Pro tools white screen and loading spinner every hour, no mouse actions work

[snowplaysmusic]

Helllo. I am on the latest Pro Tools Ultimate 2021.3.1. Windows 10 updated. Threadripper 3990x, a pretty solid and stable build. Everything is disabled in msconfig/startup except essential Avid and Windows services, and no programs running except Chrome. I have no plug-ins in the session, just track folders, VCAs, and audios (about 30 tracks). Aside from that, empty session.

If I begin recording empty air and then step away, randomly without warning, at-least once every 60 minutes, but sometimes sooner (in 5-10 minutes), without any user action, when alt+tabbing back into Pro Tools from Chrome the following occurs:

1. Pro Tools UI is painted on the screen and looks normal but any mouse interaction produces a spinning loading circle and the application goes into the grey/silver loading state.
2. The loading circle and grey loading overlay and will continue indefinitely
3. Audio inputs continue to play back through the monitors (and I believe recording is working too). In other words, the session continues to work (it has not crashed) and everything is fine, unless I want to use my mouse and do anything
4. I must ALT+CTRL+DELETE to kill the process and start over to make any user action.

Since I work all day in Pro Tools, I get it at least 5-6 times a day. It is quite maddening, and very disruptive. It seems to have originated (for me) in 2021.3 and continues in 2021.3.1 but I have not yet tried downgrading.

Here is an example (in this case Ozone was open in Blue Cat, but I since replicated it with no plugins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke7Fo56AEeE

Has anybody else seen this? Any ideas?

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : DESKTOP-MDVLGKC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : OEM System Product Name
Serial Number : System Ser**********
Chassis : Default string Desktop
Mainboard : ASUS ROG ZENITH II EXTREME ALPHA
Serial Number : 2001643********
BIOS : AMI (OEM) 0202 12/30/2019
NUMA Support : 2 Unit(s)
Total Memory : 255.88GB DIMM DDR4

Processors
Processor : AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X 64-Core Processor (16M 64C 128T 4.14GHz, 64x 512kB L2, 16x 16MB L3)
Socket/Slot : SP3r2 MCP (TR4)

Chipset
Memory Controller : AMD F19 (Ryzen3/TR3 Starship) Host Bridge 100MHz, 256GB DIMM DDR4 2.67GHz

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)
Memory Module : G.Skill/Hynix (Hyundai) F4-3200C16-32GTZN 32GB DDR4 2Rx8 PC4-25600U DDR4-3200 (19-19-19-44 4-63-21-7)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : SAMSUNG
(1920x1080, 54.6")
Monitor/Panel : HPN HP 32 QHD
(2560x1440, 32.0")
Monitor/Panel : HPN HP 32 QHD
(2560x1440, 32.0")
Monitor/Panel : Samsung S24D330
(1920x1080, 24.0")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (2560S 40C SM6.5 1.6GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2, 7.9GB 14GHz 256-bit, PCIe 3.0 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (2560S 40C SM6.5 1.6GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2, 7.9GB 13.6GHz 256-bit, PCIe 3.0 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (2560S 40C SM6.5 1.6GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2, 7.9GB 13.6GHz 256-bit, PCIe 3.0 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (2560S 40C SM6.5 1.6GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2, 7.9GB 13.6GHz 256-bit, PCIe 3.0 x16)

Graphics Processor
CUDA : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (2560S 40C SM7.5 1.6GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2, 8GB 13.6GHz 256-bit)
OpenCL : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (2560S 40C SM1.2 1.6GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2, 8GB 13.6GHz 256-bit)
D3D 11 : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (2560S 40C SM12.1 1.6GHz/1.8GHz, 4MB L2, 7.9GB 13.6GHz 256-bit)
OpenGL : NVIDIA Corporation GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER/PCIe/SSE2 (8GB)
OpenGL : NVIDIA Corporation GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER/PCIe/SSE2 (8GB)
OpenGL : NVIDIA Corporation GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER/PCIe/SSE2 (8GB)
OpenGL : NVIDIA Corporation GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER/PCIe/SSE2 (8GB)

Storage Devices
Disk : WDC WD40EZRX-22SPEB0 (4TB, SATA600, 3.5", 5400rpm)
Disk : Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB (1TB, SATA600, 2.5", SSD, SED)
Disk : WDC WD10EZEX-00BN5A0 (1TB, SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Disk : WDC WD10EZEX-08M2NA0 (1TB, SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Disk : Samsung SSD 970 PRO 1TB (1TB, PCIe3x4/NVMe, SED)
Disk : ST10000NE0008-2JM101 (10TB, USB3/SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)

Logical Storage Devices
hdd (F:) : 4TB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD40EZRX-22SPEB0 (4TB, SATA600, 3.5", 5400rpm)
ssd (G:) : 932GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB (1TB, SATA600, 2.5", SSD, SED)
kierkegaard (E:) : 931GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD10EZEX-00BN5A0 (1TB, SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)
nietzsche (D:) : 931GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD10EZEX-08M2NA0 (1TB, SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Hard Disk (C:) : 954GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ Samsung SSD 970 PRO 1TB (1TB, PCIe3x4/NVMe, SED)
archive (H:) : 9TB (NTFS, 4kB) @ ST10000NE0008-2JM101 (10TB, USB3/SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller : ASUS FCH LPC Bridge
Audio Device : EVGA TU104 HD Audio Controller
Audio Codec : nVidia GeForce 7800 GT
Audio Device : 7418 Game Capture HD60 Pro
Disk Controller : ASUS Asmedia 106x SATA Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS Asmedia 106x SATA Controller
Disk Controller : AMD FCH SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
Disk Controller : AMD FCH SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
Disk Controller : Samsung NVMe SSD Controller SM981/PM981
USB Controller : EVGA TU104 USB 3.1 Host Controller
USB Controller : ASUS F17/19 (Ryzen2/3, TR/2) USB 3.0 Host Controller
USB Controller : ASUS ASM3242 USB 3.2 Host Controller
USB Controller : ASUS F17/19 (Ryzen2/3, TR/2) USB 3.0 Host Controller
USB Controller : ASUS F19 (Ryzen3/TR3 Matisse) USB 3.0 Host Controller
USB Controller : AMD F19 (Ryzen3/TR3 Matisse) USB 3.0 Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller : AMD SB900 SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Send to Microsoft OneNote 16 Driver (1200x1200, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft Software Printer Driver (300x300, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer v4 (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft Print To PDF (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Biometrics
Voice : Analog NUI Voice Virtual Sensor (Voice)
Facial Features : Windows Hello Face Sensor (Facial Features)

Peripherals
Media Player : Seagate Expansion Desk (9.1TB)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Marvell 10G Ethernet connection (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : Intel(R) I211 Gigabit Network Connection (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz (Wifi5 (802.11ac/VHT), AES-CCMP, 650Mbps)

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 10.0.19042
Platform Compliance : x64

Performance Enhancing Tips
Warning 2513 : TPM not detected. Some security features are unavailable.
Tip 3 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

[Ben Jenssen]

I think if you provide a Sandra report, like explained here: Help Us Help You, you will have better chance of some of our experts here to be able to help.

[albee1952]

What Ben said^^^ but wait! There's more
What exactly is this drive doing?
hdd (F:) : 4TB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD40EZRX-22SPEB0 (4TB, SATA600, 3.5", 5400rpm)

Assuming its just backup, disconnect it(troubleshooting is about breaking things down to the bare minimum so you don't chase your tail). I would also kill Chrome and both Biometric items. Given how much RAM you have installed, I would pull half of it(consult the mobo manual for which slots should be used for 4 sticks). If nothing changes, I would then remove the 4 sticks that you kept, and install the other 4 sticks(in those same slots). If that results in any change, then you may have a bad stick of RAM.

Make sure there is nothing in the background doing auto-backups of anything(something that is timed to run every hour like you describe).

Last ideas:
1-I'm confused by the graphics showing multiples, so if you have more than a single card, I would pull all but 1 for testing.
2-if you are connected to the internet, disconnect(maybe something on your system is trying to "call home" every hour).
3-I don't know how AMD deals with hyperthreading, but on many intel setups, things can be more stable with that turned off(so you might consider doing the same to see if it helps)

[snowplaysmusic]

Thank you for the responses. I updated my post with the Sandra logs.

hdd drive is an archive drive. I certainly could disconnect it. That is something I will add to the "troubleshooting" queue and if I have more issues I will try it and then report back. Thank you for the suggestion.

I have just disabled Windows Biometric from the services utility.

I will try letting it idle without Chrome (fresh boot, no apps but Pro Tools)

I do not think it is the RAM as it passes some heavy RAM crunching utilities with no issues.

I hope (believe) all background services are disabled as I have disabled everything in msconfig and startup aside from Avid and Microsoft as per the Windows 10 optimization guide.

I just disabled all unused LAN cards and bluetooth.

I just updated all drivers.

I am not sure I can disable internet because I do not have a free USB stick, but it's probably a good idea I try again without USB connections.

I just disabled SMT (hyperthreading on Ryzen) which is probably a good idea anyway (who needs 128 threads?)

The problem seems to be during idling and low workloads

I just switched the performance plan to a build-in Ryzen Balanced Plan with minimum processor state at 100%

I will try idling more and seeing what produces, and take further steps if the problem persists. Thanks for your help!

[snowplaysmusic]

I found out that disabling windows thread dynamic priority boost in process lasso for everything Avid, as well as keeping the CPU affinity off the first few CPUs, significantly improved the issue. I went from 20 crashes a day to less then 1 a day.

[snowplaysmusic]

Well it's back. Empty sessions just sitting there, nothing running, come back every minutes and the session goes grey, the wheel spins and it crashes. Sad.

[snowplaysmusic]

I noticed something interesting/weird today. When I let it play on record, over time (10 minutes or so) the timecode updates become slower and slower. After about 30 minutes the timecode was updating about twice a second. Then after 45 minutes they stopped altogether and I got the white spinning crash.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by snowplaysmusic

I noticed something interesting/weird today. When I let it play on record, over time (10 minutes or so) the timecode updates become slower and slower. After about 30 minutes the timecode was updating about twice a second. Then after 45 minutes they stopped altogether and I got the white spinning crash.

I assume you mean the counter. Timecode is something completely different.
This sounds like just another side to the problems you have been reporting from the beginning.
It would help if you summed up what you have now, and if that's any better than before, and what might have led you there.
From what I can gather, you have a dysfunctional PT-installation/PC-configuration, which is not uncommon, and can usually only really be remedied by rebuilding it from scratch.