FCP 7.0.3 frequent crashes

I'm editing a one hour show with mostly XDCAM EX 1080/60i, 29.97 fps and a couple dozen Canon 1080/30P clips. Using the latest versions of FCP, Snow leopard and QT. Using a 2.3 GHX dual Quad core Macpro with a Kona 3 card and an Xserve raid for video drive & 10gigs of ram. Timeline is DVCPROHD/60i/29.97 for delivery to HDNET.

Something in the system is not happy and it's making me crazy...I'm getting crashes through out the day with no apparent trigger. I tried trashing preferences, copying all my files to a new project, unhooking my network and turning off autosave and I still get the crashes.

Anyone have any ideas how to solve this issue?

thx...Jim Watt

You could open Console.app and check the crash logs (and post relevant portions here)...


-Dave

Hi Dave here is a copy of the problem report after the latest crash.


Process: Final Cut Pro [676]
Path: /Applications/Final Cut Pro.app/Contents/MacOS/Final Cut Pro
Identifier: com.apple.FinalCutPro
Version: 7.0.3 (7.0.3)
Build Info: FCPApp-1008261348~8
Code Type: X86 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [152]

Date/Time: 2010-11-05 11:37:34.377 -0700
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.6.4 (10F569)
Report Version: 6

Interval Since Last Report: 121967 sec
Crashes Since Last Report: 7
Per-App Interval Since Last Report: 97153 sec
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report: 7
Anonymous UUID: 050720D9-D511-4D54-9977-2F843AE1EBB5

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS)
Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x0000000000000000
Crashed Thread: 178

Thread 0: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0 libSystem.B.dylib 0x90ac0142 semaphore_wait_signal_trap + 10
1 libSystem.B.dylib 0x90ac5c06 pthread_mutex_lock + 490
2 com.apple.AppleVADriver 0x433222ab AVAGetRendererInfo + 11659
3 com.apple.AppleVADriver 0x43327155 AVAGetRendererInfo + 31797
4 com.apple.AppleVAFramework 0x9961ba2c AVAFQTDecodePicture + 236
5 com.apple.AppleHDVCodec 0x0f64b5c9 MPEG2DecompressorComponentDispatch + 7481
6 ...ple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 0x9934e56c CallComponentFunctionCommonWithStorage(char**, ComponentParameters*, long (*)(), unsigned long) + 54
7 com.apple.AppleHDVCodec 0x0f64995d MPEG2DecompressorComponentDispatch + 205
8 ...ple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 0x99346ce5 CallComponentDispatch + 29
9 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x953479d2 ImageCodecDecodeBand + 49
10 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94c8391d BaseCodec_ImageCodecDecodeBand + 61
11 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94c854c2 decodeFramesWithoutTimes + 219
12 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94c8965f Base_CDBandDecompress + 6573
13 ...ple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 0x9934e56c CallComponentFunctionCommonWithStorage(char**, ComponentParameters*, long (*)(), unsigned long) + 54
14 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94c846b3 Base_CDComponentDispatch + 127
15 ...ple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 0x99346ce5 CallComponentDispatch + 29
16 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90f540c7 ImageCodecBandDecompress + 43
17 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90f4225b DoBandedDecompress + 17559
18 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90f3dbd5 ICMAction + 1177
19 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90f3c7e4 ICMDeviceLoop + 546
20 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90f45747 DecompressSequenceFrameWhen + 714
21 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94b741cc v2m_rDecompressSequenceFrameWhen + 1092
22 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94b7747e v2m_decompressVideoFrame + 609
23 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94b7b024 QueueAFrame + 1595
24 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94b7bf2d v2m_doWhatTheMentorTellsUs + 1252
25 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94b7f79f Video2MoviesTask + 2891
26 ...ple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 0x99359821 callComponentStorage_44444 + 49
27 ...ple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 0x9934e56c CallComponentFunctionCommonWithStorage(char**, ComponentParameters*, long (*)(), unsigned long) + 54
28 ...ickTimeComponents.component 0x94b6cca0 Video2ComponentDispatch + 212
29 ...ple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 0x99346ce5 CallComponentDispatch + 29
30 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90f978ee MediaMoviesTask + 61
31 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90f966a7 TaskMovie_priv + 4799
32 com.apple.QuickTime 0x90fa9421 MoviesTask_priv + 101
33 ...alCutPro.Plugins.QTM Reader 0x0ded5c1b LongGOPChunkWriter::receiveSample(unsigned char const*, long long, unsigned long, long long, long long, SampleDescription**, unsigned long, unsigned long, long long, bool) + 22009
34 ...alCutPro.Plugins.QTM Reader 0x0dee6095 PluginMainEntry(long, long, KGDictInt*, void*) + 7555
35 com.apple.FinalCutPro 0x00245edb pKGGetFileVideo(KGDictInt*, double, long, unsigned char, KGCanvasRec*, KGRect*, KGDictInt*, KGFileRec*, unsigned long long, long) + 1615
36 com.apple.FinalCutPro 0x0023f4ea pKGGetItemThumbnail(double, long, KGCanvasRec*, KGRect*, KGDictInt*, unsigned long long) + 816
37 ...Pro.Plugins.Timeline Editor 0x0df81530 TLProcessThumbnails(TimelineViewRecord*) + 2008
38 ...Pro.Plugins.Timeline Editor 0x0df73e1c TLTimeRemapGetChangeType(KGDictInt*, KGItemSpec*, double, KTPartKind, long) + 105982
39 com.apple.FinalCutPro 0x00150000 KGTimerInvoke(__EventLoopTimer*, void*) + 212
40 com.apple.CoreFoundation 0x97f5770b __CFRunLoopRun + 8059
41 com.apple.CoreFoundation 0x97f55094 CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 452
42 com.apple.CoreFoundation 0x97f54ec1 CFRunLoopRunInMode + 97
43 com.apple.HIToolbox 0x92216f9c RunCurrentEventLoopInMode + 392
44 com.apple.HIToolbox 0x92216d51 ReceiveNextEventCommon + 354
45 com.apple.HIToolbox 0x9239f130 _AcquireNextEvent + 54
46 com.apple.HIToolbox 0x92394dec RunApplicationEventLoop + 228
47 com.apple.FinalCutPro 0x001539d1 KGMainEvent(void*) + 51
48 com.apple.FinalCutPro 0x002c1278 main + 54
49 com.apple.FinalCutPro 0x00002d5b _start + 209
50 com.apple.FinalCutPro 0x00002c89 start + 41

Jim,

Would you mind posting the entire crash log somewhere we can download it? We need to be able to see thread 178 (where the crash occurred).

I wouldn't post the entire thing here, as it just takes up too much space. Thanks.


-Dave

I put it up on yousendit.com, here is the link.

[www.yousendit.com]

I really appreciiate your help.

thx...jw

[download.yousendit.com]

this is the link, I don't think it printed on the last post

The fact that you have at least 178 threads active in Final Cut Pro while dealing with a long-GOP codec would suggest that Final Cut Pro is crashing because it is being overloaded.

For best results, convert the media to ProRes. I understand that is not always practical, so at the very least change your sequence and render codecs in Sequence Settings to 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...

Thanks..appreciate the advice. i'll give it a try.

jw

Jon Chappell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The fact that you have at least 178 threads active
> in Final Cut Pro while dealing with a long-GOP
> codec would suggest that Final Cut Pro is crashing
> because it is being overloaded.
>
> For best results, convert the media to ProRes. I
> understand that is not always practical, so at the
> very least change your sequence and render codecs
> in Sequence Settings to ProRes.

Jon's insights are definitely good.

I noticed ProKit 6.0.1 in the "dump" at the end of the file. Some people have reported problems with this, but it may not have anything to do with your issue. Some people have reverted to the previous version (via Time Machine, etc.).

Have you tried deleting your render files?

As another quick test, you could try opening the project in another user account ("Guest" should work), but be sure to remove all render files in FCP (or move them).

As Jon implied, you may be hitting some of the practical limits of FCP.


-Dave

Dumped the render files and am re-rendering in ProRes. Having a little time to ponder this issue...I normally edit on a ProRes HQ timeline, with prores render selected, but since the delivery requirement is DVCPROHD I chose that timeline. How practical would it be to edit the movie on a proRes or for that matter XDCAM EX timeline then put it on the DVCPROHD timeline?

thx...jw

jwatt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dumped the render files and am re-rendering in
> ProRes. Having a little time to ponder this
> issue...I normally edit on a ProRes HQ timeline,
> with prores render selected, but since the
> delivery requirement is DVCPROHD I chose that
> timeline. How practical would it be to edit the
> movie on a proRes or for that matter XDCAM EX
> timeline then put it on the DVCPROHD timeline?
>
> thx...jw

There are many viable (and valid) ways to go. DVCProHD is a fine codec to use. You could always edit in a ProRes 422 (HQ) or ProRes 422 timeline and export as DVCProHD. By editing in a ProRes timeline, you gain the benefit of 10-bits (which would help if you apply filters or do any color correction).

It may be that you would be better served by converting your source footage to some flavor of ProRes, but your Mac Pro seems beefy enough to handle the XDCAM EX footage. If nothing else, I would transcode the Canon footage, as that is definitely not something you want to edit natively in FCP, regardless of sequence codec or render settings.

However, we don't know for sure if the footage you're using, or the sequence settings, have anything to do with the crashes. There are many possible causes for the crashes...


-Dave

I dumped my render files and re-rendered using the ProRes choice, but still on the DVCPROHD timeline. Still have the crash problem, so I'm going to do the next hour on a ProRes HQ timeline, render in Pro Res and see what happens, then export it to DVCPROHD. I may also try the "guest user" that you suggested.

I've edited 10 one hour shows using XDCAM EX footage, both on a ProRes timeline and staying in the XCDCAM EX format until I finished and have never run into this problem. Very puzzling. I'll let you know how it goes. Also transcoded the Canon footage. Had only used 40 seconds or so, but it does look a little better.

Thx...Jim

jwatt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I dumped my render files and re-rendered using the
> ProRes choice, but still on the DVCPROHD timeline.
> Still have the crash problem, so I'm going to do
> the next hour on a ProRes HQ timeline, render in
> Pro Res and see what happens, then export it to
> DVCPROHD. I may also try the "guest user" that
> you suggested.
>
> I've edited 10 one hour shows using XDCAM EX
> footage, both on a ProRes timeline and staying in
> the XCDCAM EX format until I finished and have
> never run into this problem. Very puzzling. I'll
> let you know how it goes. Also transcoded the
> Canon footage. Had only used 40 seconds or so,
> but it does look a little better.
>
> Thx...Jim

Jim,

It's possible that the ProKit update may be causing this. If you have been using this setup (codec and timelines) before without any issues, then it could be a more general issue. The issue could be part of something going on with FCP, or it could be something to do with computer hardware (e.g., RAM) or OS X.

Using the built-in "Guest" user account in Snow Leopard would eliminate some things as potential causes (you may need to activate the account). You could also try start out with a limited amount of clips and use a new project in FCP (in case your project file or some media are corrupt). I believe that there are some tools that can check media files for corruption.

Sometimes, these things can be difficult to diagnose, especially if you use the computer as a general function machine (besides just editing). I learned several years ago to keep a detailed journal of everything I do to my work computers (SW changes/installations, HW, OS updates, etc.). Keeping a journal can help you out tremendously when things go awry. I keep a paper-based journal for this purpose. I am very careful when applying any software updates, including FCS and OS X, and I never apply any update during the course of an active project.

Let us know what you find out...



-Dave

Thanks Dave,

All good points. this is an editing only system, but I don't keep records of updates, etc.. I have never to my recollection done an entire hour using XDCAM EX video on a DVCPROHD timeline, but have done many on the ProRes HQ timeline with no problems & you'd think the DVCPROHD time line would have similar results.

For the next hour I'm going to do it from Guest user and on a proRes timeline. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again for everyone's help....Jim

Current update....So I created a new user & switch timeline from DVCPROHD to Pro Res HQ.

Tested my Apple Xserve raid, with Kona speed test at write 340.2 MB/s, read 282.3 MB/S

Everything stays pretty stable for the first 15-20 minutes of the show on the timeline, but now at about 20 minutes in I'm getting crashes every 10-20 minutes.

The one thing I've done that is different from past shows with which I've had no problems is use the Coremelt plugin for luma levels and a few sky replace shots (I'm color correcting as I go either with the Coremelt plugin for luma or the FCP 3 way color corrector).

I'm also getting a lot of "out of memory" warnings when I try to render which requires a restart of FCP and it seems to go fine.

Any further ideas?

Thanks...jw

What graphics card are you using?



www.strypesinpost.com

jwatt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Current update....So I created a new user & switch
> timeline from DVCPROHD to Pro Res HQ.

Pro Res 422 (HQ) is a "nicer" codec than DVCProHD, but DVCProHD should be very robust when used with FCP (it's been supported for 5+ years). Don't think that you need to avoid using DVCProHD.

If the new user account yields the same behavior, it is likely that the issue isn't due to your other user account's setup (not much help, I know, but it eliminates a few possible causes).

In addition to using a separate account, you may want to test using a completely new project in FCP (starting from scratch), if you haven't already done so.


> Tested my Apple Xserve raid, with Kona speed test
> at write 340.2 MB/s, read 282.3 MB/S
>
> Everything stays pretty stable for the first 15-20
> minutes of the show on the timeline, but now at
> about 20 minutes in I'm getting crashes every
> 10-20 minutes.
>
> The one thing I've done that is different from
> past shows with which I've had no problems is use
> the Coremelt plugin for luma levels and a few sky
> replace shots (I'm color correcting as I go either
> with the Coremelt plugin for luma or the FCP 3 way
> color corrector).
>
> I'm also getting a lot of "out of memory" warnings
> when I try to render which requires a restart of
> FCP and it seems to go fine.
>
> Any further ideas?

You could try to monitor your RAM usage while editing, as well as virtual memory usage. Activity Monitor can help with this. To monitor your GPU (graphics card), try using atMonitor. atMonitor lets you see your VRAM, GPU, and GPU temperature levels. If your memory issue is related to GPU usage, atMonitor may show it.

It may very well be that there is a bug in the CoreMelt plugin you're using, or a bug in the graphics drivers for your GPU (or some combination that is manifesting the issue). I would suggest contacting CoreMelt and reporting the behavior to them. Are you using the current version of the Pigment set of plugins (which contains the Luma Levels plugins)? I would let them know which graphics card you're using, as well (ATI Radeon X1900?). You could try doing your editing for the one-hour piece without adding any third party filters (or FCP's CC 3-Way), in order to see if it's a more basic system issue.

Your graphics card may have issues, or there may be problems with the drivers in the OS. After checking with the CoreMelt folks (and editing the piece without any color correction), I would suggest that you try updating to OS X 10.6.5 (when you have some free time, and preferably after you've cloned your startup disk so you can easily recover your setup if 10.6.5 does something wonky to your system).


-Dave

P.S. - I would also suggest that you try using a different graphics card. Those new ATI Radeon 5870s are wonderful...

The graphics card is an ATI Radeon 1900.

I did start with a new project. Now that I'm half way thru the second show I'm starting another new project and will use no CC until finished just to see what happens there. I've contacted Coremelt, but nothing so far has made much difference. I'm using the luma levels & curves in Color tools.

On the first show I was getting XML export errors toward the end with Lock & Load X and also on the second show it would lock up when the motion analysis started. I think some very hinkey things are going on. For example if I reverse a shot it renders out looking not so good with a lot of artifacts, same for slow motion. I can take the same shots into Motion and they reverse and slow just fine.

I'm thinking I may just reformat the system, install 10.6.5 and FCP. I've re-installed FCP so many times I can do it in my sleep. This all takes a lot of time and I need to get this second show finished before I can do that. Of ocurse restrting the program every 10 minutes also eats up time and sanity. I'm doing some of the work on my MacBook pro while rendering and restarting the MacPro. No issues on the MacBook and I'm just using a 7200 RPM LaCie Big isk with it. an old one at that.

I ran Tech tool 5 & the ram all checked out at least during the test.

Thx...jw

jwatt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The graphics card is an ATI Radeon 1900.

There have been reported issues with the ATI Radeon X1900 XT graphics card.

FYI, there is a firmware update for that card from Apple (it came out a few years ago, so you may have already installed it).

Also, some batches of this card have exhibited overheating, artifacting, etc., and Apple has been replacing the cards. Here's an article about that issue. Apple has recently updated the corresponding KnowledgeBase article (30 Sep). The coverage of this issue goes through the end of January, 2011, I believe.

I would definitely suggest that you install and run atMonitor while using FCP to monitor your VRAM (RAM on the graphics card) usage. Also, you can check the GPU temperature and GPU usage (% of processor usage) with atMonitor.

You may also want to check inside your Mac Pro for dust buildup, especially around the ATI display card. Overheating can cause issues like you've reported.


> I did start with a new project. Now that I'm half
> way thru the second show I'm starting another new
> project and will use no CC until finished just to
> see what happens there. I've contacted Coremelt,
> but nothing so far has made much difference. I'm
> using the luma levels & curves in Color tools.
>
> On the first show I was getting XML export errors
> toward the end with Lock & Load X and also on the
> second show it would lock up when the motion
> analysis started. I think some very hinkey things
> are going on. For example if I reverse a shot it
> renders out looking not so good with a lot of
> artifacts, same for slow motion. I can take the
> same shots into Motion and they reverse and slow
> just fine.
>
> I'm thinking I may just reformat the system,
> install 10.6.5 and FCP. I've re-installed FCP so
> many times I can do it in my sleep. This all
> takes a lot of time and I need to get this second
> show finished before I can do that. Of ocurse
> restrting the program every 10 minutes also eats
> up time and sanity. I'm doing some of the work on
> my MacBook pro while rendering and restarting the
> MacPro. No issues on the MacBook and I'm just
> using a 7200 RPM LaCie Big isk with it. an old
> one at that.
>
> I ran Tech tool 5 & the ram all checked out at
> least during the test.
>
> Thx...jw


Good ideas, as well...

I would try to eliminate the graphics/display card, if possible, as a cause of your issue.


-Dave

I started a new project and haven't put in any filters nor CC and no crashes. I'm 7 minutes into the show and it seems that the problems are in the plugins or my machines inability to process them.

thx...jw

D-Mac Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> jwatt Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Everything stays pretty stable for the first
> 15-20
> > minutes of the show on the timeline, but now at
> > about 20 minutes in I'm getting crashes every
> > 10-20 minutes.
> >
> > The one thing I've done that is different from
> > past shows with which I've had no problems is
> use
> > the Coremelt plugin for luma levels and a few
> sky
> > replace shots (I'm color correcting as I go
> either
> > with the Coremelt plugin for luma or the FCP 3
> way
> > color corrector).
> >
> > I'm also getting a lot of "out of memory"
> warnings
> > when I try to render which requires a restart
> of
> > FCP and it seems to go fine.
> >
> > Any further ideas?
>
> You could try to monitor your RAM usage while
> editing, as well as virtual memory usage. Activity
> Monitor can help with this. To monitor your GPU
> (graphics card), try using atMonitor. atMonitor
> lets you see your VRAM, GPU, and GPU temperature
> levels. If your memory issue is related to GPU
> usage, atMonitor may show it.
>
> It may very well be that there is a bug in the
> CoreMelt plugin you're using, or a bug in the
> graphics drivers for your GPU (or some combination
> that is manifesting the issue). I would suggest
> contacting CoreMelt and reporting the behavior to
> them. Are you using the current version of the
> Pigment set of plugins (which contains the Luma
> Levels plugins)? I would let them know which
> graphics card you're using, as well (ATI Radeon
> X1900?). You could try doing your editing for the
> one-hour piece without adding any third party
> filters (or FCP's CC 3-Way), in order to see if
> it's a more basic system issue.
>
> Your graphics card may have issues, or there may
> be problems with the drivers in the OS. After
> checking with the CoreMelt folks (and editing the
> piece without any color correction), I would
> suggest that you try updating to OS X 10.6.5 (when
> you have some free time, and preferably after
> you've cloned your startup disk so you can easily
> recover your setup if 10.6.5 does something wonky
> to your system).

The CoreMelt plugins are Quartz Composer files. Unfortunately there are some issues with Snow Leopard's Quartz Composer engine in combination with FCP. There are no issues with Leopard (10.5.x). It only affects Snow Leopard (10.6.x). For some reason Quartz Composer crashes FCP under Snow Leopard. The crash reports show various reasons ranging from "unknown reasons" to graphics card drivers crashes.. You never really see a crash that says that the plugins so-and-so was the reason.

Recently I've had two customers who had a vast amount of random crashes. It turned out that both of their graphics card were defective.

The thing with plugins is that they dig deep into the system (Quartz Composer, Core Video, Core Graphics, Graphics card driver, OpenGL and such). The more you dig the more bugs you run into. Plain old FCP is kinda stable. With heavy duty plugins involved in the render cue you will run into these bugs pretty fast. Even the smallest plugins can cause it, as even these ones systematically are already using a ton of system resources.

Update 11/13
I removed all the Coremelt filters then redid all my CC with FCP 3 way and no crashes. Everything is stable and working the way it should.

Thanks for the insight into the Quartz Composer issues and how the plugins tax that aspect of the processor.

Thanks again to all for helping me work through this.

Jw

jwatt,

*You are not alone*. I get the same issues as you using any plugins via Coremelt, and/or particularly with Yanobox's Motype. ProRes timelines all round. Woe betide me if I forget and introduce any XDCAM EX footage in there by mistake. Then its a struggle to keep FCP open. Coremelt and FxFactory provide some great plugins. Tearing my hair out on a regular basis.

System is a brand new replacement from Apple: 12 cores, 2.93GHz, 12GB RAM (for now) and an ATI HD5870.

Getting sick of sending report to Apple. Applecare recommended I frequently use FCS Maintenance, an admission of failure which frankly, I find silly. Making me miss Avid.

JB.

I feel your pain! I really like EberhArd's Coremelt plugins. I've been using his products since Istabilize came out many years ago.

Unfortunately the only way I solved my crashing problem was to delete all his plugins from the timeline, re color correct with the 3 way CC and add grad effects for the sky replace filters (I really like that filter). It was like magic. NO CRASHES! I cut a one hour show not using them and that too was crash free. Well...1 or 2, but that's pretty normal.

I did also have a flakey graphics card which pole is swapping out today, but I really don't think it had anything to do with the crashing.

Good luck...Jw

I'll post at the Coremelt forums and see what they say. Best, Jus.

I have multiple crashes daily, which usually happen when I scrub through the timeline (or sometimes even just touch it). Happens whether using SATA or FW drives. Timeline is mainly xdcam footage, renders set to Pro Res. I don't use any third-party plugins. Done all the usual trash prefs, etc. Happened before and after update to 7.03.

Leopard, MacPro 2x2.93Ghz Quad Core Intel Zeon, 16 GB Ram, Sonnet SATA card, BM Intensity Pro Card, ATI Radeon HD 4870. Projects are under 100mb, shows are long-form docs.

I lose probably 45 mins to an hour a day rebooting and am to the point where I'm considering alternative NLE's. An interesting thing happened when I went to post my previous show. Got on another MacPro hooked up to my drives and was effortlessly scrolling through timeline with no "stickiness", so I thought it must be something with my machine, but after a few days, show began crashing on that computer as well. But it's not unique to that show, as the current one exhibits the same behavior.

Mike,

I don't have an answer for you. As soon as I got rid of the 3rd party plugins, my crashes went down to maybe 1 or 2 a day and that's pretty normal. I sympathize with the time wasted...been there done that. Another thing we have found that causes crashes is using stills that are too large or too high resolution. I also made a new user with only FS3 in it and that too seemed to help a bit.

Good Luck...jw

Check out whats going on with Digital Rebellion's FCS Maintenance Pack:

[www.digitalrebellion.com]

Could be corrupt files - along with what JW mentioned - audio can screw up projects too.



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

Ben--The Maintenance Pak looks promising. Wondered if the crash report really worked, but then read Shane's article. I'll have to give it a try.

jw--the big photos are always a problem, but pretty easy to know when they're the culprits.

One or two crashes a day is not normal. One every week or two is more likely normal, and sometimes I can go a lot longer than that.

If you're crashing because of stills they're either not made correctly or the still memory cache is too low, or both.

All the best,

Tom