With that many cables in play, it’s easy to unplug the wrong one. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there… and most of us are still there. Whether you’re connecting a new hard drive or another keyboard, it seems like we’re constantly plugging and unplugging devices in an ever growing pile of cable-spaghetti.

Solution: Download and Install the latest driver updates for your interface.Solution: Set your computer to never sleep using our Mac and PC optimization guides.It’s sorta like the OS kicks everyone out before it puts the drive(s) to bed. When this happens, the operating system un-mounts audio and MIDI drivers. #1 Cause: Your hard drive went to sleep. In order to save power, some computers will tell their hard drive(s) to go to sleep when not in use.If this happens regularly, check out these common causes… and how to fix them. The video below will show you how to set your playback engine in Pro Tools 9 and higher. Select your interface from the drop down menu at the top.

Click Setup and choose Playback Engine.

When Pro Tools switches to the built-in speakers instead of your interface, it usually means the Playback Engine has changed and you just need to switch it back. The Playback Engine is the device that Pro Tools will use for audio and MIDI input/output.

If Pro Tools is playing through your computer’s built-in speakers, check your Playback Engine settings.

How to play speakers through mic