INSTRUCTIONS FOR FW 410 AND HIGH SIERRA (10.13.

3)

These instructions are working for:

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iMac Mid 2010

macOS High Sierra 10.13.3

M-Audio FireWire 410

(connected and powered via FW800 to FW400 cable)

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So they are expected to work also for:


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FireWire Solo

ProFire Lightbridge

NRV10

ProjectMix I/O

Ozonic

FireWire 1814

FireWire 410

FireWire Audiophile

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STEPS:

• (1) Shut down the computer, switch off the sound card and unplug it from the computer. Boot

• (2) Download here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/411587505697756/files/ the following

three files:

⁃ a) M-Audio_FireWire_El_Capitan_Install_Uninstall.zip. When you unzip this file you’ll get an

uninstaller file (Uninstall M-Audio FireWire.pkg) and an installer file (M-Audio FireWire.mpkg)

⁃ b) M-AUDIO FW410 KEXT-LOAD SIERRA.zip (NB: this one is for FW410: make sure you
download the one which is appropriate to (= the same name of) you card: always and just
talking about the cards mentioned just above)

⁃ c) M-Audio FireWire.app.zip (version 1, the most updated, of Nov 2016)

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• (3) Disinstallation of the old drivers:

⁃ Run the uninstaller Uninstall M-Audio FireWire.pkg from zip file “a” to remove any previous
M-Audio Drivers that you might have installed (unless you work with a clean installation):
follow instructions, a popup opens behind the window, so find it, press Uninstall then press
Quit (Restart later)

⁃ NB: the script is also updated to uninstall the driver itself from the new directory (with this
package the drivers install in "El Capitan friendly" (i.e. 10.11 and onwards) /Library/
Extensions/, rather than /System/Library/Extensions/)

⁃ Delete the M-Audio FireWire application if it is still in the Applications folder (it shouldn’t be
there anymore, just in case…)

• (4) Before installing the new drivers, the signed driver requirement (= SIP, System Integrity
Protection) of OS X must be partially enabled or disabled:

⁃ Shut down. Reboot the Mac and press CMD+R at boot to boot the Mac in the Recovery
Mode in El Capitan / Sierra / High Sierra

⁃ Open a Terminal window (from the Utilities Menu) and type in: csrutil enable --without kext
[PRESS ENTER] (OR TRY WITH csrutil disable [PRESS ENTER] if you get a kernel panic
after rebooting): type csrutil status to check how it is set

⁃ NB1: it’s working with csrutil --without kext; then, if you need e.g. to change the Privilege
level in the Finder folders’ info, you need to set the SIP on csrutil disable, so do it and when
you finish, set it back to csrutil enable --without kext

⁃ NB: if you reset the system’s PRAM for any reason or when the next macOS update occurs,
that will fully re-enable SIP, so you’ll need again to enable --without kext, otherwise you’ll get
a kernel panic; sometimes this is not enough (iTunes and Youtube go into pause) and you
have to reinstall the M-AUDIO card from the beginning, then it’ll work again

• (5) Reboot normally

• (6) Double click the installer M-Audio FireWire.mpkg in zip file “a”. Follow instructions: when
this is done it will prompt you to shut down - DON’T DO IT YET, just leave that on screen

• (7) If you are on Sierra (and High Sierra), then right here follow the steps 1-2 from the
README.txt in the respective card's "Sierra driver work-around" zip-file (in this case: M-AUDIO
FW410 KEXT-LOAD SIERRA.zip , file “b”). Those steps are:

⁃ 1. Make sure the installer package from the FB groups file section is installed, as described
before

⁃ 2. Before rebooting, double click RUN_ME_FIRST_AND_ONLY_ONCE.command and give

admin password if requested. This set of commands only have to be run this one time

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• (8) Click on the Shut Down button in the prompt from the installer (from Step 6)

• (9) Connect and turn on device. Boot up

• (10) Latest M-Audio control panel can be used: copy the M-Audio FireWire app (file “c”) into
your Applications folder, AFTER the installation steps of this installer are completed (1-9). If
requested, replace the one previously installed (the official ones from M-Audio), as it will
deadlock if launched

• (11) Follow the other steps of the “Sierra Work-around” seen above in the README.txt file (not
only steps 1 and 2). Those are:

⁃ 3. (Reboot) already done in step (9)

⁃ 4. Ensure nothing is running (no audio file, iTunes, YouTube)

⁃ 5. Double click Load_STAGE_1.command, give admin password if asked (NB: you will not
see any kind of ***** signs going on: just type it in correctly and press ENTER)

⁃ 6. Double click Load_STAGE_2.command, give admin password if asked (same as for

STAGE_1)

⁃ 7. Card should be loaded and ready to use in MacOS 10.12 Sierra (and High Sierra)

⁃ NB: Step 4 and 5 must be run every time upon a new boot-up if you want to use the card
(NB: the card has to be already on, before booting up), so it could be a good idea to drag
and drop them on the dock (beside the bin) to have them easy to click

• (12) Launch the "new" panel from Applications or Launchpad, or from the Systems Preferences
(given that the "trampoline" looks for the app at the right location) to check it has been installed
properly

• (13) Select FireWire 410 Multichannel in the Systems Preferences/Sound/Output, raise the
volume on the computer and check everything is working (iTunes, YouTube, etc.)

• (14) Go to Systems Preferences/Energy Saver (and /Power Adapter on MacBooks) and:

⁃ set “Computer Sleep” to Never, otherwise OS will crash when waking up again; the same is
by checking “Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off” (I think
it’s on MacBooks and/or Mojave: I don’t know, since I’m on an iMac with High Sierra)

⁃ about “Display Sleep” (= “Turn display off after:” on MacBooks and/or Mojave), it doesn’t
matter: you can set it based on your needs

⁃ seemingly the option “Put hard disks to sleep when possible” doesn’t affect the correct
functioning when it’s checked (but if you run into troubles, then deselect it)

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• (15) If you need to lock the screen but leaving everything on and connected, just go to “Apple/
Lock screen” or press CTRL+CMD+Q: when you need to use it again just enter the password

• (16) Remember (specially for MacBook users) to always plug in the card before turning on the
Mac; similarly, turn off the Mac before unplugging the card; never do a “hot plug-in/out” (= plug
in/out when the computer is already on) as it will cause an OS crash/kernel panic

• (17) Be happy. Enjoy!

• (18) See also "Audio Midi Setup" app in Utilities to adjust some of the settings for the card

• (19) Then… donate to support this work ;-) https://www.paypal.com/donate/?

token=hZhgXBkSMIgPhrf6X5TQ2boEk5HY8ZlytZy3Oyig_IALShMfjmjqUmQOyiEuIVgInklWx0&
country.x=US&locale.x=US

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 QUICK INSTRUCTIONS

PREPARATION

1) Shut down the computer, switch off the sound card and unplug it. Reboot

DISINSTALLATION

2) Run the file Uninstall M-Audio FireWire.pkg: follow instructions (the popup opens behind
the window, so find it), press Uninstall then Quit (Restart later)

3) Delete the M-Audio FireWire application if it is still in the Applications folder

CHANGE SIP

4) Shut down. Reboot in Recovery Mode (CMD+R)

5) Open a Terminal window (from the Utilities Menu) and type in: csrutil enable --without kext
[PRESS ENTER]

6) Reboot normally

INSTALLATION

7. Double click the M-Audio FireWire.mpkg installer. Follow instructions: when this is done it
will prompt you to shut down - DON’T DO IT YET, just leave that on screen

8. Double click RUN_ME_FIRST_AND_ONLY_ONCE.command and give admin password if

requested (to be done only this time)

9. Click on the Shut Down button in the prompt from the installer (from Step 6)

10) Connect and turn on device. Boot up. Ensure no audio file is running

FINALIZATION

11) Copy the M-Audio FireWire app into your Applications folder. If requested, replace the one
previously installed

12) Double click Load_STAGE_1.command, give admin password when asked

13) Double click Load_STAGE_2.command, give admin password when asked

14) Launch the "new" panel from Systems Preferences to check it has been installed properly

15) Select FireWire 410 Multichannel in Systems Preferences/Sound/Output, raise the volume
on the computer and check everything is working (iTunes, YouTube, etc.)

16) Set “Computer sleep” to Never (or check “Prevent computer from sleeping automatically
when the display is off”) 5