When Pro Tools starts behaving unexpectedly, one of the most common troubleshooting steps is to “trash” the Pro Tools preferences.

Pro Tools stores preference files containing various settings and configuration information. Occasionally, these files can become corrupted and cause errors, unusual behaviour or problems that can otherwise be difficult to explain.

Deleting the preference files allows Pro Tools to recreate them, effectively resetting certain settings back to their defaults. This has been a common troubleshooting technique across both Digidesign and Avid versions of Pro Tools.

The location of these files varies depending on your operating system and version of Pro Tools, so below is a guide to where they can be found.

Trashing preferences can help when Pro Tools:

✓ Behaves unexpectedly
✓ Displays unexplained errors
✓ Develops preference-related problems
✓ Needs certain settings reset

Before You Start

Make sure Pro Tools is closed before deleting preference files. Once the relevant files have been removed, empty the Recycle Bin or Trash and restart Pro Tools.

Remember that deleting preferences resets certain Pro Tools settings, so you may need to reconfigure some preferences afterwards.

⊞

Windows Users

Locations vary by Windows and Pro Tools version.
WIN 10

Windows 10

Navigate to:

C:\Users\your_username\AppData\Roaming\Avid
1 Open the Avid folder at the location above.
2 Delete the files contained in this folder.
3 Empty the Recycle Bin.
Can't see the AppData folder?

AppData is normally hidden. Enable the option to show hidden files and folders in Windows, then return to the location above. Once finished, you may wish to hide protected folders again to reduce the risk of accidentally deleting system files.

WIN 7

Windows 7 — Pro Tools 11/12+

Navigate to:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Avid
1 Locate the Pro Tools folder.
2 Delete the Pro Tools folder.
3 Empty the Recycle Bin.
Can't see the AppData folder?

Open Folder and Search Options, select the View tab and enable Show Hidden Files and Folders. You can turn this setting back off once you have finished.

◉

Windows — Pro Tools 9 & 10

Three locations need to be checked.
1

Delete Volumes

Go to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Avid\Pro Tools\Databases\Unicode

Delete the Volumes folder.

2

Delete DAE Prefs

Go to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Avid\Pro Tools\DAE\

Delete the DAE Prefs folder.

3

Delete Pro Tools Preferences

Go to:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Avid

Delete the Pro Tools folder, then empty the Recycle Bin.

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Windows Vista & Windows XP

For older Digidesign-era Pro Tools systems.
5 STEPS

Windows Vista / XP

The process is slightly longer on these older systems. Work through each of the following locations in order.

1 For Pro Tools 8.0.2 and below, go to the C: drive and delete the Digidesign Databases folder.
2 Go to C:\Program Files\Digidesign\Pro Tools and delete the Databases folder.
3 Go to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Digidesign\DAE and delete the DAE Prefs folder.
4 Go to C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data and delete the Digidesign folder.
5 Empty the Recycle Bin.
Important for HD / Toolkit users

If you are using Pro Tools HD, DV Toolkit 2 or Complete Production Toolkit, back up your catalogs before deleting the Databases folder.

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Mac Users

Instructions depend on your version of Pro Tools.
PT 11/12+

Pro Tools 11/12+

1 Go to Macintosh HD → Library → Preferences.
2 Delete com.avid.ProTools.plist.
3 Go to Macintosh HD → Library → Preferences → Avid.
4 Delete the Pro Tools folder inside.
5 Empty the Trash.
PT 10−

Pro Tools 10 & Below

1 Go to Macintosh HD → Library → Application Support → Digidesign and delete the Databases folder.
2 Go to your User folder and open Library → Preferences.
3 Delete com.digidesign.ProTools.plist.
4 Delete DAE Prefs, DigiSetup.OSX and Pro Tools Prefs.
5 Empty the Trash.
Using Mac OS X 10.7 or later?

To access the User Library folder, open the Finder Go menu while holding the Option key. The Library option should then become available.

Restart Pro Tools

Once the relevant preference files have been deleted and the Recycle Bin or Trash has been emptied, reopen Pro Tools. The application will recreate the preference files it requires.

If corrupted preferences were responsible for the problem, Pro Tools may now return to normal operation. You may need to restore some of your preferred settings after the reset.