Pro Tools LE 7.4cs5 CPU overload issue

[LindsayJ]

Hi folks,

I've been having a problem with CPU overload issues ever since i upgraded to 7.4cs5. Yesterday was the absolute pits - every 5mins the CPU overload error window would pop up. I'm not even maxing my system halfway and this message keeps on popping up. A fellow engineer has the same issues with 7.4. and we're running exactly the same system and cs patches.

I've tried every conceivable combination of buffer size vs playback engine settings. with no improvement.
The type of work is radio production and the plugins are the norm under any circumstance i.e WAVES' Rverb,Truespace, REQ's, RCompressors etc, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that the system can't handle.

If anybody out there has a solution for me it'll be much appreciated, otherwise my next step is to downgrade to 7.3 again which i'm not too keen about because i'll be losing Elastic Time

my system is:

G5 PowerPC 10.4.11 dual 2.3GHz
1.5Gig RAm
Pro Tools LE 7.4cs5 Mbox2
WAVES Gold
Lacie 250Gig FW800 port

[Slim Shady]

This usually happens when one (or more) of your plug-ins are out of date. Make sure you have only 7.4 compatible plug-ins installed. The RTAS engine changed around PT 7.x, so if you're using anything from before that time, it'll definitely cause errors. For Waves I believe you'd need version 5.9.7 to work with the rig you have.

[LindsayJ]

hey Slim, is that you there in the trunk? lol

thanks bud! i'll give it a bash and let you know how it goes. I never even gave that part a second thought!

[Slim Shady]

Yeah, give it a shot, it's been known to help. If that doesn't do it for some reason, if you haven't already make sure you've done the General Setup stuff in this thread, things like Spotlight drive indexing can also cause PT to throw up a lot of errors.

The other potential problems I see are that you're sorta barely keeping afloat with only 1.5gb RAM (7.4 needs more than 7.3 due to elastic audio), and you could also try moving your FW800 drive to a 400 port, that also has been known to fix a glitch or two, although usually more with laptops and older G4's.

[SKI]

7.4 cs5 made my system spike strangely as well so I just reverted back to one of my earlier 7.4 carbons and left it at that.
Fortunately cs5 doesn't add things that everyone needs.
Try an earlier version of 7.4 than cs5.

[leonardrock]

Hey all,

I'm also having similar problems with CPU spikes and "too slow or fragmented" drive errors. Like Lindsay, I too have tried HW buffer combos, disabled plugs, etc. (I do not run any third party plugs only digirack)

In addition to this problem, my session is also hiccuping every time I move the cursor during playback. That really tells me something is wrong because that hasn't happened since my PC days.

Until the whole Leopard fiasco, my system and hardware configuration was flawless. Even with 7.4.2 I'm experiencing real flakey performance.

I noticed you guys mentioned cs5. Forgive my stupidity but is that considered 7.4.2 that was recently released? I checked the downloads and did not find any specific indication of cs5 available.

Additional system info: I'm running a Glyph FW800 (on a separate FW bus, with interface on Siig Expresscard.) Which has worked beautifully during Tiger.

[leonardrock]

Originally Posted by leonardrock

In addition to this problem, my session is also hiccuping every time I move the cursor during playback. That really tells me something is wrong because that hasn't happened since my PC days.

Quick Update - fixed that problem. Needed to disable Dynamic Transport.

[SKI]

He's not running leopard, 7.4 cs5 is the latest 10.4x version and 7.4.2 is the latest 10.5x version.

Originally Posted by leonardrock

Hey all,

I'm also having similar problems with CPU spikes and "too slow or fragmented" drive errors. Like Lindsay, I too have tried HW buffer combos, disabled plugs, etc. (I do not run any third party plugs only digirack)

In addition to this problem, my session is also hiccuping every time I move the cursor during playback. That really tells me something is wrong because that hasn't happened since my PC days.

Until the whole Leopard fiasco, my system and hardware configuration was flawless. Even with 7.4.2 I'm experiencing real flakey performance.

I noticed you guys mentioned cs5. Forgive my stupidity but is that considered 7.4.2 that was recently released? I checked the downloads and did not find any specific indication of cs5 available.

Additional system info: I'm running a Glyph FW800 (on a separate FW bus, with interface on Siig Expresscard.) Which has worked beautifully during Tiger.

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by LindsayJ

Hi folks,

I've been having a problem with CPU overload issues ever since i upgraded to 7.4cs5.

What are the error numbers in those messages?

Since you're on Tiger, you can use the Tech Support Folder to generate a plug-in version list and paste it into your reply.

After downloading, open the Tech Support Folder, then the Tech Support Utility folder - inside it will have the Tech Support Utility.zip as well as instructions on how to use the utility to generate a plug-in version list. Copy and paste the results in your reply.[bleep]

Also, have you tried all the steps in the Setup and General Troubleshooting thread? Making sure wireless/bluetooth/airport are disabled can often help.

There was also an Airport update that caused errors like this. Here's a link to a utility that can help you revert to a previous Airport version, which may help (we do not test or warrant this software in any way - it is provided by a third party and we are only providing the link for informational purposes).

www.timothyallan.com/files/200801airportfix.zip

[IveGotTricksUpMySleeve]

Hey, I feel your pain.. I have a g4 as well
but for anybody that has a problem with cpu overloads while recording or sampling... here is a basic way to get buy

try temporarily recoding your instrument tracks onto audio tracks.
or even if you have to many plugins on an actual recording, try recording a temperary master track.. to be able to work on other parts without your cpu overloading. it's annoying to have to do this, but its less annoying than your cpu overloadin ever 4 and a half seconds.