Subject:3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Posted by: ssazman

Date:8/31/2001 5:21:43 PM

Here is what knowledge I have acquired so far. If anyone is interested I would like to run through every possible solution until we find ones that work. If there are none this product is , sadly, a bust. ssazman@hotmail.com

I am running...
Product: ACID PRO 3.0
Product Version and Build: 3.0 build 189
Windows Version: 98SE
RAM: 256
Processor Speed: 450mgHtz (pentium III)
Sound Card: soundblaster audio pci128d (Digi 001 as an option)
Hard drive: 7200 RPM and 8.5 sec avg seek time.(not great , but sufficient for protools, which is notoriously picky)


Problems:
Sound pops and glitching.
Freezing of system with varying amounts of tracks (10-21 so far) and FX (tried with and without).
During playback scrolling across the screen is incredibly slow.
Also while dragging a loop screen scrolling is incredibly slow.
When I try to convert to wav. or Mp3 on the most afflicted conversions gets to approximately 50% and freezes.
When it freezes sometimes it will unfreeze in about 5 mins, other times I have to end task. I have not had to totally reboot yet.

The solutions I have so far recieved and there results (if I have tried them).

1 Isolate the problem : begin playback on the song that is giving you the problems and then minimize Acid during playback and see if Acid does not freeze.
----I tried this, it still froze. i.e. it is not a graphics issue?

2 update your video and sound card drivers
----I right click on my computer, go to properties, then to Device Manager. In each hardware peice I click properties, in properties I go to the Driver tab (if there isn't one, you're in the wrong place). In that tab there should be an "Update driver" button. I updated or attempted to update (had the best driver available) my drivers.
----In the end this did not help.

3 Uninstall Acid. Save the msizap.exe to the root of your C drive and then double click on the Acid3.bat file. Once you have done this reinstall Direct X 8 and then reinstall Acid.
----I would love to try this. I am on my third attempt to actually recieve these files from SF. The files are to large for hotmail so I have twice sent them a different address. Nothing yet, still hoping (yeah I know, patience is a virtue, but for the cost of this software I want it to work correctly)

4 Recommend that you check your IRQ sharing/conflicts in System Information located under system tools. Ideally you would want
your video card and audio cards on their own IRQ's. If you need to change the IRQ that an item is listed on, you will need to Right Click on your My Computer icon and choose Properties. Once you have done this, you will need to find the device you would like to change, then right click on that and choose Properties. Once you have done this, you will be able to click over to the Resources tab and set the IRQ request to a different resource.
---- Unfortunately it seems that both my graphic and sound card are on IRQ 11. Those are the defaults for the hardware. They cannot be changed until I get more hardware. This has never caused me any trouble with any other program before, and since shrinking ACID during playback eleminates the graphic element of this problem and it still freezes I still think it is not an IRQ conflict. Anyone out there know if an IRQ conflict would always happen at the same place in a song, even if that spot in the song is uneventful (nothing special there)?

5 Try to turn down your Video Card Acceleration. Right click on your My
computer Icon, then choose Properties - on this page you will be able to choose the performance tab and then hit the Graphics button. There will be a slider that you are able to move the Left (none). Once you have tried this, you will need to restart your computer.
----I did this and it didn't help at all. So I put it back where it was. Again I am convinced this is not a graphics issue.

6 I tried to open a song that is causing trouble and open another ACID 3.0 screen and then peice by peice copy the whole song over to see if it would get past its major glitch point (about 5 seconds before 3 mins, almost every time, if I start from the beginning. Otherwise between 2-3 mins from where ever I start). This didn't help. Next I am going to rewrite the entire peice in 2.0 if I can't get this fixed.

7. I also tried to record a rough mix into sound fourge (at least the peices I could get and then splice together) but the recorded peices always ended up with pops and glitches. (this could be my sound card, or it could be ACID, since ACID has been doing this on basic playback).

Things left to try:
As suggested by Md, eleminate all things except explorer and system tray from your ctrl+alt+del box. Though it should work with my basic applications running (maybe not Norton anti-virus, but simple programs like my mouse app.)

Install upgrade- I am about to..let you know if it helps.

And install the files they suggested, which I will when I get.

If anybody has any ideas or suggestions please let me know. Thanks Shane

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Maruuk

Date:8/31/2001 9:28:06 PM

Heck, just order Plasma and save $350 and about 3 months of your life trying to work out SF's bugs for them.

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:9/1/2001 11:06:36 AM

Definitely check out the update to 3.0b (Build 261).

Iacobus

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:9/1/2001 11:17:08 AM

So if Plasma ends up being more buggy than you thought ACID ever was, will you come back here so that we can all razz the hell out of you? ;o)

Seriously, though, is it me or is Cakewalk jealous and wants a piece of Sonic Foundry's ACID pie? I thought they'd be happy just to make a MIDI sequencer.

What would be a real kicker is if SF came out with a MIDI sequencing package of their own.

Iacobus

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Maruuk

Date:9/1/2001 12:20:49 PM

Iac--Cakewalk has never made a program half as buggy as Acid, and makes no fraudelent claims it can't back up, such as "unlimited audio tracks" (this one of the features listed in the latest Acid Pro 3.0 promotions). The loop-based world has moved on to integration, interoperability, and stability. SF, take heed or push weeds.

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Maruuk

Date:9/1/2001 12:38:40 PM

Oh, another great SF feature--mysterious info leaking out to the cognoscenti around here about mysto-"builds" with attached cryptic numbers as sub-revs, each one promised to solve your problems like snake oil sold off the back of a wagon. Of course, SF has no information on these magic cures and never refers to anything as a "build", at least to the poor consumer, who's forced to take on faith these myths and legends passed on around the campfire here.

If you go to "Downloads" all you get is the same old 3.0b. This is a super-buggy mess which has wasted the time of folks on this forum to the tune of thousands of man-hours. It is reasonable to conclude you don't want to touch this plague with a Purell-coated 10' pole. But wait, there's always salvation in the form of "build 261", then "378" then...you got you're basic salvation, then you got your slavation. Tough to tell the difference when the bossman treats the customer like cotton-pickin' fool.

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: ssazman

Date:9/1/2001 8:59:14 PM

Ok I appreciate you guys looking here, but I did not post this so that you can try to sell me on something else (which I will look into) or complain about SF. I have this product and I want it to work because I am familiar with it. So if you have any solutions please respond, if you don't, stay off of this forum and start a forum based on your opinions. THank you.
I updated with 3.0b and it cleaned up some glitching, but it still freezes and crashes.

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Rockitglider

Date:9/2/2001 11:06:33 AM

Hello,

See the other post on this forum about freezing and try the same thing. It might help.

See ya, Rockit

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Maruuk

Date:9/2/2001 2:09:10 PM

"If anybody has any ideas or suggestions please let me know. Thanks Shane"

Dude, you don't get to edit the helpful suggestions in here once you ask for 'em. This is a public forum and we can say whatever we want. Fact is, Plasma will likely solve your problems. But I guess you don't really want your problems solved, you just want to whine on edlessly about the buggy, half-ass program you insist on using. BTW, 3.0b is well-documented in these pages to be extremely problematical. But that's a fact, and I forgot, you aren't interested in facts.

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: ssazman

Date:9/2/2001 9:36:07 PM

I would like to thank Md, Rocketglider and Salemcrow for the ideas and suggestions in this and Salemcrows forum. Once I cleaned everything up (defrag, reinstalls in proper order, scandisk), added the update (this helped glitching and window to window transition during playback) and isolated the plug in chain on a specific loop that was causing a consistent freeze, everything started running smoothly. I admit that there are limitations to this software but it is nice to know where they come into play and how to get around them.
Now to address Maruuk. I agree that this is a public forum and you can say what ever you please. But I came to this forum to seek assistance in fixing a specific problem with software that I like. And in the course of trying to steer the forum question back to where it would be useful you insult me and the software. Plasma may be a better product, but I don't have it, I haven't seen it and I know nothing about it beyond the opinionated, obviously biased and unhelpful comments that you have made on this forum. If you would like to whine about how much you hate SF maybe you should start an entry entitled "Why I hate SF". There you can tell us all the bugs you have found and the indescretions of SF's tech support. While you're at it you might try suggesting ways that you have found to solve these problems. Otherwise why don't you stop "wasting thousands if man hours" bitching and do something productive with whatever software you decide is worthy of your patronage. Thank you...

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: MyST

Date:9/2/2001 9:41:45 PM

Well put!

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Maruuk

Date:9/3/2001 1:55:41 PM

You chose to start a thread spewing out 9 paragraphs of tedious details of your extensive problems with Acid, not me. You claimed to be looking for solutions. I gave them to you. Not band-aids, not hand-holding, not misleading bleats of phony encouragement, but actual solutions within your grasp.

But your response is to be insulting and abusive. I doesn't bother me, there are a lot of folks like you on the forums--just don't expect me to ignore your idiotic whining after you've put out a call for help, then selectively dump on posters who impart truths which don't conform precisely to your preset and rigid beliefs.

It's great that people here share Acid tips, caveats and band-aids for Acid. God knows we all need 'em given the bugs and at least one major false claim for the product made by SF. Acid is a terrific concept that can do exceptional things--hopefully with the prodding of companies like Cakewalk and Steinberg, SF will aggressively upgrade and debug it to be competitive. If you think I'm alone in being concerned about the current state of this product, you obviously haven't read this forum at all. The people have spoken.

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: ssazman

Date:9/4/2001 12:28:14 AM

The 9 paragraphs in the 1st entry were written so that anyone else who is a relatively new user to this product and is having problems can try the solutions that have been suggested to me by SF and others on this forum.
I have read enough of this forum at this point to realize that many people are "concerned about the state of this product". I am a bit dissappointed myself. But the positive aspects of 3.0 are outweighing the negative so far. And now that I have fixed my problems I hope that any of the solutions that were passed to me (many of which did not work on my system, but may work on other's) will assist someone else in their quest for a better functioning product.
A solution suggested early on was to go out and buy software that, I believe in Maruuk's thread, has been called vaporware (as in, not yet shipped). Has anyone actually used Plasma yet? I'm sure it's a cool product. But it's existence does not help us with the product that we have.
One can hope that SF will be motivated by other companies releasing possibly superior products to improve theirs. And yes their advertising is a bit misleading. I'm sure it is not the first time that advertising has mislead people, perhaps we should look with a more critical eye at things we read...like Plasma adverts, for instance. I have not read them, but I wonder...are they decieving?
Thanks to all for the info. Can't wait to see if Plasma is as cool as you think, but I am happy to have ACID working properly.

Subject:RE: 3.0 freezing, glitching and problems

Reply by: Maruuk

Date:9/4/2001 1:04:39 PM

At least we can all agree that as any competitor to Acid innovates and integrates for the benefit of the user, SF will be held to task and will either sync or swim.