This guide will walk you through installing the Session Music Producer bundle using the included Session DVD on Windows XP* Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista 32-bit (No service Pack).  If you have Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista 32-bit Service Pack 1, or Windows Vista 64-bit, please refer to this installation guide.  If you are unsure of your exact OS version, please see this article.
 

PLEASE NOTE:  If you have already connected your M-Audio Producer USB Microphone to your computer, please disconnect it before beginning the Session software installation.  Leave the microphone disconnected until instructed to connect it.

Software and Driver installation from the DVD

1. Insert the M-Audio Session Music Producer DVD into your computers' DVD drive.  The computer will automatically display the install screen. If your computer fails to launch the installer, manually start it by clicking on Start > My Computer > SessionProducer.

Note: If you receive an error indicating your computer is not supported for Session at this time; please see this article to confirm you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Vista 32-bit (no Service Pack).  If you have Vista 32-bit with no Service Pack installed and are receiving this message, disable User Account Control.

2. Click "Next".  The License Agreement window will appear (see below):

3. Once you've reviewed the licensing agreement, click the radio button next to "I accept the terms of the license agreement", then click "Next".

4. Session Application, Session Content, and M-Audio Producer USB will all be checked by default; leave these checked and click "Next".

5. Click "Install". 

Note: Due to Session's large content library, installation may take up to 30 minutes.

Widows XP users may be notified that the driver being installed has not passed Windows Logo Testing.  Click “Continue Anyway” to proceed with the installation.

Windows Vista users may receive a Windows Security message indicating that Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software; Click "Install this driver software anyway".

6. When InstallShield Wizard Complete is displayed, click "Finish":

 
 

 Completing the Producer USB Hardware Installation (Windows XP) Vista users click here

1. Connect the Producer USB to an available USB port on your computer.

2. Shortly after connecting the Producer USB, it will display another Hardware Installation window and it will inform you that this driver has not passed Windows Logo Testing, click "Continue Anyways" to complete the driver installation.

IMPORTANT: When using the Producer USB with Session you MUST connect your headphones to the unit’s 1/8-inch headphone jack in order to monitor your audio.  Sound will NOT come out of your laptop or computer speakers if the Producer USB is connected to your computer.  After installing a new audio device such as the Producer USB, Windows designates this new device as the system default playback device.  If you would like to use your built-in sound card for playback from other applications such as Windows Media Player or iTunes, please see this guide.

If you wish to connect speakers to the headphone jack of the Producer USB, see this article.

3. Connect your headphones to the M-Audio Producer USB.

Once you have completed the installation procedure above, a red M-Audio icon (shown below)  will be visible in your system tray.  To confirm that the Producer USB is properly installed, right-click this icon to launch the M-Audio Producer USB control panel.

The Producer USB Control Panel can also be accessed from the Windows Control Panel when Classic View is enabled:

If the Control Panel is in Category View, click Switch to Classic View on the left-hand side.

If the control panel opens without problems and displays "connected" in the top right corner, this confirms that the Producer USB has been properly installed.  If the control panel shows "not connected", Windows may have loaded the Microsoft Class drivers instead of the M-Audio drivers, please see this article for steps on manually updating the driver.

Input Gain Control – This slider controls the level coming from the microphone.  If the input meters in Session are showing red, lower the input gain level.
Monitor Mix Control – This slider controls the level of signal from the microphone that is sent to the mic’s integrated 1/8-inch monitor output. This signal is blended with the output signal from Session.
Output Volume Control – This slider controls the level of output signal from your audio software.

For more information on the Producer USB Control panel, please refer to the Session Music Producer Quick Start Guide.

Continue below to verifying the ASIO driver setup in Session.

 

Completing the Producer USB Hardware Installation (Windows Vista)

1. Connect the Producer USB to an available USB port on your computer.

2. Shortly after connecting the Producer USB, it will display an “Installing device driver software” window.

3. When finished, it will display "Your devices are ready to use".

IMPORTANT: When using the Producer USB with Session, you MUST connect your headphones to the unit’s 1/8-inch headphone jack in order to monitor your audio.  Sound will NOT come out of your laptop or computer speakers if the Producer USB is connected to your computer.  After installing a new audio device such as the Producer USB, Windows designates this new device as the system default playback device.  If you would like to use your built-in sound card for playback from other applications such as Windows Media Player or iTunes, please see this guide.

If you wish to connect speakers to the headphone jack of the Producer USB, see this article.

4. Connect your headphones to the M-Audio Producer USB.

Once you have completed the installation procedure above, a red M-Audio icon (shown below)  will be visible in your system tray. To confirm that the Producer USB is properly installed, right-click this icon to launch the M-Audio Producer USB control panel.

This control panel  can also be opened by double-clicking the M-Audio Producer USB icon in the Windows Control Panel.

If the control panel opens without problems and displays "connected" in the top right corner, this confirms that the Producer USB has been properly installed..  If the control panel shows "not connected", Vista may have loaded the Microsoft Class drivers instead of the M-Audio drivers, please see this article for steps on manually updating the driver.

Input Gain Control – This slider controls the level coming from the microphone.  If the input meters in Session are showing red, lower the input gain level.
Monitor Mix Control – This slider controls the level of signal from the microphone that is sent to the mic’s integrated 1/8-inch monitor output. This signal is blended with the output signal from Session.
Output Volume Control – This slider controls the level of output signal from your audio software.

For more information on the Producer USB Control panel, please refer to the Session Music Producer Quick Start Guide.

Continue below to verifying the ASIO driver setup in Session.

 

Verifying the ASIO driver setup in Session

ASIO is a computer soundcard driver protocol for digital audio which provides a low-latency and high fidelity interface between a software application and a computer's sound card (Producer USB).  Follow these steps below to verify the ASIO setup in Session.

1. Double-click the Session shortcut on your desktop to launch Session

2. If the Audio Hardware window does not open automatically, open it by going to Options>Audio Hardware...

3. Select ASIO for "Driver Type", and select M-Audio USB ASIO for "Audio Device", then click "OK.

Session Music Producer is now successfully installed and ready to use!  For Session Tutorials, click the Help Menu in Session, select Open User Manual, then click Tutorials.

 

* Windows XP Home and Professional Edition only.  Windows Media Center Edition is not supported.