20. Mac OS X FAQ
20.1 Round about Driver Installation
The driver with the file suffix gz provided by RME is a compressed TAR archive. TAR bundles multiple files and folders into one file, but does not save memory space nor download time. Both TAR and gz are supported natively by OS X, a double click on the file is all you need to do.
Older browsers do not recognize gz as an archive, loading the file as a document. This results in a cryptic looking text within the browser window. Downloading the file can be done via the right mouse key, Save Target as. Despite this procedure, some older browsers like Netscape 4.78 will not save the file correctly - the archive will be corrupted.
The driver consists of a package file (pkg), which contains various folders and files, similar to TAR. A double click will start the OS X installer. To save you the hassle of installing both audio and MIDI drivers separately, the HDSP driver contains an additional meta package (mpkg), that points to the single packages. Those single packages are not shown in the Finder, as they reside within the invisible folder '.contained_packages'. Only the mpkg is visible. Important: an installation can only be done with the complete folder. If only the mpkg is copied to a different place, it will not find the single driver packages!
The actual audio driver appears as a kernel extension file. The installer copies it to >System/ Library/ Extensions<. Its name is HDSPMADI.kext. It is visible in the Finder, allowing you to verify date and driver version. Yet, in fact this again is a folder containing subdirectories and files.
Nonetheless, this 'driver file' can be removed by simply dragging it to the trash bin. This can be helpful in case a driver installation fails. An incomplete installation can currently (10.3.2) only be detected indirectly: The installation routine does not open a message window with a note about a restart of the computer. This indicates that the driver file was not copied and the driver was not installed!
Several users have observed that the installation routine occasionally stops and no longer works correctly. This can be fixed by removing the corresponding extension file prior to installa- tion. In some cases, also (or only) a repair of the disk permission will help.
We have also received reports saying the driver update could not be installed on the system disk - shown red crossed during the installation. Repairing permission may also help here. If not, we're sorry, but have to recommend to contact Apple. Our driver has no knowledge of fold- ers, disks etc., the installation is handled completely by the OS X installer.
20.2 MIDI doesn't work
In some cases MIDI does not work after the installation of the HDSP driver. To be precise, ap- plications do not show an installed MIDI port. The reason for this is usually visible within the Audio MIDI Setup. It displays no RME MIDI device, or the device is greyed out and therefore inactive. Mostly, removing the greyed out device and searching for MIDI devices again will solve the problem. If this does not help, we recommend manual removal of the MIDI driver and rein- stallation of the complete driver. Otherwise repairing permissions may help.
The HDSP MIDI driver is a plugin. During installation it will be copied to >Library/ Audio/ MIDI Drivers<. It's name is Hammerfall DSP MIDI.plugin. The file can be displayed in the Finder and also be removed by simply dragging it to the trash bin.
User's Guide HDSP MADI © RME | 33 |