1 Topic by wildthing (edited by wildthing 2011-06-30 23:38:10)

  • Registered: 2011-06-08
  • Posts: 38

Topic: Prevent Totalmix and Fireface USB Settings apps auto-running on login

Is there any way to prevent the apps "Totalmix.app" and "Fireface USB Settings.app" from running automatically when a specified user logs in to OS X?

The reason I ask is because in my setup, only one user uses these apps, and they are responsible for leaving Totalmix in a usable state for iTunes playback when finished. The other users do not use these apps (they just play iTunes etc) - and they wouldn't understand these apps anyway - so their presence in the OS X dock is an unnecessary distraction.

Of course you can quit the apps and they disappear from the dock - but then they appear again the next time you log in (despite not showing up in System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items). Hence my question.

Also, even if different users do decide they want to use Totalmix, its behaviour with multiple users seems slightly weird anyway: if I reboot my system, log in as user A, change something in Totalmix, then log in as user B, and change something in Totalmix, then when you switch back to user A, Totalmix says it is "disconnected" and you have to restart it to do anything. Then when you log in as user B, Totalmix says it is "disconnected" and you have to restart it to do anything. Then when you log in as user A again, Totalmix says it is "disconnected" and you have to restart it to do anything, and so on. This doesn't really cause a problem - just seems a bit buggy - but I mention it because this behaviour leads me to think that running Totalmix (and/or running it automatically on login) should be something you explicitly choose to do, rather than being forced to do as you are currently.

Finally, is there any reason "Fireface USB Settings.app" is not implemented as a panel under System Preferences > Other, as at least some other audio interfaces do with their settings apps? Then it wouldn't need to appear in the dock at all.

  • Registered: 2008-01-01
  • Posts: 3,025

Re: Prevent Totalmix and Fireface USB Settings apps auto-running on login

Guess you could just move the autostart/plist files from the general Library to your user Library?!

  • Knut
  • Knut
  • DAW Mastermind
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 1,618

Re: Prevent Totalmix and Fireface USB Settings apps auto-running on login

The Babyface needs TotalMix to get all settings and routings from it. Before the setup starts on the host computer it could not do anything and just waits. If users could disable the automatic start they would end up with a not working interface.

best regards
Knut

  • Registered: 2011-07-15
  • Posts: 3

Re: Prevent Totalmix and Fireface USB Settings apps auto-running on login

@Timur: Thanks for the hint! Although I just tested this for a few minutes, it seems to work perfectly.

I use a separate OS X system user for all my audio stuff.
So one user for browsers, mailclients, office stuff and so on, and one very clean user without any network connections, just for audio.
While on stage I'd never think to login with both users at the same time, I enjoy doing so on my daily workflow.

TotalMix seems to crash the audio driver or something in the core audio system when being started up while it was already started by another user.
The only way to get the audio system running again seems to be a reboot of the whole machine.

To avoid this, moving the files:
/Library/LaunchAgents/de.rme-audio.firefaceAgent.plist
/Library/LaunchAgents/de.rme-audio.firefaceUSBAgent.plist
to
/Users/MyAudioUsersName/Library/LaunchAgents/de.rme-audio.firefaceAgent.plist
/Users/MyAudioUsersName/Library/LaunchAgents/de.rme-audio.firefaceUSBAgent.plist
came in really handy.

@Admin Knut: I do not mind, if my office-user can't use my UFX at all. I'm even glad for any chance not hearing some auto-misconfigured skype message alert on my main sound system.

btw: 'Fireface Mixer' does not seem have this issue. Before I upgraded from FF400 to UFX, the two user setup worked without any crash for several years.