Don't understand this problem with memory in DP

[donreynolds]

I have had several crashes with DP. At first I thought it was due to the plugin by Nomad, "Magnetic" as their website came out with an upgrade stating they had fixed crash problems with DP. Then I thought it was the Antares Mid Mod EFX (still may be). But then I was using 3 instances of Trigger and it was crashing. I printed those tracks to another track and am still having problems.

I have been watching my activity monitor memory and now I know everytime itDP crashes my memory (green) is around 800MB or less.

I downloaded an app called iFreeMem which is pretty cool. When I see my memory getting low I run it real quick and it gives me a lot of memory back. But the only way to get it all back is to quit and reload DP.

I am currently mixing and automating a lot of track with my buffer set to 1024. I know this takes memory but do you think something else is causing my memory to go down so quick that I have to reload DP?

I can avoid a crash everytime if i stop and reload or run iFreeMem before it gets below 1 GB memory.

I think something is wrong still but can't figure it out.

[Shooshie]

Don, have you tried literally disabling all plugins except the MOTU defaults? If you do that and DP still crashes, then that narrows it down to DP, a MOTU plugin, a corrupt file, or a hardware driver.

If you do that and DP stops crashing, then it would suggest that one of your active plugins has a memory leak. Not necessarily a plugin you're USING, but just one that DP loads when booting. At that point you have to track it down by removing a group of plugins at a time. If removing any group of plugins results in stable operation, then you have narrowed it further to one of the plugins in that group. Divide the group in half and re-install half of them. Continue in this way until you've isolated the plugin. My money would be on Magnetic at the moment, even if you do not have it applied to a track. I say that, because I began to get strange behaviors, too, when I installed several demos and new plugins a while back. Magnetic was one of those. I'm just waiting for the holidays to pass before I go through exactly what I've been describing. In my case, I don't usually get crashes, but strange behaviors that occur when the memory is low. One of those behaviors acts as if the COMMAND key is held down in certain situations (but not others). I also installed Ivory II at that time, and it is having some issues as well, primarily in low memory situations.

One other thing that could be a problem is that some other piece of software like Safari could be causing memory leaks. I upgraded OSX, DP, Ivory II, and installed several new plugins and demos, all about the same time, as well as 3rd party software for my Apple Magic Trackpad. With this many changes all at once, new problems become almost impossible to track down. I may have to go back to some previous versions of things just to get the playing field straight again.

It's a bummer when these things happen. That's why on my professional machines I've usually kept ALL other software away, and I'd only install plugins one at a time and use them for a week or two before installing another. Or in the case of Waves, I'd install the bundle.

When troubleshooting, removing groups of plugins from operation is probably most effective when you remove entire bundles of a specific brand, such as all of Nomad's plugins, or all of Waves plugins, etc. The problem may not be a particular plugin, but in the shell that converts that plugin to AU. One thing is for sure: you're going to have to do some serious rooting around to find what's causing this. The fact that everyone else isn't reporting it means that you and I are having problems unique to our setup, and that's good news. That means that DP is probably not the culprit, and that if we find the plugin that's causing it, we can report it to the developer and get them to work on it.

A year or so ago, a software developer going by JT in this forum released a headphone mixer plugin called Redline. I loved what it did, but it caused sudden unexpected crashes, even if it was not in use -- just installed within DP's plugin folder. I worked with him, and he kept writing new versions until he found the problem. I asked him what causes those things, and he said it's next-to-impossible to know, but is the bane of the plugin industry. Apparently it's very easy to get a fatal glitch in your code without knowing it. The only way to fix it is trial-and-error. But first someone has to report a replicable crash.

Good luck, Don!

Shoosh

[donreynolds]

Wow Thanks Shooshie for the Help. I am not looking forward to this. I have never heard of a memory leak before but sounds like my problem.
I have that plugin from redline and also the reverb ( use it a lot). I have version 1.0.1 of the Redline monitor. I found an update on their website. I will download and try it.

I have recently installed these plugins in this order backwards and started to notice problems:

1. BBE D82 Sonic maximizer 32/64 bit now from Nomad. I had the 32 bit iLok version from BBE previously.
2. Magnetic / Nomad they came out with an update that supposedly fixed reported AU format and Digital Performer crashes.
3. Mod Mic EFX / antares

I have used Trigger for a while but Steven Slate e-mailed me and stated that they have had some issues with digital performer and are working on an update. He did not say what the issues were. I told him about my crashes.

I got to figure out the best way to do this and not screw my mixes up. Right now I am using the activity monitor and restarting DP when my memory gets under 1 GB.

Thanks for your input Shooshie, it is always invaluable and appreciated.

[Frodo]

Don-- I'm wondering how many VIs you're running at once on the problematic project. You only have 4GB RAM on a 3G Quad, unless I've misread something. 2 more gig would get you out of a "middle seat" and over to an "exit row aisle"-- more leg room during your flight. Why? DP could use as much as that 4GB as possible and OSX would also benefit from the extra real estate.

I saw your Activity Monitor image in another thread, but was wondering if that wasn't just a "standstill" reading. It seemed extremely reasonable as it appeared. More critical is what those readouts are in specific places where lots of audio and MIDI are shuffling the memory harder than they do during playback.

[Timeline]

Very very interesting Frodo. I have been having issues with some mixes which cannot be helped by increasing buffers. After a series of playbacks I get a bunch of spiky snaps until things just disintegrate completely. I thought it might be heating hard drive issues but found instantly rebooting DP cleared it. I had seen this issue in older DP and find it very disappointing in these later versions.

I was able to open the dynamics plug set to expand and modify it and instantly cause this issue, FWIW.

Could leaks be the issue here as well?

[donreynolds]

That is a good Idea. i will order some more RAM. I did not get more than 4 because I knew that was all DP could utilize but I forgot about the OS X system needing some also. Duh! Maxing out my RAM sure would not hurt anything
What kind of RAM do I need or do I need to update what I have? I know you have to have RAM stick in particular positions and sizes. Mine are the 667 Mhz. Is this enough or do I need ( or can I ) upgrade RAM speed also? Here is a picture of my system memory profiler.
here is a link to it.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z241 ... shot-1.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[n2mpujack]

That is a good Idea. i will order some more RAM. I did not get more than 4 because I knew that was all DP could utilize but I forgot about the OS X system needing some also. Duh! Maxing out my RAM sure would not hurt anything
What kind of RAM do I need or do I need to update what I have? I know you have to have RAM stick in particular positions and sizes. Mine are the 667 Mhz. Is this enough or do I need ( or can I ) upgrade RAM speed also? Here is a picture of my system memory profiler.
here is a link to it.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z241 ... shot-1.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It won't help things any if you use faster ram than what your ram buss speed is. As far as what ram you need, there's a couple of ways to find that out. One is to download MacTracker - that will tell you most everything you need to know about any Mac that's ever hit the market. A second way is to go to Crucial Memory at http://www.crucial.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and run through their memory finder routine on their site. That will tell you what's possible. A third way to go for ram is to go to OWC at : http://www.macsales.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Pretty decent ram prices and within a couple of bucks or so of Crucial. The thing with Crucial is they may not tell you all the memory options possible with your computer. But I have purchased from them in the past and never had a problem - just ordered 8 gig (2 4 gig ram sticks) for my new Mac Mini for $116 plus shipping and tax from them. Should get it just after New Years.

[Frodo]

I did not get more than 4 because I knew that was all DP could utilize but I forgot about the OS X system needing some also.

Also consider how much of DP's RAM is shared with VIs and plugins. With enough RAM beyond your current 4GB, you could offload some of your VIs to run them in standalone mode which will give each standalone its own memory space without sharing RAM with DP. I started with 8GB and am now up to 16GB.

You can find your RAM type under About This Mac > More Info. If our machines are the same, your RAM specs should be "DDR2, 667Mhz, PC2-5300, 1.8v, 240 pin, ECC Fully Buffered". Whatever brand you get, make sure it specifically says "Apple Approved" or "Apple Certified". The sticks should have the proper heat bonnets (heat sinks) on them. You could also call the merchant to confirm your computer model and RAM requirements.

[James Steele]

Check out the thread "Christmas Help" near the bottom of the second page. Adriano bumped up from 4GB to 8GB and it made a big difference for him.

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 26&t=44660" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[adriano]

Hello Don and Happy Holidays.
I just read you post and you may want to do what I just recently did. It's working great for me.

here is the thread 2nd page:

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... 0&start=15" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope it helps,

Adriano

[mattfort]

Interesting.... Shooshie, are you saying that UNUSED AU plugs can cause a leak?

Odd...

I am getting memory issues when I use Ivory II along with Drumagog 5. How do I check for said "leak"?

[cbergm7210]

I have had several crashes with DP. At first I thought it was due to the plugin by Nomad, "Magnetic" as their website came out with an upgrade stating they had fixed crash problems with DP.

Where did you see this on their site? What version is the latest?

I want to make sure I am running the latest update.

Thanks!

EDIT: I found it. A recent update indeed.

http://www.nomadfactory.com/faq/pluginf ... netic.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[delcosmos]

That is a good Idea. i will order some more RAM. I did not get more than 4 because I knew that was all DP could utilize but I forgot about the OS X system needing some also. Duh! Maxing out my RAM sure would not hurt anything
What kind of RAM do I need or do I need to update what I have? I know you have to have RAM stick in particular positions and sizes. Mine are the 667 Mhz. Is this enough or do I need ( or can I ) upgrade RAM speed also? Here is a picture of my system memory profiler.
here is a link to it.
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z241 ... shot-1.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hello Don, I have 16gb installed on my Mac pro and I'm having exactly the same problem that you described.

I will try what Sooshie suggested regarding disabling unused plug ins and see what happens.

Best regards.

delcosmos.

[FutureLegends]

Check out the thread "Christmas Help" near the bottom of the second page. Adriano bumped up from 4GB to 8GB and it made a big difference for him.

I just went from 5gb to 9gb and can't say I've noticed any difference. The reason for upgrading was that the activity monitor said I had about 40-100mb of free memory when working on my current project. After upgrading to 9gb I still have the same 40-100mb free memory. In my case it seems that PLAY is eating up it all.

[Shooshie]

Interesting.... Shooshie, are you saying that UNUSED AU plugs can cause a leak?

Odd...

I am getting memory issues when I use Ivory II along with Drumagog 5. How do I check for said "leak"?

I have no idea what's really happening. I'm saying that I've witnessed first-hand that plugins can cause problems even when they are not actively being used, and I tested the output of a developer who was fixing that very problem. He got it fixed, and the plugin has caused not one single problem since then.

Shooshie