CPU Overload! Help!!!

[justus1900]

IM not sure I can help but with my system It seems the iMac had to learn to use the Pro Tools 8. I know how that sounds but when I first got my system it was doing what yours is doing then it just started to get better. I use a Glyph 500GB external drive. hopefully you are using an external drive that helps a ton, plus I have found at 24bit 44.1Khz it runs real smooth but at 24bit 96Khz and 28 to 36 tracks running my computer drags a bit but it bounces to 2 track 24bit 192Khz just fine. Oh and make sure you tweak the iMac turn off everything not related to your Pro Tools session, Time machine, Airport, Safari and turn the put computer to sleep to NEVER don't use any of that stuff while recording and last but not least record at the lowest H/F buffer rate and play back at twice the H/F buffer rate.


Model: Apple iMac 24’
OS: 10.5.6
CPU: 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB (2 X 2GB)
M-Audio Products: Pro Fire 610 (1.8.2 driver),
Axiom 61 Midi Controller
Pro Tools M-Powered 8.0 ,
Yamaha monitors

[Eric Seaberg]

Originally Posted by f.locutus

Eric,
I completely disagree.
..............................
This is my point of view

Fabrizio

Not a problem... but I think Digi made a HUGE mistake by allowing a single FW port device without ANY way to upgrade that status. Yes the iMac is 'approved' but you've got to do so much black-magic to get it to work, it's not worth it to me.

Guys have mentioned that their clients have left sessions because they're sitting there cussing at the iMac trying to run ProTools. I've been doing this stuff since 1971 and learned a LONG time ago you do NOT go 'cheap' on the gear you'll sit in front of day-after-day and hour-after-hour and CHARGE people to be there with you!! If you skimp, you will die! (of course I'll get hit with flames about this)

I've survived almost 40-years and lead the way, in many cases, because I believe what I preach. Your client expects NOTHING but the best from you, and that includes your gear. Spend a few extra dollars and get something that's expandable and proven over time. The iMac was NEVER meant to do this kind of job, IMHO, and I hope Digi finds a way to change their list.

[f.locutus]

Hi Eric,
thanks for your evidence.
Nothing is more important than the direct experience with the clients and your long experience is surely precious for me and all of us.
Surely your choice, in terms of hw and sw, has been guided by your experience.

I think (my experience is overall in the IT) that I would not have bought an iMac for the same reasons you told (in primis it's not upgradable) but anybody that checks for a qualified hw finds that an iMac is suitable to run PT8.
What you saw or listened to (clients levaing sessions) is really serious.
A so detailed list of qualified hw and requirements should guarantee people that choose Digi equipment.

I'd like to know Digi's point of view about this.
In the mistlabz post they say:
"... We've tested this on several iMacs similar to yours without errors".
And probably this is why the iMac is a qualified hw.

So, now, should I be relaxed to go to an Apple Store, buy an iMac and start recording session with my clients ?

Eric, I'd like you to tell us positive experiences (with positive I mean stable and problem free) with Mac or Win HW in specific configurations.

Thanks
Fabrizio

[Alan Z]

It's not just iMacs and and it's not just external FW400/800 drives.

My dual-core 2 x 2.66 GHz Mac Pro with two internal drives (one for system, one strictly for media such as ProTools sessions) gets the 6101 all the time. It's just a one-off error for me and once I clear it it runs fine for a long time, but it does happen. It happened yesterday with a session that is all MIDI tracks except for one analog audio bass track; 1 EZ Drummer track, 3 or 4 Structure Free tracks and an Xpand2 track.

I've decided it is an error message thrown in error, i.e. the system isn't really overloaded, it's a bug that makes the system stop and then throws the error, because after I click "OK" (it's not OK, but I click it anyway) my system just cruises along without any other changes made to it or the session.

Digi, making people check the chipset for the drive they want to buy is a fairly heavy requirement; what happens when that chipset is no longer available?

[bradch00]

So, although I personally have an older iMac (alluminum, but with FW400 and FW800 ports), I feel the pain of those dealing with the single port FW800 design of the new iMACs. That being said, I think we are concentrating a lot on the FW interfaces and having built a couple of systems now using the USB 2.0 Fast Track Ultra and a certified disk drive, (IMO) side stepped a lot of the pain they may have gone through trying to get a FW interface to work. So from that perspective, I believe the iMac is still a legitimate host for PT.

Although that is no help for someone already trying to get an FW interface to work, it may assist someone considering an interface to use with their iMac.

BTW Alan, I agree this error gets thrown for reasons other than processor load, it almost looks as though there is some timing issue between what and when processor load gets reported back to PT from the OS and if it's not in a timely fashion, PT throws up it's little binary hands in surrender.

[jimthepisces]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! I'm still getting the error, but it usually happens once and then never again until I reboot my Pro Tools. I'm going to try increasing the buffer size while mixing and see what happens, but it seems to me like this is a bug that Digi has yet to work out and nothing more, especially since so many people are getting it on a variety of setups. I guess Digi is probably working on it...

[Wolfgang Eller]

Originally Posted by Alan Z

It's just a one-off error for me and once I clear it it runs fine for a long time, but it does happen.

Alan, great!

So you are the second user (said Digi support) with the same bug like me?

Any solution in sight? Please tell me if you found a solution!!!

[grayter1]

I wanted to chime in regarding FW and the iMac. Until recently, I owned a Profire 2626 and experienced many of the same issues with error messages while editing a Sunday morning radio show for a local top 40 station.

After that gig was up, I had to downsize, and I picked up a Fast Track Pro (USB2.0) for songwriting purposes. My (fully loaded) iMac 24" runs large sessions with high track counts and effects without a hiccup. I'm experiencing none of the problems that I did with the 2626 connected to my iMac or my MBP (with 800 and 400 ports).

I would never run a paid session with my Fast Track, but it's out performed the PF2626 when I was getting paid gigs.

Just mt 2 cents...

[DigiTechSupt]

I think I need to clear up a few things here.

First the iMac is qualified for a reason - it works. mistlabz apparently had a drive that was a hardware RAID, which would be a cause of the errors. I'm waiting to hear back to be sure.

While working on his problem, we tested with the 2626 on our iMac here - no problems using a FW800-FW400 cable to a FW400 drive and chaining the 2626 after the drive.

We still don't know that the OP was/is using a qualified drive or if they've done any of the standard troubleshooting.

As for this statement:

gets the 6101 all the time. It's just a one-off error for me and once I clear it it runs fine for a long time, but it does happen.

Now when you say 'all the time' - that sounds like it's a rather frequent error, but then you say 'once you clear it it runs fine for a long time'. A bit confusing.

I've definitely seen random (as in once a session or several hours) 6101's on some systems (most don't ever see the error) and we're looking into the cause of those, but they should be infrequent enough as to not be a burden on the session.

As for Grayter1 - I'm sorry, but it's stories like this, without reference or evidence, that muddy up the works. Were you using a qualified firewire drive? How was it connected? Did you have firewire networking turned off? Was airport/bluetooth off?

You see - I run a 2626 as my primary interface on a MacBook Pro and never encounter 6101's or other errors unless I'm actually pushing the system to it's limits. And from what I've seen in troubleshooting other systems, most of the problems are with configuration - it's always the little things, the things that people don't know to tell or ask about. I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...!

So, in order to determine if there's an actual problem, let's keep to facts about specific configurations, so we can compare systems and determine what may be going wrong.

As always, please see the Help Us Help You and General Troubleshooting threads for details about what we need to know to assist properly as well as configuration and troubleshooting info that may help your situation.

[grayter1]

Originally Posted by DigiTechSupt

As for Grayter1 - I'm sorry, but it's stories like this, without reference or evidence, that muddy up the works. Were you using a qualified firewire drive? How was it connected? Did you have firewire networking turned off? Was airport/bluetooth off?

You see - I run a 2626 as my primary interface on a MacBook Pro and never encounter 6101's or other errors unless I'm actually pushing the system to it's limits..

No problem. I should have been more clear. I got these errors while using a MBP (late 2008 model) connected to the 2626 (400 port) with a LaCie Big disc daisy chained to the 2626.

I tried my drive on the 800 port, with the 2626 on the 400, but that didn't work. I tried flipping this around with an 400 to 800 adapter on the 2626, but that didn't work. I was told by the folks at M-Audio that the 2626 was problematic when trying to run it on the 400 port with a drive running simultaneously on the 800 port.

My bluetooth and airport were off. I was able to get it to work when daisy chained on the 400, but would receive errors intermittently, and sometimes the 2626 would loose connection to the MBP.

I've experienced none of these issues using a USB device...

tg