An easy way tp make DP crash, at least on MY system

[toodamnhip]

I am totally convinced that, at least on my system, if I make various edits, such as vol automation changes, or sound edge editing etc...and the IMMEDIATELY change the zoom in or out on any given window I am in, ....DP either crashes or I get a spinning beach ball for a half minute.

It just totally dawned on me that after I make various edits, I change my zoom width in various windows. And I do this VERY fast, so to DP, the commands must come almost simultaneously.
1) some sort of edit..2) a request to zoom in or out of a window.

And, after perhaps yrs of this habit,it is finally clear to me that DP doesn’t do well with this. It does not work well with IMMEDIATE window size changes after various edits..period.
It is clear to me that many of my crashes on an otherwise very stable system, come after changing zoom levels too fast for DP’s “comfort”.
I’d be curious to know if anyone else has noticed this in their systems?

[bayswater]

I don't seem to have the problem. A couple of screen shots:

Volume Automation: http://heavyethics.com/DPAV/Edit&Zoom1.mov
Edge Edit: http://heavyethics.com/DPAV/Edit&Zoom2.mov

[Shooshie]

This is a good observation, and I've made the same one from time to time. I've taken to saving before changing anything more than a single zoom. When I forget, I get very tense if there's any delay. Usually it comes out of it fine, no crashes, but once in a great while it will go on and crash, and it always bugs me if I forgot to save first. I don't get many crashes in DP, but when I do, it's almost always as 2damhip just described.

2dam, maybe you and I just move at light-speed, and that poor processor simply can't keep up!

All I can do is hope that MOTU eventually finds this bug and fixes it. It's not bad enough a problem to escalate to the #1 priority, and yet any crash is serious and needs to be dealt with.

2dam, I'll send that to MOTU if you will.

At the same time, I'm going to send another one: a driver issue:

• If I turn on my audio interfaces (I think MIDI interfaces will do the same), then after using them I turn them off, then at some point much later I put my computer to sleep, when it wakes up it has massive Finder issues. Usually the Finder will freeze when I'm opening a hard drive or copying something to it. I have to force-shutdown and restart. Regular restart or shutdown will not work, as the system is hung-up in the Finder.

If I do not turn on an interface, my Mac will go for days, weeks... no sign of ever having a problem. But turn on an audio interface, then turn it off, and the next time I put it to sleep for a while (as in when I sleep or go out), it will cause a freeze to happen some time after waking it up. It's not immediate, but will happen usually within the next hour after waking up.

I've also tried leaving the interface on while the computer sleeps. Same problem. It used NOT to be a problem, and I would turn interfaces on and off and continue working in the Mac for weeks. This problem has hit since Mavericks, I think. It may have been happening in Lion. But definitely it was a problem after Mavericks.

So, I think MOTU needs to work on this zoom-crash bug, and on their interface drivers. I'll send a note to them on the next business day. I'm not going to leave it over the holiday, for it might get lost in the shuffle. In fact, I may just call tech support.

Thanks for the report. I hope we can get MOTU to do something about it.

Shooshie

[HCMarkus]

I constantly have my hand on a jog wheel and use it to zoom in and out when arranging and editing, yet I have had very few crashes. I'd guess I average about one crash every three sessions on my current setup.

Since getting SSD boot drive, I turn my Mac off between sessions, or re-boot. I like starting from a fresh boot when working with clients, especially after using the computer for any non-DAW tasks.

[Shooshie]

I constantly have my hand on a jog wheel and use it to zoom in and out when arranging and editing, yet I have had very few crashes. I'd guess I average about one crash every three sessions on my current setup.

Since getting SSD boot drive, I turn my Mac off between sessions, or re-boot. I like starting from a fresh boot when working with clients, especially after using the computer for any non-DAW tasks.

Wow, I guess it's all relative. One crash in three sessions would drive me to jump off a cliff!!! I have one crash about every three months, sometimes going as much as 6 months without one. And it's almost always after something like immediately zooming or changing a window after another action with very little time between them.

Shoosh

[mikehalloran]

then after using them I turn them off, then at some point much later I put my computer to sleep, when it wakes up it has massive Finder issues. Usually the Finder will freeze when I'm opening a hard drive or copying something to it. I have to force-shutdown and restart. Regular restart or shutdown will not work, as the system is hung-up in the Finder.

Does MOTU Audio Setup.app launch when you power up any of your interfaces?

If yes, turn it off after you make any changes. If you don't make changes, then uncheck the box that tells it to turn on when it detects a MOTU audio device.

MOTU Audio Setup.app has a conflict with a firmware bug in certain video cards that Apple will never fix. The workaround is to turn it off when not needed.

If MOTU Audio Setup.app is not on, then it's something else, no doubt.

[HCMarkus]

Wow, I guess it's all relative. One crash in three sessions would drive me to jump off a cliff!!! Shoosh

I went for months without a crash, but recently developed issues on a multi-part project well underway. I just rebuilt the template, and the last three sessions have been crash-free (cue sound of crossing fingers).

Other than that, I'd rather live than hit the cliff's edge running, so I make sure I save a lot. And Auto-Save is enabled.

[toodamnhip]

Glad to see at least Shoosh feels my pain.
I must clarify. I don;t crash EVERY time I zoom right after a maneuver.
And I too go many sessions without a crash.
But when I DO crash, it is after a window edit following some edit. Crash and immediate window edits are indeed related on my system, no doubt.

You know, we all send MOTU crash reports. I wonder if they ever write a user back saying anything to help such as;, “we see the crashes are related to quick window edits after other edits, try a slight pause to minimize crashes while we work on the issue”.
For all crashes, it would be nice to hear back from MOTU if ever they had a clue as to what was causing any given crash.
Has anyone here ever heard BACK from MOTU after a crash report?

[Shooshie]

Has anyone here ever heard BACK from MOTU after a crash report?

Occasionally they'll say they were able to replicate it. Most of the time, though, a new version comes out and you'll see that it's been fixed.

I think it largely depends on the programmer or support rep who takes it upon themselves to figure out the crash report. After spending an hour or two trying to replicate it, the last thing on their mind is finding the person who sent it in and sending them an email. They've got more crashes to replicate and fix. But sometimes you do get that exceptional MOTU person who wants to let you know that you helped them find and fix a genuine bug.

Shooshie

[wvandyck]

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... =1&t=57964

I've also been having random crashes related to mouse clicks. Haven't been able to pin it to any specific function.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I agree about being 'too fast' for DP resulting in a crash.

[Shooshie]

then after using them I turn them off, then at some point much later I put my computer to sleep, when it wakes up it has massive Finder issues. Usually the Finder will freeze when I'm opening a hard drive or copying something to it. I have to force-shutdown and restart. Regular restart or shutdown will not work, as the system is hung-up in the Finder.

Does MOTU Audio Setup.app launch when you power up any of your interfaces?
[...]
If MOTU Audio Setup.app is not on, then it's something else, no doubt.

No, I rarely open the setup apps, and I keep them only on manual control. No automatic opening.

The reason I'm able to test it thoroughly is that I use the 896mk3 interface for watching movies and TV shows when my wife and I want to kick back and be entertained. Sometimes we get involved in a TV series we buy from iTunes, so we may watch an episode every night for several weeks. Naturally, I want to use a good sound system for that, so we fire up the 896 and listen through the Equator Audio Research monitors. Then we may go for days or weeks without watching anything. When we watch a show and then turn off the interface, put the computer to sleep, and then go to bed, next morning I will invariably have a Finder crash if I don't remember to restart immediately.

In fact, it's taught me a behavior I should have done anyway: I now turn the dang thing OFF before I go to bed. Heck with putting it to sleep!

On nights when I don't turn on the 896, I can put the computer to sleep and next morning it does not crash. Since the same thing happens whether I'm using iTunes or Digital Performer (or any other audio app) I can only assume that the critical variable is the 896mk3. Or, more accurately, its drivers. I've got the latest drivers installed. I might try going back a version or two.

Shooshie