Power Mac G4 — Mbox 2 Requirements

With Pro Tools LE 6.8.1 for Mac OS X

Note: The best performance with Mac OS X and Mbox 2 is achieved by using fast dual processor Macs. Slower single processor Macs will work with Mbox 2, but at a reduced track and/or plug-in count.

Supported Power Mac G4 Computers:

Dual G4 Processor Models
Dual 867 MHz Power Mac G4 MDD
Dual 1 GHz Power Mac G4 QS
Dual 1 GHz Power Mac G4 MDD
Dual 1.25 GHz Power Mac G4 MDD
Dual 1.25 GHz Power Mac G4 FW800
Dual 1.42 GHz Power Mac G4 FW800

Single G4 Processor Models
933 MHz Power Mac G4 QS
1 GHz Power Mac G4 FW800
1.25 GHz Power Mac G4 MDD

Legend:
QS = "Quicksilver" models from 2001-2002
MDD = "Mirrored Drive Doors" models from 2002
FW800 = FireWire 800 models from 2003

Not Tested or Recommended:

  • Single 867 MHz Power Mac G4 and lower
  • Dual 800 MHz Power Mac G4 and lower

Specifications

Additional Requirements & Known Issues

System Software

iLok Authorized Plug-Ins

Although not required with Pro Tools installation, an iLok USB Hardware Key may be required for installation of some plug-ins and optional software applications.

Control Surfaces & MIDI Interfaces

Dual Monitor AGP Graphics Cards

All single or dual monitor cards which ship as standard equipment with qualified Apple Power Mac G4 models at the top of this page are supported with Pro Tools 6.9.

Hard Drives — Audio Storage Requirements

Although limited recording and playback of audio tracks may be possible using the internal startup drive, a separate dedicated audio hard drive is highly recommended for maximum performance and track count.

Audio Storage Requirements for Record and Playback:

Firewire Hard Drives

SCSI HBA Card for SCSI Drives (optional)

Maximum Performance Guidelines

  • Recording to the system startup drive is not recommended or supported
  • A separate internal or external dedicated audio drive is highly recommended for maximum performance and track count

Pro Tools Does Not Support Sleep Mode

In the Macintosh System Preferences, launch Energy Saver, click the Sleep tab, and disable all Sleep features. Set "Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive" to Never. Do not manually put your computer to sleep when running Pro Tools.

Known Incompatibilities & Issues

  • The Movie Offset feature affects both the QT Movie output to DV and the Onscreen movie
  • If users want to use Japanese fonts in their sessions, they will not be able to use HFS (standard) drives – only HFS+ formatted drives
  • Sometimes when opening a session that was based on a PT 3.2 format session, the following error may occur when Restoring IO paths: Time type mismatch occurred in "Time_Typed.cpp" line 370. A reboot may be necessary if this occurs
  • System instabilities and performance issues can occur when using MIDI control surfaces in conjunction with Pro Tools 6 and 3rd party MIDI interfaces. For best multiport MIDI performance, we recommend using Digidesign's MIDI I/O.
  • Pro Tools LE core systems cannot be combined, and multiple units are not supported. For instance:
    • A Digi 002 and Mbox 2 cannot be used together on the same computer at the same time.
    • 2 Mbox 2 units cannot be used on the same computer.
    • Digi 002 faders cannot be used with any other system.
  • Pro Tools 6 does not work in the OS 9 "Classic Mode". You must choose Mac OS X as your Startup Disk.

Additional Information

Digidesign Compatibility Documents Index