Avid has identified an incompatibility with the early 2011 17" MacBook Pro (model MC725LL/A with Thunderbolt port) when used with a Magma ExpressBox1 expansion chassis and a Pro Tools HD Native Card.

The following error message, "Unable to find an Audio Interface attached to the first HD card", is seen when launching Pro Tools HD 9 with an Apple MacBook Pro (early 2011 model) and Pro Tools HD Native hardware.

If you are encountering this error, please download and install Pro Tools version 9.0.4 (available below). Pro Tools 9.0.4 will update the firmware of the HD Native card on launch. This update must be done using a non-Thunderbolt Mac. If you do not have access to a non-Thunderbolt Mac, please contact Avid Audio Technical Support. The US phone number is (650) 731-6100. Please press option 3 for the Repair line.

The solution will be to:

1. Download and Install Pro Tools version 9.0.4
2. Update the firmware of the HD Native card to version 1.02

NOTE: Do not use a Native card with 1.02 firmware on a Pro Tools system with 9.0.3 or earlier! Any version lower than Pro Tools 9.0.4 will downgrade the firmware on the Native card to stock v1.0 and the HD Native system will no longer be seen when used with the 2011 MacBook Pro + Magma Expressbox1 configuration (without going through the Pro Tools 9.0.4 and firmware v1.02 update process again).

The HD Native card firmware v1.02 is not compatible with computers running Windows 7. If an HD Native card that has been updated to firmware v1.02 is installed in a Windows 7 computer, its firmware must be reset to factory settings. See the Pro Tools 9.0.4 Read Me for instructions on updating the firmware as well as resetting the firmware to factory settings.

Please Note: This issue only occurs with HD Native core cards in the specific configuration listed above.

Other qualified MacBook Pro models do not have this incompatibility:

Downloads

Please Note: Pro Tools 9.0.4 is identical to Pro Tools 9.0.3, with the exception of the included solution in version 9.0.4 for the 17" 2011 MacBook Pro + Magma Expressbox1 + HD Native configuration only. If you do NOT have this configuration, you should use Pro Tools 9.0.3 instead; the most recent version for all other configurations on Mac and Windows: