# Having problems installing Cinematic Studio Solo Strings on my 2020 27-in iMac.



## Dan Smith (Dec 4, 2021)

I purchased several Cinematic Studio sample libraries during the BF sale. I'm trying to install the first of these - CS Solo Strings - using the Cinematic Series Installer. I got past the Serial Verification and License Agreement steps and am on the Destination Select step. I'm getting a message that says "You can not install Cinematic Studio Solo Strings on the disk "Macintosh HD". Disk full." I bought this computer this year just for audio projects. It has a 2TB HD. The only things I've loaded on it are Logic, Kontakt, and a few small Fluffy Audio libraries. The CS Installer window shows that I have 1746.49 GB available out of 2000 GB. Any help here would be appreciated! Thanks, Dan


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## Dan Smith (Dec 6, 2021)

Here is an update for anyone following this thread. I posted this question to Cinematic Series Support last night and received this reply from Alex this morning:

Hi Dan,

Sorry about that! We've seen this error in recent weeks with some users of MacOS Big Sur (and one with Monterey). It seems to be something to do with a Big Sur update that has resulted in an incompatibility issue with our downloader/installer. We've got programmers looking into it now, but in the meantime, do you have a different drive you could download it to, perhaps an external drive? It doesn't really matter where you choose for now, as after it has downloaded you can then move the "Cinematic Studio Strings, Brass or Woodwinds" folder to wherever you want afterwards. The final step in installation is when you then open Native Access and click "Add serial".

Apologies for the inconvenience, hope that helps!

Best,
Alex


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 7, 2021)

Regardless, sample libraries should always be stored on an external drive with your iMac.


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## Dan Smith (Dec 7, 2021)

Thanks, Jeremy. So, I have some "beginner" sorts of questions about external drives for the iMac. If you or other members can help, I would appreciate it.

First, what sort of external drive do I really need for the purpose of storing my sample libraries with sample purging and reading samples from the external drive as they are used? And second, is the recommended external drive technology compatible with the iMac?

I've looked at posts on this forum and others where members are recommending NVMe compatible drives like the Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2. My understanding is that the iMac does not support NVMe. Am I limited to a SATA drive and would that be adequate for this purpose?

My 2020 27-in iMac supports Thunderbolt and USB 3.1 Gen 2. It has (2) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports and (4) USB-A ports. My iMac also has an internal 2TB Apple SSD.

My original plan was to use the internal SSD for storing samples and audio and MIDI files and add an external SSD for backup. If I get an external drive for storing my sample libraries, does the 2TB internal SSD just go unused? Also, what would be the recommendation for backing up the external drive?


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 7, 2021)

I also have 2020 27" iMac (i7). I have a Samsung T5, T6 and a couple of 2.5" SSD's in enclosures....three connected to USB-A and one connected to USB-C. I also have a 7-port powered USB3 hub that has a Lacie HDD connected for backups. All are more than fast enough, and I have some heavy-hitting libraries.

I highly recommend a Samsung T5/T6/T7 or a 2.5" housed in an inexpensive enclosure. My 2.5 drives are a Samsung EVO and Crucial in $10 USB-A enclosures. IMO, going NVMe M.2 is overkill unless you get a great deal.

You can experiment with hosting your libraries on your internal, but it's best practice to keep them off your OS drive. Your iMac is already processing things like your DAW, effects, the OS and any other processes, so having samples on dedicated drives keeps things more optimized.


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## Dan Smith (Dec 7, 2021)

Thanks, Jeremy. I'll do some research based on your recommendations. I'm guessing that you've added drives at various times and that is why you have a mix of drives now. If you were just starting today and had no external drives, what would you pick to go with your iMac?


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 8, 2021)

If money were no object, I'd buy a Blackmagic MultiDock https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/ca/products/blackmagicmultidock

Otherwise, I'd just go with a couple of Samsung EVO 2.5" drives in enclosures. This is my preference of course (and what works for my workflow), there's a lot of other options.


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## Dan Smith (Dec 9, 2021)

Jeremy - I'm thinking, for simplicity and user ratings, I might go with a 2tb Samsung T5 as the external storage for my sample libraries with an HDD to backup both the internal 2tb Apple drive as well as the T5. Does that sound okay?


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 9, 2021)

Dan Smith said:


> Jeremy - I'm thinking, for simplicity and user ratings, I might go with a 2tb Samsung T5 as the external storage for my sample libraries with an HDD to backup both the internal 2tb Apple drive as well as the T5. Does that sound okay?


Excellent choice! When you format the drive, make sure you choose “journaled”.


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## Dan Smith (Dec 9, 2021)

Thanks, Jeremy. Will do! 

So, dumb question probably... If I have a 2tb internal drive and a 2tb external drive, can I use a 4tb HDD to back them up or does it need to have more capacity than the two drives combined? I was looking at the SanDisk Professional 4TB G-Drive Enterprise-Class USB 3.2 Gen1 External Hard Drive at B&H Photo for $184.99 or the SanDisk Professional 4TB G-Drive Pro Thunderbolt 2 External HDD for $319.99. Any thoughts on either of those HDDs or would you have another recommendation for an HDD?

​


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 10, 2021)

Unless your internal 2TB drive is full, then you'll be fine. HDD's are cheap now, so can always grab an extra one later if you need it. If you use Time Machine for backing up your Mac, just make sure to delete older backups if your drive is filling up. 

Do you use iCloud? I pay the extra $2.99 (USD) a month for 200GB and backup all my important files there as well, including Logic Pro projects and photos.


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## Dan Smith (Dec 10, 2021)

I bought two Samsung 2tb T5 drives from Amazon today. I'm wondering if I can use one as a primary external drive and the other as a backup? Any drawbacks to using a T5 as a backup drive other than the cost difference between the T5 and HDD?


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## Dan Smith (Dec 16, 2021)

I just wanted to post the resolution for my original issue in case others run into the same issue. There is an incompatibility with the MacOS Big Sur and the Cinematic Studio downloader/installer. They advised me to try downloading the libraries to an external drive. So, I bought a Samsung T5 external drive, had the Cinematic Studio support folks reset the links they had sent me, which had expired. They also set up the links to go to their main server (I don't know if that made any difference). With those changes, I was able to successfully download the Cinematic Studio libraries.


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## mv100 (Jan 16, 2022)

Dan Smith said:


> I just wanted to post the resolution for my original issue in case others run into the same issue. There is an incompatibility with the MacOS Big Sur and the Cinematic Studio downloader/installer. They advised me to try downloading the libraries to an external drive. So, I bought a Samsung T5 external drive, had the Cinematic Studio support folks reset the links they had sent me, which had expired. They also set up the links to go to their main server (I don't know if that made any difference). With those changes, I was able to successfully download the Cinematic Studio libraries.


Dear Dan,
How does Cinematic Studio Strings work in Logic? Any issues lately?..

Best/

Morten


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## mv100 (Jan 16, 2022)

mv100 said:


> Dear Dan,
> How does Cinematic Studio Strings work in Logic? Any issues lately?..
> 
> Best/
> ...


Forgot to mention:
I have a Mac mini M1 (Big Sur) 😊


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## Dan Smith (Jan 24, 2022)

mv100 said:


> Dear Dan,
> How does Cinematic Studio Strings work in Logic? Any issues lately?..
> 
> Best/
> ...


Morten - So sorry for the delay in responding. Sadly, I am tied up with an unrelated project that has kept me from doing anything with my new sample libraries. I took just enough time during the Black Friday sales to figure out which libraries I wanted to buy and get them downloaded, but then immediately had to get back to the other project. It feels like I'm stuck in the set-up phase - all the technical things you have to do before you can actually begin to make music. Each step has been a challenge for me that requires learning. I hope when I finally do get going that CSS will work properly in Logic. If I have any issues I'll update this post. Thanks, Dan


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