2013 Mac Pro crashing issue with PTHD 11.3.2

[metapunk]

Has anyone noticed a huge discrepancy between the Activity Monitor on a newer Mac Pro and the System Usage monitor in Pro Tools HD?

Pro Tools HD 11.3.2
32 GB RAM
Refurb Quad Core 2013 model directly from Apple
G-RAID Studio HD via Thunderbolt
various interfaces

My computer is basically freezing while I'm working. I can't get to the Finder. I can't Force Quit. I have found some success.in turning off the monitor and turning it back on. The screen goes black, I get an error message from PTHD saying that the program must be restarted. When I do quit the program, the mouse has a huge lag, and I must restart the computer in order to get the system to work properly.

In this case, I am using a 4K HDTV as an ad hoc interface, but this also occurs when I am using a Symphony I/O 2X6 with a Thunderbridge, or the Built in Output of my 2013 Mac Pro Quad Core with 32GB, using two 16 GB RAM modules, rather than 4 modules of 8GB. The RAM was purchased and installed by Melrose Mac in Hollywood, an Authorized Apple Dealer. I took the computer to the Northridge Apple Store yesterday and verified that the computer is in good working order, although they advised that I create a new user and attempt to replicate the problem, which I did. The problem continues with a new user. The computer is connected to a 8TB Thunderbolt G-RAID Studio HD in good working order It has approximately 3.7 TB of remaining space. According to the PT System usage meters, I am using a very small portion of the available disc capability. I am using many plug ins with PTHD 11.3..2. In one case I was able to save a crashlog directly after the problem, but no one has looked at it at Apple yet.



Here is the PT Reference Guide documentation (pg. 60) stating that the CPU activity does correspond to actual CPU activity.


System Usage
Meters in the System Usage window indicate how
much of your system’s processing power is being
used when processing audio, and when writing and
playing back automation.
As these meters approach their limits, host processing
and recording or playback of automation
data can be affected. If CPU or PCI Activity are
high, a system error may occur. If Disk Activity is
high, Pro Tools may miss playback of some automation
data during particularly dense periods of
activity, such as while using the Bounce to Disk
command.

CPU Meters
The CPU Total meter displays session performance
for Elastic Audio processing, Clip Gain processing,
and Native plug-in and mixer processing.
The individual CPU meters provide a general indication
of how much Pro Tools is using each of the
processors in your computer.

Here is the side by side comparison of the Pro Tools and Activity Monitor CPU usage meters.

System Perf.jpg

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by metapunk

I took the computer to the Northridge Apple Store yesterday and verified that the computer is in good working order, although they advised that I create a new user and attempt to replicate the problem, which I did. The problem continues with a new user.

Either something is wrong with your OS X installation or some other fixable condition is occurring.

What happens if you launch Activity Monitor (/Applications/Utilities) and hide it? It doesn't need to be in the foreground. Just have it running. I was having a problem with Skype (not Pro Tools) on Mac OS X Mavericks v10.9.5. Skype was dropping connections without user intervention on our system. I am skeptical that the other user was dropping the connection, and I have ample bandwidth. Anyway, having Activity Monitor active and hidden resolved most of the drops, though not all. Give it a try. Perhaps having Activity Monitor active and checking the system status every 5 seconds (normal refresh interval) will help.

[jbrown7282]

John.... The root of his concern is that the PT CPU Monitors and the Activity monitor of the OS are displaying 2 different numbers..... And to my knowledge that should be correct....

He is getting some kind of error but I have asked on a different forum to describe what issue He is having to no avail......

[metapunk]

The root of my concern is that my computer is crashing regularly and I'm trying to find out why.

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by metapunk

The root of my concern is that my computer is crashing regularly and I'm trying to find out why.

What happens if you launch Activity Monitor (/Applications/Utilities) and hide it? It doesn't need to be in the foreground. Just have it running. I was having a problem with Skype (not Pro Tools) on Mac OS X Mavericks v10.9.5. Skype was dropping connections without user intervention on our system. I am skeptical that the other user was dropping the connection, and I have ample bandwidth. Anyway, having Activity Monitor active and hidden resolved most of the drops, though not all. Give it a try. Perhaps having Activity Monitor active and checking the system status every 5 seconds (normal refresh interval) will help.

[metapunk]

I did have Activity Monitor hidden in the background and checked it periodically yesterday. There is still a big difference between the PTHD CPU activity meter and the Activity Monitor. I haven't seen any evidence that this should be different, although Jay provided a jpg on Facebook that showed a difference, but not quite as extreme as mine was. At some point the CPU activity was reading at 33% in PTHD and 229%CPU on the Mac Pro, and that was just Pro Tools, not the other processes. One thing that I did change yesterday which has helped a bit was that I went into the Playback Engine setup and set the Disk Playback to 28 GB. The Disk Cache meter is green and almost all the way to the right as is the Memory meter below it, but on a smaller project, I haven't had issues yet. The song I was working on early yesterday had quite a few more tracks so there was frequent crashing, but so far, today and later in the day yesterday it is a bit better.

Apple has the crashlog and some other information and hopefully is evaluating it in the next few days. I called Melrose Mac today to talk to someone about possible RAM issues, and I'm basically continuing on with this project that I'm working on until I hear from Apple about the crashlog, checking this site periodically to see what the options are, and putting together a plan of attack should it continue to crash.

I'll continue to have the Activity Monitor on in the background and check it periodically to see if anything is going on with it. There have been a few spikes of activity that don't seem to have a correlation with what is happening when it spikes, which at the moment is drum editing. And when it does crash, I am not really doing anything out of the ordinary so it seems to be a bit random.

For some reason turning off the monitor seems to do something to unfreeze the computer after it crashes even though the audio is routing to the Built In output at the moment. It has also happened while monitoring in stereo through a Symphony I/O 2 X 6, and through the HDMI output of the computer and into the monitor. When I turn the monitor back on, the screen goes black for a few seconds, comes back to the PT project, and I get a message to restart the program. Then there is lagging with the mouse, which resets when I restart the computer. It may have something to do with the graphics card, but I'm not sure.

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by metapunk

One thing that I did change yesterday which has helped a bit was that I went into the Playback Engine setup and set the Disk Playback to 28 GB.

Do you have 28 GB of audio on the timeline in your session? If not, subtract the amount of GB used for audio on the timeline from 28 and that is how much memory you are wasting. The Disk Cache never relinquishes what you tell it to use. It uses as much as you tell it to, even if it does not need that much.

Originally Posted by metapunk

The song I was working on early yesterday had quite a few more tracks so there was frequent crashing, but so far, today and later in the day yesterday it is a bit better.

For some reason turning off the monitor seems to do something to unfreeze the computer after it crashes even though the audio is routing to the Built In output at the moment. It has also happened while monitoring in stereo through a Symphony I/O 2 X 6, and through the HDMI output of the computer and into the monitor. When I turn the monitor back on, the screen goes black for a few seconds, comes back to the PT project, and I get a message to restart the program. Then there is lagging with the mouse, which resets when I restart the computer. It may have something to do with the graphics card, but I'm not sure.

Which devices are connected to each Thunderbolt port? Do you have any audio devices in Audio MIDI Setup other than the built-in device and your Pro Tools interface (Core Audio or aggregate)?

[metapunk]

I currently do not have any interfaces hooked to the Mac Pro right now, other than the 4K HDTV monitor. When I monitor sound, I am running the HDMI output of the Mac Pro to the monitor (Hisense 50" 4K H7). It's coming out of the monitor via digital coaxial cable into a Sony stereo receiver. I also have the Built In Output running to the same receiver via a 1/8" stereo to 2 x RCA cable. I'm not using my Symphony I/O right now, and it is not hooked up. I'm editing and doing very rough mixing currently.

Mac Pro HDMI output - 4K HDMI cable to 4K monitor
Top right Thunderbolt output - G-RAID Studio HD (8TB)
Patriot USB 2.0 hub for the iLoks, Waves USB, and Apple wired mouse
Headphone Output - Sony receiver
4K monitor to Sony receiver via digital coaxial cable

Yesterday, I also disconnected a HIS USB 3.0 hub that was hooked to a Blu-ray Superdrive.

So it's a pretty simple setup.

I have two Aggregate I/Os in Audio MIDI setup.
1 Pro Tools Aggregate I/O - I don't really need this one either at the moment. If you think I should delete that one, please let me know.
2 Symphony plus Mackie - I am going to delete that one. I also have a Mackie 1640i mixing board. That Aggregate Device was a recent setup after the frequent crashing issue but I have deleted it anyway.

The entire mix project that I'm working on today is 4.22 GB. But each project varies. The one I was working on early yesterday was 5.43 GB.

My total RAM is 32GB - 2 X 16 GB modules

I have generally set the Disk Playback at 5GB for most of my projects, but I have been experimenting with it because of the crashing issues. I set it to 28Gb yesterday to see if it made a difference. It looks like you are recommending that I run it at approximately 6 GB, correct?

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by metapunk

1 Pro Tools Aggregate I/O - I don't really need this one either at the moment. If you think I should delete that one, please let me know.

Please delete it and see if things improve afterwards.

Originally Posted by metapunk

2 Symphony plus Mackie - I am going to delete that one. I also have a Mackie 1640i mixing board. That Aggregate Device was a recent setup after the frequent crashing issue but I have deleted it anyway.

Then the only audio devices you have are built-in and the 4K via HDMI monitor, correct?

Originally Posted by metapunk

It looks like you are recommending that I run it at approximately 6 GB, correct?

If most of your projects are 5 GB in size, yes. Another way to do this, if you are willing to do some back-and-forth, is it raise or lower the Disk Cache value until you are just under 100%. This allows you to enjoy the benefits of the Disk Cache without having unused RAM allocated to it.

[metapunk]

I will delete the other Pro Tools Aggregate Device.

I did have another similar crash this morning after changing the Disk Playback to 6GB yesterday. It's the first crash I've had for a day. I've set it back to 28GB but will try resetting it based on your recommendations and see if it changes anything.

The only audio devices that I am currently using are the 4K monitor and the Built In Output, correct.