Resource usage in PTLE7.4?

[sunburst79]

Digi normally recomends Computer>HDD>Interface.

Were you to go Computer>Interface>HDD (which would seem to make more sense on the surface) and accidently turn off the interface or knock out the cable it could (will) lead to file corruption when the connection/power is interrupted to the drive. There may be other reasons but thats the best I have heard so far

[DigiTechSupt]

This is an interesting thread. I have the same computer (but with 1GB) and the thing can't run one instance of Revolver reverb without cr*pping it's pants and crashing. I know that Revolver is a convolution reverb and most likely a huge CPU hog but we're talking one instance. One instance! On a session with nothing but one track of audio and a mono aux. I swear that I got better performance from PT using an iBook 800 iwth 640MB of RAM. The good old days...

Which version of Pro Tools are you running? Which version of Revolver? Do you get any error messages? Have you tried all the standard troubleshooting?

[DigiTechSupt]

Digi normally recomends Computer>HDD>Interface.

Were you to go Computer>Interface>HDD (which would seem to make more sense on the surface) and accidently turn off the interface or knock out the cable it could (will) lead to file corruption when the connection/power is interrupted to the drive. There may be other reasons but thats the best I have heard so far

This is definitely the best way to do it.

Using a USB hard drive would definitely explain the high system overhead - USB is a very CPU intensive protocol.

[bad_ben]

It's a bug and for some reason Digi is doing nothing about it! I have been told to buy one thing after another to fix this problem, but it only gets better and never goes away.

I started with Tiger and someone from Digi said osx 10.5.1 plus PT 7.4 would fix it. 120 pounds later and no luck. Like I said it has only made it better not cured it. I was told to buy an external FW hard drive but this has not fixed the problem either.

Why won't Digi acknowledge this problem!!!!! I've had PT on my macbook since July last year and I still can't use it. And what’s even worse is the fact that I can't talk to anyone on the phone about this without paying a ridiculous amount of money. Digi pull your finger out of your backside and look after your paying customers!

Rant over

[Smithcok]

It's a bug and for some reason Digi is doing nothing about it! I have been told to buy one thing after another to fix this problem, but it only gets better and never goes away.

I started with Tiger and someone from Digi said osx 10.5.1 plus PT 7.4 would fix it. 120 pounds later and no luck. Like I said it has only made it better not cured it. I was told to buy an external FW hard drive but this has not fixed the problem either.

Why won't Digi acknowledge this problem!!!!! I've had PT on my macbook since July last year and I still can't use it. And what’s even worse is the fact that I can't talk to anyone on the phone about this without paying a ridiculous amount of money. Digi pull your finger out of your backside and look after your paying customers!

Rant over

What's a bug? That USB hard drives can't typically handle the transfers that audio applications require? This is true for any DAW. Digidesign says specifically on their website that only Firewire drives are qualified to work with Pro Tools (and they give recommendations on certain chipsets).

Also, I guarantee no one from Digidesign (or this forum for that matter) would recommend that you upgrade from Tiger to Leopard for better compatibility. Digidesign has been very very clear that Pro Tools is NOT qualified to work with Leopard (hence the multitude of posts and complaints on the matter).

A majority of times, when things don't work after following recommendations, "user error" is to blame.

[Theecomer]

I created a thread here a couple months ago outlining the exact same problem I had myself. Same gear everyone else is using for the most part; Macbook, PT7.4, Mbox2, Lacie FW400 HD, 10.4.9. I've followed EVERY single thing detailed in the help sticky to no avail. Upgrading from 1GB to 2GB did nothing to rid the errors (CPU usage and H/W buffer errors, respectively). Tweaking settings did nothing. Homebrew trash tool, nothing. Different cables, nothing. Dragging in plug-ins one at a time, nothing. And the problem persists even with a single audio track. Recording never presents an issue. It only occurs during playback.

The funny thing is, it will produce these errors immediately upon loading a session and playing the session. If I deal with the errors a few times (approximately 6 to 10 times), the session always sorts itself out and will play error free for as long as I have it open. Load a different session, and wham. Click through the errors and session resolves itself.

I really have no other options regarding troubleshooting, so I'm stuck dealing with it. I had never used Pro Tools prior to this, and thank God for that, cause I never experienced a trouble free system to compare my current experience to. I'd go mad thinking about an error-free PT setup. Don't get me wrong, I can still create. It's just that it's a drag knowing I'm going to have to spend time working out the kinks everytime I load a session. Conversely, working in Logic Pro 8 has never once given me a single error all the while maxing it out with incredible amounts of plug-ins.

Man, I wish I could resolve my errors. I keep checking back here hoping to see someone mention something that hasn't already been mentioned, but this never happens. I just keep seeing people who are experiencing this make new threads about it, getting the usual answers, and getting no resolution to the issue.

[easatduc]

I can only add my recognition to what TeeComer says,
I tried using the external FireWire drive - not much effect, if any (note: FW, not USB)
And I already have 2GB RAM...
Project crashes sooner the first time I run it, then gets better but never goes away.

But LOGIC 8...yes, that works.
I tried a project with one drum-machine plugin, two instances of Native Instruments synth (not puny stuff), ran lots of EQ, Reverb, delay, gates and it never even complained before I threw the Stylus RMX in there. Frankly, I'd rather use PT for anything not strictly MIDI, but for MIDI and software instruments...it just works!

So forget about USB, FireWire and all that BS.
As far as I can see; if Apple can do it, why can't Digi?

Cheers;
E.

[DigiTechSupt]

I created a thread here a couple months ago outlining the exact same problem I had myself. Same gear everyone else is using for the most part; Macbook, PT7.4, Mbox2, Lacie FW400 HD, 10.4.9. I've followed EVERY single thing detailed in the help sticky to no avail. Upgrading from 1GB to 2GB did nothing to rid the errors (CPU usage and H/W buffer errors, respectively). Tweaking settings did nothing. Homebrew trash tool, nothing. Different cables, nothing. Dragging in plug-ins one at a time, nothing. And the problem persists even with a single audio track. Recording never presents an issue. It only occurs during playback.

The funny thing is, it will produce these errors immediately upon loading a session and playing the session. If I deal with the errors a few times (approximately 6 to 10 times), the session always sorts itself out and will play error free for as long as I have it open. Load a different session, and wham. Click through the errors and session resolves itself.

I really have no other options regarding troubleshooting, so I'm stuck dealing with it. I had never used Pro Tools prior to this, and thank God for that, cause I never experienced a trouble free system to compare my current experience to. I'd go mad thinking about an error-free PT setup. Don't get me wrong, I can still create. It's just that it's a drag knowing I'm going to have to spend time working out the kinks everytime I load a session. Conversely, working in Logic Pro 8 has never once given me a single error all the while maxing it out with incredible amounts of plug-ins.

Man, I wish I could resolve my errors. I keep checking back here hoping to see someone mention something that hasn't already been mentioned, but this never happens. I just keep seeing people who are experiencing this make new threads about it, getting the usual answers, and getting no resolution to the issue.

As I recall from your original thread, you were going to test your plug-ins. Did you ever do that? If you remove all the plug-ins from your plug-ins folder and trash prefs, then test again, do you get any errors?

We'll help you resolve this, but we must be absolutely methodical - can you please go back to your original thread and list EXACTLY which troubleshooting steps you've taken? We find, time and again, that one gets missed here or there and/or there's a contributing factor that conveniently doesn't get mentioned...

[DigiTechSupt]

It's a bug and for some reason Digi is doing nothing about it! I have been told to buy one thing after another to fix this problem, but it only gets better and never goes away.

I started with Tiger and someone from Digi said osx 10.5.1 plus PT 7.4 would fix it. 120 pounds later and no luck. Like I said it has only made it better not cured it. I was told to buy an external FW hard drive but this has not fixed the problem either.

Why won't Digi acknowledge this problem!!!!! I've had PT on my macbook since July last year and I still can't use it. And what’s even worse is the fact that I can't talk to anyone on the phone about this without paying a ridiculous amount of money. Digi pull your finger out of your backside and look after your paying customers!

Rant over

Ben - In looking over your post history, it's difficult to say specifically which troubleshooting you've done. Also, are you on Leopard or Tiger? If you're on Leopard - well, we know there are issues there and it's not qualified for use with Pro Tools yet.

Can you tell me exactly which troubleshooting you've done, so that we can look into this further?

[DigiTechSupt]

I can only add my recognition to what TeeComer says,
I tried using the external FireWire drive - not much effect, if any (note: FW, not USB)
And I already have 2GB RAM...
Project crashes sooner the first time I run it, then gets better but never goes away.

But LOGIC 8...yes, that works.
I tried a project with one drum-machine plugin, two instances of Native Instruments synth (not puny stuff), ran lots of EQ, Reverb, delay, gates and it never even complained before I threw the Stylus RMX in there. Frankly, I'd rather use PT for anything not strictly MIDI, but for MIDI and software instruments...it just works!

So forget about USB, FireWire and all that BS.
As far as I can see; if Apple can do it, why can't Digi?

Cheers;
E.

Can you detail a little further what you mean by 'project crashes'? Does it 'unexpectedly quit' or does something else happen?

Which troubleshooting steps have you done, specifically?