Large project crashing after Snow Leopard upgrade

Unfortunately, I recently upgraded to Snow Leopard and thought all was well until I tried to open a very large project. I can open all other current projects fine but this one always crashes at about 35% of the "reading project" stage. I sometimes get a message saying "This project is unreadable or may be too new for this version of Final Cut."
I'm running FCP 6.0.6 on OS 10.6.2
2 x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon with 8 GB Ram.
I've trashed prefs and verified/repaired disk permissions but no luck.
I know there were problems with the upgrade but everything seems fine with all other projects. Does anyone have any ideas of what could be corrupting this project? Or what to do to try to get it working again?
Thanks for any help!

Have you tired opening a backup copy or the latest copy from your Autosave Vault?

deb

I did....still crashes!

Sounds like this is the kind of issue that might be fixed by Project Repair:
[www.digitalrebellion.com]

The trial version will fix it for free, if it is the issue I believe it is.

Thanks Jon...I'll try it (I'll try anything right now...) and let you know...

Project Repair didn't help...but that's a great tool! On the Crash Reporter, it shows a few different causes for the crashing so I'm trying to work on those.

Sometimes projects crash not because of the data within the project file itself, but because of elements (media) being referenced by the project.

Try this. Copy the project file to your internal system drive. Now put all the project's media out of reach of the computer (eg. disconnect the external drive) and try to open the project. If it opens and all the media's offline, then you have alternate options such as copying the contents to a brand-new project file (which usually takes care of corruptions), or exporting an XML so you're not stuck trying to open the same problematic project file over and over.

And if none of that works, all you've done is modify a copy of the project, so you're none the worse for wear.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks Derek, I'll give it a shot!

Hey Derek, Well it didn't work. I got the message "This project is unreadable or may be too new for this version of Final Cut."
Any other suggestions before turning back the time in Time Machine?

Can you copy the project and open it on another machine, and save that as an xml file?



www.strypesinpost.com

Quote

I got the message "This project is unreadable or may be too new for this version of Final Cut."

Huh? That absolutely should not have happened if you followed Derek's instructions. What he told you to do was simply to take your media offline and open up the project file. His point is an excellent one: If Final Cut is crashing, it's not likely the project file itself. It's more likely to be one of your media files. If you take those out of the equation, you'll get your timeline back, and you can just re-capture your media from the original tapes or mags.

If you followed his suggestion and took your media files offline, then got a "this project is too new" message, there's something else going on with your system.

The "project is unreadable" message is generally caused by a corrupt project file or missing metadata. It is not normally caused by media.

Crashes are caused by media but the OP didn't make it clear whether Final Cut Pro was actually crashing (i.e. quitting and returning to the desktop) or simply displaying an error message.

TVTerry - I'd like to take a look at the project file to see if it is just metadata that is causing the issue, in which case it's an easy fix. How big is the project file? Is it small enough to email?

Yea, sounds like a possible corrupted project file. Not sure why the autosave versions aren't working. I'm wondering if they are both stored on the same volume.



www.strypesinpost.com

>Is it small enough to email?

Zip it up first.



www.strypesinpost.com

The project file is 365 MB....I said it's a HUGE project. I did start another project as a continuation of this one a couple months ago but I still have items in the original that I'm needing to revise.

Jeff...I did exactly what Derek said to do and I completely understand the reasoning for doing it...I didn't choose the message FCP gave me...I just passed it along. I agree there is something very screwy with the project. It all happened after the Snow Leopard upgrade and I'm kicking myself for having done it.

Jon, I'll PM you with my idisk address and you can download it from there....I've already uploaded it for another buddy to check out.

Just some added info for you all...in the problem report generated by FCP after the crash there are often references to "KGCore" as shown below:

Process: Final Cut Pro [4328]
Path: /Applications/Final Cut Pro.app/Contents/MacOS/Final Cut Pro
Identifier: com.apple.FinalCutPro
Version: 6.0.6 (6.0.6)
Build Info: FCPApp-905291121~12
Code Type: X86 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [153]

PlugIn Path: /Applications/Final Cut Pro.app/Contents/Frameworks/KGCore.framework/Versions/A/KGCore
PlugIn Identifier: KGCore
PlugIn Version: ??? (???)

Date/Time: 2010-03-01 15:45:35.332 -0500
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.6.2 (10C540)
Report Version: 6

Interval Since Last Report: 27345 sec
Crashes Since Last Report: 18
Per-App Interval Since Last Report: 20597 sec
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report: 18
Anonymous UUID: FB4198B5-A241-4823-A598-CCDDEC94E0CE

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS)
Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x0000000000000004
Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Thread 0 Crashed: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

KGCore is a key internal component of FCP. When you upgraded to Snow Leopard, did you just install it over the top or did you reinstall Final Cut Studio?

> The project file is 365 MB....

That's insane. Really, you should have already been doing work to prevent the project from blowing up further...when it had hit the 150MB mark or thereabouts.

The size of the project file may be exacerbating the problem, but it's not the cause of it. The "version is too new" message is a well-known bug, but it isn't caused by project-file size. But the size probably doesn't help the issue.

> but I still have items in the original that I'm needing to revise.

Next time, use a combination of strategies to keep the project size down:

- Keep raw clips in one project file, edits in another.
- Keep raw clips in multiple project files.
- Don't keep too many old versions. In my experience, dilly-dallying between versions 2-18 is the #1 cause of bloated project-file size.
- Keep some sequences in one project file, some in another.
- Don't apply filters until you have picture lock.
- Don't nest.
- Use Render Manager on a regular basis to ditch render files. Old render files force the project file to remember them.
- From time to time, copy the contents of your project file and paste them to a new project. This cleans out much of the old garbage hiding under the stairs.

> Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS)
> Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x0000000000000004
> Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

This doesn't look good to me. I'm far from a hardware or OS expert, but the instances where I've seen this message, it often suggests a problem with the system drive. Is there another editing station you can try this on?


www.derekmok.com

The sigbus thing is quite general. At this stage, I'm wondering if it's a project corruption or an FCP issue.

TVTerry, are you able to open other FCP projects? Can that particular project file launch in another machine?



www.strypesinpost.com

> I'm wondering if it's a project corruption or an FCP issue.

There was a rash of "project version too new" reports during upgrades (I didn't have one myself, so I can't remember if it's because of Snow Leopard only, or because of FCP7). So, I suspect the software instead of the individual file. But I also remember that in the cases I've read, not all project files would undergo the same issue. Everybody should feel free to correct me, since my experience of this issue is second-hand.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks again for all the input, everyone.
All of my other projects that I've tried so far open fine. A buddy of mine was able to open the project file on his machine, but he is running FCP 7 (Studio 3). I have yet to upgrade to to Studio 3 but since he was able to open it, I think I'll try to do the upgrade tonight and see if it'll open after that.

Jon Chappell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> KGCore is a key internal component of FCP. When
> you upgraded to Snow Leopard, did you just install
> it over the top or did you reinstall Final Cut
> Studio?

I just installed over the top....

> I think I'll try to do the upgrade tonight and see if it'll open after that.

I don't think that's a good idea. At least I'd first try to get him to export an XML first.

Upgrades can fix certain issues. Upgrades can also make things even more complicated by introducing more variables.


www.derekmok.com

I'll take your advice Derek! I'll get an XML from him and see what happens with that before the upgrade step.
Thanks...

1) Delete thumbnail and waveform cache files. Delete render files. Empty trash. Reboot. Try opening the project.

2 )Try the FCS Maintenance Pack (free 15 day trial) Crash Analyzer and System Toolkit.

- Justin Barham -

Thought I'd give everyone an update on this issue....
First, I tried JustinB's suggestions of deleting thumbnail/waveform cache & render files, etc. and that didn't help.
Second, I tried removing FCS 2 and reinstalling FCS 2 and that didn't help.
Finally, I bought a new SATA drive to use as a new system drive and installed Snow Leopard and FCS 3 on it. After hours and hours of installations I'm happy to announce that the project opens! Wooo Hooooo!
I did get a message that I'll pass along here to see what anyone thinks....

"A problem has occurred while reading one or more clip items containing speed in this project file. The clip items in question were modified to maintain the integrity of the project."

I'm very curious to find out which file(s) had speed issues....and what those issues could be!

Thanks to everyone who helped by offering tips and/or suggestions! Glad this is finally solved...that would have been a nightmare to recreate everything in that HUGE project. And I'm in the process of breaking it up into several smaller projects just for safety's sake.

I am having this exact same issue. Using Octo Core Mac Pro 3.2Ghz with Snow Leopard 10.6.2 and FCP 6.05. I have an XDCAM EX project that was working fine without errors. Then I decided to color correct by first using Neat Video to Reduce Noice and then Color Finesse. Rendered everything fine, but at some point last week (perhaps around the time my RAID started acting up) I began to have massive issues to the point now where I can't even open FCP without it almost immediately quitting.

I used the FCS maintenance pack to do the same stuff TVTerry tried, but with no success. I then followed his lead and attempted to move the FCP 7.01 and still the same crash in the same area.

Crash Analyzer call it a "Hardware Error"- any thoughts?

It's an error caused by a hardware accelerated decoder, which kicks in when you edit with media such as MPEG-2, HDV, XDCAM, H.264, etc. These are not editing formats and I would recommend transcoding your footage to something more suitable such as ProRes.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...