DP 8.07 is crashing non stop with new Imac. Help :(

[ericshans]

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone can offer help here.
I bought a brand new iMac 2.9ghz intel core, 8gb of RAM. I'm running DP 8.07 and from day one for the past month, it has not stopped crashing. It seems there's no real rhyme or reason, just happens randomly when using (both native, nanosampler was one and 3rd party) plug-ins and I'm not even using lot of tracks cause i can't get anything done! Just now it crashed without me even playing anything back. DP6 rarely crashed on my old iMac, this is unacceptable. Sorry, I'm really annoyed. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[toodamnhip]

Re-install 8.06.
These DAWS are for WORK, not for keeping up with the latest and “greatest" versions. If anything changed makes work impossible, scrap the change.

[ericshans]

I will try that, but I believe it was failing on 8.06 as well. I used DP 6 for many years, and I wouldn't have upgraded if my Imac remained functional. I don't care about the latest and greatest, that's not what this is about, ( just did the recommended update ) but I will try it in the hopes that it works. Thanks

[csiaudio]

Hi,

I'm not sure how 'todamnhip' was trying to give you advice but possibly I just don't understand.

Have you tried disabling the plugins in the Preferences/Audio Plugins to see how it reacts? Try that while loading up a session.

I'm sure you've run Mac's 'Disc Utilities' and if you haven't done the 'P+R+Option+Command' Restart holding them for 4 start up chimes I would do that as well.

What recording interface(s) are you using?

What 'Buffer Size' are you using for DP?

[James Steele]

I will try that, but I believe it was failing on 8.06 as well. I used DP 6 for many years, and I wouldn't have upgraded if my Imac remained functional. I don't care about the latest and greatest, that's not what this is about, ( just did the recommended update ) but I will try it in the hopes that it works. Thanks

I'm surprised you got a long so well with DP6. That's generally regarded as one of the worst versions ever. I would try reinstalling. Also what is happening when you crash? Are you sending the crash logs to MOTU? You might also try testing your RAM, as sometimes, even though your Mac will still book, you can have RAM issues that result in instability.

Try downloading and running this and checking just to make sure there's no RAM issue:

http://www.kelleycomputing.net/rember/

Oh yes... and clsaudio is correct. The most common culprit in these instances is a third party plug in. Did you mention what OS you're running?

[James Steele]

Oops... just noticed you said these crashes are random. I guess I'd try disabling plug ins. What audio hardware are you using with DP? (interface, etc.)

[toodamnhip]

I will add this, here is my deep repair routine:
1) Permissions. (usually doesn;t do much)
2) Check the disks with apple disk utility , 2x each disk, to ensure nothing is wrong. If something shows up needing a fix, fix using installer disk if the problem is the system drive.
3) Go to terminal and run this command: sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
This does various apple recommended repairs and clean ups.
4) Start the computer with the shift held down which opens comp in safe boot and runs fsk repair automatically. Then re start the regular way.
5) Run Disk warrior to check volume integrity and rebuild such.
6) Run “preferential treatment”, it’s free and checks for application preference issues.
7) Run Onyx , it’s free and there are a variety of cache cleaning and rebuilding capabilities.
Check file integrity with Tech Tool Pro. But careful with tech tool as I have noticed it can occasionally change things in the system drive resulting in a failure when checking sys drive with Apple utility disk, necessitating a repair from disk.

One doesn’t have to do all of that, but starting that list may help, especially up to step 5.

[Shooshie]

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone can offer help here.
I bought a brand new iMac 2.9ghz intel core, 8gb of RAM. I'm running DP 8.07 and from day one for the past month, it has not stopped crashing. It seems there's no real rhyme or reason, just happens randomly when using (both native, nanosampler was one and 3rd party) plug-ins and I'm not even using lot of tracks cause i can't get anything done! Just now it crashed without me even playing anything back. DP6 rarely crashed on my old iMac, this is unacceptable. Sorry, I'm really annoyed. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

First, you need to know that DP 8.07 works beautifully with OS X 10.9.x. I'm currently running 8.07 with OS X 10.9.5, and so far I haven't had a crash, other than the "first time" crash that's been happening to ALL my apps recently. To explain: after running fsck routines when safe-booting the Mac, I restart and find that all my apps are reset again, and each one will crash-quit the first time I open it. After that one time, they all open without problems and run normally.

Anyway, DP 8.07 has been working without issues here. You may need to update your plugins. You came from version 6, which was probably the worst release that MOTU ever let out the door. DP7 was good, and DP8.0 had initial problems. By the time we got to DP 8.02, things were running smoothly again. However, if you came from DP6 without updating your plugins, that may be a problem. You need to run 64 bit plugins now. If you don't run 64 bit plugins, you either need to get a bridge app such as JBridge that will allow you to run 32 bit plugins with DP8, or else you need to go back to DP7.0, which was a very good version.

Here is a list of a baker's half-dozen things you might try to make sure DP is running properly, from most urgent to most difficult:

• 1) Be sure your drivers are up to date. Download the latest from MOTU
  2) Be sure plugins are up to date and that they are designed for 64 bits (or get and use a bridging app)
  3) Be sure your virtual instruments are up to date.
  4) Throw out your preferences: User Folder/Library/Preferences/Digital Performer (to find the Library folder, go to the Finder/GO menu, and hold down the Option key. Library will appear in the list.
  5) Reinstall DP8.07
  6) Be sure you're using the latest Mac version of OS X.
  7) Reinstall OS X. Use a clean install, then add your apps and registrations one by one if you want the absolute best user experience. This is the HARDEST way to install it, but it produces the cleanest installation you can have. Be sure each app and registration is updated for this OS. You can copy over your old Mail folders (UserFolder/Library/Mail), but try to use as little as possible from the old OS.

If after all that, DP 8.07 still is crashing, then take your Mac to Apple for repair. A working Mac simply will not give you that kind of experience with clean software.

Shooshie

[ericshans]

Hi all,

Thanks for all of your replies, this gives me good direction to start with. I'm using an Ultralite mk3 for my interface and I've set various buffer sizes to try to get things to work smoother, but no dice. I'll start from the ground up and try to get this thing running. Also, I'm running it in 32 bit mode since the MX4 is 32 bit only and I like some of the sounds in that synth a lot. Could this be the problem? ( sorry if that sounds stupid)

[mikehalloran]

Onyx and Disk Warrior are useless nowadays. They fix nothing but waste a lot of your time in the process. Onyx especially, can cause you to "fix" problems that don't exist and allow you to really screw up your machine--it's a good thing that Apple doesn't void AppleCare if you cause the problem with Onyx.

Bad RAM is certainly a possibility. TechToolPro 7 is the best tool for diagnosing memory and hard drive problems but nearly as useless as Onyx or Disk Warrior for fixing anything. I've never tried any of the freeware memory tools for diagnosis but, if they work...

Try running Disk Utility from another drive if you can. If not, option boot and try it from the Restore partition. I'm betting you will not find a problem.

Do boot in Safe Mode by holding the Shift key. Reboot.

Do reinstall DP 8. After the OS 10.9.1 update, I had to reinstall three times to get it to boot properly. Console was telling me that some parts weren't loading properly. Annoying but I had it fixed in 15 minutes.

Random crashes are caused and you need to know why. Many old utilities, freeware and shareware especially, no longer work but have incompatible .kext files. One of the most notorious is the Bresink temperature monitor. Another is Spin Doctor X from Roxio. Fish Fillets, likewise hasn't worked since OS 10.5 but it too can crash your Mac.

That you are running 32bit to use an old program tells me that MX4 isn't the only old program on your new Mac.

The reason a clean install works is that it forces you to reinstall everything you need. Hopefully, you won't reinstall the garbage but, if you install it anyway, you have fixed nothing.

You need to read the crash reports or send them to someone who can. If it's DP, MOTU support is very good at seeing the problem. If it's the OS that is crashing, have AppleCare look at it. Once identified, it can be a bear to remove the offending crap -- often you have to search for hidden system files but Find can locate anything one you learn how.

If you didn't purchase AppleCare with your new iMac, you have one year to add it. It extends your 90 days of phone support to three years. They can log in remotely and read your crash reports.

Sometimes, a hardware component can go bad, usually due to heat. This is most likely to happen when your machine is new. AppleCare is your friend here.

[Phil O]

Another thing to check is whether or not the crashes occur on new projects or just projects that were created in version 6. Just thinking out loud here.

Phil

[ericshans]

Really appreciate all of the feedback here, thanks again. I have contacted MOTU support already to see if they can maybe determine the cause via the error logs. I will also reinstall DP as well, to start.

And Phil, good point, I haven't really thought of that before.

[James Steele]

Good luck! Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of it!

[ericshans]

thanks, yes me too! with all of the really knowledgeable folks here, I am sure we will!

[ericshans]

by the way, for inquiring minds, this came from MOTU. I'll give this a shot to start.

"One thing to do, is try rebooting DP8 in its default state after pulling its preference files.
Here's how:

Quit DP.

Navigate to the following location on your hard drive:

For 10.6.8: MacHD-> Users->(Your User Name)->Library->Preferences: Continue instructions below...
For 10.7.x-10.9.x: Hold the Option Key while clicking on the Finder's "GO" drop-down menu, select Library, the open the Preferences folder.

Locate the following and move them to your desktop:

com.motu.DigitalPerformer (folder)
com.motu.DigitalPerformer.plist (file)
com.motu.MotuAudioSystem (folder)

Reboot DP and test. When rebooting, you should be prompted to select your primary plug-in format, AU or VST; this is your confirmation the preference removal was done correctly. If this clears your issue, I recommend trashing these files. If not, or if you still want to revert to your previous state, these files can always be put back into the Preferences folder. You will be asked if you want to "Replace" these file; click "Yes", as these folders/files were regenerated when you rebooted DP.

Let me know if you have any other questions. "