7.3 Does Nothing, Nada, Zip

[kafka]

I'm one of those whose 7.3 installation on XP does absolutely nothing on startup. I have no plugins, other than those that come free with the software. The executable grows to about 33Mb in size, and then just sits there, occupying 0% CPU. I've given it as long as 30 minutes, just to see if it would start doing something, but to no avail. I've tried disabling Norton, disabling the NIC, reinstalling, and wiping out all remnants of my 7.1 installation, including the free plugins and Xpand, and installing the CS1 patch. The result is the same.

I'd like to be a little more proactive in figuring out what's wrong, but I don't see a log file or anything that I can check to see where it's getting hung up. Are there any command-line options I can use to try to figure out what's (not) happening? Where do I go from here? Thanks.

[Darbilly]

I'm one of those whose 7.3 installation on XP does absolutely nothing on startup. I have no plugins, other than those that come free with the software. The executable grows to about 33Mb in size, and then just sits there, occupying 0% CPU. I've given it as long as 30 minutes, just to see if it would start doing something, but to no avail. I've tried disabling Norton, disabling the NIC, reinstalling, and wiping out all remnants of my 7.1 installation, including the free plugins and Xpand, and installing the CS1 patch. The result is the same.

I'd like to be a little more proactive in figuring out what's wrong, but I don't see a log file or anything that I can check to see where it's getting hung up. Are there any command-line options I can use to try to figure out what's (not) happening? Where do I go from here? Thanks.

Still the same here!!! Almost two weeks and nothing! PTMP won't start, DigiTech, after 4 email, did not contact me at all!!!! Well, I'm not alone! Maybe we have a bad installer?
Good luck my friend!

[spkguitar]

Some things to try;

Trash the preferences and the databases.

Update your PACE drivers from www.paceap.com

List all of your plugins and their version numbers (the version numbers are very important). Another user was having problems and it turned out he was using old versions of some plugins and they were causing the problem.

[Darbilly]

Some things to try;

Trash the preferences and the databases.

Update your PACE drivers from www.paceap.com

List all of your plugins and their version numbers (the version numbers are very important). Another user was having problems and it turned out he was using old versions of some plugins and they were causing the problem.

Thanks for your support, Shawn!
"Trash the preferences and the databases" > Done!
"Update your PACE drivers" > Done!
"fresh install" > Done 3 times!
"Plugins" > Try to start up the app without ANY plugin. Same thing > it won't start!

I've contact the Brazil Support and they are sending me a 7.3 CD. (Thanks Quanta Music!!!)
I really hope that my problem is a bad installer...if not...well...Lets see...
Thanks again!

[spkguitar]

My post really was directed at the original poster.

[SteveD@DAWPRO]

If you're using Windows XP with service pack 2 (SP2), then you must enter the Pro Tools executable program as an exception to the WinXP Data Execution Prevention performance option:

Control Panel-->Performance and Maintenance-->System-->Advanced Tab-->Settings Button-->Data Execution Prevention Tab-->Radio Button for Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:-->Add Button-->browse for PT executable and double click

That should do it unless you have other issues.

Checklist for configuration issues is here:

Configuration Checklist

[GTBannah]

Is this only with 7.3? I ask because 7.1 installed flawlessly here and is working fine.

[SteveD@DAWPRO]

Maybe it's only me, but I needed to enter PT into the DEP exception table for 7.1.

In trouble shooting my 7.3 installation, I moved the PT installation from my E: drive partition, to the C: drive partition (at the suggestion of Digi-tech-support). That had no effect on the problem I was working on, but when I did that, 7.3 wouldn't load, just like 7.1 before I tried the DEP entries. Once I removed and re-added the PT program (with it's new location) to the DEP exception table, it was working again.

YMMV.

[kafka]

OK, I've done the following:

1.) Remove all remnants of 7.1 installation, including:
1a.) 7.1 ProTools
1b.) All 7.1 Plug-Ins
1c.) Xpand!
1d.) 7.1 Documentation
1e.) ProTools Projects in My Documents
1f.) M-Audio Driver
1g.) PACE Driver
2.) Installed the following, in this order, and rebooted after each installation:
2a.) iLok Driver 10.50.0.125
2b.) M-Audio Driver 5.10.00.5036v2
2c.) 7.3 ProTools
2d.) 7.3cs1 Patch
3.) I have also tested the following:
3a.) Turned on DEP for all programs, with exception for Pro Tools
3b.) disabled Norton
3c.) disabled the NIC

but still nothing. I checked the compatibility matrix, and it seems that my version of XP is not on the list (Media Center) - which is frustrating because ProTools 7.1 worked flawlessly on it. If anybody has gotten this to work, I'd appreciate hearing how.

Beyond that, I think the solution may be to go dual-boot, with a separate partition for plain-old XPsp2. This is probably a better solution anyway, since I can keep that image dedicated to ProTools. Any suggestions on the best way to do this would be appreciated.

If I have any issues with the dual-boot, though, I'll be back! Thank you all for your suggestions.

[SteveD@DAWPRO]

Here's another thing I needed to do to get 7.1 to work:

Entering the BIOS:

The BIOS is the core of your computer. It tells the system how to communicate to all of it's hardware; so it's important to not change something if you're unsure of what it does. That being said, there are several ways to enter the system BIOS, and you can only do so for a short period of time before Windows launches and you have to restart and try again. Some manufacturers like to set the BIOS entrance key to 'delete' on the keyboard, others use different function keys (i.e. F9, F4, and F2 are common). Most often, the motherboard will have a "splash-screen" upon boot that will tell you which key to press to enter the BIOS (often only referred to as 'Setup') - others, you either have to read the motherboard manual, or guess. In any case, BIOS manufacturers have their own way of doing things, as should be noted in the general descriptions that will be given for navigating the BIOS itself - without a manual of your specific motherboard handy, I'm limited to a very general framework. It might be necessary to contact your computer/motherboard manufacterer to complete the steps below.

With that said, let's enter the BIOS now.

Disabling on-board audio:

This option simply activates or disables the audio card that's built-in on some motherboards. Disabling the on-board audio can free up resources and prevent IRQ or resource allocation conflicts. It's usually found near the 'PCI' or 'On-Board' options. Many users will want to use their built-in soundcard for playback of Windows sounds or programs other than Pro Tools; these users should bypass this step.

My DAW has remained with the on-board audio disabled through the 7.3 installation process.

Didn't see that in your list...

Might help.