003 & 003 Rack Getting Started Guide6
Hard Drive Requirements
For optimal audio recording and playback, all
Pro Tools systems require one or more Digide-
sign-qualified drives. This is a separate physical
drive from your internal system drive, and needs
to meet the specifications listed on our website.
For a list of qualified hard drives, visit the
Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).
If you are using an ATA/IDE or FireWire hard
drive, initialize your drive with Windows Disk
Management (Windows) or the Disk Utility ap-
plication included with Apple System software
(Mac).
Avoid Recording to the System Drive
Recording to your system drive is not recom-
mended. Recording and playback on a system
drive may result in lower track counts and fewer
plug-ins.
Digidesign Registration
Review the enclosed Digidesign Registration In-
formation Card and follow the instructions on it
to quickly register your purchase online. Regis-
tering your purchase is the only way you can be
eligible to receive complimentary technical sup-
port and future upgrade offers. It is one of the
most important steps you can take as a new user.
About the Pro Tools Guides
This Getting Started guide explains how to in-
stall Pro Tools LE software, make basic connec-
tions to your 003 or 003 Rack interface (to get
sound in and out of your interface), and do com-
mon tasks (such as recording in Pro Tools).
In addition to any printed guides or documenta-
tion included with your system, PDF versions of
Pro Tools guides and read mes are installed auto-
matically with Pro Tools.
The main guides (such as the Pro Tools Reference
Guide and the Pro Tools Menus Guide) are accessi-
ble from the Pro Tools Help menu.
• Pro Tools Reference Guide explains Pro Tools
software in detail.
• Pro Tools Menus Guide covers all the Pro Tools
on-screen menus.
• DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use
the RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins included
with Pro Tools.
• Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use
optional Digidesign plug-ins.
• Pro Tools Shortcuts lists keyboard and
Right-click shortcuts for Pro Tools.
These guides and other guides are installed on
your startup drive during installation. To view
or print PDF guides, you can use Adobe Reader
or Apple Preview (Mac only).
For more information, see Appendix D,
“Hard Drive Configuration and Mainte-
nance.”
Digidesign does not recommend recording
to the system drive. Record to a system drive
only when necessary.
Printed copies of the Pro Tools Reference
Guide and other guides in the Pro Tools
guide set can be purchased separately from
the DigiStore (www.digidesign.com).