CPU overloads while recording

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Don S
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CPU overloads while recording

Post by Don S »

Hello Folks,

I've had problems recording with DP5.01. I'm using a G4 pwbk 1.5mhz w/1gig ram. I'm getting CPU spikes that corrupt recorded tracks. It does not happen consistantly. Plus with the activity monitor showing that DP is only using on average of 50% user power. Plus I have every non essential option turned off. This happens with only 2 tracks! I've repaired permissions, ect and it presists. I'm using it for concert recording and have to change software if I can't fix this. Please, any advice would help.
Thanks!
Don
chrispick
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Post by chrispick »

Did you check the "Do's and Don'ts for a CrashFree DP" stickie at the top of this page? There are a lot of optimization tricks listed there, some of which may help you.
Don S
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Post by Don S »

Yes I did - but thanks for the info. A very simple project with 4 tracks, 2 in record the other 2 empty, running at FS1 (44.1) No plugs - nothing else. And I'll get the Audio has overloaded your CPU, and the stream being recorded gets corrupted. Not stable or professional.
chrispick
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Post by chrispick »

Don S wrote:Yes I did - but thanks for the info. A very simple project with 4 tracks, 2 in record the other 2 empty, running at FS1 (44.1) No plugs - nothing else. And I'll get the Audio has overloaded your CPU, and the stream being recorded gets corrupted. Not stable or professional.
Some questions:

Are you recording to the same drive that DP is installed on?

Have you tried adjusting buffer settings?

Have you tried adjusting work priority settings?

Are you recording using Firewire? Are there other devices addressing your Firwire buss?

These are some of the common culprits regarding the "CPU overload warning" window.
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kelldammit
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Post by kelldammit »

something's up, and i don't think it's dp itself...it's got to be a settting somewhere. i have a roughly equivalent system, and i can record 16+ channels of 48k/24bit vi outputs to audio in one pass without any such problem. i don't even remember what my cpu usage was, but it was not high.
1.67ghz g4 pb, 1g ram, internal drive, or external, makes no diff.
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Timeline
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Post by Timeline »

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Don S
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Post by Don S »

kelldammit wrote:something's up, and i don't think it's dp itself...it's got to be a settting somewhere. i have a roughly equivalent system, and i can record 16+ channels of 48k/24bit vi outputs to audio in one pass without any such problem. i don't even remember what my cpu usage was, but it was not high.
1.67ghz g4 pb, 1g ram, internal drive, or external, makes no diff.
You might be right! I'm trying to remember when these problems started. Either when I upgraded to 10.4.5, or when I switched work priority to high.
But I've been usung DP since 4.5 and did not always have this problem. I record concerts, so the files are long. Usually about an hour.
dosuna11
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Post by dosuna11 »

I seem to remember for laptops work priority of low.
Don S
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Post by Don S »

Noob question,

Does lowering work priority change the playback quality? I remember reading somewhere that DP sounded better with the high selected.
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Pappy725
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Post by Pappy725 »

Work priority should be set to medium. I was getting some spikes also and raised my buffer to 1024 and everything is fine now.
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mikebeckmotu
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Post by mikebeckmotu »

My Powerbook works best set to low priority. DP5 is supposed to arrive today, so maybe I'll find out if this is still true.
8-core i9 MacBookPro 16-inch, 16gb ram, Catalina, Focusrite Scarlett 18i8, DP not installed yet
Don S
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Post by Don S »

I set the buffers to 1024, and the priority to medium. Audio got corrupted twice in the same session with only 3 tracks being written. Bye, Bye DP. Too bad, I thought the meter bridge was nice addition.
exact
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second the problem

Post by exact »

I am running into the same problem, which I also did not experience using DP 4.6 -- also running a PowerBook G4, but using very few tracks and no plug-ins -- tracks recorded to separate HD -- Could this be a bug of some kind?
Don S
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Post by Don S »

I did get the problem in 4.6! I was hoping it would go away with thr 5.01 upgrade. No such luck. It's a shame, because I was starting to like the program. But if it is not reliable, it is not worth anything to me. I'm looking into a macbookpro running Pyramix.
thinkof1
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Post by thinkof1 »

hmmm. Are you using the built in audio ins and outs, or an external interface?

I remember having some issues with my old G4 1.5 Powerbook, but they wouldn't happen if the buffer wasn't too low, and if the system load was low.
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