I'm running Logic 10.5.1 on Catalina.

When I first installed it, everything was OK. Then I downloaded all the additional sound files.

Doesn't matter what I do now, New project, old project, new midi file start a new track. They are all the same. The Playhead is missing and the scrolling doesn't work as you play.

I've been trying on and off for a week, been through all the Logic posts, nothing fixes it.

Any ideas or do I just go back to 10.4?

 

R.click on the transport/time area at the top of the Arrangement page.
The options are all in there.
Additional content wouldn't affect this, but it sounds like your default project from your 10.4 days is now different when you changed to 10.5.
Get it how you want it, and Save As Project Template, or whatever it's called.

 

Check to see if Logic's audio preferences are set correctly. I am assuming by playhead you mean the actual line that moves across the screen and the start marker, and not the transport control panel.

Additional content wouldn't cause an output error, at least I've never seen it do that.

If Logic has no audio device to output to or it just guessed wrong it would not be able to load a playhead since it does not recognize how to output audio.

 

Tried both of the above - No change. Even in Score View there is no playhead, but everything is playing fine. you just can't follow in Score View.

 

OK. I didn't know you had audio just no graphics.

Do your meters in mixer panel work?

Can you try making a new account and opening a fresh Logic project on the new account and see it works (this isn't a solution it's just a diagnostic aide.)

Have you updated MacOS recently?

You might have to delete you Logic preferences.

Quick tip about old projects and newer versions of logic. It's safer to make a new empty project and import your old one into it, et all the data but only import the setting you need.

https://support.apple.com/guide/log...settings-from-other-projects-lgcpce085447/mac

 

The meters in the mixer work.

This is a complete NEW install of Catalina. 16GB RAM on VMware Workstation on Windows 10. It's a complete new install of Logic Pro 5.1.

I reinstalled Logic Pro (but I didn't remove the previos one.

I have another VM running High Sierra and LP 4.8 on the same computer (NO they aren't both running at the same time) and that works 100%.

If I create a new Project and add either an Audio OR an instrument track, there is NO playhead at all.

I'm going to create a new VM and start over. If it's still the same then I'll try installing Mojave and see if that is screwed as well.

BTW in both cases SIP and the MRTd were consuming 100% CPU and disk thrashing for almost an hour after booting, so I disabled SIP and removed MRTd (I have a VERY good firewall)

 

Maybe this causes issues? Although I'm not familiar with it (I just have a Mac).
10.5.1 only works on Mojave 10.14.6 or higher (Catalina) so there are OS related restrictions to make it work properly.

 

Yes, it's the CPU. Logic 10.5 will only work on computers with LGA 1150 CPU and not on LGA 775 (my High Sierra Hackintosh). I bought an LGA 1150 Asus Prime B250 Pro Motherboard and an i7 CPU. The idea was to install Mac OSX on the B250 Pro as a VM with 16GB RAM rather than the Hackintosh with only a max of 8GB RAM.

I've got 64GB RAM in the new board, so I could throw more memory at it, but it isn't necessary. It works fine (except for the missing playhead).

I installed HS on the new board as a VM. It works perfectly - better than it did on the Hackintosh, but I thought it better to try to update to the latest? (there will never be a latest, they make sure of that), so I went for Catalina. So far after getting rid of SIP and MRT it works fine EXCEPT for Logic, which is the main reason that I want a Mac for. The PC is running Win10 with W10Privacy to get rid of all the spyware and telemetry. I also have a second drive on the same PC with Win7 and that works fine as well.

I did think of installing a Hackintosh on a third Hard Drive, but it's such a hassle rebooting all the time and getting kexts for a Hack, isn't easy, so that's the reason for the VM

 

@WillyA Agree. It must be hardware related. I have 2 machines running Catalina and LPX 10.5.1 . The first one is an iMac (2017) working flawlessly. The other one is a MacPro 3,1 (2008) everything works ok but in LPX I have some serious lag when I move things etc. I found out it was graphics related. I may installed wrong kexts etc. So here is the workaround. Right click on LPX icon in applications and get info. Then you might find a checkbox "open in low resolution" . Try if that works. Who knows. In my case everything was fixed

 

Ah yes, of course. Last year I bought my iMac v2019 because Logic resulted in a lot of glitches and graphic errors on my iMac mid 2011 (although bought in 2012). This was already the case with an earlier Logic X version so that means 10.5.1 needs even more resources!

 

I think it's a config issue. I can run Logic 10.5.1 pretty well on my 8 year old Lenovo T530 Hackintosh.

Update to 10.15.7!

 

The Logic playhead is also very famous for being a low priority, load last thread that can be shunted if a high amount of system resources are being used. This also happens in DP to an even bigger degree & FXP so it's probably a class or some boilerplate in Apple's Dev toolkit. I don't think this is your problem though.

The reason I asked if you could load an instance of Logic in a new account was to see if it was a preferences issue that was loaded with your old project. You seem like you are technically savvy enough to find all Logic preference lists and delete them, which would do the same thing. These files do presist through new installations in the Library, they can get purged on a product or major OS update as all programs reset and the OS generate new plists.

I am not very familiar with the intricacies of VMs and Hackintosh, I've set up a a few out of technical curiosity of the inner workings of fBSD and Quartz/Metal but they've never lived for more than a few days before the boxes they ran went back to Linux as utility machines.

If you had a playhead before you loaded the old project, but now no longer do I would look at Logic plists and resource usage at time of play. Logic can refuse to load its playhead if too many things are still loading or being initialized on first play, but it usually comes back if you let a project load completely and then start transport.

As the playhead had worked on that install previous to you loading an old project this would seem to rule out any innate hardware problem, though there could be problems with VM pass through, it seems like a low probability issue and not something I am very familiar with. I know MacOS has issued with VT-D sometimes but I have no in depth knowledge on the issue & no burning desire to acquire any.

I wish you luck and please do let us know what happens.

#
I have a liquid problem too much liquor at night and not enough coffee in the morning

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2020

Oh and just a guess. Tomorrow Apple will probably unveil Big Sur. So there is a great chance that many apps get a refresh. Maybe Logic is one of them. Will we see a 10.6? Don't know. And even if we do, I don't know if this will help your problem. Btw you may also try to flush the preferences (can't remember now how but it's a plist file somewhere in preferences I think. (google it, it's easy to find it)

 

Maybe try this what fixed logic for me
https://audiosex.pro/threads/help-logic-not-working-at-all.55487/

 

I worked for Novell EMEA 3rd Line Support. I was an MCNE and a CNI as well as an MCSE and the company I worked for as a part time tech support after I retired, were VMware partners, so I'm also a VTSP. Never went past ESX 6. I'll soon be 80, so learning lots of new skills is good, but slower than the old days. It's always nice to know that there are places that can jog the aging gray cells!

I've tried everything, but the playhead has said goodbye. I'm busy doing a second clean install of Catalina. I will install a new version of Logic Pro 5,1 (it doesn't work on Mojave, so that's out) and IF I can keep a playhead, I can compare the two machines and see if I can find the problem.

I'll certainly keep you updated

 

Now for the fun bit. Fresh Catalina install. 1GB Video Ram, 16GB RAM, 200GB Hard Drive. 1680 x 1050 display.

Clean install Logic Pro X 5.1. NO additional instruments added. I created a blank project and added an Instrument track. Played and recorded a scale in C Maj on the QWERTY Keyboard. NO Playhead. On playback NO Playhead. Everything else with Catalina seems OK,

Logic Pro 5.1 is a BIG bug. I see the only option will to carry on with HS until they release a new update. Looking on the web it seems that the playback head ans been an unsolved problem for quite a few versions.

Unless anyone has a VERY bright idea. I give up. Logic Pro 5.1 is junk on VMware

 

Good to know, sorry to hear. We didn't know you were hackintosh until your third post.
Shouldn't this thread be moved to 'Hackintosh' forum?

 

He's not running a Hackintosh. He tries to run macOS as a virtual machine in VMware under Windows. The main problem is that there is NO graphics acceleration due to the fact that there is NO fully working graphics driver available for any VM. So any software that needs some kind of acceleration won't work well. I'm running Hackintoshes since 2008, and a properly set up Hack will work just like a "real" Mac, but running macOS in VWs is really just experimental.

The other problem is that since Logic Pro 10.5, they seem to have changed some graphics frameworks or anything like that, as some (mostly older) plugins which work well until 10.4.8 have no GUI at all in 10.5 or 10.5.1 or are extremely sluggish, Korg Triton for example. I'm back on 10.4.8, which runs perfectly well on High Sierra 10.13.6 on my main Hack and on Catalina 10.15.7 on my MBP. I also tested it on Mojave 10.4.6 on my Hack, which was also running fine, but i had some other problems with Mojave, so i went back to 10.13.6.

 

Last edited: Nov 9, 2020

Right. But as such, this is still not a normal Logic setup because it's in a VM on Windows!
So it doesn't fit perfectly in this particular forum, imo. That was my point.
And the OP didn't divulge this difference until their third post, whereupon the source of the problem becomes more apparent, especially to a Logic user of 20+ years.

 

So the bottom line is this :
Apple keep releasing new versions and like Microsoft, collude with Intel to force people to upgrade their hardware. Then they make sure that its more and more difficult to get software not from Apple Store and Microsoft are heading in that direction as well.

It's rumoured that Intel are working on yet another CPU 'upgrade' and both companies will make sure that the latest releases and subsequent software development will force users to buy more expensive hardware to tun it.

My Hackintosh works fine. I researched building one on my ASUS B250 but the chances of gettin everything to work seemed unlikely. I think my days with Apple and Logic Pro look bleak. Studio One works fine on Windows 10 (it also works well on a Virtual Win10) so one plus to Studio One and a big MINUS to Logic in that respect.

The part of the forum is about DAWS, or so it says and this entire problem related to a DAW and not to a Mac, a Hackintosh or a VM. The underlying hardware may well be the problem but it's the DAW that isn't working, NOT the underlying hardware.

Let's close this thread. I have deleted Catalina. I'll stick with Studio One.