PTF crashes when directed to the Playback Engine

[frankpc]

PTF seems to initialize properly. A window states: " ... you will be directed to the Playback Engine". A few seconds after selecting "OK", PTF crashes.

I've found several posts about this problem that state a dedicated sound card is recommended.

Also stated is to press/hold "N" before starting PTF to determine what audio device is selected or available. Pressing "N" appears to have no effect. When should the N key be pressed and when should it be released? Or does that feature no longer function?

Thank you

[junkgear]

Pressing N does still work in PTF, so there must be something missing on your system.

Do you have an ASIO compatible sound device in your system? You will need this in order to use PTF.

At a minimum, you can install ASIO4ALL, which may get you going, but will not give you the best performance.

[frankpc]

Thank you for reply JG,

No. I do not have an ASIO device on this computer. An 11R is due to arrive tomorrow.

I figured the 'N' would display something rather than PTF crashing. However I believe you are suggesting that not having an ASIO device could prevent 'N' from functioning.

Thanks again!

[davetelling]

I'm having the same issue. I have a Behringer 320USB, and ASIO4ALL is the driver they post on their website for this product. I installed ASIO4ALL, but PTF does not seem to recognize that the driver is there, and I can find no instructions on how to activate/set up the driver so PTF will "see" it. Pressing the 'N' key at various times seems to make no difference.

[junkgear]

Originally Posted by davetelling

I'm having the same issue. I have a Behringer 320USB, and ASIO4ALL is the driver they post on their website for this product. I installed ASIO4ALL, but PTF does not seem to recognize that the driver is there, and I can find no instructions on how to activate/set up the driver so PTF will "see" it. Pressing the 'N' key at various times seems to make no difference.

First, in Windows Sound Properties, make sure that Windows is NOT using the Behringer as the "Default Playback Device".
Second, make sure ASIO4ALL is configured properly to use your Behringer interface.
Lastly, only hold down the N key while PTF is first starting and continue to hold it until you see the Playback Engine settings. If you aren’t getting that far, then PTF is not able to locate a compatible sound device on your system.

[davetelling]

Originally Posted by junkgear

First, in Windows Sound Properties, make sure that Windows is NOT using the Behringer as the "Default Playback Device".
Second, make sure ASIO4ALL is configured properly to use your Behringer interface.
Lastly, only hold down the N key while PTF is first starting and continue to hold it until you see the Playback Engine settings. If you aren’t getting that far, then PTF is not able to locate a compatible sound device on your system.

OK - 1. Using ASIO4ALL offline settings, it "sees" the Behringer interface, both input and output. My W10 device manager "sees' the Behringer interface.

2. My default output device is my laptops Realtek audio system, default input is Realtek built-in mic.
3. Holding 'n' key through the whole process results in the same thing - the app just stops working and goes back to the desktop. I tried both shifted and non-shifted 'n', with the same result. In my opinion, this is a serious bug - there is no reasonable way to troubleshoot the issue. if my W10 system shows the audio interface, and ASIO4ALL recognizes that it is there and indicates that the interface is available, then PTF should start up, so either ASIO4ALL is doing (or NOT doing something) or there is some other issue affecting this, but ASIO4ALL has nothing other than an install file (which I have run twice) and no real helpful instructions, and if there is some other issue with PTF, there is no way to tell what it is. Some additional error handling is really needed here!

[davetelling]

Originally Posted by davetelling

OK - 1. Using ASIO4ALL offline settings, it "sees" the Behringer interface, both input and output. My W10 device manager "sees' the Behringer interface.

2. My default output device is my laptops Realtek audio system, default input is Realtek built-in mic.
3. Holding 'n' key through the whole process results in the same thing - the app just stops working and goes back to the desktop. I tried both shifted and non-shifted 'n', with the same result. In my opinion, this is a serious bug - there is no reasonable way to troubleshoot the issue. if my W10 system shows the audio interface, and ASIO4ALL recognizes that it is there and indicates that the interface is available, then PTF should start up, so either ASIO4ALL is doing (or NOT doing something) or there is some other issue affecting this, but ASIO4ALL has nothing other than an install file (which I have run twice) and no real helpful instructions, and if there is some other issue with PTF, there is no way to tell what it is. Some additional error handling is really needed here!

OK, I tried one more thing - looking through ASIO4ALL, it seems that I should see some kind of indication in my taskbar that my audio app is using ASIO4ALL. I do not see this happening. I tried un-installing and then re-installing ASIO4ALL with the "run as Administrator" option. This time, when I tried to fire up PTF, I got this error message after the place where the playback engine was supposed to be started:
Could not complete your request because Assertion in "E:\ Code\ 238949\ ProTools\ AAE\ Source\ AAX\ CFicAAXWidget.cpp", line 994.

Sine I don't HAVE an 'E' drive on my system - just a C drive, and no thumbdrives or other add-ons there - this error message seems absurd.
So far, I am significantly unimpressed with PTF, since I cannot even get it to run. Personally, I think that being able to run audio interfaces in the "non ASIO" mode might be a step forward.

[frankpc]

I've read that PTF and perhaps PT stores project files on a local drive. Perhaps that drive is hidden and in your case called "E:"

Just a guess...

[junkgear]

Originally Posted by davetelling

OK, I tried one more thing - looking through ASIO4ALL, it seems that I should see some kind of indication in my taskbar that my audio app is using ASIO4ALL. I do not see this happening. I tried un-installing and then re-installing ASIO4ALL with the "run as Administrator" option. This time, when I tried to fire up PTF, I got this error message after the place where the playback engine was supposed to be started:
Could not complete your request because Assertion in "E:\ Code\ 238949\ ProTools\ AAE\ Source\ AAX\ CFicAAXWidget.cpp", line 994.

Sine I don't HAVE an 'E' drive on my system - just a C drive, and no thumbdrives or other add-ons there - this error message seems absurd.
So far, I am significantly unimpressed with PTF, since I cannot even get it to run. Personally, I think that being able to run audio interfaces in the "non ASIO" mode might be a step forward.

Don't worry about the E: drive as that is just the drive Avid used when they compiled the code and it is used for debug purposes.

One other thing you can try is deleting the PTF preferences, which basically clears any stored settings from earlier attempts at running PTF and starts from scratch. To do so, do the following:

1. Close Pro Tools.
2. Hold the Windows key on your keyboard and press R.
3. When the Run window appears, type %appdata% and press OK.
4. Open the Avid folder, and delete the Pro Tools First folder.
5. Restart your computer and launch Pro Tools.

[davetelling]

Originally Posted by junkgear

Don't worry about the E: drive as that is just the drive Avid used when they compiled the code and it is used for debug purposes.

One other thing you can try is deleting the PTF preferences, which basically clears any stored settings from earlier attempts at running PTF and starts from scratch. To do so, do the following:

1. Close Pro Tools.
2. Hold the Windows key on your keyboard and press R.
3. When the Run window appears, type %appdata% and press OK.
4. Open the Avid folder, and delete the Pro Tools First folder.
5. Restart your computer and launch Pro Tools.

I'll give that a try & see what happens. Thanks!