MPC1+ Creating Directory structure on SD card

I have read lots of posts and seen videos on file management on the MPC and still feel confused due to so many variations of opinion. Seems like AKAI have left a 'black hole' in this region. On initial setup of my new MPC1+ I followed the "MPC Software Package Installation Instructions" on the included card. (Standalone mode) all downloads have been sent to a formatted fast 200mb/sec SDcard

Checking the file structure on the external SD gives me a long list of files that don't have any top level grouping in named directories. However, looking at my internal drive shows several top level directories such as program/sequences/projects/samples... etc.

I'm assuming that this is the intended file structure as per factory setup, and that originally it was intended that downloads should reside internally within these recommended compartments. So my question is, should I have created these similar directories manually in the SD card and downloaded content appropriate to the named sections on the SD card? The advice appears to be 'leave internal drive as is' and send all to the SD directory.

Q1- I maybe all wrong here, but if this is the recommended directory structure, Akai have not made this clear that it should be duplicated on an external drive , so how do I rectify this and rearrange this content neatly? Can I delete the SD card content, create a meaningful structure and recover all the initial downloads?

Q2- I have downloaded on the SD card the stage piano plugin TRIAL. Initially, when I play back some (very basic) recorded midi, just four bars, no effects, straight non virtuoso playing. I can see the VU levels responding to the midi, but no sound, for at least six bars, ie one 4 bar loop and a bit more. Then I hear the piano suddenly cut in. Once played the delay does not return. This is very odd behaviour. I have a new Sandisk extreme pro card 256gb @200mb/second. BY all accounts this should be more than adequate to load this data. What is happening here, is the trial crippled somehow? Checking ram and resources shows 12% and 41% ram. 1 track 1 plugin, 1 sequence 4 bars. Seems a lot of ram for such a small amount of data.

Thank-you for your insights and advice.

Seems very quiet here!

Set up your SD card any way you want, the structure on the factory disk can be ignored and left as is. Most people just use it to store the existing factory expansions. On your SD card you'll need an 'Expansions' folder, likely a 'Synths' folder and folders to store your sound library and projects.

Your SD card has no bearing on content that is already loaded into memory, currently synth content is not disk streamed and most of Akai's plugins tend to load up a big blob of samples into RAM - not 41% though, I believe stage piano is around 20% per instance. I'm not sure what the problem is regarding the lack of audio, I thought the trials were fully functioning.

Save + reboot - is it still happening? Maybe post up a video showing the issue, perhaps from grid view.

Hey RickyBear,

Q1: Yeah, it's a bit confusing. To rectify the file structure, you can create the same top-level directories on your SD card as you see on the internal drive (e.g. program, sequences, projects, samples, etc.). Then, move the corresponding files into those directories. You can delete the existing files on the SD card and re-download the content if needed.

Q2: The delay in hearing the piano sound is weird. It's unlikely due to the trial being crippled, but rather an issue with the plugin or the MPC's processing.