CPU overloading while project at rest

[Che_Guitarra]

The title pretty much says it all - i'm noticing the CPU load creeping up and maxing out my capacity while the project is open yet not running. On most projects i'm generally using around 2/3 of my capacity, but should we take a 5 minute break to set something up or to have a cigarette, i'll come back to the project only to notice the CPU indicator clipping, and/or usually to an error message of similar nature.

As far as I know all my settings are correct - CPU is set to 85% capacity, buffer size is on maximum, low latency monitoring isn't on, and I have no programs running in the background. My iMac is of the highest specs, so i'm not sure why i'm running out of resources so fast.

Anyy suggestions or explanations as to why this keeps happening?

[citi]

do you have the sleep function enabled on the imac?

[JrummerJ]

Have you disabled firewire networking on the imac? This seemed to help the stability of my PTs system on my Macbook Pro. Are you using a fw800 drive and a fw interface that uses fw 400? This is a known issue on the MBPs and iMACs. The fw bus is shared and using 2 different speed devices seems to cause issues.

J

[Che_Guitarra]

The sleep function is disabled on my iMac, as for FW networking - I haven't tried that. Currently my firewire ports run the 003 rack and a Western Digital external HD which I believe is a FW400 device.

I'll try this, but I hope to receive other solutions just incase.

[Che_Guitarra]

Firewire networking isn't selected either - it's set to the ethernet port... hmm.

[JrummerJ]

Well, under System Preferences>Networking there is a drop down tab that has an option of configure ports or something similar. Boxes for Airport, ethernet, firewire, and bluetooth will be there. Just make sure firewire is not checked, because all of these can be on simultaneously.

Other than that, the only red flag is that you are using a WD hard drive, which doesn't have the Oxford chipset most likley. I am also using one of these, the MyBook Premium, and not experiencing any issues, so that may not be the issue. Have you tried ditching the external drive and working from the internal drive for a short time to see if the error persists? Not recommended, but it can rule out the external hard drive.

J

[DigiTechSupt]

Have you absolutely, positively verified that ALL installed plug-ins are Pro Tools 7 compatible? Having any incompatible plug-ins installed, even if they're not used in the session, can cause all kinds of problems in Pro Tools.

[Che_Guitarra]

The only third-party plugins I have are Line 6's Gearbox and a couple of Nomad Factory compressor/EQ type P/Is. Both of these are RTAS qualified - no wrappers required. The Line 6 plugin does come with the external interface/dongle that must be connected to use the plugin, but i've had this for at least a year without noticing any problems.

Networking is enabled through ethernet only, and my local hi-tech music gurus recommended me the Western Digital external HD over several other brands, so i'm not sure if that's a problem either.

I must admit this iMac has been a dud in the past - it's on its third logic board, its second hard drive, CPU, power supply and input port card (you think they'd just give me a new one, huh? Not Apple). That said it has now been bench tested and guaranteed to be error free by Applecare, and I haven't experienced any issues since.

[Ultraslide]

I must admit this iMac has been a dud in the past - it's on its third logic board, its second hard drive, CPU, power supply and input port card (you think they'd just give me a new one, huh? Not Apple).

I am a former Apple repair tech. If you've had the same repair done in the same place twice, and still have problems, they'll send you a new unit if it's under AppleCare. I've seen them replace units that have recently passed AppleCare if it's repeat repair as well. If you are serious about all problems you have had then Apple should replace your unit.

Call AppleCare.

[Che_Guitarra]

I've complained until i've gone blue in the face for 6 months - but to no avail. I think the best revenge is to switch back to PC and tell all of my friends and associates of my experiences with Apple, sell this computer and move on.