A Cry For Help...

[jj5000]

Playback and record always stops with cpu overload errors due to plug-ins.

It started on my macbook. I upgraded the ram and went through all the fix tutorials. Upgraded to Pro Tools 9.

So I got a new computer. A Mac Mini Server. I upgraded to 8GB of Gskill RAM. Its an i7 quad core.

I turned off all server functions and went through it on the phone with mac support. I called waves as the only non avid plug-ins I have is the certification bundle which is updated.

I've gone through every tutorial and fix including repairing permissions, full uninstall reinstall of PT 9, then 9.05 then 9.06, I've scoured the message boards looking for every fix I could find. I've used every possible combination of plu-ins and no plug-ins and still when I get to about five or six tracks BAM error messages. Cpu overload, too many plugins.

I've tried every playback combination of delay sizes combinations of CPU processing etc.

I am at my wits end and the problem has followed me from computer to computer, upgrade to upgrade of OS and PT software, still the problem comes back.

What could the problem be that keeps following me around? I've spent probably over a hundred hours trying to fix this and still no love.

Thanks for listening…

P.S.
Has anyone ever found out a way to speak on the phone to a person at Avid? God I don't know what to do.

[BradLyons]

Are you using an external firewire hard-drive that was designed and approved for audio use? If not, that is almost always the issue.....

[Obsidian Dragon]

Depending on the model of the Mac Mini Server, earlier model came with two internal 5400RPM drives which may be too slow as an audio drive for Protools. Later models came with two internal 7200RPM drives of which you should be using the second drive (non-OS) drive as the audio drive that you are recording to and playing back from. For now, your VI sample libraries should be on the OS drive (ideally on a third drive but that is a separate subject).

Another long forgotten tweak is the one to leave one processor core free to handle non-realtime processing and other OS related chores. In your quad core i7 based Mac Mini server that means to set your number of processors in the playback engine to 3 instead of the maximum of 4. I know this sounds counter-intuitive but it works in many cases is is really the optimum configuration for Protools.

Make sure you don't have other unnecessary background processes running like anti virus programs, or utilities that stay resident in memory (including time machine, wi-fi, bluetooth, etc.) Yeah, it sounds like crippling your machine of all it's features but Protools is a resource hungry application.

Keep us posted of any progress.

[jj5000]

Thanks for the responses!

Well, lets see.
I'm not using a firewire drive.
I've tried running the sessions/audio files on the second internal HD and the system drive. Interesting thing there is I get about the same amount of errors, one doesn't seem to be better than the other.

This is the later version of mav mini server with the 7200 RPM drives.

I've tried leaving one or two processors, (the quad is the eight processor), and leaving them at 85% and upping them to 99%, as I said in my post I've trid a bunch of combinations here.

I only use this machine for Pro Tools as I still have the old macbook for writing kindle reading browsing etc., no startup items, no anti virus, no time machine, tried it with spotlight indexing on and off, and remember the weird thing is I got these same errors when I was on the mac book.

Power of procs drives and RAM should not be an issue here, (I think), especially when five tracks start running into these errors, I'm pretty sure PT says they can handle more than five tracks? Jk...

Anyways I've been thinking it over and maybe to think outside the box here, (no pun intended), could it be my interface? I'm trying to think of the things that have followed the computers around. The computers changed but still the same old interface.

But I think the ultimate "try" to undergo is a complete re-install. See when I went from the macbook to the mini I did a profile migration so I may need to start this arduous task, but what could have migrated over that would only allow PT to max out at five tracks?

In the meantime out of desperation I have ordered up a new interface and PT 10 to try a couple of last troubleshooting steps.

Thanks again for the responses and any other ideas much appreciated!

-JJ

P.S. When running the sessions on the second drive is it recommended to have the entire session reside on the second drive or just linked audio files - or is this moot?

[capt kirk]

i'm guessing right away its using the internal drives. i have never touched my system/internal for anything protools related , and have had NOT ONE issue. also turn off wireless and timemachine etxc......i run 3 FW800 drives with video and Structure and audio, and never have messages or crashes. it may be the driver of your interfaxce too. try a different one.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by capt kirk

it may be the driver of your interfaxce too. try a different one

If it's PT9 just run it with the ilok to determine if the interface is having some kind of effect on the CPU (which it shouldn't)

I am kinda new to mac but doesn't it have the activity monitor in SL and above???? That should be able to tell you if ur really running too much CPU power or its a false indication.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by capt kirk

.....i run 3 FW800 drives with video and Structure and audio

Capt a quick question.....(not to hijack dear ole thread here but....)

You load your Structure samples on a 3rd Drive?

[Obsidian Dragon]

Originally Posted by jj5000

Playback and record always stops with cpu overload errors due to plug-ins.

Re-reading your original post, it seems that the error is complaining about something with plugins causing the CPU overload. Let start the trouble shooting there. You can move all your plugins into the unused folder first, restart, and then see how your system runs. If all is well, start putting one plugin back at a time and restart and test after each one. Ideally (or maybe not ideally) you will find one that seems to cause your issues. At least it will help isolate which plugin may be causing the problem.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Obsidian Dragon

Re-reading your original post, it seems that the error is complaining about something with plugins causing the CPU overload. Let start the trouble shooting there. You can move all your plugins into the unused folder first, restart, and then see how your system runs. If all is well, start putting one plugin back at a time and restart and test after each one. Ideally (or maybe not ideally) you will find one that seems to cause your issues. At least it will help isolate which plugin may be causing the problem.

+1

Good place to start

[jj5000]

Ok Dragon, et all...

I a m t i r e d :) but I've gone through the plug-ins using none, using all, using only what is instantiated in the session, not using only whats instantiated in the session, then only whats in the session and removing one by one.

Now' I have to do more testing before I'm completely satisfied but the only thing that is close to consistently causing the problem is the amp simulator "Eleven Free".

I love this plug-in and use it a lot for speaker simulation, distortion etc. so that would explain it's ubiquity in my sessions and misleading me into thinking it's not just one plug-in.

Now - what is it about the plug-in?
Well now comes the duh moment (maybe ). It's a mono plug-in and I'm using it on stereo tracks. Now wait a minute, before everyone gets the idea that this is a bad idea I have to ask why? I mean it seems like a bad idea to me too but again I would love to know why if this is indeed a problem? I know I could split the tracks into mono, but haven't tested this yet.

Now this is all assuming that this plug-in is the problem. I still have to do some more extensive testing and it's late and I have a headache.
BUT if anyone has any thoughts as always they're very welcome.

Thanks for now
-JJ