Having major PT issues.

[prismtheory]

Hi. I'm having a crisis with my rig. I have had Pro Tools HD2 since Feb. and I have yet to have a stable system. Now it's gotten to the point where i can't even use Pro Tools without it completely locking up my Mac. I am just wondering if any of you have had bad RAM and experienced locking up. I am considering a clean install of Mac OS, but I can't find out any info on how to do it. I am not too comfortable with Mac yet since I have moved from XP to Mac in order for this pro tools thing to to work, and so far it's been an absolute nightmare. I have had 10-20 crashed a day since March, and now it's gotten even worse. I'm at my wits end with this f*&^ing thing. Thanks in advance,

Chris

[Studio Crash]

Did you checck the compatability part of Digidesign's web site? It's possible you are using a machine that's not compatable with digi hardware. I was suprised to learn that the newer versions of the Dual 1.8 GHz machines are incompatable, but the first version was. It has something to do with the PCI slots. Also, you should have at least 1GB of RAM. Try using "Disc Utility" to "repair permissions" on your startup drive. Another thing is that you might have an issue with your actual hard drive that's causing crashes. I recommend Tech Tool Pro or the newest Norton Disc Doctor to check out your drive.

One more thing I would do is check to see that you're not using a version of the Mac OS that Digi hasn't tested out. Check Digi's compatability web pages thouroughly.

I hope this helps.

[prismtheory]

hey man. Thanks for the feedback. I am using a single 1.6 G5, it's model #m9020ll/a which is a digitested model. I'm running Pro Tools 6.7 on Mac OSX 10.3.5 which is also compatible. Now the update on my end is: I just ran Apple hardware test 3 times. The first time I got no errors, second time I got an error for one of my memory cards, and I'm currently running the third test now, which I'm assuming will indicate the same error as test 2. When I ordered my RAM from Sweetwater I ordered the right stuff, but they sent me mismatched RAM. One was 8 chips, and the other was 4 on each side. So they sent me another stick, but I don't think it was compatible...and since my g5 has only 4 dimm slots it's got to be perfect pairs...I'm hoping this is the only problem. So has anyone out there had RAM issues? and if so, did it cause excessive crashing, and/or freezing in Pro Tools? Thanks again in advance.

Chris-

[PTgeek911]

Try using only the RAM that came with the computer. Ive been using 512MB of RAM for almost a year, and my rig works flawlessy. I have 30+ tracks session most of the time while using tons of plug-ins, and no crashes. 1GB is recommened, but not necessary. When I scrouge up some cash, Im going to get more RAM, but in the mean time, Im fine.

[Tweakhead]

I recommend Tech Tool Pro or the newest Norton Disc Doctor to check out your drive.

NEVER run Norton on an OSX machine. I mean NEVER.

Tech Tool Pro (for tests & repairs) or DiskWarrior (for disk salvage).

[Tweakhead]

Well, who installed your system to begin with?

It is not difficult. If you have dealt with PCs before, a mac is a breeze.

You need to post exact details on all your hardware for anyone here to really help you.

[prismtheory]

Thanks for the responses. Well like I mentioned before I got an error on one of the memory sticks when i did my apple hardware test. I was on the phone with Digi for 2 hours on Fri. and they had no idea what was causing it to do what it did, other than be bad RAM. So what I think I'
m going to do is completely erase my Mac HD reinstall the operating system, and take out all of the RAM I have and toss it in the garbage and put two fresh perfectly matched sticks in and keep my fingers crossed. It seems like all of my problems started when I installed the new RAM. I have a Single 1.6 G5, and it only came with 256mb of it, and obviously that's not enough. So hopefully the situation will be resolved. I appreciate your help.

Chris

[Ray Lyon]

Hi Chris, I had a similar problem you describe (as well as a system installed in Feb.) and it turned out to be bad RAM. My machine would lock up constantly. It started gradually at first and got worse. What made the problem more difficult was that it was intermittent so I could not trace it to the RAM with any consistency. Tech Tool Pro showed the RAM OK when it was working, or Tech Tool would lock up on the RAM test not giving me results. Sometimes I could not even get the machine to boot, even off the Tech Tool CD itself. I received 2 new 512MB sticks from my dealer (I was under warranty) and have not had a problem since.

Erasing your drive, etc. may not be necessary. Just make sure you get name brand RAM, which you always pay a bit more for.

Also, as Mr. Tweakhead said... NEVER use Norton on OSX... get Tech Tool Pro and Disk Warrior. Even these programs can be useless however... in my case the bad RAM prevented bootup from the Tech Tool CD, and caused Disk Warrior to crash in the middle of its repair routine.

Hope this helps...

G5 dual 2.0/Accel 3
2.5 GB RAM
PT 6.7cs8
OS 10.3.7
Command|8
Storcase (Maxtor) FW800 120gb x4

[Chief Technician]

Even these programs can be useless however... in my case the bad RAM prevented bootup from the Tech Tool CD, and caused Disk Warrior to crash in the middle of its repair routine.

That doesn't make the programs useless. If the programs were useless, they would be causing the problem. What's useless is the RAM.

The worst is when you get kernel panics, and hardware test claims your hardware to be good. Convincing Apple that hardware test isn't testing what is bad is difficult to say the least.

[prismtheory]

Well I went out a bought new RAM, and all is fine. It's running like it should and has not crashed, froze, or unexpectedly quit all morning (which was a rarity). Like what was mentioned it started out slow, and then gradually got worse to the point where it was freezing up big time. I thank all of you for your help once again. Take care,

Chris
www.prismtheory.com