MOTUnation.com

Yesterday I was doing a live recording with a redundant backup. I had a massive crash and I'm trying to determine the cause.

First the equipment,

G5 dual 1.8 GHz w/ 1.5 GB RAM (10.3.9 OS X)
Quantegy branded Firewire 400 hard drive (works fine with Pro Tools HD systems)
two 2408 Mk II interfaces with a PCI-424 (G5 compatible) card
DP 4.61 software
two Otari RADAR II recorders (used as converters for the DP rig and as a redundant backup)

The RADARs and the 2408 Mk II interfaces were connected via TDIF
The sample/bit rates were 24bit 48KHz

We were recording 48 mono tracks. I had the consoldated window showing Audio Monitor (i.e. input levels) and the Tracks window.

I set the system parameters to 48 tracks/no busses (custom - not Mocha or others) and turned off delay compensation (even though no plug-ins were being used).

Power was monitored throughout the recording - no problems occurred.

After approximately 20 minutes, the system crashed. I didn't write down the exact info because I was trying desperately to bring the system back up again without losing too much of the performance. If I can repeat the crash I will let you know precisely what the messages were. What I remember from the first line was something about uneven or unbalanced stacks.

Upon crashing - the system displayed 10-15 lines of error messages - looked like command line style text and was superimposed over the GUI interface.

Also - upon restart the system reset the clock to 12/31/1969 ?!?

I am just trying to determine where the problem lies. Is this a DP or MOTU issue or do I have issues with my Apple G5 itself?

I have been using this rig extensively in my own studio - but never more than 24-32 tracks. Also, I generally don't track more than 4-6 tracks at a time.


Help!!!

Thanks

Ken Landers
kenland@bellsouth.net

CLock source was RADAR number one - DP clocked off of the wordclock output.

thanks

Ken

I'm not a programmer, repair guy, but the fact that the clock reset is interesting. That only time that happens to me is when a battery goes south or is loose. You might want to check that. Your G5 battery "should be" fine, but you might want to see what the voltage is and if it is seated properly.

I'm not sure a loose or dead battery would cause a crash during operation, but again, the clock reset is someting fairly unique to a dead internal battery in your Mac.

kenland wrote:Upon crashing - the system displayed 10-15 lines of error messages - looked like command line style text and was superimposed over the GUI interface.

Ken - that sounds like a kernel panic.

http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html

In my personal experience, my problems w kernel panics were hardware related. Once it was because a stick of RAM had gone bad. The second time was because the IDE cable to my system drive was bad. The third time I had trouble was because the cache memory had failed on my Gigadesigns Dual upgrade. Once I figured those things out and remedied them, all was well.

GOOD LUCK!

I would take a look at the clock pram battery. If your clock is getting reset, coupled with a kernal panic, then I would replace that battery and see if it stablizes your system. If it is the battery, it's a cheap repair. If it isn't the battery, you're only out about $8 or so. You should be able to get these at any computer supply place. Here are the specs:

http://store.yahoo.com/lovemacs/bat-2060.html
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Battery.pdf

Alternatively, run some hardware diagnostics. Make sure ram is good, all cards and ram are properly seated, etc.

emulatorloo wrote:

kenland wrote:Upon crashing - the system displayed 10-15 lines of error messages - looked like command line style text and was superimposed over the GUI interface.

Ken - that sounds like a kernel panic.

http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html

In my personal experience, my problems w kernel panics were hardware related. Once it was because a stick of RAM had gone bad. The second time was because the IDE cable to my system drive was bad. The third time I had trouble was because the cache memory had failed on my Gigadesigns Dual upgrade. Once I figured those things out and remedied them, all was well.

GOOD LUCK!

Have you experienced a kernel panic that reset the clock? I don't think I ever have, but I wonder if that is possible that is would reset the system that way?

I had someting similar happen to me months ago. Long story short, it ended up being a glitchy processor. The problem began to recur with greater and greater frequency. Finally, I ended up having to get both procs replaced twice until they found a pair that'd play nicely together.

MIDI Life Crisis wrote:

emulatorloo wrote:
Ken - that sounds like a kernel panic.

Have you experienced a kernel panic that reset the clock? I don't think I ever have, but I wonder if that is possible that is would reset the system that way?

I don't recall experiencing a kernel panic that reset the clock or zapped PRAM. Dunno -- where is the head scratch smiley? At any rate, Ken did experience a kernel panic and I hope he can track down the reason.

I had some major crashes a few months ago that turned out to be the ribbon cable to my HDs. Took a while to figure out where all the problems came from but since I've replaced it, I've had no trouble.

The point is that it created a LOT of weird activity on my computer, including the black screen and lines of text as stated here. If I was running my comp. and the hd kicked out, chaos ensued.

Worth checking. It's only a $5.00 repair and such a rare occurance that it's not an obvious thing to look for.

Thanks so much - I can't believe all of the responses this quickly.

It certainly seems as though I was experience kernel panic situations. I'll start trying to suss the problems out.

Is anyone using a particular piece of software to assist with figuring this out - or do I just have to swap parts in and out until it behaves? If anyone can share their troubleshooting methodology - I'd really appreciate it.

Once again, my heartfelt thanks!

Ken

kenland wrote:Is anyone using a particular piece of software to assist with figuring this out - or do I just have to swap parts in and out until it behaves? If anyone can share their troubleshooting methodology - I'd really appreciate it.

You can try using Micromat TechTools Pro to run hardware diagnostics. It's a pretty good piece of software. I use it these days.

Here's a link to learn about it: http://www.micromat.com/tt_pro_4/tt_pro_4.html

You can post your DP Crash Log if you like.

The Crash Log usually tells a story...

Kris..

You guys are likely right but to reset the cpu you need a direct short so maybe it's a combination of HD problems and the fact that the battery was low.

just a wild guess..