Keep laptop library synced with desktop library?

[towers of silence]

I recently bought a desktop computer to replace my laptop which I'll now just be using for live performances & travelling, and I'm wondering what is the best way to keep the 2 libraries synced. After migrating my existing Live Library to my new machine I also did some extensive cleanup of the contents. I've been using Live since version 5 and have accumulated a lot of duplicate and unused files over the years so I thought I would finally go through it all and do some maintenance. As it took several hours to do, I'd also like to make sure my laptop library is now identical to my cleaned up desktop library. Is there an easy way to do this without breaking all the file paths? Using Live's built-in browser may work but I don't want to end up with a lot of missing sample messages as a result. Both are Mac's, but they are running different OS- my MacBook is running 10.4.11 and my iMac is running 10.5.7. Not sure if that makes a difference but I thought I'd note it! So please let me know the best way to sync these two libraries.

Another library related question as well- when searching for missing samples, I was under the impression that Live automatically replaced missing samples if only 1 new candidate was found after a scan, but for some reason Live hasn't been doing that. For all the missing samples I have that only have one candidate for replacement I still manually need to go through and verify them. Is there a way to force Ableton to replace the samples automatically? The manual says it is supposed to...

Thanks in advance for your help

edit: I should mention that I'm familiar with third-party software like Synk which is meant to do just that, but I'm most concerned with retaining file system integrity and since changes made to the library without using Live's built in browser seem to mess with the file structure in a bad way I'm wondering if there is a better solution.

[Electronathan]

Hi. I don't have an answer for you but this is a good question to ask and I keep forgetting to figure this out for myself. After reading your post I searched on the Apple discussion forum and found this link: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jsp ... 2&#9417472

I think my situation is similar to yours but I'm currently using a PPC desktop running Tiger and want to expand my setup with a MacBook Pro. In addition to having my Live library synced I want both Home folders to be identical without having to manually manage project folders, sample libraries and plug-in presets and all that stuff. I'll want to be able to work on any combination of Logic, Reason, Live projects including 3rd party plug-ins so all those libraries will have to consistently match. I also only want to keep current projects on the laptop and manage backups and archives with the desktop (which will also be the home of my iTunes library... so many effin' libraries, yo!)

You'd think with Time Machine or other (Snow)Leopard features this would be a native task for the MacOS, but I haven't really come across anything like that yet... Any reason you haven't updated your MacBook to run Leopard?

[longjohns]

why don't you use the laptop drive only,

and when using the desktop machine, plug in the laptop via FW in disk mode

[towers of silence]

Thanks for the reply, Electronathan. It's funny in that after I posted this on the I was googling similar things and I found the same Apple support article that you mentioned...

Since I hadn't had any replies posted to my topic for a couple of days, I figured I might as well just do an experiment or two, so I backed up the Live library on my MacBook to an external drive, then used Synk, (a backup/sync application, as you probably guessed) to 'back-up" the Live library from my iMac onto my MacBook. I used Synk just to be on the safe side as it's supposed to copy any hidden files as well and I wasn't sure whether or not just dragging over my Live Library to copy it would be as effective in copying all the files I needed.

Anyhow, since I copied the new Library to the same location as the previous live library in my MacBook, when I started Live it was already pointing to the correct location. I checked the library integrity with the File Manager, and was pleasantly surprised that it had worked! The new library on my MacBook was now identical to the library on my iMac and there were no missing samples or corrupted files, so everything had been copied perfectly. Apparently as long as the file structure remains exactly the same you won't encounter missing samples or such, however that means that you need to copy/sync pretty much the entire library to keep them working properly. So yeah, long story short, you can keep the libraries synced without any real hassle.

I also assume, based on my results, that using a program like Sync (or Time Machine for that matter) may be overkill, I think you could just drag your existing Live Library to your other machine without a problem. As for project folders, sample libraries, etc I can't see why they would pose any problem either, as long as they didn't reference any files that are not in the same place on each machine. It helps matters that you want to keep your home folder synced as well, further reducing the possibility of differences in file structure between the 2 computers.

As far as why I haven't upgraded my MacBook to run Leopard, well, 10.4.11 has been very stable on my laptop, and I'm really not feature crazy- things like Time Machine, etc don't really justify me spending $100+ on a new OS- so I've been content with Tiger. I have to admit that after using 10.5, which came pre-installed on my iMac, I really like it and will probably upgrade both to 10.6 when it's out, just to keep everything consistent, but if I was forced to keep running 10.4 I wouldn't have a huge issue with that!

Good luck!

-and longjohns, you replied just as I was about to post my reply- I thought about doing that, but 2 things are stopping me. For one, I only have 1 FW port on my iMac, and I use a MOTU 828 mkII FW interface. I know MOTU says it supports daisy chaining but I have noticed an increase in CPU load when I would run it on my laptop with an external drive containing my sample library connected into it. Also, my laptop is now only going to be used for live performances or when I travel, I just want to keep it synced so I don't manually have to make sure it has all the right files when I need it- which isn't going to be more than once or twice a month, so not having my Live library on what is now my main computer doesn't seem to be a good solution for me.

[arafel]

+1 for just copy/ clone your library over (for transfer to new machine, or backup).
Just set new library location within Live when you first open it.

Just upgraded my drives in my G5, so moved my Libraries to 2nd internal drive.
Just copied Live 8 library to 2nd drive (drag and drop from System drive).
Then in Live -> Preferences -> Library - set library location.
Worked a treat - all samples, files, references found immediatly. NP. No Broken links.

Did same thing in transferring Live 7 library off of laptop into G5 (into default location), last year. Copy, and Go.

If only Logic (and the EXS) could handle things being moved so easily.


+1 Dont fix what aint broke... Still on 10.4.11 here. No problems = no upgrade.

[Electronathan]

Wow, so there are quite a few ways to sync libraries... now I'm not even sure how demanding this will be, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Good to know there are still people who run 10.4.11, but I worry that once 10.6 is released, 10.5 will be off the market and then we're stuck on Tiger... the PPCs will be phased out sooner or later and Leopard may be the last upgrade to keeping the G5 in the game, no?

[Tagor]

using live i would look to keep my laptop clean of the
producing waste
and just load up the ready tacks/sets containing all
patches and samples needed. there is a nice
"collecting all and save" ability in live for that