9093 and 9129 Buffer Errors

[OzelloPete]

I’ve been visiting this forum for the past few months trying to resolve an issue I’m experiencing. I’ve reviewed several other posts describing the same issue, along with the Tech Support guidance provided. As my problem persists, I’m hoping that a post of my own will help isolate my specific issue.

Problem Statement: I am running ProTools 7.0 on Windows XP with an M-Box (USB). I frequently receive the following error messages

“The operating system held off interrupts too long. If this occurs often, try increasing ‘H/W Buffer Size’ in the Playback Engine dialog (-9093 and -9094)”

or conversely

“Audio Processing is conflicting with other CPU tasks. If this occurs often, reducing the ‘H/W Buffer Size’ in the Playback Engine Dialog may help prevent the problem (-9129)”

Very often, increasing the buffer size results in the error message to decrease the buffer size and vice-versa. As a result, I “ping-pong” between an buffer size of 512 and 1024.

Discussion: My problem does not appear to be as severe as some users’ – mine is more of an annoyance. I can often simply click on “OK,” do nothing and move on. I’ve completed three full CD projects on my machine as currently configured, so my system is functional for the most part. In some sessions I get no errors, on others I get several. As I said, it’s more of a nuisance than a show stopper. More often than not, the errors occur during playback when I’m opening plug-ins and adjusting settings. They have also occurred when bouncing a mix to disc. Rarely do the errors occur while recording.

My music is primarily acoustic driven, so my sessions tend to be 4 to 8 instrument tracks (individually EQ’d), 3 vocal tracks (usually EQ'd), and maybe a drum track. I almost always use 5 aux sends for reverb/delay/a second reverb/compression/BF76 limiter. The only after-market plug in (non-Digi plug in or plug in provided as a bundle with Pro Tools 7.0) I use is M-Audio’s Izotope’s Ozone3, which I apply on my master fader.

I built my computer specifically to run ProTools (no internet access) based on the guidance found on this forum. While I did my best to obtain parts as described, availability required some deviation. From what I could tell, parts are compatible.

Actions I’ve Taken: I have downloaded and followed instruction contained in the following (exceptions or details as noted)

“General Troubleshooting – Pro Tools 6&7 Win XP” (DigiTechSupt post of 3/29/2005)

(Note 1) I was unable to disable multi-core support from the BIOS as recommended. I could not find this option anywhere. However, the Sandra report lists Multiple Processor support as "No."

(Note 2) I have installed the Windows Dual Processor Hot fix and performed the registry edit. I have also installed the AMD Dual Core Optimizer and ensured it remains in the S/U menu.

(Note 3) It probably bears saying that I run ProTools off the C drive with session files on the E drive.

(Note 4) I have not uninstalled and reinstalled ProTools, yet. I'm finishing up a CD project at the moment and prefer not to invite trouble at this stage!

"Windows Guide – Windows XP Optimizations and Troubleshooting" (webpage link)

“General Troubleshooting – Pro Tools LE on Windows (XP&Vista)” (DigiTechSupt post of 3/29/2005)

Also included is my Sandra Report:

Please note that while the Sandra Report lists my chipset as "AMD Athlon 64/Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration," the info I obtained on the ASUS website and from "PC Wizard 2007" lists it as nVidia nForce4.

SiSoftware Sandra

System
Host Name : AMDPC
User : Peter
Workgroup : MSHOME

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+
Speed : 2.41GHz
Model Number : 4800
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 64kB, Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 1MB, ECC, Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size

System
System : System manufacturer System Product Name
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer INC. A8N-SLI DELUXE
Bus(es) : PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE ACPI BIOS Revision 1016
Total Memory : 1GB DDR

Chipset
Model : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1.00GHz (2.01GHz)
Total Memory : 1GB DDR
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 201MHz (402MHz)

Video System
Adapter : Diamond X700-PCIE 256MB (PCIe 1.00 x16)

Storage Devices
WDC WD800JD-22LSA0 80GB (SATA300, 8MB Cache) : 75GB (C:)
WDC WD1600JS-00MHB1 160GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 8MB Cache) : 149GB (E:)
LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-160P6S (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
DRV1_VOL1 (C:) : 75GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD800JD-22LSA0 80GB (SATA300, 8MB Cache)
DRV5_VOL1 (E:) : 149GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD1600JS-00MHB1 160GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 8MB Cache)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A @ LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-160P6S (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS K8N4-E or A8N-E Mainboard
Disk Controller : ASUS K8N4-E or A8N-E Mainboard
Disk Controller : ASUS A8N-E Mainboard
Disk Controller : ASUS K8N4-E or A8N-E Mainboard
Disk Controller : ASUS SiI 3114 SATALink/SATARaid Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS K8N4-E or A8N-E Mainboard
USB Controller 2 : ASUS K8N4-E or A8N-E Mainboard
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS K8N4-E Mainboard
System SMBus Controller 1 : nVidia MCP2+ SMBus 1
System SMBus Controller 2 : nVidia MCP2+ SMBus 2

Network Services

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP (2002) Home 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86

Performance Tips
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.


Any help you can provide in this regard would be greatly appreciated. One other thing I am doing, though it may not make a difference, is upgrading to 2G Ram.

Thank you.

[alvarez1900]

I am getting the same errors on my mac and also on my windows bootcamp on the same macbook pro. On windows it was a 9092,9093, and 9094. In mac it was a 6101, 6104, and 9128

Nonetheless it always revolves around h/w buffer size or a random cpu overload... normall you cna change anything even lower cpu usage from 90 to 85 and it will resolve it or hold it off for awhile. It is annoying and at some points will go on for 10minutes... other times click it once and never see it again.

frustrating!

[a7bull]

After changing out my motherboard to a nice new Gigabyte P45, I was getting the same error msgs. I was advised to do a totally clean reinstall of XP Pro which I did and then upgraded from PT 7.4 to PT 8 and everything seemed fine. Until I was running Everest, the Lavalys utility for monitoring temps and voltages etc. in the background. Bingo. Error msgs back. Close out Everest and the msgs disapear. I don't know if this was the problem all along but I suspect it was. If you're running any sort of monitoring software in the background, try closing it. I've never read anything in the literature about this but it definitely is a factor in my case.
Andy B

[OzelloPete]

Alvarez1900 and a7bull, I appreciate the suggestions. Thanks.

I haven't tried decreasing the CPU usage limit, but I have tried switching from 2 RTAS processors to 1 and increasing the CPU usage limit to 99%. That seemed to help for a while, then the problem returns.

As for temp monitoring, I have "PC Probe II" installed (came with the motherboard), but I don't keep in running in the background. The only two items in my startup menu are:
MMERefresh (Digi) and
amd_dc_opt (AMD dual core optimizer)

[DigiTechSupt]

9129 errors are drive access errors. I would recommend trying the built in 'Standard Dual Channel IDE' driver.

Have you tried any of these suggestions from the Answerbase?
http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...0&itemid=17006

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...0&itemid=18921

[OzelloPete]

Thanks for the reply. No, I haven't tried either of the Answer Base suggestions.

WRT 17006, I just checked the ASUS website and my chipset is up to date. My BIOS is one version behind the latest, with the description of the latest version simply stating:

"Fixed Silicon 3114 RAID mode fail when using ASUS EN7950GX2 PCIE VGA Card"

Plus a warning about BIOS upgrades (to be done only when you're having technical difficulties, which I am, but not associated with the most recent BIOS fixes)

So, I thought I'd start with your suggestion for the Standard Dual Channel IDE driver (18921) and come back to BIOS later if necessary. But I was unable to follow the instructions, since the items listed under IDE/ATA ATAPI Controllers for my computer are:

NVIDIA nForce4 Parallel ATA Controller
NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller
NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller

I believe Item 18921 is geared toward Intel-based systems. I've searched the Answer base for "9093 9094 9124" and found no additional help on this issue for AMD systems.

Does this have something to do with SATA drives?

Thanks again.

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by OzelloPete

Thanks for the reply. No, I haven't tried either of the Answer Base suggestions.

WRT 17006, I just checked the ASUS website and my chipset is up to date. My BIOS is one version behind the latest, with the description of the latest version simply stating:

"Fixed Silicon 3114 RAID mode fail when using ASUS EN7950GX2 PCIE VGA Card"

Plus a warning about BIOS upgrades (to be done only when you're having technical difficulties, which I am, but not associated with the most recent BIOS fixes)

So, I thought I'd start with your suggestion for the Standard Dual Channel IDE driver (18921) and come back to BIOS later if necessary. But I was unable to follow the instructions, since the items listed under IDE/ATA ATAPI Controllers for my computer are:

NVIDIA nForce4 Parallel ATA Controller
NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller
NVIDIA nForce4 Serial ATA Controller

I believe Item 18921 is geared toward Intel-based systems. I've searched the Answer base for "9093 9094 9124" and found no additional help on this issue for AMD systems.

Does this have something to do with SATA drives?

Thanks again.

The same process and steps work for AMD systems, just substitute your 'NVIDIA Nforce 4...' controller for the Intel controller being talked about in that Answerbase.

[OzelloPete]

Again, thanks for the reply. I had tried to make it through the instructions previously, but didn't think the menu options fit the description. That's why I thought it was Intel specific. However, I tried again and read very carefully this time. Turns out it was old fashioned operator error (surpirse!). I got the Standard Dual PCI IDE Controller to install this time.

Next, I tried a run through on one of my sessions that was giving me a little trouble. The new driver makes things is worse. I can't even listen to the entire session without getting the "decrease buffer size" or "increase buffer size"

So, I'm back to the nVidia nForce4 Serial ATA Controller Driver.

[wolfskin]

Just a stab in the dark... Do you have the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer installed?

[OzelloPete]

wolfskin, yes I did intall the AMD dual core optimizer and made sure that it remained in my S/U menu (amd_dc_opt). Thanks for the suggestion, tho. Also did the Windows dual core hotfix and associated registry edit. Double checked that, too.