Protools suddenly running uber slow...

[BassChase]

Hello!

All of my Protools sessions suddenly started running extreamly slowly. The sessions will play when I first open them for about 3 seconds. I will get an error that tells me to adjust my playback engine. I have tried every playback engine setting to no avail. After that initial error, PT will become so sluggish that I cant play the session or get any work done.

This is happening regardless of how many plug ins the session has. I run a registry cleaner often. The sessions are on an internal HD (7200) that is 90% full.

What could be causing this problem? It is very frustrating and I cant release the beautiful music I am making!

[lincol1]

http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=193636

[BassChase]

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : Asus G73Jh
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : ChasePC
User : Chase

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz
Speed : 1.85GHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L2 On-board Cache : 4x 256kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L3 On-board Cache : 6MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 12-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size, 8 threads sharing

Computer
Platform Compliance : Intel Centrino Mobile Technology
Mainboard : Asus G73Jh
BIOS : AMI G73Jh.206 02/26/2010
Bus(es) : PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 8GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Chipset
Model : ASUS Clarksfield/Lynnfield DMI
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2.56GHz (5.11GHz)

Chipset
Model : Intel Core Mobile (Clarksfield) UnCore
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2.27GHz (4.54GHz)
Total Memory : 8GB DDR3 SO-DIMM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 710MHz (1.42GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Kingston ASU1333D3S9DR82G 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Kingston ASU1333D3S9DR82G 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Kingston ASU1333D3S9DR82G 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Kingston ASU1333D3S9DR82G 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (800 SM5.0 700MHz, 1GB DDR5 2x1GHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (800SP 10C 700MHz, 1GB 2x1GHz)
Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 (800SP 700MHz, 1012.2MB 2x1GHz)

Storage Devices
Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:) (D:)
Seagate ST31000528AS (1TB, USB/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ) : 932GB (H:)
TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633C (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 8GB (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
OS (C:) : 116GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
DATA (D:) : 330GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
KACZ BACKUP (H:) : 931GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST31000528AS (1TB, USB/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ)
Pro Tools LE (E:) : 8GB (CDFS) @ TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633C (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS HM55 LPC Interface Controller
Audio Device : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor High Definition Audio
Audio Device : ASUS EG JUNIPER XT Audio Device [Radeon HD 5700 Series]
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) AA01h
Disk Controller : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA AHCI Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

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

Network Services
Network Adapter : Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20)
Network Adapter : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Wireless Adapter 1 : Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (802.11g (ERP), 54Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line
Battery No 1 : 100%

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.9

[lincol1]

Are you using a USB drive for audio? If so is that or anything else new?

[BassChase]

Nope, my audio is on an internal SATA drive.

Nothing else is new. This kinda stuff makes me wanna get a Mac.

[lincol1]

I use a Mac but plenty of people have incredible pc's. Have you followed all of the recommended optimizations?

Also if your audio drive is that full, could you try off loading some to another drive?

What version of pro tools and what interface?

[albee1952]

Are you recording to a partition of the system drive, or a separate physical drive(you need a separate hard drive for recording)? Wireless and bluetooth should be disabled when running Pro Tools. I would move some older sessions off to another drive to see if it helps(I hate having a drive 90% full). You also probably should not be fussing with the registry very often.

[TOM@METRO]

Cleaning the registry should only be done after a reliable clone is made. Use Acronis True Image. This will also prevent wondering what the issue is when things go bad. Just pop in the clone and all is well.

As Albee said the 90% full session drive is not the best, I would offload at least another 10% if this is a separate physical drive. Your C: and D: drive appear to be partitions of the same physical drive. Be sure you are not trying to use that drive for sessions. A partitioned system drive is about the worst of all choices for sessions. He is also spot-on about the Wireless and Bluetooth...Shut 'em down.

[mano111]

If you are, as you say, recordin to your internal laptop c drive and its 90% full that is most likely the reason. Your system needs that drive to have some free sapce and Protools only supports recording to a seperate drive. Now that its that full its probably fragmented too slowing it down to a crawl.

So first thing to do is get those sessions out to an external HDD


I dont recomend cleaning the registry either.

[BassChase]

Thanks for the prompt advice guys!

I meant to say that my drive is 90% EMPTY not 90% full hahaha my bad!
It is a separate internal hard drive, not a partition of another one.

I had no idea I wasnt supposed to clean my registry! What effect does this have on protools? I cleaned my registry a few times in the last week and that would definently explain this problem!

How can I reverse the effects of cleaning it? I don't have a backup of how my computer was before.

Thanks again!