Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

Wondering if anyone would chime in here and give some suggestions as I'm out of options.

I have a MacBook pro Mid 2014 2.8GHz Model. Protools 2018.12 (model
11,3) 16 gigs ram. Im running mac os Sierra 12.12.6.
I keep getting loads of AAE -9173 errors constantly. To boot the computer and protools version are 100% approved by AVID!

I've done the whole AVID B***S*** system optimization rigamarole, have tossed prefs etc... nothings helped so far.

I also Have a late 2012 MacMini 2.6GHz ( which is a slower machine).
This Macmini with the same project -same RAM- same attached hard drives-same Mac OS (basically a clone of the laptop) NEVER gives me errors and runs super smooth.

I've had other issues with other Mac laptop years as well, specifically the 2015 MacBook Pro had major issues as well, hence why i sold it and bought the 2014 Model since AVID approve the model. Both above mentioned machines are approved by avid , my OS is approved, both computers have the same amount of ram etc... I've gone thru the avid system tweaks set up guide and made sure the laptop follows recommendations but I still get these errors; with the macmini none of this happens! whats going on? any ideas or suggestions?

Side note I had a 2012 core i7 17 inch lap top before and that unit was also rock solid. WTF? Youd think a 2.8 GHz unit would fit the bill.



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Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

Saying you have done “everything” tells us nothing about what you have actually done. So what my exactly have you tried? I will bet good money it is not *everything*.

Have you removed all third party plugin files from the plugin folder? Tried with new empty sessions? Tried from a new admin user account? Tested with a full clean macOS install? Tested with Built-In output? ... all fairly standard troubleshooting stuff.

When did the problem start? Did it ever work OK?

What interfaces are you using?


IO buffer size? Disk cache size? Sample rate? You tracking or mixing? .. some clues there would be nice.

Get disk cache set to several GB if you can. Ignore errors unchecked. Dynamic plugin processing not checked. Can you make the issue go away at very large IO Buffer sizes?



What exact model number/EMC code Macs do you have? What exact make/model/spec drives and where are your sessions and VI samples stored. The CPU speed is the least interesting spec, give us more useful info/specs for all your systems.

If your Mac mini is working great then one useful test is to clone its boot drive and boot the MacBook Pro from it and test with that.... grab a spare external SSD and this should be easy to do. You got Carbon Copy Cloner? Existing external backups (on fast disks) for the Mac mini ... try booting them on the Mac Book Pro. (Still need accurate Mac system info to know how best you should do that). ... saying you have “basically” a clone of the laptop is not helpful, you need to test with exact clones.

——

But the other issue here is 2019.5 is such a better release than 2018.x or 12 or 11... are you in a position where you can spend time testing that instead?

——

The last thing I would do is buy one Mac model vs another because it is on Avid’s near useless and very out of date approved hardware list. You will get much better advice if you just ask here. And please stop fixating on CPU clock speed.

Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

Thanks for your reply. Apprecaite the Insight.

I didn't do EVERYRHING...lol.. I did what avid suggested and I did put the exact model of the laptop in my post.
15" Mid 2014 MacBook pro. Intel core i7 2.8GHz.
Model identifier : MacBook Pro 11,3

Issues have always happened.
I installed a fresh OS didnt clone it from another computer ..

I'll try a new user account and I'll try booting off my macmini. See if that makes a difference.

I'm strictly mixing and I'm using max buffer size. I'm an audio post mixer. No VI in my sessions.

The laptop craps out on the same session where the Macmini doesn't.
I thought I was clear on that?

I am not running hardware just software PT 2018.12 Ultimate.
Using protools aggregate i/o
On the computers. I've tried other iterations of the native i/o no difference.

This is my remote rig.
My main mix rig works flawlessly and the macmini is also a remote rig , no hardware just software and that's flawless. All drives are SSD!!




Why would you turn off dynamic plugin hosting why would that make a difference. Wouldn't that suck even more CPU?

I'll go thru your list and try.. what a pain and time consuming BS!


Cheers

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Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

You should try disabling dynamic plugin processing because it can cause problems. I would not have suggested it otherwise :-)

AAE-9173 are not necessarily literally you are running out of total CPU, often it’s a very high speed glitch in the latency caused by something. Some plugins seem to have problems with dynamic plugin processing. I know developers that think it should never have been implemented. That may be one thing improved in 2019.5 (the first version I have left to run with dynamic plugin processing on).

What disk is the session on? In each case? “SSD” is not enough info, what make/model/spec and if in an external case etc how is it connected.

Sample rate? ... give some idea of session size/complexity?

Disk cache size?

Have you tried running the session off the internal boot SSD? If not you can try that. But importantly wherever the sessions are make sure the disk cache is set to a few GB at least and that when you start the session into memory watch the cache meter and make sure the session fully loads (meter goes green) with room to spare. Yep disk issues can trip up 9173 errors.

... but Plugins would be a first guess, so good you tested that. But to be clear the test you want to do is try moving all .aaxplugin files out of the plugin folder, trash prefs and restart Pro Tools, if you did not try that give it another go.

Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

And why are you using appregate? If you have the MBP then use the internal audio and try that if you dont have a interface. If you have a interface then use that units drivers and not PT aggregate. That is famous for causing issues.

Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

I've tried all output options honestly.. aggregate seems better than the internal output.

I'll take the time to try all these options your suggesting. Appreciate all the feedback.

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Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

As for trying out protools 2019.5; I didnt renew my subscription last December.. was fed up of paying and getting very little in return. I'll download a demo version and license and give it a go as well.

Thanks again.



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Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

Follow up.
Basically I did everything on this mac book pro that was suggested and the freaking lap top struggles and keeps crapping out. I updated to Mojave , I updated protools to latest version. I called avid tech support and bottom line that the avid tech told me ( and take this with a grain of salt ) the laptop doesnt have enough ram!

He's likely correct but it still doesn't explain why my 2012 late mac mini 2.6Ghz runs the same damn session where a mid 2014 Macbook pro 2.8Ghz unit is freakin useless ..

Bottom line I cant use the lap top for protools ! Major drag and I'm kinda pissed since on the avid site they approve the laptop.

My last attempt is going to run a seperate partition with windows 10 and see if it runs... would be funny if it does !

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Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

Details man...

"keeps crapping out"... what exactly does that mean? What AAE errors? what else?

What exactly have you done?

Did you do a full clean new install of Mojave or an in-situ upgrade? It is really important that if you are having lots of problems then don't fart around with in situ upgrades. You'll end up with a messed up system upgraded to a Mojave messed up system.

Did you remove all .aaxplugin files, actually 'mv' all the .aaxplugin files out of the plugin directory (/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins). Trash prefs and restart?

16 GB or RAM should normally be fine, you may have got somebody on the B team at Avid support. Do you have signs of memory exhaustion??? Running lots of VIs that might consume memory? Got VIs using memory servers/caches etc? Why were they worried about memory? Make sure other apps are not running (Google Chrome for example can be an awful memory pig), and make sure disk cache is not set to be a too large.

Re: Mac Book mid 2014 2.8 GHz 16 gigs ram
 

Hey there , I followed every single one of your recommendations. Too long to get into every detail. It was a lonnnnggg and arduous process and in the end a waste of my time. Frankly it's totally disappointing. I literally have to sell the unit its useless to me.


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