What’s due in 2023?

[JFreak]

I was just asking. And yes it is afterthought, first Windows version was released in 1997 just before introducing 24 bit systems.

[Ben Jenssen]

Boring!

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by BScout

(Not to mention the S4/S6/S6L controllers are all embedded Windows systems.)

True. However those are Windows RTOS (realtime operating system) and not the Windows you see on your computer.

EDIT: with that said, Microsoft had great future ahead of them when they published NT (new technology) 3.1 in 1993. Even the changes dictated by W95 didn't destroy NT4 (1996), but once they dropped multi architecture support and broke it with directx and such in W2000 (1999), it has been a dream platform for hackers. Windows RTOS has the good foundation of original NT.

[64GTOBOY]

My first computer was midi only a PC with a 486 processor. Slow but I knew basic and DOS wasn't to complex and I had no problems with windows.

Then Digidesign went prosumer with the 001 which was Mac only at first and was what I had been looking out for.

So the most stable Pro Tools system I had was 5.3 LE on OS 9.2. Never crashed. Ever.

When Mac OSX came along I tried it and hated it. The whole "libraries" thing messed with my work flow so I down graded from PT6 and OSX back to 5 and 9.

When I finally built my house I looked at upgrading to the latest PT which was 10 something. At that time Windows had adopted the same crappy "library" paradigm, which I still hate but I knew enough about the new windows and mac os's that I decided it really didn't matter which I had, and PCs being less costly I ended up going with PC , win7 Pro and PT12 Native.

I did all the required tweaks and after digging into windows onboard audio controller ability (or lack thereof) I managed to set up a fast stable Pro Tools system on PC that was as stable as my old Mac. No crashes. No issues at all until one Pro Tools update started the infamous Pro Tools won't shut down at times. They got that fixed and I still have one laptop running that setup trouble free.

Then I decided to upgrade to Win10 and the latest (at the time) Pro Tools native. Found out I had to upgrade to ILok3. Well ok. I bought a second PT license for the new Ilok3. Upgraded one laptop and my desktop to Win10 pro and the PT version available at the time. Up until that time I had always updated over the old version using the app manager without any issues.

Window 10 DID start causing issues, however I figured out pretty quickly that these issues are ALWAYS caused by the windows filing system putting files away in random places and causing file corruption.

Once I figured out the different things windows was doing I found ways to prevent or repair these issues. It is a fact that most issues are down to plugin corruption due to windows mixing files together when it's putting stuff away.

Once I had a hang while loading issue and after checking my plugin folder I found that I was "missing" some plugins. A bit of detective work located the problem-windows had put some izotope plugins INSIDE some random avid and plugin alliance folders!

I went through every single plugin folder and there were some 20 odd folders placed inside other folders the same way. Pro tools loaded perfectly after undoing that madness. The solution was to make an exact copy of the working plugin folder on a thumb drive. I haven't had that happen but one other time and it was only a couple of files that time.

I don't know if it's the same with Mac but I have found when I had to install pro tools and all my plugins on a new laptop that I have to add plugins in stages. Thus, install the Avid with the first PT start up. Add the next 50 or so and do another startup and repeat until all plugins are recognized and loading.

I have left my desktop running for a couple of months at a time and ProTools worked perfectly the whole time. So if you don't allow windows to put stuff away, it's pretty much trouble free. I have had to replace the main drive but I have two clones of my main drives for all my pcs and one clone of my samples/vi libraries.

The next most common corruption is session corruption from the same process failure and is not a problem as long as you have the habit of hitting save every couple of minutes. It's an easy habit to get into and with modern computers there is no reason not to. We are all supposed to be backing up to another drive anyway and with 2gb portable drives on sale for ~60 usd it's not an issue either IMO.


Those who claim it is a Pro Tools only problem may have just not seen the problem with other files IMO. I have my Waves and other non Ilok licenses on a separate thumb drive and every so often I will open the drive on my desktop and find random folders or files that windows has put on it. Yeah, like that.

So IME windows os has some system issues with superfetch and other operators messing with the file structure but it's not hard to work around and if you plan ahead IME it's as stable as Mac at least according to what I have read on the DUC over the years.

I actually have thought we should do stickies with all the weird things windows and/or mac users have found so newbs or those who are having new issues they haven't yet seen have a clear list of stuff others have seen to check.

[audiolex1]

2024

[huzzam]

Originally Posted by Eric Lambert

But what can they do about this? Corrupt preference files is something that's been a part of computing for decades.

If the files are being corrupted, so dang often, the question becomes: what is corrupting them? I doubt it's bad APFS/NTFS drivers, or we'd be seeing much more serious errors everywhere (e.g. glitching audio, unopenable archives, corrupted programs). Meanwhile, AFAIK other apps/plugins aren't able to write to the actual PT Preference file. So that leaves: Pro Tools itself is writing bad preference files. While that's a stupid enough bug, what's even worse is not to validate the preference file on reopen. Like, it's reading a nonsense value for some setting, and letting that nonsense value stand? Doesn't make sense... are they really not range checking?

Contrary to anyone's angst against AAX, the whole point of this architecture was to create an ecosystem that was more regulated (i.e. less crashes and therefore more stable). The VST world is a bit like the Wild West. As much as I dislike the regular troubleshooting required by PT, I'm happy that it's not one of the more "open" DAWs, and I'm happy that I'm not on a PC (Eric dusts off and hops into his flame-retardant suit).

Ableton (on both Mac Silicon & hackintosh, using primarily AudioUnits (both silicon & a few intel) but also VST3s (silicon only)) is considerably more stable than Pro Tools in my everyday experience. So it looks like Avid didn't really meet its goals for AAX. Now, I'm not using radically experimental VST3s from unknown developers (nor from pirate sites), but I'm not doing that on PT either.

[Rectifried]

Originally Posted by huzzam

If the files are being corrupted, so dang often, the question becomes: what is corrupting them? I doubt it's bad APFS/NTFS drivers, or we'd be seeing much more serious errors everywhere (e.g. glitching audio, unopenable archives, corrupted programs). Meanwhile, AFAIK other apps/plugins aren't able to write to the actual PT Preference file. So that leaves: Pro Tools itself is writing bad preference files. While that's a stupid enough bug, what's even worse is not to validate the preference file on reopen. Like, it's reading a nonsense value for some setting, and letting that nonsense value stand? Doesn't make sense... are they really not range checking?





Ableton (on both Mac Silicon & hackintosh, using primarily AudioUnits (both silicon & a few intel) but also VST3s (silicon only)) is considerably more stable than Pro Tools in my everyday experience. So it looks like Avid didn't really meet its goals for AAX. Now, I'm not using radically experimental VST3s from unknown developers (nor from pirate sites), but I'm not doing that on PT either.

Same here..I couldnt use many VI in Pt as its handling of resouces was a joke, so useing an old ablton lic I had updated it so i could actually use more than 2 synths etc... and obver time I just used it more and more, since it wouldnt unlike PT .randomly reassign midi outs to other synths .. go into a cycle of "unable to open" .. even tho an hour before it had no problem.


I too stick with AUs and It works.
I would "love" to use PT in this same "carefree" way.. but cant remember when thats ever been the case in the last 5 years.
gainstaging in ABle is wacky..and theres a "kids making tracks" sheen to it... which makes things sound good very easily, but for some reason Im always suspious of..lol
But being able to put everything into dif folders with XXXXStem written .. then selecting "bounce selected tracks only".. stems everything in one go.. through the 2 bus sequentially,..

You have to get some Andrew scheps online [overpriced ] subscrpition thing to do the same.. in my dear , old, friendenemy Mr protoolio

[WAD]

Originally Posted by BScout

Nothing. I use ProTools under both platforms and have no issues. I’ve needed to “trash prefs” more on macOS (by a wide margin) but I chuck that up to more systems being Mac.

The platform wars are tiresome. And a moderator participating in this nonsense is troubling — especially since by self-admission they have zero experience. And one absolute fact: Apple macOS versions (released almost annually) always break things. The consistency on the Windows side with the OS has avoided such issues. (Check ProTools release notes if there are questions on that one.)

And Windows versions aren’t an afterthought or also-ran. Many of the people at Avid work on Windows. For instance, the Eucon product manager has stated as much that is his main system. (Not to mention the S4/S6/S6L controllers are all embedded Windows systems.)

This is a trashy subject. For those who are having serious problems on either platform, I suggest complete uninstall and reinstall of ProTools, check compatibility, and then investigate outside program interference (firewalls, utilities, etc). Most of the time I find well-intentioned utilities the cause/creator of havoc. I get that most people can’t run single-purpose systems but lots of cleanup or utility software messes with file security permissions or ACL.

absolutely nailed it here.

I recently switched from Mac Pro to a beastly PC and it's been life-changing tbh, can't imagine ever going back. Windows 11 is actually a fantastic OS, feels like the best of both worlds combined (mac & win) in a way. The annual trauma of the new mac OS update is tiresome, and the stability of windows means I've been able to cancel my annual PT upgrade plan without feeling like I desperately need to stay current. Everything still runs plain sailing on my system with the very latest update of W11.

My only gripe with PT on windows is the lack of 4k support tbh, I find it somewhat mind-blowing that Avid haven't been bothered to sort such a seemingly easy thing tbh... 4K has been around for quite a while... but tbh, it doesn't really bother me that much at all now.. but I would love them to update that, given the fact I have a belter of a 4K monitor...!