Hardware problem?

Hi All,

I have recently experienced a number of software crashes on my mac when using fcp, the most annoying crash that happened being that of leopard itself on start up on one occasion.

I use quad intel with os 10.5.6 FCS2 and use fcp 6.0.5 on a daily basis along with dvdp sp and compressor.

I have been working from a G-raid Q drive via FW 800 for my fcp project quite nicely until i had a hang, followed by a force quit followed by the operating system freezing ending in a hard shut down. This happened several times, along with fcp displaying the error code -600 upon trying to reopen projects afters fcp had force quit.

Now i repaired permissions and used disk warrior on both my system drive and the g-raid and all seemed well until today. when upon hooking up a g-raid 2 drive i had the same problems all over again. Now i am just working from the G-Raid Q drive with intermittent hangs, i will be using compressor, then head back into fcp where i will suddenly get the beachball of death spinning away, which on more than one occasion ends with all apps freezing.

Whats more i have noticed, that when i force quit the programs they aren't shutting down properly.

Any thoughts and ideas much appreciated......

specs:
intel mac 2x2.66 xeon, 4gb ram, Mac OS 10.5.6, QT 7.6, FCP 6.0.5 all external hard drives have just under 50% capacity free.

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Carolyn
According to Apple Error Codes here: [docs.info.apple.com]

That error code means, "no eligible process with specified process serial number". Are you by chance using an application that was a trial version and it expired?

Also, anytime you get the, "application unexpedtedly quit" dialog box, it can also mean there isn't enough available disk space. Open Disk Utility from the Applications/Utilities folder. Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left. Now look down at the bottom of that window where it says:
Capacity and Available. Make sure you always have 20% free disk space of the total drive. It takes 15% just to boot your Mac.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

That's not what "process serial number" means, Corbett.

And it's false to say that it takes 15% free disk space just to boot the system. That's simply untrue.

I'd check your system log for messages related to I/O errors. When a hard drive is malfunctioning, the system will adopt a posture of patience, which is what the "beachball" means. (The "beachball" cursor is an indicator that the application under the cursor is not currently handling its own event loop, which usually means its main thread of execution is blocked waiting on a system call. This is usually, but not always, disk-I/O related.)

My guess ? which is kinda like trying to guess the diagnosis on "House" after the first commercial break ? is that you've got a malfunctioning disk somewhere in your system, and the OS is getting wedged trying to recover from unrecoverable I/O errors. The system log will confirm this, if it's the case.

Meanwhile, start the patient on prednisone and get an MRI to rule out Wegener's granulomatosis.

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Meanwhile, start the patient on prednisone and get an MRI to rule out Wegener's granulomatosis.

I find Bactrim or Septra with a combination of two antibiotics - trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole may also be helpful in the treatment of Wegener?s, particularly in patients whose disease is limited primarily to the upper respiratory tract.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Well, at least we'll be sure to knock out the patient's UTI.

Thanks guys, will be consulting a residing Doc once he is back in his residing place! ta.........

We're gonna need an LP, CT, and a tox screen before making any diagnosis...and only I WRITE ON THE WHITEBOARD!

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Even more appropriately i have found its the internal 'guts' of the G-Raid Q drive- the disk itself is fine just the bit that makes it talk to the computer, so to speak.

So tomorrow i shall be operating to remove the disks and transplant them into my mac pro.....

CALDIGIT IS YOUR FRIEND.

NEXT TIME GO CALDIGIT AND HITACHI.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

Ah heard that one many times - we had a nasty batch of G-Drives and G-RAIDS go bad - drives were fine but the SATA to Firewire chips were just dropping like flys... supplier told me it was a known problem... which dosn't exactly help much!!

Corbett's use of excessively large type not withstanding, by my estimation there are about six hundred trillion G-RAIDs out there, a not insignificant number within thirty or forty feet of where I'm sitting right now. They're solid little framestores. Do they fail sometimes? Sure. But in my experience, no more frequently than any other external storage device, and a lot less frequently than some.

Caldigit also makes excellent gear ? I have an HDOne on this very system ? but I don't think they have a product that's directly comparable to the G-RAID. They've got the VR, which will do either striping or mirroring, but it's more like the G-SAFE, and is priced comparably.

The VR Mini looks really hot, though, and it might change my default small framestore choice from the G-RAID. But I don't think Caldigit's announced pricing on it yet, so I'm not ready to make the switch personally.

G-RAIDS are limited. Nobody I know uses them any more around here (my market). They are RAID "0" (non-adjustable), everything is sealed up tight in the chassis and you void the warranty if you open it, daisy chaining kills performance and Tech Support isn't what it used to be since the company was sold. I do not recommend them anymore. Good for moving media I guess but I would never work from one. I have a 320 GB G-RAID2 that sits on a shelf. It's for sale if anyone wants it - cheap.

CalDigit, on the other hand, goes above & beyond with their Tech Support and the units are so well built it's ridiculous. I had a power supply go down on my Firewire VR - Jon Schilling had one overnighted to me with no questions asked. Fully adjustable, removable drive sleds, upgradable to larger drive sleds, you can change the fan out if it goes bad, etc. They are geared more towards professionals. I just feel safe using them. I own 2 Firewire VRs and currently a 2 TB Caldigit VR with the FASTA-1ex MBP card is on it's way.

Which CalDigit units do you have, corbett?

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

i have 2x svr2's carrying 3.5tb.

They are about 2 years old but not a hint of trouble except power supply twice. I called and the replacement chord came the very next morning before 12pm.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

Jeff & all.

The CalDigit VR mini is bus powered. BUS POWERED! The drives are removable, upgradeable. You can change the RAID level on the product itself, (like the CalDigit VR) or through the GUI, It can even be used with our FASTA-1ex eSATA ExpressCard 34 with a FW400 or 800 cable without the need for additional power!

You can pre-order the product here: [www.caldigit.com] FYI.

MSRP on the 1TB CalDigit VR mini is $699.00 Jeff, since you asked.

If you pre order you get a $100 back by mail in rebate.