Native Access Locate Product
Hey everyone,
I’m having an issue with the "Locate Product" feature in Native Access, and I wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing the same thing or has a solution.
The feature is supposed to help prevent unnecessary redownloads of content, but it only seems to work for Kontakt instruments and their libraries. It doesn't recognize expansion packs that I’ve already downloaded to my external virtual drive.
Here’s the thing: When I use Native Access to re-download an expansion, it automatically places the files on the external drive alongside the Kontakt libraries, which is fine. But when I try to use the "Locate Product" feature to point Native Access to these expansions, it doesn't recognize them as being there—even though they’re in the correct location.
This seems like a major issue because it’s causing unnecessary strain on Native Instruments' servers by forcing me (and probably others) to redownload content that’s already in place. It also results in redundant downloads for users, which is really frustrating.
If Native Access is automatically downloading expansions to the external drive, why can’t the "Locate Product" feature detect and recognize them there? It just doesn’t make sense.
Has anyone else encountered this, and is there a fix? Or can we get some attention on this issue to help improve the software?
Thanks!
Comments
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Native Access has never supported Locate on Expansions. Nor will it.
I guess I am a bit confused on why you need to redownload anything. Are you changing locations and disks all the time?
Why not just download once and use once?And Native Access already knows where everything is once it installs anything - not understanding this
VP
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"Native Access is an administration tool for product activation, installation, and updates for all Native Instruments products." If its for all native instruments products its should work properly for all native instruments products. Meaning the locate tool should be able to locate any native instrument product not some. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of being used for "all" its products.
What if there is an update to an expansion pack? If Native Access does not recognize I have it downloaded already how can I expect it to update it?
Why re download? It's the only way to get native access to recognize where my machine expansions are. If I leave it as it is then it shows there is a bunch of stuff I need to install.
Does machine or kontakt use native access to tell them what products I have? Well I can certainly add user files. But it seems that it does because currently machine 3 is only showing the expansion packs that I re downloaded through native access. Yet I own all of native instruments machine expansions and they are in my virtual drive. I can only conclude what native access see's as content that I have downloaded is what it machine and kontakt see. I don't know if that is true but it is certainly what I am currently seeing in machine 3.
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Have never seen an update for an Expansion. Like ever.
And I have at least 85% of all expansion and once installed - always installed. Present and an accounted for with Native Access (v3.17).
You did not mention what version if NA you are using. Or your OS. Or when this started to occur or why.
OR - what exactly a “virtual drive” is.
And yes. Both Maschine and Kontakt get all their marching orders from NA.
Seems like you have a major (possibly non-standard) installation issue there and it might be time to consult NI support.Your issue is still hard to grasp as Expansions are just about the most reliable (might I even say boring) when it comes to install issues within NA
VP
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"Have never seen an update for an Expansion. Like ever." search the forum you will see others have mentioned the updates.
"And I have at least 85% of all expansion and once installed - always installed. Present and an accounted for with Native Access (v3.17)." perhaps you don't have the expansions on a virtual drive and have not had to restore/reset or replace your computer.
"You did not mention what version if NA you are using. Or your OS. Or when this started to occur or why"
I just replaced my pc so it just started. NA 3.17.0. Based on your previous response when it started does not matter because apparently "Native Access has never supported Locate on Expansions. Nor will it." I assume its always been that way right?
"Your issue is still hard to grasp" It's not hard to grasp that native access should be able to locate my already downloaded expansions without me downloading them again so it can know where they are.
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Your PC looks fine. As does NA.
But you did not explain what a “virtual drive” is.I install all my product to an internal NVMe on a custom workstation and have never had an install issue with any Expansion ever.
You should also screen cap your NA Preferences-File Locations dialog so I can see that too.
Also since I am still confused - show me an example of NA not being able to “recognize” a newly downloaded Expansion “being there” I have no idea what this means.Finally - do not bother using Locate on Expansions. NA does not support it and there is nothing more to say on it
VP
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A virtual drive is a cloud drive. My virtual drive shows up on my pc as another hard drive. Much like an external drive does. I use pcloud for my virtual drive. My library is almost 8 tb. My previous pc only had 4 tb storage. Regardless, it does not seem to matter. Native access requires me to re download the expansions because it is not smart enough to know where they are. It a huge waste of resources that can be easily fixed. By the way I forgot to mention. If you click on an expansion pack in na you can click on release notes to see what updates the expansions have had. I don't have to download my kontakt library, na will locate it. Yet it will not do the same with the expansions. Native access should not work that way.
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Ah well that solves that. Cloud drives are not supported.
If you want any semblance of success - all your content must be local.Either an internal drive or external USB. Sitting right beside your machine.
Native Access is much more than just an install tool - it handles authentication of your licensing as well. Can’t have licensed content on an encrypted cloud drive on the internet.Glad we cleared that up.
VP
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If what you are saying is 100% true then how did it locate my kontakt library on my virtual drive? How did kontakt and machine work previously on my old computer? I should have never been able to do those things based on what you mentioned.
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Do not know as I have no knowledge of your system. Maybe Kontakt can handle such a scenario and Native Access cannot.
But if you really want the slowest possible performance ever - and watch NA not find your content day after day - by all mean continue to use a cloud drive.
Have to be honest - I have seen a lot of configs in my time but this is the first time I have ever heard of someone doing this. And have been doing this since 2001.
If installing anything via NA to a cloud drive is a supported scenario - that is news to me.
Continued successVP
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For optimal performance, it's advised to use a dedicated internal drive with enough space for your libraries. However, access to my samples instruments etc.. using machine and Kontakt are not the issue. My virtual drive allows for offline access to files along with online.
The issue that was brought up in the original post is concerning native access having the ability to locate my expansion packs. You are absolutely wrong in saying "Native Access cannot" it clearly can.
My instruments show installed on my virtual drive. I did not have to reinstall them. Native access located them. I just had to reinstall my applications which cannot go on an external drive. That is to be expected
For someone that has been doing this since 2001 you are making big statements about what is and is not possible, and much of it is incorrect. The fact is the entire thread is a big non sequitur wrap in a red herring. The real issue that I am trying to be addressed is the lack of support for locating expansion files on a drive that native access is clearly re downloading the files to.
If it does not support the expansion being on that drive why is it downloading them to that drive? Makes absolutely no sense. If it downloads them to that drive, it should be able to locate them in that drive preventing me from downloading them.
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I figured out how to fix the issue. In C:\Users\Public\Documents\Native Instruments\installed_products the .json files for the expansions are missing. Since native access does not create them for the expansions unless it downloads the files, they can be manually created using a text editor. Here is what I did
Deep Matter is currently in my p drive with my other library. Since the locate tool will not allow me to tell native access where it is and it will not do it automatically
Go to
Go to C:\Users\Public\Documents\Native Instruments\installed_products
Next open an expansion pack .json file that has been downloaded to use a template. Right click the file and open with notepad.
copy what is there then go to file and open a new tab. paste what you copied into that new tab.
next go back to native access and click on the 3 dots to open the release notes.
Take note of the release version number.
Next take note of the way the file is named on the drive your expansion is located on
Then change the name and the version to match on the notepad
click save as and saved the file in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Native Instruments\installed_products after you have named the file like the file in your external drive and put .json after the name
Now deep matter was labeled deep matter library in my library but I found if I add the term library it does not work. So just put the name without the library if yours is like mine.
click the refresh button in native access then it will show install without having to redownload it. What I learned is until this issue is fixed I should have all the .json files previously on my old computer before I restore, reset or replace it. It takes a bit of time to add the .json files and it can be avoided if you just save them to your external drive with the rest of your library. Then you can just add them to the correct folder and native access will see your expansions. However, for me it was still quicker to create the .json files for each of the expansions than it was to re-download each of them. Hopefully in the future this issue will be fixed. Hopefully this helps someone else. Don't know if it works for other native access versions but it did for 3.17.0 at least on my end.
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This is the clever solution. And the faster too!
This is what i also do, more or less (in my case i also correct the registry paths).
I have already posted a similar solution maybe 2 or 3 times… Other members too.
Yet, 90% of the users do not search for such solutions and they ask again and again. They either unable to do such things, either too afraid with the imaginary idea that "they may harm their system" (no matter if restoring Windows today is just 2-3 clicks and less than an hour of automated by the system, work).
I may blame them for such ignorant choice (as users) but i am with them, as customers and as potential artists. People should never be forced to do such jobs for the things that they paid and it is a total responsibility of Native Instruments to fix such issues!
Anyway, thanks for posting this, and congrats for your choice to be a power user and not an ignorant one. 🙏
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"If it does not support the expansion being on that drive why is it downloading them to that drive?"
I think you are misconstruing my meaning on "support". Of course - NA will do exactly as you tell it to and will try to install your content to where ever you tell it to. Whether that location makes sense or not.
And you just highlighted the solution yourself:
Nowhere here does it say "We recommend installing your content library to an Internet location like "OneDrive". Or "iCloud". Or "PCloud".
Again - I must be completely misunderstanding how PCloud works.
But if it is like any other cloud service where your content is not local to your machine and is actually stored on a remote server - on the Internet - you will have issues (eventually) especially when it comes to speed and reliability - not to mention zero ability to work offline.
VP
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I wish I would have found your post sooner. Could have saved me a bunch of time. If you could link it here as well. This is my first thread in the forum. I am not sure if there is a way to tag this to help other users find it. Glad to get confirmation its an issue for other users and not just me. Well kinda, we should not have to do this sort of thing. It's an easy fix on the coding side.
I did run into other issues. I found a few folders spelled wrong on my drive. Which boggles my mind because I did not create those files in the first place. One of the .json files I created I had to add library to the name because it would not see it without the word library. When you type the release number in wrong then it shows up in na that it needs to be updated. There was a few that I looked at my release info and typed it correctly but it still went into update. Looking at the version number it was higher than what I seen on the release in my library. I assume there was some updates I missed1 -
All your step were very correct.
About the word "library", it is true. Some library names changed when updated, from "Instrument One" to "Instrument One Library" (not a real name, just an example), but without any warning. This was a poor choice. Because somehow the old names wasn't replaced everywhere (thus the problems).
I also don't like to see this "library" at the end. We know it is a library, it doesn't have to be written too! 😋
About my comment… well, it is really impossible to search through 3000+ comments, so…. 😉
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