Computer restart

[the.engineer]

Hi Everyone, hope y'all doing good.

I have a very frustrating problem: I have built a Pro Tools system for a client and he is experiencing complete computer restarts while running Pro Tools 11.3.1 on a 2013 iMac. Here are the details...

iMac 27" late 2013, 3.5GHz i7, 32GB Ram, Apple SSD (iMac 14,2)
Apple 27" Thunderbolt 2nd Display
Mackie Onyx 1640i (connected to 2nd Display FW800 port via 800>400 cable)
LaCie d2 Quadra (connected FW800 via Thunderbolt adapter to iMac)
Pro Tools 11.3.1
OS X 10.9.5

The problem: While running Pro Tools the iMac will completely restart at random. This can happen at anytime and mostly occurs while the system is idling. I can record a test session of 16 channels of audio at 48kHz, 24bit for +45mins will stop the transport, make a cup of tea only to come back and find the computer has restarted itself. I can't recreate the crash which is very frustrating. All plug-ins are up-to-date although you'll see below I've run the system with no plug-ins and it still crashes.

Troubleshooting already tried: Trash prefs, remove all plugins, remove external LaCie and record to internal drive, remove Mackie Onyx and record with Pro Tools Aggregate, remove 2nd screen, reset PRAM, disable App Nap, disable screen saver and display sleep, disabled spotlight, disabled all firewire networking, bluetooth and wifi is off, created brand new user admin account.

For a while I thought I had it solved by ditching the second scree, connecting the Mackie Onyx to the iMac via Thunderbolt adapter cable and recording direct to the internal SSD. Worked all day 10am-6pm then restarted while Pro Tools was idling.

What am I missing guys? The computer is Avid qualified and was built by Jigsaw24 here in the UK with Kingston Ram. I'm really getting to the end of my wits with this one. Can I get to a crash log that will explain in detail what is happening?

Any advice/other troubleshooting tips to try would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
J

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by the.engineer

Hi Everyone, hope y'all doing good.

I have a very frustrating problem: I have built a Pro Tools system for a client and he is experiencing complete computer restarts while running Pro Tools 11.3.1 on a 2013 iMac. Here are the details...

iMac 27" late 2013, 3.5GHz i7, 32GB Ram, Apple SSD (iMac 14,2)
Apple 27" Thunderbolt 2nd Display
Mackie Onyx 1640i (connected to 2nd Display FW800 port via 800>400 cable)
LaCie d2 Quadra (connected FW800 via Thunderbolt adapter to iMac)
Pro Tools 11.3.1
OS X 10.9.5

The problem: While running Pro Tools the iMac will completely restart at random. This can happen at anytime and mostly occurs while the system is idling. I can record a test session of 16 channels of audio at 48kHz, 24bit for +45mins will stop the transport, make a cup of tea only to come back and find the computer has restarted itself. I can't recreate the crash which is very frustrating. All plug-ins are up-to-date although you'll see below I've run the system with no plug-ins and it still crashes.

Troubleshooting already tried: Trash prefs, remove all plugins, remove external LaCie and record to internal drive, remove Mackie Onyx and record with Pro Tools Aggregate, remove 2nd screen, reset PRAM, disable App Nap, disable screen saver and display sleep, disabled spotlight, disabled all firewire networking, bluetooth and wifi is off, created brand new user admin account.

For a while I thought I had it solved by ditching the second scree, connecting the Mackie Onyx to the iMac via Thunderbolt adapter cable and recording direct to the internal SSD. Worked all day 10am-6pm then restarted while Pro Tools was idling.

What am I missing guys? The computer is Avid qualified and was built by Jigsaw24 here in the UK with Kingston Ram. I'm really getting to the end of my wits with this one. Can I get to a crash log that will explain in detail what is happening?

Any advice/other troubleshooting tips to try would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes,
J

What exactly do you mean 'built by Jigsaw24 with Kingston ram'? What all did that person do? Just install ram or do some other stuff to the iMac? That model iMac doesn't have an ssd unless it's a third party one. It has these storage options: 1 or 3 TB (7200-rpm SATA), 1 TB or 3 TB Fusion Drive, or 256, 512, or 1 TB flash storage - so which is in there? If it has a Fusion drive that's a no-no. Another possibility is if it's a third party ssd it could be overheating and that's what's causing the spontaneous reboots. Not all drives play nice with Apple's thermal control system and if it doesn't have the temp sensor that is an issue.

What other programs are running on this machine?

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by the.engineer

I have built a Pro Tools system for a client and he is experiencing complete computer restarts while running Pro Tools 11.3.1 on a 2013 iMac.

Apple menu-->System Preferences-->Energy Saver-->Restart automatically if the computer freezes. If that option is disabled, the computer will not restart without user intervention.

Originally Posted by the.engineer

Can I get to a crash log that will explain in detail what is happening?

~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports will contain any .crash files for programs the generate them. Note that Pro Tools v11.x does not generate .crash files. Working from memory, I do believe that any .panic files will be found in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Chief Technician

Apple menu-->System Preferences-->Energy Saver-->Restart automatically if the computer freezes. If that option is disabled, the computer will not restart without user intervention.

There is no such option in Energy Saver in either Mountain Lion or Mavericks; must be a Yosemite only thing.

[the.engineer]

Originally Posted by musicman691

What exactly do you mean 'built by Jigsaw24 with Kingston ram'? What all did that person do? Just install ram or do some other stuff to the iMac? That model iMac doesn't have an ssd unless it's a third party one. It has these storage options: 1 or 3 TB (7200-rpm SATA), 1 TB or 3 TB Fusion Drive, or 256, 512, or 1 TB flash storage - so which is in there? If it has a Fusion drive that's a no-no. Another possibility is if it's a third party ssd it could be overheating and that's what's causing the spontaneous reboots. Not all drives play nice with Apple's thermal control system and if it doesn't have the temp sensor that is an issue.

What other programs are running on this machine?

Thanks so much for the responses guys, with regards to energy save that must be a Yosemite thing as I can't see it on Mavericks. Slightly misleading comment about Jigsaw24 building the machine, apologies, all they did was put 32GB of Kingston 1600MHZ DDR3 ram in the machine.

The internal boot SSD is an Apple SSD 256GB drive (Apple SSD SM0256F) and is not third party.

There are no other third programs running on this machine.
Thanks again

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by musicman691

There is no such option in Energy Saver in either Mountain Lion or Mavericks; must be a Yosemite only thing.

It is specific to the model of computer you are using. OS X Mountain Lion: Restart your computer automatically. I just checked a MacPro4,1 (Nehalem 2009) using OS X Mountain Lion and this option was not available.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Chief Technician

It is specific to the model of computer you are using. OS X Mountain Lion: Restart your computer automatically. I just checked a MacPro4,1 (Nehalem 2009) using OS X Mountain Lion and this option was not available.

I believe any mac "restarts automatically" after a kernel panic...?

[the.engineer]

My own studio Mac Pro 5,1 (2010) has the option 'Start up automatically after power failure'. On the Apple website it states this is used for Servers, assuming that's why iMacs probably don't have it.

Does anyone use a Mackie Onyx regularly in their setup and could chime in on their experience, or anyone regularly using a thunderbolt to firewire adaptor?

Thanks again everyone

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by the.engineer

On the Apple website it states this is used for Servers

I had absolutely no idea. But that said, I've only ever bought "pro" hardware... But with that said, a G5 PowerMac or an Intel Mac Pro isn't a "server" grade workstation but those have automatic restart after kernel panic.

[Sonny Keyes]

If OP's friend's computer is set to restart automatically after a power failure, maybe the trouble lies even further outside the computer, and he should check the power outlet the computer's plugged into. A random power interruption (from a faulty UPS or something) could be the source of the issue.