DAE error -9073 troubleshooting

[mrmxed]

Here is part of a query just e-mailed to ATTO tech support. Although I suspect the problem lies with some setting or conflict with the ATTO format or driver, I am not sure of anything at this point except that the hard drives in question are NOT too slow OR fragmented.

Problem: Consistently (about 9 out of 10 times) get a DAE error message (-9073 disk too slow or fragmented) while working in Protools sessions. The system crashes each time the message appears. Sometimes (but not always) a single drive online will play without a hitch. It does not matter which of the drives happens to be the one online.

This problem began with my upgrade to Protools 5.3 (HD2). Previously, all external drives had been formatted with FWB drivers and ran flawlessly. I erased & initialized all external drives using the ATTO Express 2.3.2 application that came with the dual channel ATTO SCSI card. Session files were then restored to the drives.

My system: Power Macintosh G4 733, 640 MB RAM, OS 9.2.2, Protools HD core card, Protools HD DSP card, ATTO dual channel card, SCSI bus 1 goes to a dual bay chassis with two 18 GB Kingston drives, SCSI bus 2 goes to a single bay chassis with one 18 GB Kinston drive. None of the drives are even half-way full yet.

The ATTO Express bus information window shows the correct settings: burst rate 32 bytes & synch rate 20 (10).

All other applications on the computer are there strictly to serve Protools. Backup is to the HP SureStore DDS3 tape drive using Retrospect v4.3. I also have Norton Utilities v5.0.3. Running Norton Disk Doctor to examine an external drive, in most cases, WILL CRASH THE SYSTEM!

I have systematically swapped drives, cables, and terminators. I zapped the pram, rebuilt all desktops, trashed the digi prefs. The system remains crippled.

This is the sort of crazy-making stuff that makes me want to swap careers as well as hardware. What else can be done that has not been done?

[PTLance]

I would give Disk Warrior a try. I think it is the best program for helping drives in need. Good luck!!

[Ed Kish]

I am starting to get the same error message. I also know that the drive is neither slow nor fragmented. It is only on a session started on 5.3. All of my old sessions playback without trouble.
This is where it gets weird. The session is at 192 and has 12 or 14 tracks. I started getting the 9073 message so I created a new session and imported the tracks. Things worked fine for a while. I added 3 more tracks and things were fine for a couple days. After a restart of my system, the errors began. The really weird part is the disc allocation is wrong. I created another new session and began importing the tracks, but the disc allocation says the are in a folder where they aren't.
I am still in the middle of this ( I discovered the allocation issue last night ) so I am not sure where the files actually are. I am concerned that they files are on an internal drive and that is why I am getting the 9073. My system is
G4 with 768 ram
5.3 HD3
atto card with 2 18 gig cheetah

[Ed Kish]

Just a small update. The allocation is definately wrong. PT says the files are in a different folder that where they actually are. The are on the same drive but in different folders. I am not sure what it means to the 9073 errors but still a little confusing.

[mrmxed]

An update - the official Digidesign compatibility list regarding hard drives states:

Note: Mac OS 9.2 requires ATTO ExpressPro-Tools v2.7 or higher, available at: www.attotech.com/software

I immediately downloaded, installed, and tested it. Result: No difference - still get DAE Error -9073 message followed by a system crash if the hard drive in question is called upon for anything else.

[AG]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by mrmxed:
An update - the official Digidesign compatibility list regarding hard drives states:

Note: Mac OS 9.2 requires ATTO ExpressPro-Tools v2.7 or higher, available at: www.attotech.com/software

I immediately downloaded, installed, and tested it. Result: No difference - still get DAE Error -9073 message followed by a system crash if the hard drive in question is called upon for anything else.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Try Apple Drive Set Up to format your Kingston Drives. I've avoided using ATTO ExpressPro-Tools for formatting them after hearing these kinds of stories. Once in a long while I'll get a DAE Error -9073, but not a crash.
Good Luck,

[DigiTechSupt]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by mrmxed:
I immediately downloaded, installed, and tested it. Result: No difference - still get DAE Error -9073 message followed by a system crash if the hard drive in question is called upon for anything else.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Although not entirely clear in your post, did you go ahead and reformat your SCSI drives with the updated version?

What Mode Page Optimization did you choose?

What are the model numbers of your SCSI drives?

Is anything connected to the internal port of the ATTO card?

-In the meantime, reseat all your SCSI cables and make sure that each ATTO bus is properly terminated.

Brent

[uno1234]

FYI, I'm not getting these problems with 5.3. I have a dual gig G4, with Ultrastars and Cheetahs. I formatted the drives with 2.3 on my old system, but updated the drivers with 2.7 when I installed HD3 on my new computer. I have since reformatted the drives with 2.7, but not because of any problems. I have always formatted my drives with the digital audio optimization, and do not use HFS+. I find HFS+ slows everything down a bit.

Have you tried removing other devices on your SCSI chain? Also, I make sure to set the ATTO card to no automatic termination, as the double termination screws up my tape backups. I don't know if that makes any difference for 9073, but I'm guessing you should try everything.

[mrmxed]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Last night Drive 'C' played without crashing. Drive 'C' was the only drive online at the time. Drive 'A' crashed immediately. Next step will be to erase and re-initialize both Drives 'A' & 'B', replace the sessions on each, and test once again.

Glad to hear uno1234 is having success!

- Mark

[Bookerv12]

Hi,


A couple of months ago, I had the same problem.
I tried everything, only to find out that the scsi connection had wiggled loose on my drive....I thought it was too weird of a fix, but I was able to reproduce the problem.
I was down for a couple of weeks.
You have probably tried your connections already, but give it a look.
It wasn't the first time something mechanical stopped me in my tracks with this thing.

Good luck to you, I'm sure you will find it.

Booker.