After Rebooting Computer, Logic Pro can't find the Kontakt Plug-In

Hello everyone,

I ran into a problem in Logic Pro 11.2.2 in MacOS Sonoma 14.7.5:

I have a project that has been working great, uses 3 plugins (Ivory, Kontakt 8, and Superior Drummer 3). But now this Logic project can't find Kontakt, but still can find the other two plug-ins.

$Background:

Playback was suddenly crackling, so I closed Logic, rebooted the computer, power cycled the Audio Interface (RME) and the laptop came back online. This crackling has happened before on another project; I don't remember but I think just rebooting the computer & Audio Interface cleared it up. BUT, this time after rebooting and opening Logic, I now get the following error:

'The plug-in named "Kontakt 8" isn't available on your system.

Choose another plug-in, or quit Logic Pro and install the plugin on your MacBook Pro in order to use it in the project’

$Confirming the Kontakt files are actually still present:

1) I’ve gone into //MacIntoshHD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/

In that folder, I have confirmed that the file “Kontakt 8.component” is still there:

2) All my plugin libraries (Kontakt, Superior Drummer, Ivory,etc) are on a 4TB external SSD. The path for Kontakt libraries on the external SSD is:

//MusicLibs/29 Kontakt 8/

The Kontakt folder is still there, and afaik, all the files present:

Kontakt Library Files (NKIs) still present.jpg

3) I’ve confirmed the same Logic project accesses the other two plugins from within the project, which live on the same SSD, so it shouldn't be some kind of issue of accessing the hard drive.

4) Mac's Disk Utility shows the external drive just fine. I ejected & re-connected the drive, no change. Drive shows up fine in a Finder window.

$Determining scope of error - Project level vs. Global (all projects) in Logic Pro:

The error occurs regardless of which project I open, including backup project files created previous to the error.

I have 9 backups of the Logic project, and each time I’ve opened any of them in Logic, the same problem occurs. So the issue is global to Logic Pro—the project file is not corrupted, there is something wrong in the Logic enviro. Here's an example:

$Steps Taken:

I’ve gone into Logic's Plug-in Manager, and the Kontakt entry is sitting there looking happy, compatible, and in use. So I "Reset & Rescanned Selection", closed/opened Logic, no change. So went back to Plug-In Manager and did "Full Audio Unit Reset", closed/opened Logic, no change.

$Tentative Conclusions

A) It appears that the error is in the Logic Pro environment. Perhaps the “Kontakt 8.component” file is corrupted component file?

B) Or maybe some config file used by Logic Pro?

C) Perhaps a required file in the Kontakt folders on the SSD is corrupted?

Does this mean I have to reinstall Kontakt? Does anyone have thoughts about cause, and suggestions for fixes please?

Thanks so much!

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Accepted answers

Filote

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/257085#Comment_257085

Wow. It's fixed!!!!!!! A definite WOOT from me. HUGE thanks to Jordi from LogicProHelp usergroup, and DunedinDragon from the NI usergroup, and all the others that contributed along the way.

Turns out, I had a plugin file (Kontakt 8.component) in both the global /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ folder and the user-level folder. The working enviro only had one plugin in the global. So moving the plugin file out of the local tree solved the problem.

Jordi gave me the idea of creating a new admin user, then seeing what happens in the new environment. DunedinDragon gave me the idea to check file permissions, which put me on the trail of an exhaustive comparison of all the associated files I could think of.

It's a mystery how the extra plugin file got there, because the only reason I was mucking around in those folders was trying to figure out the problem, that seems to me like originated when I rebooted the computer.

I no longer care how it got there, lol. THANK YOU everyone for your help!

All comments

Filote

Update:

Tried uninstalling and reinstalling Kontakt TWICE, problem still there. Also found that the Kontakt standalone app is acting VERY funky. (Not that I care, I just want the Logic Pro plugin to work) I mention this here, it's helpful for more troubleshooting info).

I'm trying to open a ticket with NI support…but their chatbot says it's opening a ticket, then nothing happens. (No confirmation email)

Anybody got some ideas?

Thanks!

Filote

OK, here's a recap of where I am:

I've opened a ticket with Native Instrument's tech support. Here's what I've tried so far:

2026-02-08

Same errors as before:

Logic Pro can’t find Kontakt plugin; Kontakt standalone app behaving badly (Misrouted audio out, not accepting input from external MIDI keyboard)

STEPS TAKEN

1) Using Native Access, uninstalled Kontakt 8. (Deleted all the files listed by Native Access)

2) Rebooted Computer

3) Native Access came back with “Repair” option for Kontakt:

01 Kontakt Needs Repair after uninstall.jpg

4) Not sure whether to Repair or reinstall?

02 Repair or Reinstall-Which should I choose.jpg

5) I Chose Reinstall, now in Native Access for Kontakt, repair button changed to “Open” button.

TESTING Logic Pro:

1) Opened a different Logic project.

2) Added new software Instrument track

3) Went to select Kontakt, but it was not present in Logic’s list of Plugins:

03 Kontakt Not Included in Logic List of Software Instruments.jpg

4) Opened Logic’s plugin manager, discovered that the Kontakt checkbox for “Use” was again unchecked:

04 Logic Plug-In Manager Kontakt Not Used.jpg

5) Checked the checkbox, closed plugin manager, did not make Kontakt appear in Logic’s list of available plugins.

6) Closed and reopened Logic, went to plugin manager. Kontakt was again unchecked.

There is no way to add Kontakt to a Logic Pro project.

TESTING KONTAKT 8 Standalone App:

1) Launched Kontakt (Clicked Kontakt’s Open button inside Native Access).

2) Kontakt was empty, then did it’s own search to load some (but not all) of the instrument libraries.

3) Once the libraries were loaded, checked to see if one would play, by clicking the onscreen keyboard in the bottom of the Kontakt UI.

Same problems with accepting MIDI input, as well as problems routing audio out.

4) Tried a 3rd-party instrument: Clicked “Load” and loaded an instrument from:

//MusicLibs/29 Kontakt 8/3rd Party Libraries/Muletone_Brazil/Brazilian Series Repinique 1.3/Instruments/Repinique - Single Hits.nki

05 Location of NKI Instrument File to Manually Load.jpg

5) Instrument appeared to load fine in Kontakt

06 Muletone Software Instument Loaded In Kontakt.jpg

6) Same problems as step 3:

A - audio out from Kontakt routes ONLY to display monitor’s speakers, not to system audio, such as “Laptop Speakers” or “Fireface UFX II” (My audio Interface). Cannot change the audio out target.

B - Kontakt does not accept input from the external MIDI keyboard. Only the onscreen keyboard triggers sound.

7) Confirmed that MIDI input is good at the hardware level:

07 MIDI Monitor shows Good MIDI Input at hardware level.jpg

I don’t know what to try next.

Thanks very much, anyone have any ideas?

christophertmusic

I can see your detailed process of troubleshooting here. However, I notice one step is not included. When I have issues with a 3rd party plugin I always open a blank session and perform Reset and Re-scan Selection. Did you perform this step?

If so, I would look at methods to rescan all Audio Unit Plugins (AU).

I use a macOS tool called Onyx to delete the AU Cache, restart the machine and then have Logic recall all plugins again.

Steps:

Open blank session
Attempt Reset and Rescan of Selection

If this does not solve the issue:

Delete AU Cache (using provided methods) https://help.moises.ai/hc/en-us/articles/12545104486044-A-Step-by-Step-Guide-to-Clearing-Your-Audio-Unit-Cache
Restart machine (clears out required caches)
Launch Logic and let it rescan all AU Plugins
Once completed, check Plugin Manager for Kontakt 8 plugin enablement (if present)
Instantiate Kontakt 8 plugin on a track

Hope this helps

Regards,

Christopher

Jeremy_NI

@Filote You mention that the standalone Kontakt applicatioon was acting "funky" could you develop? What is happening exactly?

If you're having issues with the standalone app or the plug-in of Kontakt you should first try these steps: Kontakt Crashes

Also make sure that Logic and Kontakt have full disk access: How to Enable Full Disk Access on macOS

Filote

Thanks Jeremy, issues with Kontakt standalone resolved. Only thing left is the Plugin for logic not working.

I'll try your suggestions when I have time (hopefully this weekend). Thanks VERY much for the ideas!

Filote

Hi Christopher,

I don't have a link to reply directly to your great suggestions, sorry I had to put them down here. Thanks very much, i'll try these if I have time this weekend.

thanks again!

Filote

Hi folks, Here’s an update of my “progress” as of 2/10/26:

It turns out Native Instruments, without my asking, updated Native Access this morning. I now have NA 3.22.1

Using this, I uninstalled Kontakt. (From a list of files shown in Native Access that you need to delete — they do not have a software package to do the uninstall)

Then I backed up and deleted the plist file for Logic, at

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.logic10.plist

I reinstalled Kontakt (and again, Native instruments updated this as well, without my asking, from 8.8.0 to 8.8.1) So they are throwing variables into this effing mess.

With Kontakt installed, and Logic with no plist file, I started up Logic.

Logic went through the expected process of scanning the AU plugins, then asked some new install questions, like (Do you want to download more sound files?)

And after all that, we got this message:

11 Kontakt STILL not available (After new plist file built).jpg

SO same error, but different format for the dialogue box in which the error appears. Sure why not, lol.

And the worst part is, now my MIDI is not accepting input, from the hardware level. (I use an old utility called “MIDI Monitor”, it shows nothing incoming at the hardware level when I hit the keys of my Nord and my Hammond XK5.) I don’t know if this happened unrelated, or before and I didn’t notice it; but I don’t have time to troubleshoot right now.

I won’t be able to respond or test anything until this coming Saturday, so I’ll pick this up then.

There's still a few things to try that people have suggested, both here in this thread, and other user groups. Will try those this coming weekend if I have time.

Thanks for reading, and for any ideas you might have…

Jeremy_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/256413#Comment_256413

I reinstalled Kontakt (and again, Native instruments updated this as well, without my asking, from 8.8.0 to 8.8.1) So they are throwing variables into this effing mess.

Well, if you uninstall a plugin, then the latest version of it will show. Going from 8.8.0 to 8.8.1 doesn't change anyhting in your situation.

Can you make sure that the Kontakt 8.component is present in that folder? Macintosh HD > Library > Audio > Plug-Ins > Components

If so double check the full disk access thing.

Filote

Hi Jeremy,

Thank you for your comments and thoughts. It's great to have an admin involved, so thanks! All the MIDI issues are resolved—I neglected to set the settings to select the channel. newbie error 🙄

I have enabled Full Disk Access, no change. My thinking is that given everything was working perfectly with the system settings and enviro I had, it would less likely be a larger-scope enviro issue such as disk access.

The only thing that changed with the original reboot is that Kontakt updated itself to 8.8.0. Immediately after coming back up from the reboot is when the fun started. Though I used to be in tech, I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to looking under the NI hood. My understanding is limited to checking the obvious, and what people suggest. So it's certainly possible that the issue is deeper than I can check for. Last nite I sent a SupportToolExport.zip debug file to NI support group. Maybe this will uncover something…fingers crossed.

The very first thing I did (mentioned in the original post) was check for the Kontakt 8.component file. But with all the uninstall/reinstalls, that's a great idea to double check. It's there. 😔

I'm in the process of logging every single suggestion and result I've gotten from 4 different user groups. It's currently a Word doc, will convert to pdf and post when ready.

Keep those thoughts and prayers coming, please, thank you!

Filote

Here are some questions I'd like passed back to NI Support:

Has this problem ever occurred to someone else before? (Does NI’s support ticket tracking system, such as Heat, provide searching a database of previous cases?)

What was the fix in that/those case(s)?

Why did it happen simply by restarting the computer—could this be a case where some NI file(s) —that worked in 8.0— were updated by the restart (to 8.8.0), and broke the plugin system? (I’ve heard [2 or 3] people describe such an experience of Kontakt auto-updating causing their previously working Kontakt to stop working. Whether specifically plugins, I don't know.)

Are there Release Notes for the different versions of Kontakt/Native Access?

Maybe I should uninstall NI entirely, then start from scratch. If so, do I need to unregister the current install before I uninstall it, to preserve the ability to comply with licensing requirements. (Allowed on 2 machines, I think?)

How can I Uninstall the ENTIRE NI app/files/libraries, rather than just a few of the Kontakt-specific files?

Thanks Mucho!

Filote

Oh, maybe I missed one of your points, Jeremy. Please let me know if this clarifies:

I never "uninstalled a plugin" before the problems started. I'm referring to the Kontakt Standalone app. That and Native Access are the only things available for me to inspect version numbers. The reboot triggered an update from 8.0 to 8.8.0.

Are there additional bits of info exposed to the users for inspection, such as version number of the plugin/associated files?

Since that reboot updated the Kontakt Standalone version, it seems reasonable to me to imagine the plugin (or some other associated NI functionality?) got updated at the same time. Nothing proves this, I'm just looking for most likely scenario(s).

Also, I changed nothing of the Logic Pro install. I've stayed (and will continue to remain) on Logic Pro 11.2.2: It's very stable, has all the features I need. I've heard Logic 12 requires the latest MacOS, which slows down M1 machines. Who knows if this is another case of Apple trying to force more frequent hardware purchases. Yet, they're still the best game in town. I just wish their business model was like the old gold days. Heh, if Linux supported all the awesome Apple apps, I'd switch in a heartbeat.

OK, back on topic…

Thanks again,

David

Vocalpoint

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/256880#Comment_256880

"The reboot triggered an update from 8.0 to 8.8.0"

This is not possible.

All updates via Native Access are user driven (AKA - you must press Install or Install All).

Only Native Access itself - can refresh itself without user intervention.

Filote

Thanks for your thoughts, VocalPoint, I really appreciate it. btw, could you please tell me how I can repley directly, with quotes? I can't seem to find any buttons to do that.

I suspect either I'm misunderstanding you, or you might have misunderstood what I'm trying to convey. With Native Access open, I can install all the plugins I want. That's NOT the issue. It is the KONTAKT STANDALONE app (and in subsequent reboots, Native Access) that were updated by doing a restart. Not the plugins.

This behavior is documented with other user's experience. It appears that there is no way to choose whether/when to do an update of those two apps. I think NI just pushes it down to us, without any notice.

If I misinterpreted what you're saying, please clarify? Thanks very much!

DunedinDragon

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/256889#Comment_256889

First, clicking the little quote marks (") on the header of each post allows you to imbed that post in your response as I've done here.

Second, I think you're jumping all over the place trying to address different problems and I'd suggest you first make sure you have everything working correctly in Native Access before moving to problems in your DAW or Kontakt. The reality is, if Native Access isn't working correctly, it will affect all other parts of your work whether that's in the DAW or individually within Kontakt.

The primary issue in that regard is to check the NA's configuration which you can access by selecting File→Settings→File Management as shown below:

This is what all other applications (DAW, Kontakt, etc) use to conduct their operations. Ideally you only want to change the Content Location to point to the directory where you want new libraries to be installed and leave the Download Location and Application Location with their default values. This is especially true when you've added external SSD drives.

Beyond that you need to make sure your main Native Access screen is free of problems as shown below. If any plugin is showing any kind of error you need to correct it WITHIN Native Access, not in the file system using the options provided in Native Access for selecting the directory where the library resides. If any library has an error it's going to create problems in your DAW and running it standalone in Kontakt.

Trying to bypass this process by mucking about in the file system is only going to cause more problems. When I see errors on a library I'll check the configuration by selecting the three dots (…) on the library and correct it there by setting it to the appropriate file location.

All of these actions are vitally important to ensure your DAW and Kontakt will work. If Native Access is happy, EVERYONE is happy.

Jeremy_NI

@Filote When you update an app like Kontakt you also update the plug-ins. This is not the issue here. I would suggest to get in touch with our support to help you sort it out: https://support.native-instruments.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

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