System hangs when recording stopped

[The Stranger]

Finally got my pro tools system up and running... it sounds great, but when I hit the stop button after recording, the spinning wheel of death shows up and the system is incapacitated for several minutes. I've noticed the system hangs longer and longer after each recording pass... I'm talking about 15-20 minutes . I'm brand new to pro tools and I did a search but found nothing on the DUC or in the manual, so if anyone has any input I would greatly appreciate it. My configuration is as follows:

G4 DP 1.25
OS 10.2.6
Pro Tools HD4 version 6.1
4 OWC 80 GB Firewire 400 Drives 7200 RPM

Thanks in advance

[chuck.dallas]

Could be one of your system settings or a driver incompatibility. But I would highly recommend calling Digi's tech support. They're excellent. Please try them if you haven't already. Phone: 650-731-6100

[David Schober]

You mentined you "finally got your PT system up and running. Were there problems getting going? If so, you may have some other problems.

But here's some things to try.

Try recording to your internal drive. It's not the way to always work, but a system in proper shape will do it pretty well, providing you have at least 50% of your hard drive unused. For another option, I also use an internal ATA drive with great results. It's cheap and you don't have the problems of Firewire.

I agree about the driver issue. I've found it best to never install the drivers that come with firewire drives. Initialize them Mac extended+ with the Apple disk utilitly. That will also make life easier if you take your firewire to another system.

As a last resort, uninstall PT, making sure you're uninstalling 6.1 uninstaller. If you, like me purchased 6.0, then upgraded via the web, you'll need to get the 6.1 uninstaller on the Digi website. Uninstall 6.1 then uninstall 6.0 because there are still 6.0 items on the system. Once you do that, then reinstall 6.0 from your purchased CD, and finally upgrade back to 6.1. It's a pain, but that's the proceedure. Of course, if you purchased a 6.1 CD, you don't have to go thru all that. The 6.1 CD will do all you need. As for plugins, that shouldn't be a problem as they'll not be affected by the uninstall/reinstall proceedure. I'd call Digi first before I try this.

But do try recording on your internal drive and reinitialize your firewire before you call Digi. That will probably be the first thing they will ask you to do.

Good luck with your new system.

[Helgonet]

I have two HD3 systems. They both hang on stop when recording video every other time?

Are you using Sync I/O or AV option XL?

[scott_cannizzaro]

I too am having the same problem. I have been running 6.1 HD2 with AVXL, with SYNC I/O, and have been on the phone with tech support. Capturing video hangs when I stop the recording. I started recording video to the internal drive, then copying it to the SCSI drive on my video SCSI bus for playback. This worked for a while, but now it's starting to occasionally hang using this process. I have verified proper drivers and reformatted drives. It seems the larger the Video file, the more likely the system will hang.
Would really like to get this one solved!

[Xhalo0zero]

But I would highly recommend calling Digi's tech support. They're excellent. Please try them if you haven't already. Phone: 650-731-6100

You can try them, but they'll probably tell you to trash the PRAM, and restart the computer - It seems like we've given them more help than they've given us, but you need to put some more info here for some help. How much memory do you have, how many tracks, have you set a max recording length in the prefs, do you restart the computer while the wheel is spinning, or does it stop and everything is recorded fine. Is your drive full when/if you reboot (meaning does it record a trk to fill the hard drive)Anyway, give some more info, and you'll get some good help on the DUC.
-inc-

[The Stranger]

Thanks to everyone for all the input. I'm doing some tests right now and I should have some answers very soon. I'm not using any video though. To answer your questions, Xhalo0zero, I have 2 GB ram, I'm recording only 12-16 tracks at once, I tried setting a maximum length in prefs to no avail, and the wheel finally does stop and audio is recorded fine and plays back perfectly. I'm going to try recording 16 tracks to the internal drive and see if that makes a difference. I'll post again once I know more.

[The Stranger]

Recording to the system drive works fine... I'm off to do some firewire testing...

[David Schober]

Good!

The downside of OSX is you can't really get to the drivers like you could in OS9. If you could, then you could trash the drivers you didn't want. Still, try reformatting with the Apple drive setup and see how that goes. Also, the ATA is a great way to go. The biggest problems with firewires that I've encountered is the physical box itself. The connectors are usually garbage. The enclosures are probably worth about $5. LaCie, and Granite digital are two of the better made drives I've seen. I also wouldn't buy a firewire with a voltage convertor inline. I buy the drives that let you plug directly into the box with the normal AC cable. I've had firewires that appeared to be dead, only to find when put in a new enclosure, they work fine! That was probably the firewire connection itself. Look for the firewire connectors that are flush with the box. The ones that stick out seem to be less reliable.

Get a big ATA and use the firewires you have for backup/transportation--that would be my recommendation. I know firewires are approved, but I've found then not dependable.

[Helgonet]

Same proplem as you Scott, crashes when recording video and pressing stop. The larger the file the more likely to get problems.

Have tried everything and nothing seems to help.

Are you using templates? With videotracks?

Upgraded to 10.2.8 today, will try it out.

I have two identical systems so memory or other hardware issues are not likely.

It can happen with short recordings as well.