Logic Pro X unable to find sound library on external SSD.

I followed all the steps to download my sound library to an external SSD. I unplugged it to travel, correctly i will add, and now after plugging it all back in it shows i need to download it all again. I checked my settings, Logic seems to have all the permissions necessary to access the data from the drive. It also shows the full 49.5GB of the library is still downloaded onto the SSD as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on May 13, 2025 12:09 PM

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3 replies

May 13, 2025 12:49 PM in response to jonahbabonah

Move the Sound Library to an external storage device:


You can store the Sound Library on an external storage device such as an external hard drive or USB drive. You can't share a Sound Library between Mac computers. If you have more than one Mac running Logic Pro or MainStage, each Mac needs its own Sound Library.


  1. Make sure you're logged in to your Mac as an administrator.
  2. Connect the storage device to your Mac. 
  3. If your storage device isn't formatted for use with Mac, use Disk Utililty to format your external storage device as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
    • You can't store the Sound Library on a volume used for Time Machine backups. 
    • You can add an APFS volume to the storage device, then use one volume for Time Machine backups and the other for storage of other files.


  1. Open Logic Pro, then choose Logic Pro > Sound Library > Relocate Sound Library, or MainStage > Sound Library > Relocate Sound Library.
  2. If you are asked to give the app access to files on a removable device, click Allow.
  3. In the window, select the storage device or volume where you want to store the Sound Library, then click Relocate. A notification will be displayed when the Sound Library has been moved


If you get an error that says content can't be relocated, give Logic Pro or MainStage access to your external storage device or volume


Important:

Don't rename the storage device or volume after you've moved the Sound Lbrary. If you do, Logic Pro and MainStage won't be able to find the Sound Library.

May 17, 2025 07:33 PM in response to jonahbabonah

Only thing I can think of that may or may not have hapend....... when you plugged or re-plugged the external back into your computer, did it ask you if you want to use it as a Time Machine backup?

Choosing yes, even if by accident, will screw it over for a relocated sound library.


Also, if it was previously used as a Time Machine backup and wasn't fully re-formatted before using as external sound library, again, it won't have it. This may well not be the case, just something to bear in mind.

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Logic Pro X unable to find sound library on external SSD.

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