Hi,

I had PowerTracks 10 set up on an external hard drive. I recently moved, and when I set up my computer and tried to run PowerTracks, I found I had no access to any effects. Whenever I try to use Reverb, Peak Limit, etc., I get this message: "Sorry, PowerTracks cannot make connection with" whatever plugin I'm trying to use. Any idea how I can restore the use of plugins?

Also, while I'm asking questions: my Zoom drum machine no longer responds to the MIDI trigger when I try to record a drum track, and this problem began before I moved. Separate problem, but I'd appreciate help with that one, too. Thanks.

PowerTracks plugins need the be installed to the C: drive. The install program should be on your PTW install disk. I recall it being called PGPlugins.exe but your best bet is a re-install of PT10 fom the original install files and watching to make sure the plugins get installed. You shouldn't lose any of your existing work that way.

For your other problem, elaborate a little. More details on how you are trying to trigger it and how it is hooked up.

Thanks for the tip. I didn't have to use the disk; just reinstalled the plugins.exe file from the original installation, and the PG plugins are working fine now.

As for the drum triggering problem, it used to work through my M-Audio Firewire 410 external sound card, with the midi cable hooked between the Zoom drum machine and the sound card and the sound card hooked to the computer through the firewire cable. In PowerTracks, I set the PT sync source to Internal; I set the MIDI Out to Sync Output Port 10 (the drum machine's MIDI Receive channel is set to 10), Send MIDI SPP, Send Realtime Messages, Disable Special Controllers, and Send MIDI Time Code; I set MIDI Thru to Enable Thru (tried both Global and Track-Specific)and set the MIDI Thru mapping parameters to Channel 10, Key 0, Velocity 0, and Port 1; in the Metronome I've checked Recording and "Metronome shuts off after count in," and the MIDI Metronome options are set to Channel 10, Key F#3, Velocity 127, Duration 2, and Port 1 (most of which mean nothing to me; they were defaults, as far as I can recall). I set the Zoom drum machine to Play, with a drum pattern in queue, and hit Record in the PT program, and the metronome counts down to 4 -- at which point it used to trigger the drum machine; but it doesn't anymore. Any number of these settings might be incorrect, since, as I say, they mostly mean nothing to me. I'm a guitar player, not a software engineer or programmer.

What about the setting in the zoom to use external sync (clock) ?
Shouldn't have to map the MIDI thru to channel ten. You are not sending the drum part from PT to the Zoom, right? Just trying to trigger it?

Sorry I'm so late in replying, but I've been away from the software for a while. The Zoom instructions specify that the unit be set to MIDI, and that used to work. I tried the other two settings -- Internal and Remote -- and neither one worked. I'm wondering now whether there's some hardware problem that's developed in the unit, as opposed to a problem with my PT settings. Anyway, thanks for your feedback; it's appreciated. Worse comes to worst, I'll just start playing the drum parts with my fingers, using the Zoom as an electronic drum. I guess, in a way, that'll make the songs more authentic, at least minimally.

BTW, here's a link to the Zoom manual, if you care to look at it:

http://www.samsontech.com/site_media/legacy_docs/MRT3-manual.pdf