[GJmoulder]

Hi, thanks for your advice. I have not used this forum very much so here goes. I will try and provide some info as required.
I am using a lenovo Ideacentre all-in-one desktop

intel(R)Core(TM)i7-6500U CPU @ 2.50GHz 2.59GHz
16GB RAM
64 Bit operating system, x 64-based processor
Windows 10
Pro Tools version 2020.11
Focusrite Clarett2Pre USB audio interface
My I-Lok USB stick and external hard drives (2tb & 7tb USB connections) are attached to the computer.
The error 9173 is coming up a lot on my current project. Granted, i am using a lot of tracks (instrument, audio and Bus aux tracks) but after explaining this to a PT advisor a few weeks back, this did not seem to be of consequence at that time regarding the 9173. I am using a processor speed of 44.1 and the only buffer size that lets me do any mixing is 1024. I have tried to use aux and bus tracks for any plugins, with usually just Eq and the midi instrument on the main track. As per Avid's instructions i tried optimising my system for Windows (driver updates Etc.) and re-booting the project with no plugins activated, then bringing them in one by one. Initially, EZdrummer2 seemed to be using quite a bit of CPU and they are looking now at a large 'Dump ' file i sent over to them I also deleted any plugins that i do not intend using from sources other than the stock plugins that came with PT. However, i do have two or three that are not from PT. i have checked to see if they are the culprits but nothing conclusive there either. Once again takin Avid's advice I then tried 'Optimising Processor Affinity for Pro Tools on Windows' still no luck. I also sent them a 'Windows system profile' and a 'Pro Tools Log file' I have has no feedback on that at all. I have also scoured YouTube and the internet in general for possible solutions to this but anything that that may have thrown a possible outcome was either too risky and involved for a novice like myself or just too complex to understand. I hope this information is helpful and thanks for coming back to me on this, Cheers, GJM