Vienna Symphonic Library Forum
Forum Statistics

194,510 users have contributed to 42,922 threads and 257,973 posts.

In the past 24 hours, we have 2 new thread(s), 8 new post(s) and 88 new user(s).

  • Lots of crashes with Logic, Protools HD and VSI, please help

    Hi,

    I hardly can work for a couple of hours without the mashine crashes, when using VSI in Logic, running through DAE-ESB-Bridge into ProTools HD. Does anyone went through the same problems and solved them?

    Actually I don't know if VSI is the reason for the crashes, but it allways happens, when I am using VSI to a greater extend in a song and I did not notice any crashes, when working without VSI. But I never came in the near of using the amount of numbers of VSI instances, which were reported in the test for Quad inside this forum. During the last session I had 6 VSI open plus another 6 EXS, running some of the VSL Pro Edition and Horizon - and around 10 crashes per day.

    Sometimes the mashine crashes, when I try to open a file during the loading samples process. Another crash-sceenario is, when I try to open a song, after I closed a song, that had a couple of VSI inserted. Sometimes the program just quits in the middle of playing. Also sometimes the coloured idle ball appears suddenly. The activity window is then saying: Logic and VSIdeamon does not answer.
    But most of the time I have a kernel-panic alert and the monitor gets greyed out. This happens mostly during playback or when I do something in the score, or matrix editor. Very strange is the fact that the mashine also crashes with kernel-panic, when I want to shut down the Mac after work at the end of the day (or night).

    Sorry for the long explanation, but it also would be of a greate help, if also someone could say, that he / she is running a simmilar setup, almost stable. So I would know, that its worth to keep on trying.

    Could it be, that some of the ram is damaged, and that the mashine crashes, when filled up to a corrupted block? I have 8 x 1 GB, all of the same kind & original maker. My dealer said, he never had problems with that. He suggested to put in a bigger graphic card ?!? I have a 23" Cinema Display, connected with Apple DVI converter + an analog 18" monior, connected with Apple DVI to VGA adapter to the Quad.

    My setup: G5 Quad, 8GB Ram, System 10.6.4, Logic 7.2.1, ProTools HD 2, 192 I/O + Adat Interface via legacyport, two Sonnet Fusion 500 SATA II bays with 3 x 400 GB SATA II HDs in each, connected to Sonnet SATA II PCI-e card with multiporting. The licencies of the extended VSI Orchestral Cube are spread over 3 original VSI USB-Sticks (in case I want to share the libray with the other G5s, which run native and without such problems under Logic 7 with Motu 828 Firewireinterfaces).

    The System is slim, because the Quad is only doing music, if not crashed [;)]
    I work with the latest VSI installer, the latest Syncrosoft software and made a new scan with VSI Directory Manager ...
    I also parked all other plug ins except the VSI and the standart TDM-Plugins outside the plug in folder, to make sure, that there are no other incompatibilities. The mashine does not have any network connection and except of Microsoft Office and what came with the first system installation there is no additional Software on the mashine. Of course there is Logic, ProTools and VSI.

    More than once I went through the standard system buisiness, when having lots of crashes ( e. g. PR-RAM, new User, preferences, cache cleaning... ) Maybe I should clean the mashine and reinstall everything?!? I hope, that someone has a better idea than that.

    !!! THANK YOU !!! for reading all this, and even more for any answer.

    Hans

  • Hans:

    First off, have you repaired permissions with Apple's Disk Utility and have you examined the directory with Disk Utility? Have you tried rebuilding the directory with Alsoft's DiskWarrior (a procedure that, at least in my experience, cures many, otherwise, myserious problems)?

    You say that "the System is slim" - - does this mean you did a custom install of the OS? If so, you might want to try doing a standard install using the "Archive and Install" procedure. If this is not the case, it's possible that your suspicion of defective RAM is correct. You can determine this by using Apple's Hardware testing software that came with your computer - - although running this test would involve removing all third party cards (e.g. your Sonnet Fusion SATA card and all other third party PCIe cards - - except, of course, for the video card (as long as it is the one that came with the machine) - - you have).

    I hope this is helpful.

  • On the Logic Users TDM forum (http://logic-users.org/forums/L-TDM) is a discussion about Logic TDM and VSI - it seems everybody is having problems - particularly switching screensets with the VSI window open (avoid!). I'm on Logic TDM myself and have so far not dared to get the VSI because of the problems I hear.

    One temporary workaround would be for you avoid using ESB and have 8 core audio channels of ADAT (from a Motu 828 for example) streaming into the optical input of your 192. You would then be using Core Audio and DAE but not DTDM. The disadvantage of this is the the 2 engines are not always quite in sync (I measured a discrepancy of up to 8 ms). So it's no good for tight percussive stuff but fine for general orchestral music.

    Dom

  • hi Steve, hi Dom,

    thank you for your reply and hints. I have read it shortly after you wrote, but then I was offline for a couple of days and could not answer earlier.

    Maybe "slim" is not the right word, but... I have a standard install on the mac, but no other extras installed, which are not needed for the purpose of doing music with ProTools, Logic, VSI. I also threw out all unneeded printerdrivers, etc. And the system runs stable, when working without running VSI, e.g. with VSL on EXS24 (TDM).

    It seems so, that I am member of a club, one don't want to be. I read through a couple of threads, Dom mentioned. And it really seems to be, that lots of "Logic-ProToolsHD-ESB-DTDM, OSX10" user have simmillar problems. - very anoying, and too expensive, if its not working properly. If so, then this is more or less a problem of Apple and Digidesign, I guess.

    Anyway, most often crashes happen, when working with a bunch of VSI, which fills up RAM a lot. So, either I am working at the limit of what one Mac can handle, or RAM is really defect. Apple's hardware testing software says, that RAM is ok. But I have read somewhere, that the test routine is not very reliable. Is there any other way of double checking it?

    I will also try, if things running better with leaving D-TDM switched off and using Core Audio instead after finishing the runing production.

    Thanks again, I will report if I make any progress.
    Hans

  • Newbie to VSL. I just installed Solo Strings and am having some popping, clicking problems. Load times are ridiculously long, tracking is all wrong. I've played with Logics buffer size in the audio harware page....up and dpwn, with no real changes really.

    Set Up: 1.67 PwerPC G4, 1 gig RAM, OSX 10.4.7, Logic 7.2, MOTU 828MKII Interface.
    The samples/sounds from Solo Strings are on a La Cie 7200rpm, 250gig external firewire drive.
    I connect from the laptop to the interface with firewire 400, then out of the interface's 2nd firewire400 port to the La Cie drive. Originally I had tried connecting to the interface via firewire 400 and the la Cie drive separately using the firewire 800 port on the laptop.....completely useless.
    Any thoughts...Am I doing this all wrong...am I dreaming thinking I can use VSL with the system I have???? When it works in between gaps, pos, etc,...it's amazing.

    Help!!

    Thanks,

    TD