FIXED: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new iMac

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mhschmieder
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FIXED: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new iMac

Post by mhschmieder »

***** THIS PROBLEM IS NOW FIXED. PLEASE SEE MY FINAL REPLY. *****

Anyone else experience this? No log or error messages, just an almost-instant crash. Maybe I can try reinstalling it tonight.

The only other product that won't launch is Cubase 9, but it didn't on the old computer either. I think the AU validator has hidden background tasks that freeze.

Maybe the problems are related; that's why I mention it.

QuickTime 7 gets errors on launch as well, so I may have to buy it for the third time. I use it to audition MIDI drum loops quickly. QT 8 dropped MIDI.
Last edited by mhschmieder on Sat Jul 22, 2017 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by cuttime »

I seem to recall the AU validation is really wonky with DSP-Q. I think you're supposed to keep launching it until it quits crashing.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mikehalloran »

cuttime wrote:I seem to recall the AU validation is really wonky with DSP-Q. I think you're supposed to keep launching it until it quits crashing.
Make sure you have the latest update (4.4?). If not, you request a download link after logging in IIRC. I'm on my iPad so I can't look at the moment.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by stubbsonic »

Mine says 4.4.0 is the latest version available.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

Yep, I have 4.4.0 and just reinstalled it, as well as locating and verifying my license file.

I can't cut and paste the error message as it isn't selectable, so have to type it in by hand:

"Error: It is impossible to assign this folder for New Audio files. Please check if it exists on disk."

Obviously, the very first time I saw that, I hunted for preference files, but I can't find any, even if I scroll down the main ones as well as the ones in my user account and eyeball each file name one by one for a potential unexpected match to DSP-Quattro.

Probably partition/drive names aren't good enough for DSP-Quattro, so even though I am using the same names as before, the actual physical media have changed vs. my previous computer.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

There's an additional error after dismissing the first one:

"CAudioFileFactory::InitializeFoldersFromApp failed" [ErrorID=-48]

That is obviously a low-level Objective-C function call reference, and likely no more informative than the initial error message in terms of coarseness.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by Guitar Gaz »

Based on your post I just checked DSP Quattro on my setup which seems similar - I don't use it much as Bias Peak still works - DSP Quattro took a fair time to load checking vst plugins etc. - but it did load okay. So something strange must be happening with your setup - is it searching for files that are not there and in some kind of loop. Deleting the previous version (and all attendant files) with App Cleaner or similar, and then a complete re-install may work - you have the licence so it should be like installing on a new machine. Good luck with this.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

Uninstalling and re-installing didn't help with DSP-Quattro.

I remember now that it hasn't worked for me since Sierra.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

As far as Cubase 9 is concerned, the installer freezes up mid-way, with no errors and no clear reason, so I am downloading it again (for the third or fourth time) after logging into my Cubase account for the first time from the new computer.

I suspect the installer may be hardware-tagged at the time of download -- this may explain why Steinberg's installers in general are so slow to open. But I also noticed there was yet another eLicenser update on 4 July, just a few days after the last one, so I ran that as also doing that on a new machine may make a difference if the software is kind of funny about license association.

It'll be awhile before I know, given the 11 GB size of the download, and also I doubt that if this solves the Cubase problem that the peak Pro 7 and DSP-Quattro problems can be solved similarly as I already tried this approach with both of those products since getting the new 2017 iMac.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

Cubase 9 installer stuck yet again, after the re-download and deleting the old copy. It gets stuck under the ".d" part of the installer's filename, roughly 60% or so of the way through.

I'll just be patient and practice instruments for various rehearsals and gigs so I don't get tempted to truncate it, just in case it really needs more than an hour to get to the next step.

It downloads as a DMG vs. a ZIP or RAR, so it isn't the typical problem of needing to use that newer archive utility called "Keka" to compensate for some current issues with UnRarX, Stuffit Expander, and The Unarchiver.

UPDATE: It finally finished unpacking so it could run, and though that too got stalled a few times, ultimately it finished.

Strangely though, it's the original v9.0.0 vs. the newer v9.0.20. Maybe that's for the best though, for bootstrapping it into shape. After all, it is starting from scratch with VST authorizations, and hasn't crashed yet as it did during the earlier "first run" of 9.2.0.

This may take awhile, and I doubt it will have any positive lessons for getting DSP-Quattro or BIAS Peak Pro to work, but at least that's one mess out of my hair if it does work now.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

I sent a problem report to Steinberg about Cubase 9, as I've run out of ideas and have probably spent ten hours altogether.

I figure DSP-Quattro and BIAS Peak Pro 7 are too long-in-the-tooth and barely supported, to bother those who are nominally responsible at this point in time -- especially as we may at least have a new version of DSP-Quattro fairly soon.

I certainly won't buy Steinberg WaveLab or Dorico if Cubase can't launch, so hopefully they'll respond. I did mention that I got rid of my 32-bit plug-ins just in case they were at fault.

It is possible that VSL Vienna Ensemble is causing both DSP-Quattro and Cubase 9 to fail at launch, as it has a LOT of failures when I launch it as a standalone app.

UPDATE: Nope. I quarrantined Vienna Ensemble in all formats, to no avail.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

If I quarrantine the entire VST3 folder, Cubase dependably launches every time.

Moving the VST3 folder back to where it belongs, replicates the problem even after this initial bootstrapping of Cubase 9 with a few successful sessions.

The VST3 quarrantine did not help DSP-Quattro. I don't think it uses VST3 though.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by bayswater »

"I figure DSP-Quattro and BIAS Peak Pro 7 are too long-in-the-tooth and barely supported, to bother those who are nominally responsible at this point in time -- especially as we may at least have a new version of DSP-Quattro fairly soon.”

Do you know something specific about the release of DSP-Q 5? And, V4 may be getting old, but it works fine on my Macs with Sierra (in addition to everthing back to 10.6). Have you tried contacting the author? He is usually very responsive.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by mhschmieder »

I thought someone else had reported a few months back that he was hard at work on the next rev and that it might be impolite, given limited resources, to bug about the current rev.
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Re: DSP-Quattro won't launch after cloning to a new computer

Post by sdemott »

I am able to run DSP-Quattro (v4.4) without issue on the latest macOS (10.12.5). In fact, I use it almost daily.

Your issue sound suspiciously like a permissions issue. What did you use to clone your disk? I recommend downloading Onyx (https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html) and letting it run maintenance (and fix permissions).

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