User Manual

Chapter 21: File and Session Management and Compatibility 455
Chapter 21: File and Session Management
and Compatibility
When working with Pro Tools, you will encounter
several different kinds of computer files. Pro Tools
systems require that you keep certain files in spe-
cific hard drive locations in order to function prop-
erly:
• Pro Tools software files (such as the application
and plug-ins files) should be located on your
Startup drive (the drive that contains your oper-
ating system and other system-related files).
• Data files (such as session files, audio files, and
video files) can be located on any compatible
drive connected to your computer’s internal or
external SAS, SATA, IDE/ATA, FireWire, or
Thunderbolt busses.
You can specify the location of new session files
when creating new sessions (see “Creating a New
Blank Session or Project” on page 161).
In Pro Tools sessions, use the Disk Allocation
command to specify where you want newly re-
corded audio files to be stored (see “Working with
Hard Drives for Recording” on page 508).
Although Pro Tools lets you record to your
system drive, this is generally not recom-
mended. You should record to system drives
only when necessary—for example, if your
computer system has just one hard drive, or it
your other hard drives are completely full.
If you have a system with multiple drives,
you can designate the System drive as a
Playback only or Transfer only drive for op-
timal performance (see “Volume Permis-
sions” on page 312).