Hi everyone,
I am experiencing a persistent system failure with Kontakt 8 Player (v8.8.1) on an M3 Mac (macOS Tahoe 26.3) and need help breaking out of a loop that standard troubleshooting hasn't fixed.
Issue 1: Total Audio/Sample Blockage
- Symptoms: Zero audio output when clicking virtual keys or using an external MIDI controller (Launchkey).
- Observation: The instrument header consistently shows Memory: 0 and the Purge boxes appear as gray dashes.
- Engine Behavior: Clicking "Reload all samples" in the Purge menu does nothing. The disk-streaming engine does not engage.
- Note: MIDI input is confirmed working as keys light up in the GUI.
Issue 2: Persistent "DEMO" Status & Failed Activation Link
- Native Access Status: All products are listed as "Installed," with no indication that they are deactivated or require repair.
- Broken Link: When the 15-minute demo period expires, clicking the "Activate" button in Kontakt fails to trigger any action or navigation in Native Access.
What I Have Already Tried:
- Manual Cleanup: Deleted
/Users/Shared/Native Instruments and license-related .plist files. - Background Services: Force-quit
NTKDaemon and cleared related Application Support folders. - System Permissions: Verified Full Disk Access for Kontakt 8, Native Access, and
NTKDaemon. - Reinstallation: Performed a clean reinstall of Kontakt 8 Player via Native Access.
- M3 Specifics: Tried running Kontakt 8 via Rosetta; no change.
- Workflow: Always launching the Standalone app before the DAW (Pro Tools).
I am looking for any advice on why the audio engine (Memory: 0) and the activation system are failing simultaneously on this hardware/OS configuration.
