Pro Tools 2020.3 Freezing Up

[gregklau]

My Pro Tools on Windows 10 started freezing up and acting really strange. It happens with new sessions as wells as my old sessions. If I let the session sit, and then come back to it and try a shortcut (e.g Ctrl=), that shortcut as well as all shortcuts won't work. When I go to the menus, they drop down but I can't make a selection and clicking results in no action. When I leave the menu, the drop down stays down. If I click on the Windows start button, the drop down goes away.At this point, all I can do is click on the 'X' in the top right corner and that gets out of the session. I have to right click on the pro tools icon in the task bar and say close the window to actually close the window. Windows itself does not freeze and I can access and use anything else while Pro Tools is stuck. I found that if I arm the transport, that sometimes brings back control. If I leave Pro Tools running and come back to it, I sometimes find it has 'unfrozen'.

I've uninstalled and reinstalled Pro Tools, trashed the preferences, and uninstalled and reinstalled my interface (Eleven Rack). The problem persists. Any help or ideas about this would really be appreciated. Thanks!

[TOM@METRO]

Have you tried removing all but Avid plug-ins from the Plug-in folder?

And, what version of Windows 10 are you currently running?

[gregklau]

I'm on version 1903 of Windows 10. I haven't tried removing the plugins. I don't know how to do that and would be afraid of losing my plugins. How is this done safely?

[Richard Culver]

Could this be graphics card related?

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by gregklau

I'm on version 1903 of Windows 10

Compatibility info here. Avid says you need 1909 build, or was it a typo?

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by gregklau

I haven't tried removing the plugins. I don't know how to do that and would be afraid of losing my plugins. How is this done safely?

Locate the directory where all your .aaxplugins are stored. There is also another folder for unused plugins, so move them there. After testing move back. Won't be losing anything, not even settings.

[lesbrunn]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Compatibility info here. Avid says you need 1909 build, or was it a typo?

JFreak, thanks for pointing this out. You were right about Win10 1909 for 2020.3. I use 1903, so I'll update and see if there's a noticeable difference.

[gregklau]

I checked again and I am on 1909. I tried removing all the plugins, and it didn't help. Now the program sometimes allows me to work with the menus, but the shortcuts refuse to work. I also get periods of the swirling circular cursor as it locks up briefly.

[lesbrunn]

If you have tried the usual things: trashing prefs / re-installing etc, the problem could be from Windows. I would do a chdsk, then sfc and dism before uninstalling, cleaning up and re-installing. I have experienced PT issues before caused by corrupted files in Windows. As a result I do sfc and dism checks at least once a week to keep Windows clean and tight. I also clear junk from disks and registry maybe every two weeks, and for many years this has been extremely helpful in keeping Windows running smoothly.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by gregklau

I'm on version 1903 of Windows 10. I haven't tried removing the plugins. I don't know how to do that and would be afraid of losing my plugins. How is this done safely?

Re Windows, some Windows updates will reset certain tweaks that Pro Tools needs(USB Power Management has reset more than once, and Windows default playback device has reset to my PT interface at least once).

Re moving plugins for testing, I do the following:
Create a new folder on the desktop and name it Plugin Temp. Then I open the Plugins folder(C:>Program Files>Common Files>Avid>Audio>Plugins) and drag any/all and MOVE to the temp folder. Now moving to the Plugins(unused) works fine, but there may already be derelict plugins in there and using a separate folder just makes it easier to select all and move back

Re the comment/question on graphics, that's worth a look. Assuming you use an nVidia graphics card, I would look for updated drivers from the nVidia site instead of the card manufacturer site(like PNY, Asus, Zotac, etc).