Protools -6101 Errors

[Text_Edifice]

Hi all,

getting constant, intermittent, -6101 cpu errors in PT11 and 10 (both latest versions) on OSX 10.8.5

System was previously happy with 10.8.4 and PT 10.3.8. Logic works fine on the system.

Sometimes the system will happily track away for hours, other times it gets CPU spikes when nothing is being recorded, irrespective of buffer size.

I've tried:

– AVID recommended optimisations (disabling bluetooth / wifi / etc)
- changing buffer sizes etc
– switching recording drives
– deleting and rebuilding prefs
– disabling spotlight
– disabling hyperthreading

Next step is rolling the O/S back to 10.8.4 and a clean install. Just in case, anyone else have any other fixes?

[Drumstruck]

Hi Dave,

That one is a real pita. I get that when looping, so perhaps turn that function off if it's active....?

Also try addressing 7 cores rather than 8 in PT - this used to help on a previous machine I had.

[Text_Edifice]

yeah - have done the one less core and changing playback / record mode doesn't seem to make a difference.

The CPU spikes when tools is sitting idle (can see it go nuts in the activity monitor).

[Drumstruck]

I know this doesn't help, but I've had that error on a MacBookPro (8GB snow leopard and Lion), a Mac Mini (16GB Lion), a Windows Vista 32 and 64 bit machine (32GB) and a W7 machine (32GB) - and using PT 7, 8 and 9. Sometimes it appears at startup of PT, sometimes it appears after a couple of hours of looping.....

I could be facaetious and say it's a PT special feature..... so frustrating - Reaper fixed the problem for me - I just keep PT for compatibility now.

It would be interesting to know if any of the guys with 64GB and more of RAM experience this error?

[Text_Edifice]

It's a pt thing for sure.

[Text_Edifice]

So, quick update.

OS 10.8.x with PT 10 and 11 gives regular -6101 errors due to cpu spikes.

Os 10.7 and PT 10 appears to work fine.

This is on a 2008 mac pro - there appears to be a few similar experiences floating around out there but no word from Digi as to what's going on. Appears to have something to do with the processor / os / pt combination.

Can't offer a fix yet, but if you're experiencing something similar you're not alone and you probably have to drop back an os rev or update hardware.

[gigpiglet]

hi dave
im not talking avid rules here - but pure experience.
and this (after many attempts) is what we do here

10.7 = PT 10
10.8 = PT 11
for whatever reason… 10.8 just does not play nice with PT 10 (even though i think its officially supported)
FURTHER to that - you have a 3.1 build mac. which (again - my experience only) doesn't even like 10.7 that much
4.1 builds run great/ best on 10.7
3.1 just don't seem to. again - thats user experience not gospel. but I'm not talking about one machine.. i have had up to 5x 3.1 builds here - and now all on 4.1.

i would seriously recommend if you are running a 3.1 build machine, to stay on 10.7 and PT 10
that was the only solid combination i could get with them.

[Text_Edifice]

Thanks Gareth,

we were running PT10 and 11 on 10.8, both were buggy.

10.7 was immediately more stable - but I have a similar era machine sitting next to it, with less ram, that has run PT10 on 10.8 without hiccups for days on end as a location recording rig.

The hardware all seems fine (swapped out etc) so it seems to be something to do with that one particular machine's configuration.

In any case - you're right, for a 3.1 build 10.7 and PT 10 seems to be the sweet spot (bleeding edge?) for stability.

[Drumstruck]

..... (even though i think its officially supported)
......

There's that knee-jerk word - supported. Doesn't mean it will work / doesn't mean "they" will help you get it working. Generally means "they" may respond subject to the level of your support contract.

gripe over.

[Text_Edifice]

Yes, well, there's that too.

I believe the harpertown and clovertown processsors (in the 2008 mac towers) are listed as supported but untested for PT 11 if you dig through the AVID site.

The other interesting little snippet is that aggregate devices may give PT 10/11 headaches on 10.8 - haven't done enough testing to definitively say one way or the other but a quick burst this morning had 11 rock solid with one lynx interface but falling over with an aggregate i/o. The errors are intermittent and mysterious though so who knows.

Not a solution, but interesting.

[Sammas]

Strangely enough, I am running HD10 & HD11 with avid artist controllers on a hackintosh with 10.8. Runs like a dream... despite all the doom and gloom that is presented on the DUC. Apparently I should be having issues with everything!

The one issue I have found is it occasionally gets stuck when trying to switch from core audio to HD drivers. It is only an issue if I load protools while the HD core audio drivers are already running so that protools defaults to the computers onboard audio.

I seem to be having a lot of luck with my HD rig. I ran HD8 on lion for a few years which apparently should have been impossible. The installer shouldn't have even opened on Lion.

[Text_Edifice]

You must have magic underpants or something.

[Sammas]

I certainly don't think they are magic, but you can borrow them if you want to find out for yourself!

I think it must be some kind of error riddled symbiosis. Like error anti-matter. Errors nulling errors and such.

[Barney Loveland]

Hey Nath are you using PCIX or PCIe cards with HD?

[Sammas]

Hey Barney,

It is HD3 Accel via PCIx.