The Infamous CPU Errors

[Lockemusic]

Hello Guys,

Would very much appreciate some insight to a problem with my Pro Tools set up.

Having searched through this forum and various others it seems Im not the only one running into the cpu errors (-9128) but at the moment I haven't found a solution to this. Here is my set up:

Mac 10.5.8, 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Pro Tools 8.03 LE with Digi 002 Rack

I have tried various settings on the playback engine options. Usually when mixing I have it set to:

1024 Samples, 2 Host Processors (my maximum), CPU Limit 100%, DAE Playback Cache at level 2 normal, Plugin-In-Stream at 2.

During playback the mix stops after a few seconds: "Remove RTAS Plugin or Increase CPU". Of course the CPU is set to the maximum and the vast majority of plugins are set to "inactive" but the error persists.

On this specific session there are only 4 tracks, the "system usage" meter shows the CPU (RTAS) at around 10% yet another sessions of mine has this reading at around 50%! and manages to play longer?

I have read certain plug-ins could cause this error, would it be wise to remove my plug in folder from the mac HD temporarily? (its 2.5GB) I am recording to my external lacie drive, could I place the plug ins there for pro tools to read?

Thanks for any thoughts they are much appreciated.

[Lockemusic]

I take it all of the smart US folk are sleeping at the moment ... come on guys we can do it

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by Lockemusic

1024 Samples, 2 Host Processors (my maximum), CPU Limit 100%, DAE Playback Cache at level 2 normal, Plugin-In-Stream at 2.

If you read the general troubleshooting thread you would know that it is recommended that you leave one core free for other processes.
Have you tried to enable "Ignore RTAS errors"?

Originally Posted by Lockemusic

During playback the mix stops after a few seconds: "Remove RTAS Plugin or Increase CPU". Of course the CPU is set to the maximum and the vast majority of plugins are set to "inactive" but the error persists.

And of course, you mean inactive and not just bypassed?

Originally Posted by Lockemusic

On this specific session there are only 4 tracks, the "system usage" meter shows the CPU (RTAS) at around 10% yet another sessions of mine has this reading at around 50%! and manages to play longer?

That shurely makes it sound like a plugin problem.

Originally Posted by Lockemusic

I have read certain plug-ins could cause this error, would it be wise to remove my plug in folder from the mac HD temporarily? (its 2.5GB) I am recording to my external lacie drive, could I place the plug ins there for pro tools to read?

You DO have a lot of plugins, and so a chance of plugin conflicts or bugs.

To disable a plugin, just move it to a different folder. I have a "Inactive" folder next to the "Plugins" folder.

Important to remember: when troubleshooting plugins, you have to qiut PT, thrash PT/DAE prefs, and relaunch PT. You'll notice that PT rebuilds the PI menus/database that way.

IHTH.

[Lockemusic]

Thanks for the prompt reply Ben I appreciate it very much
Im going to sort out the plug ins folder and see if that sorts anything out.

Im aware of leaving 1 free core, I have tried this but the cpu meter goes crazy when I switch to 1 (it moves all the way up to 100%)

I will take your advice and switch on the "ignore RTAS errors"; should this always be on? When recording I remember getting lots of odd noises with this feature enabled.

Thanks for the tips mate .. I will trash the PT/DAE prefs and sort out the plug-ins. Just a quick question should plug-ins in genreal be saved on the main HD or is it possible to have pro tools look these up for the external drive I record to? (I assume this doesn't affect CPU power).

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by Lockemusic

Im aware of leaving 1 free core, I have tried this but the cpu meter goes crazy when I switch to 1 (it moves all the way up to 100%)

Ok, so this means that you have a basic problem with your processing power.
That means that you have to be very aware of what's going on with the CPU.
I would check the Activity Monitor application to see what other processes are active and using power. Perhaps you can disable something.

Originally Posted by Lockemusic

I will take your advice and switch on the "ignore RTAS errors"; should this always be on? When recording I remember getting lots of odd noises with this feature enabled.

I never heard any noises, and I think I had it on more than I had it off.

Originally Posted by Lockemusic

Just a quick question should plug-ins in genreal be saved on the main HD or is it possible to have pro tools look these up for the external drive I record to? (I assume this doesn't affect CPU power).

They must be in the default folder. I guess you could move them to a different disk and create an alias to put in its place, but the location of plugins on HDs is really irrelevant, unless the HD is getting full wich would be a serious problem for the mac as a whole, and you would have to resolve. The disk containing the OS should always have lots of free space. I would say at least 20%.

[RegenerationMix]

i would recommend you go to update to 8.0.5. Also set your CPU to 95% not 100%. You need to leave the system some percentage to function since you are allocating both processors to pro tools.



Chris

[Lockemusic]

Thanks for the help Ben and Chris its very much appreciated, I've removed certain plugins and installed the update 8.05.... no problems as of yet

Just two quick questions:

1. The CPU (RTAS) meter on the system usage is still hitting around the 50% mark with the 2 cores (my maximum) on and shoots up to around 90% with only 1 on which is what avid recommend, so I am only working with the former setting as I can at least get to playback and mix like this. Would I greatly benefit from upgrading my mac for more processing power, I hear some people bounce each of their tracks and then open up a new session for mixing do you guys do this? what does your cpu read while mixing in general?

2. Having read the plug in compatibility table, a few of my plugins are out of date just a quick example my PSP Vintage Warmer2 is version 2.1.4 and on the table they state 2.5.2, would something this simple be the cause of these errors?
(http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...ility/en343311)

Hope everyone is well and thanks again for the input you guys are great

[f69tele]

My Pro tools started producing more and more CPU errors than ever, recently. I was also getting the "rainbow wheel" just using the Macbook in general. Took a trip down to the Apple store for system and software updates. Cleared the cache, disk repair, etc. Pro Tools is running great now.