Do I need to re-download all instruments if moving to Windows?

Chong

I planned to move to a Windows environment. All of my NI are installed on an external Sandisk drive. Do I need to re-download all of them once I'm in the Windows environment? Or should I just get a new external drive for Windows if in the future I like to move back to macOS?

PK The DJ

You don't need to remove anything. The license allows installation on two computers, as long as you are only using one at a time.

mykejb

What format is the Sandisk? If you're moving from Mac it's likely the disk is in a format that Windows can't natively read like APFS. If that's the case then a new drive is probably a lot easier if you don't mind the long downloads. You can get software to read APFS on a PC but it's not free. You can find the software here - APFS for Windows | Paragon Software

Chong

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/187295#Comment_187295

That is a good point. I believed it's APFS. I'll see if I can get another external drive then.

I should have no problem installing it onto a different computer as long as everything's removed on my current MacBook Pro, correct?

Thank you so much for the help, much appreciated!

PK The DJ

You don't need to remove anything. The license allows installation on two computers, as long as you are only using one at a time.

chk071

"All of my NI are installed on an external Sandisk drive."

Plugins as well? How is performance? I always thought USB is very slow compared to the internal SSD interfaces…

Chong

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/187463#Comment_187463

That's even better. Thank you so much!

DunedinDragon

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/187470#Comment_187470

I have both internal and external SSDs and I really can't see any major differences.