TEST RESULTS

Pro Tools v3.4 will run on MacOS versions up through 9.2.2
this version will not run in Classic mode under MacOSX

• Supported Systems

These combinations are officially supported by Digidesign for ProTools v3.4 Powermix:

9600/9600mp (up to 233MHz): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
9500/9500mp (all speeds: Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
8600mp (up to 200MHz): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
8500 (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
8200 (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
7500 (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
7200 (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
Performa 6400 (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
PowerTower Pro (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
PowerCenter (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
UMAX s900L (all speeds): Powermix mode or Audiomedia III
Powerbook 3400 (all speeds): Powermix mode only
For the daring (and frugal) among us, here are the results people have reported using PT v3.4 on their unsupported machines:

• Unsupported NuBus Systems

8100/250 (G3 card) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
8100/110 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
8100/110 in Powermix mode: runs, 8 tracks tested (more likely available)
8100/100 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
8100/100 in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks offered
8100/80 with ProTools 442: won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t launch, DAE Error -9024
8100/80 in Powermix mode: runs, 12 tracks offered
7100/80 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
7100/80 with Session 8/882: runs, 8 tracks available
7100/80 with ProTools 442: runs, tracks unspecified (requires DAE/DSI 3.02)
7100/80 in Powermix mode: runs, 12 tracks available
7100/66 in Powermix mode: runs, 8 tracks available
6100/80 in Powermix mode: runs, 8 tracks available
6100/66 in Powermix mode: runs, 8 tracks available
6100/60 in Powermix mode: runs, 8 tracks available
Performa 6300 in Powermix mode: tests failed to date
Radius 81/110 with Sound Tools II: runs, 4 tracks available
Radius 81/110 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
Radius 81/110 with ProTools 442: won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t launch, DAE Error -9024
Radius 81/110 in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks offered
Power Computing 120 in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
Power Computing 100 with Sound Tools II: runs, 4 tracks available
Power Computing 100 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
Powerbook 5300 in Powermix mode: runs, 2 tracks available
Powerbook 1400 in Powermix mode: runs, tracks unspecified
Quadra 950 with SysAxe and four 442: runs, 16 tracks available (requires DAE/DSI 3.02)
Quadra 950 with Session 8/882: runs, 8 tracks available
Quadra 950 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
Quadra 900 with Sound Tools II: runs, tracks unspecified
Quadra 840AV with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
Quadra 800 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available

Quadra 650 with SysAxe and two 442: runs, 8 tracks available*
Quadra 650 with Session 8/882: runs, 8 tracks available
Quadra 650 with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
Centris 650 with Session 8/882 (& PPC upgrade card): runs, tracks unspecified
Mac IIfx with Session 8/882: runs, 8 tracks available
Mac IIfx with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
Mac IIci with Session 8/882: runs, 8 tracks available
Mac IIci with Audiomedia II: runs, 4 tracks available
• Unsupported PCI Systems

iMac G3/400 DV in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
iMac G3/333 in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
iMac G3/233 in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
Powerbook G4/500 (Titanium) in Powermix mode, Digigram VX Pocket: runs, 16 tracks available
Powerbook G3/400 (Pismo) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
Powerbook G3 (WallStreet) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
iBook (1st gen) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
G4/800MP (QuickSilver) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
G4/450 (Grey) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
G4/400 (Grey) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
G4/350 (Grey) in Powermix mode: runs, tracks unspecified

G3/350 (Blue) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
G3/300 (Blue) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available

G3/266 (Beige) with Audiomedia III: runs, 8 tracks available
9600/300 in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
7600/132 in Powermix mode, runs, 16 tracks available
6500/250 in Powermix mode: runs, 8 tracks tested
PowerTower 400 (G3 card) in Powermix mode: runs, 16 tracks available
PowerTower 166 in Powermix mode: runs, 8 tracks available


NOTES, TIPS & CLARIFICATIONS

Combinations other than those specified on this page will likely work, but I have not seen information about anything other than what is listed.


If you have a PowerPC machine you can run the software either on a Digidesign card (if available) or in Powermix mode. If you do not have a Digidesign card you must have a Powermac to use ProTools. The file \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Powermix\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" is only required for Powermix mode operation.


If you have a 68K Mac you must have a Digidesign audio card installed to use ProTools.


Track count varies by hardware available. Track count should be the same for any given Digi card (e.g., AMII or STII) regardless of what machine it\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s in: an AMII will support 4 tracks, period. Powermix mode can support \\\\\\\\\\\\\\'up to\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' a certain number of tracks, depending on machine. This is no guarantee that any particular system can provide this performance. Optimizing drives, using a lean system folder and minimizing SCSI traffic can improve performance for native processing software. This is true on Nubus or PCI machines.


It is possible to run PT in Powermix mode while simultaneously using an installed Digi card for input/output via the Apple Sound Manager (Powermix normally uses the Mac\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s stereo mini jack for I/O tasks). You will need to have the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Digidesign Sound Drivers\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" extension installed in addition to DAE/DSI. Install this, restart, then go to the Sound Control Panel and choose your Digi card under the Sound In and Sound Out options.

On some systems, recording via the Sound Manager (specifically, using the Digi card to record while operating in Powermix mode) frequently causes crashes. This result is not surprising, the Digidesign Sound Drivers are known to be unstable. The docs for PT recommend running in one mode or the other, with no emphasis on using the Sound Manager for redirection.

Important: the Monitors and Sound Control Panel doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t recognize the Digi Sound Drivers, so you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ll need to use the older Sound Control Panel instead; if it isn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t already installed on your system, it can usually be found in the Apple Extras folder.

Digidesign Sound Drivers v1.3.1 and v1.4.2 are incompatible with MacOS 9.x. The \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Digidesign\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" control panel should be used instead (available from the Digi web site).


Having problems getting Powermix mode to work at all under MacOS 9? One user reports success by first switching to OS 8.5 to get things setup:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"When I saw the documentation about Pro Tools not running on OS 9 I was disappointed. But I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m a try anything kind of guy, so I broke out my Backup OS CD and reinstalled 8.5 as a clean install. Sure enough, Pro tools worked. Then, just for kicks, I switched back to OS 9 and the whole thing worked!\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"


Another user reports having difficulties bouncing interleaved stereo SDII files using a 7100/80AV and the Session 8 with 882 interface (the problem did not occur on a Centris 650 with the Session 8/882):

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"One bug I have found is that when bouncing to disk no scaling/interleaved SDII file the program becomes very unstable and the system must be rebooted. This is with OS 8.0. Symptoms of instability include tracks playing back at wrong pitch speed, bounced files consist of a few seconds of audio looped for a duration = the length of the song. The workaround is to bounce to a split stereo file, no scaling. I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'m pretty sure that the bounce problem is specific to the project card. I think I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve bounced interleaved files off of my AMII card without problems.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"


Some people have reported that when switching the Playback Engine between an installed Digi card (e.g., AMII) and Powermix mode, the Digi card doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t always show up as an available resource. Quitting PT, trashing the DigiSetup file, then restarting PT usually fixes the problem.


Modern Macs are much faster than systems around when v3.4 was developed, so sometimes excessive speed becomes a problem. One user mentioned this problem and fix for unwieldy scroll bars on his iMac:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I reported a couple of months ago using Protools 3,4/16 tracks/ with an Imac 400 DV. The only problem I had was the scroll bar which was going really too fast and was difficult to control. I found a solution with a little shareware which makes it possible to adjust the speed of the scroll bar. It is called SMART SCROLL, it costs 12 US dollars and can be found at: www.marcmoini.com/SmartScroll.html Works perfectly with Mac OS 9,04 and Protools 3,4.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

A little experimentation might help if things aren\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t working. Several readers have reported success using this tip involving changing the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"ver\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" resource of DAE, which fools PT into thinking it has the software it needs:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I was surprised to hear that someone else got this going on a nubus mac, especially since you did it a little differently than I did. I took a version of DAE I had laying around (version 2.95, I believe), and changed the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"ver\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" string with ResEdit to the version that PT was looking for. Just like that, rock-solid PT on a power 120! 16 stable tracks w/7200 RPM drive. NO crashes whatsoever. However, my SoundTools 1 card(!) which works fine w/SDII (if QuickTime is turned off) in the Power 120 crashes immediately if selected in PT.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

Another notes how overclocked machines can be configured at the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Gestalt\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' level:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve tested your Protools installation successfully on a overclocked 6100/80. You have to use \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Wish I where\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" to change the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Gestalt\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" to a 6100/60 or 6100/66. With this modification I have 8 tracks available.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"


You should always use the same version number of both DAE and DSI. Mixing and matching may work but will likely be unstable. Stability may vary between machines and setups. Increasing the number of simultaneous tracks used in Powermix mode may increase the likelihood of a crash. Your mileage may vary.


Skips in audio playback may be a sign that a disk is too slow or too fragmented to support audio recording. To achieve the most efficient track throughput, use a dedicated drive for audio files which doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t contain the System Folder or any applications. Defragmenting or reinitializing the drive before a new recording session is also a good idea. These problems are common to Powerbook users, who should consider using an external drive with their system for best performance.

Partitioning a slow disk won\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t solve access problems, a situation which can arise when both a program (ProTools) and the operating system need to access a disk simultaneously, or you attempt to play back too many tracks at once from a single drive. Two partitions are still physically on the same disk, so the need for the hardware to find two things at once hasn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t gone away. Partitioning can help with fragmentation problems, since you can limit your audio work to one partition and keep general computer stuff in another.


If you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'re trying to launch PT in Powermix mode with no Digi hardware installed and you receive an error that a resource is not installed or possibly in use by another application, you may need to adjust the Playback Buffer Size setting in DAE. The default configuration of DAE after installation assumes a Digi card is present, and if one isn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t present you receive an error unless you\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'ve first prepared the system to use Powermix.

To fix this, run the DAE application itself (located inside the System Folder) without running PT and choose \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Set Playback Buffer Size\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" from the File menu. Change this to the highest possible value, quit DAE, then relaunch ProTools. If things still do not work, try swapping the version of the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\"DAE Powermix\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" file that you are using on your system (from v1.1.1 to v1.1.2, or vice versa).


PowerBook users with non-Apple audio input devices may face different gain staging issues than desktop owners. One reader reported this tip:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Powerbook G4 Ti 500MHZ 9.2.1 Runs fine. I run it with Digigram VX pocket card. VX pocket can have some distortion issues. Cures- Reboot. Run latest Digigram drivers. Adjust sound control panel for proper headroom.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"


According to one user, PT v3.4 supports TDM functionality if you have an authorizer disc:

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I am using protools 3.4 on a PPC 8100/100 AV. I found that if you can get a tdm authorizer disk ( I use a tdm 1.1 installer set) you only need to authorize the hd to use tdm with PT 3.4. It works with dae´s higher than 2.95 too (3.41 here). Its my choice cause I can use the digidesign R1 controller for volume editing and transport easyfication (Protools 4.0 and higher doesn\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t support the R1).\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

Thanks to all who took the time to test things on their systems and report the results.
Thanks to Digidesign for providing this free software. Long live the Mac!





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------