APPcrash & Co.

[korkman]

Thanks -

I think I'll download PT10, which I guess I need to get anyway. Then I'll sleep on this. If I still get problems in situations where there should be little reason for the machine to be stressed, then I'll conclude that I don't know, don't want to hunt, swap for that mac.

Anyway: thanks for help and input!

Petter

[Ralf_T]

Petter,

I feel your pain. I am just about adding a post describing my freaking problem with Pro Tools (which will make me move to Cubase soon). Moving to PT 10 will probably not help. Download the trial version before buying. In my case installing PT 10 trial did not solve any issue. I am back on PT 9 again.

I did not follow the entire thread, but there are two things I spotted in your Sandra report:

1. Your graphics engine is not certified by AVID, see here: http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/self...p?DocId=380591

Personally, I am sick of hearing that over and over again: You are not running a certified computer, blah, blah ... Never heard of other DAWs being that excessively restricting.

2. Your machine's Windows Experience Index is very, very low given the hardware components. I am on a HP Pavilion DV8 laptop, and the WEI of my laptop is 5.9 on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.9.

There is obviously something wrong with your system performance. Go to Start > Computer > Properties, click on the link next to 3.7, which is your current WEI, and run the diagnosis on the next page (the option on the lower right hand side). Have a look at the component which has the lowest index, and check the hints for improving your system's performance.

Hope that helps.

[korkman]

Originally Posted by Ralf_T

Petter,

I did not follow the entire thread, but there are two things I spotted in your Sandra report:

1. Your graphics engine is not certified by AVID, see here: http://avid.custkb.com/avid/app/self...p?DocId=380591

Personally, I am sick of hearing that over and over again: You are not running a certified computer, blah, blah ... Never heard of other DAWs being that excessively restricting.

2. Your machine's Windows Experience Index is very, very low given the hardware components. I am on a HP Pavilion DV8 laptop, and the WEI of my laptop is 5.9 on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.9.

Thanks Ralf! The low Index number is from Windows Aero performance. When running pro tools, Aero is not turned on, and I think I may have disabled Aero entirely, which would explain the low score - I'll have to check on my home studio PC to make sure, writing this from a laptop elsewhere.

This same graphics card apparently works well with pro tools for other users, but my vendor's saying he suspects the motherboard and suggests I'll bring the computer in so he can change it for a new one. I'm not sure. I'd like a fresh start.

Petter

[Ralf_T]

On my computer disabling Aero does not change the WEI. Readings for all 5 components are the same with Aero enabled or disabled.

Anyway, the best you can do is taking your machine to your vendor. Once he is willing to change the motherboard have an eye on the chipset of the mainboard. I did some research on the chipsets of some of the AVID-qualified computers, here are the chipsets:

HP Z200: Intel PCH 3450

HP Z400: Intel X58/ICH10R Chipset, LGA 1366

HP Z800: Intel x5520

Dell Precision T3500: Intel X58

Dell Precision T5500 and T7500: Intel X5520

Intel X5520 supports dual-socket configurations

Your current mainboard has an Intel P55 chipset. My laptop has the mobile version of it, Intel PM55. And I also have issues with running PT. Is it by coincidence? I would like to start a thread where people can report their hardware setting and tell us whether PT runs smoothly or not ...

As your CPU is socket 1156 I would ask your vendor for a motherboard like the ASUS P7F7-E WS SuperComputer, 1156, ATX, DDR3 (Intel 3450).

The disc controllers in your report raised a flag to me:

Disk Controller : ASUS JMB36X PCIE-to-SATAII/IDE RAID Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS 88SE91A0 SATA-600 Controller

If memory serves well, RAID is not recommended for running PT (or even for running DAWs in general). Please google "Pro Tools" and "RAID" to verify. Disc controllers should be in AHCI mode:

http://www.intel.com/technology/serialata/ahci.htm

I know from hearsay that you cannot change to AHCI in the BIOS of ASUS motherboards, due to copyrigth issues.
I have not verified this, but Microsoft tells you how you can change it manually:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976

[korkman]

Thank you very much Ralf!

Good info and very timely indeed. My vendor suggests he'll put in a new motherboard, because he suspects it may be broken. Perhaps it is. Either way, I'll try to talk him into using ASUS P7F7-E, which you say is an avid certified solution.

Secondly, I'll have him switch the graphics card for a certified NVidia, plus I ask him not to overclock, and ask him to avoid RAID. I'll also ask him NOT to insert my UAD card just yet, I'll do that myself later if everything seems to run smoothly.

I can't send my PC away just yet, as I need it constantly, so I have a week at least on my hands to think this over and negotiate with the vendor. This is a good time to include solid and worthwhile improvements in the design, so if you Ralf or somebody else out there see something I should include in the upgraded and "further avidified" PC, I'd be happy to hear it! [[One of the plugs that give me the most grief is Trilian, which would need more mem than it can get under a 32 bit regime - is there something I can do hardware-wise to make life easier in the respect?]]

Petter

ps. You're right about Aero - it does seem that my graphics card is pretty weak irrespective of what settings I use.

[Ralf_T]

I am not saying that the ASUS mainboard is AVID-qualified

But the chipset on that specific board is about the same used in the HP Z200 workstation. I am have no clue on the manufacturer of the mainboard used in the HP z200. I basically mentioned the ASUS mainboard because it is one of the very few 1156 platform mainboards with an Intel chipset found in one of those AVID-qualified computers. It is a mainboard from the ASUS Workstation Series:

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...Supercomputer/

Check the CPU support list on that page. Your processor is listed, but I would check the revision number.

With socket 1156 it looks like you are a bit limited regarding chipsets that MAY PROBABLY work better for Pro Tools on self built machines. In the end there are so many other parameters in the equitation ...

I hope this time it will work for you.

I have no idea what causes your issues with Trillian. You said you have Win 7 32bit installed. Is there a reason for that? Try installing Win 7 64 bit, it will not hurt.

[korkman]

One more thing:

I have a uad 2 card in my pc, and it seems many get error reports with pro tools 7-10 and uad. So far, I have not been able to find many people write reports saying they get these "access violation" AND C++ Runtime library AND memory issues. Now that I find people who have these, they turn out to be uad users. Hmm. Coincidence?

best,

Petter

[Ralf_T]

Petter, you are still messing around with PT ...? Incredible!

I remember reading that some UAD2 users had problems in PT with the "Enable CPU Optimization" option of the UAD2 card activated. I do not remember what specific problems they had, but unchecking this option in the UAD Control Panel solved their problems. It is worth a try. Good luck!