Constant System Crashing

[nailay7]

-Pro Tools 10 native
-i7 3.4 ghz
-2 cores, 8threads
-16 gig
-2 terabyte primary drive
-3 terabyte data drive (Audio Stuff)
-windows 7 pro
-Interface: M-audio Fast Track Ultra (USB 2.0)


Issues: This is a new machine that I've been running for under a month. I started having issues with one particular session not playing and then crashing pro tools on my laptop and decided it would be a good time to upgrade my computer (something I had been planning on doing for a while any way). Got my dad to help me throw together a computer and got it all set up. But know a couple weeks in its crashing again. And now its not just that session, its a whole [bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep]load of them.

When ever I get this message "Some paths were made inactive because they could not be assigned to existing path definitions" and to click the ok button, the whole computer just freezes up before I can even get the sessions open. I think they're might have been at least one other unrelated dialog box that crashed a session too.

I Tried going into setup>I/O>Output and checking the box that says "Sessions overwrite current I/O Setup when opened" and that worked for a bit. But then eventually the message came back and it all started crashing again.

.....

I posted that to gear slutz, but now the problem has become much worse. Every time it crashes, my system goes with it and I have to do an improper shut down. Now the many of the sessions will crash upon opening, and its not specific to the "Some paths were made inactive because they could not be assigned to existing path definitions". It may simply freeze up when restoring the tracks, or at another point when opening the session.

If however, I hold down shift to make all plugins in-active, it will open. But often times it freezes at some point latter down the line (seemingly unassociated with any specific action).

Occasionally I will Hit play in an open session, and the play button will flash (along with the stop button) and it wont play. The playback cursor will flash as well but not go anywhere.

I've tried optimizing my computer settings to the ones Avid recommends, but it hasn't done anything.

.....

I did a Sandra report, but I'm not sure how to submit it because I can't attach a TXT file.

[albee1952]

To post the Sandra, just copy all the text, and paste into your post here.

"2 cores, 8 threads" makes no sense. I assume its 4 cores for an i7

Re the box that says "Sessions overwrite current I/O Setup when opened" I would UNcheck that.

On the session that opens with all the plugins inactive(holding the SHIFT key) does it only crash once the plugins are made active? If yes, I suspect a bad plugin(process of elimination is the key to find the culprit, and it will be tedious). Pulling all 3rd party plugins out of the plugins folder can help diagnose this(stick them back in a few at a time). Does the rogue session have a certain plugin that you don't often use?

Re the play button flashing, but no playback, check to see if you turned on Wait for Midi Note by accident(its the clock face at the left of the transport buttons).

[junkgear]

It sounds like your IO settings are not correct. I don't know if you changed interfaces at some point or if they were never set up properly, but you should go in and set them up again.

I would start with the input tab, delete whatever is in there now, then click on the Default button to allow PT to fill in your input paths.

Now do the same thing for the Output and Bus tabs. When finished, press ok to exit IO settings. Close ProTools and restart it, then try opening a session that used to work and see if that helps.

[nailay7]

Originally Posted by albee1952

To post the Sandra, just copy all the text, and paste into your post here.

When I paste it in though, it says that its too long. Maybe I did the report wrong?

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by nailay7

When I paste it in though, it says that its too long. Maybe I did the report wrong?

Hi and Welcome to the Forum

Just cut the report in 2 or 3 parts and make the posts in a row here so we can see the whole report one under the other. They are too long for just one post so no worries there

Best Regards
Christopher

[The Weed]

Just the computer overview.

[nailay7]

Originally Posted by The Weed

Just the computer overview.

OK:
< ID >
Host Name: CoolerMaster
Workgroup: WORKGROUP

< Computer >
Model: ASUS All Series ASUS MB
Serial Number: System Serial Number
Chassis: Desktop
Mainboard: ASUS GRYPHON Z87
Serial Number: 130814500100312
BIOS: AMI (OEM) 1603 11/06/2013
Intel vPro: 9.00.02.1345
Total Memory: 16GB DIMM DDR3

< Processors >
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4C
8T 3.9GHz, 3.9GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)
Socket/Slot: FC LGA1150

< Chipset >
Memory Controller: ASUS Core (Haswell) DRAM Controller 100MHz,
2x 8GB DIMM DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit

< Memory Module(s) >
Memory Module: Crucial BLS4G3D1609ES2LX0 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 5-37-12-6)
Memory Module: Crucial BLS4G3D1609ES2LX0 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 5-37-12-6)
Memory Module: Crucial BLS4G3D1609ES2LX0 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 5-37-12-6)
Memory Module: Crucial BLS4G3D1609ES2LX0 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-24 5-37-12-6)

< Video System >
Monitor/Panel: Dell Computer Alienware2210 (1920x1080,
21.7")
Video Adapter: AMD Radeon HD 5700 Series (10CU 800SP SM5.0
850MHz, 1GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit, PCIe 2.00
x16)

< Graphics Processor >
OpenCL GP Processor: AMD Radeon HD 5700 Series (800SP 10C 850MHz,
1GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit)
Compute Shader Processor: AMD Radeon HD 5700 Series (800SP 10C 850MHz,
1GB DDR5 4.8GHz 128-bit)

< Storage Devices >
Hitachi HDS5C3020ALA632 (2TB, :2TB (C:)
WDC WD30EZRX-00D8PB0 (3TB, SAT:3TB (I:)
ASUSTeK osm (801.6GB): 747GB (J:)
Generic USB SD Reader (USB2): N/A (F:)
Generic USB CF Reader (USB2): N/A (G:)
Generic USB SM Reader (USB2): N/A (H:)
Generic USB MS Reader (USB2): N/A (K:)
HL-DT-STDVDRAM GH24NS95 (SATA,:N/A (D:)

< Logical Storage Devices >
System Reserved: 100MB (NTFS)
New Volume (I:): 2TB (NTFS) @ WDC WD30EZRX-00D8PB0 (3TB,
SATA600, 3.5", 5400rpm)
New Volume (J:): 747GB (NTFS) @ ASUSTeK osm (801.6GB)
Hard Disk (C:): 2TB (NTFS) @ Hitachi HDS5C3020ALA632 (2TB,
SATA600, 3.5", 5940rpm, 26MB Cache)
Removable Drive (F:): N/A @ Generic USB SD Reader (USB2)
Removable Drive (G:): N/A @ Generic USB CF Reader (USB2)
Removable Drive (H:): N/A @ Generic USB SM Reader (USB2)
Removable Drive (K:): N/A @ Generic USB MS Reader (USB2)
Optical Drive (D:): N/A @ HL-DT-STDVDRAM GH24NS95 (SATA, DVD+-RW,
CD-RW)

< Peripherals >
LPC Hub Controller 1: ASUS Lynx Point LPC Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1: T0 C8-03
Audio Device: ASUS Lynx Point HD Audio Controller
Audio Codec: Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Audio Device: Gammagraphx, Inc. (or missing ID) EG JUNIPER
XT Audio Device [Radeon HD 5700 Series]
Audio Codec: ATI (AMD) HDMI Audio
Disk Controller: ASUS Lynx Point 6-Port SATA AHCI Controller
USB Controller 1: ASUS Lynx Point USB xHCI Host Controller
USB Controller 2: ASUS Lynx Point USB Enhanced Host Controller
#2
USB Controller 3: ASUS Lynx Point USB Enhanced Host Controller
#1
SMBus/i2c Controller 1: Intel ICH SMBus

< Printers and Faxes >
Printer: Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600,
Colour)
Fax: Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

< Peripherals >

< Network Services >
Network Adapter: Intel(R) Ethernet Connection I217-V (Ethernet,
100Mbps)

< Operating System >
Windows System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601
(Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance: x64

< Windows Experience Index >
Current System: 5.9

[albee1952]

New Volume (I:): 2TB (NTFS) @ WDC WD30EZRX-00D8PB0 (3TB,
SATA600, 3.5", 5400rpm)
New Volume (J:): 747GB (NTFS) @ ASUSTeK osm (801.6GB)
Hard Disk (C:): 2TB (NTFS) @ Hitachi HDS5C3020ALA632 (2TB,
SATA600, 3.5", 5940rpm, 26MB Cache)

^^^2 issues right there as Pro Tools needs to record to a 7200 rpm drive(and no "green" drives allowed). Not the cause of the crashing, but something that needs to be addressed soon. "throwing together" a computer is a bad way to get good performance in Pro Tools(she is a finicky mistress), but...

Some things to look at:
#1-Right-click on MyComputer>Manage>Disk Management. Look at the left box for each hard drive for the word BASIC. If you see DYNAMIC, that drive should be re-formatted as NTFS and BASIC.
#2-If a session runs fine with all the plugins inactive, that's a sign of a bad plugin(corrupt, old, etc).
#3-Right-click on the Pro Tools icon and select Properties. Find the tab with these 2 options: "Always Run as Admin" and "Disable Desktop Composition", and check both.
#4-go to Control Panel>Device Manager and double click on each USB Root Hub, and make sure the Power Management option is UNchecked on all.