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IMac power outage with external SSD plugged in

Mr. Ha

Active Member
Hello,

recently I suffered a power outage while my new iMac 27 was plugged in. My external SSD drive (which I use for samples) was connected via USB3. I was reinstalling the Kontakt factory library so the hard drive was working when this happened.

After I booted it up again, the computer seemed to work like before but in Logic when I opened a session, for the first time since getting the new iMac and using an SSD for samples, I got some lag on long notes. It's clear that this had to do with the power outage but I wonder if the computer was damaged or if it was the content of the SSD or the SSD itself.

Has anyone here experienced anything similar and if so, what did you do?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
I would uninstall Kontakt Factory and re-install again, if you haven't already.
That’s a good idea but it’s not those no Konktakt factory library samples that lag. It’s samples from spitfire audio which are loaded from the same external hard drive so I am guessing it applies to all samples on that hard drive. I hope it’s not the computer that suffered by the power outage.
 
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I have become careful with relying on the usb hub of imacs to sufficiently power usb connected devises.

If you haven’t got one, I would advice to get a powered external usb hub of good quality and usb3 connectivity and use that.
Or better(in my world) use thunderbolt connectivity instead.
 
I just saw that I put this thread in the wrong section. Any way to move it?

Is there a way to repair the external ssd through Disc utility?
 
Just a quick suggestion- I’d reset the pram and run the disk utility after an interruption to the power while the computer was on. I found my CPU usage was bonkers after a similar incident and while I didn’t have latency on the sample drives (I do own a high powered USB3 hub) there were a lot of weird issues when using LPX and especially Cubase 9. Once I did the above the computer chime upon boot up returned (it was conspicuously abscent before) and the daws run much better as a result.
 
When I read this, I was asking myself why I’d never had any similar problems with SSDs connected either directly to my own iMac or to my external hub, given that my A/C power has been prone to go out at inopportune times. And then I remembered that I have both my iMac and my hub connected to a UPS system.

Highly recommended.
 
Just a quick suggestion- I’d reset the pram and run the disk utility after an interruption to the power while the computer was on. I found my CPU usage was bonkers after a similar incident and while I didn’t have latency on the sample drives (I do own a high powered USB3 hub) there were a lot of weird issues when using LPX and especially Cubase 9. Once I did the above the computer chime upon boot up returned (it was conspicuously abscent before) and the daws run much better as a result.
I will try these things. The strange thing is that the computer feels pretty much the same, the fans don’t go crazy, the computer is fast... it’s just that the samples for long notes behave as if they were loaded from a non SSD drive. I always loaded samples from a spinny drive before I changed to the new iMac so I don’t know how the iMac would work with a spinny drive but I would say it’s probably something to do with the esterland ssd.

I hope there’s a way to repair the drive. I am just in the middle of a project that will be finished in a few weeks so I don’t want to try too many risky things with the sample drive right now...
 
Uninterruptible Power Supply - i.e. a battery backup/surge protector.
Right. I will look this up. I’ve always had laptops so I didn’t know you needed this with a desktop computer.

Are these things usually expensive? The computer was already expensive for me lol
 
Right. I will look this up. I’ve always had laptops so I didn’t know you needed this with a desktop computer.

Are these things usually expensive? The computer was already expensive for me lol

You don't technically NEED one for a desktop, but if you are running anything of value, it is usually worth it.

A good UPS that is capable of properly supporting a computer will usually run from $125 to $200. I've used both APC and Cyberpower models with success. Don't bother with something cheap (i.e., $50 or less) ... you'd be just as well off not using one at all in that case. A good UPS will last for up to 5 years, and thereafter you can often buy replacement batteries for them at a lower price in order to get even more life out of them.
 
Try doing a batch re-save of all the affected Kontakt libraries. That might solve the problem for you. It can make a world of difference in how libraries respond and load.
 
Try doing a batch re-save of all the affected Kontakt libraries. That might solve the problem for you. It can make a world of difference in how libraries respond and load.
Thanks a lot for the tip but how do I do it? I've never done it. I see the option in the Kontakt app but how do I get it to batch reserve all my libraries in my template? If I click on the batch re-save button, does it affect only the sample loaded right then?
 
Thanks a lot for the tip but how do I do it? I've never done it. I see the option in the Kontakt app but how do I get it to batch reserve all my libraries in my template? If I click on the batch re-save button, does it affect only the sample loaded right then?

Here's a video on how to do it from Spitfire...

 
BTW, the batch re-save will improve how the library operates everywhere, not just how it functions in a template you've already built.
 
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