Audio Engine Issues After Update to 6.0.10

Dorico
,
1

I just updated to 6.0.10, and now I’m consistently getting a message saying “The audio engine is taking longer than expected to respond,” with options to wait or terminate the program. No amount of waiting solves the problem, so I’m forced to terminate each time. I’ve tried restarting the computer multiple times and have looked for suspicious-looking VST processes to end, but I’ve had no success with either.

I’d never encountered this issue prior to today’s update, and it’s so persistent that I haven’t yet been able to open 6.0.10. Here’s a screenshot of the warning:

Screenshot 2025-05-31 143312
Screenshot 2025-05-31 143312976×665 74.3 KB

I also have a diagnostic folder to pass along, but it’s too large to attach here, and I’m not sure where else to send it.

Help would be greatly appreciated. I’m at a total standstill!

2

Are you using the HALion music selection? I had this issue once before and had to redownload the sound libraries as well as reset some of my network settings on my Mac (the network issue was connected to the Download Assistant; not sure if it’s also connected to the sound libraries).

3

I am, indeed, using the HALion Sonic Selection. I just tried uninstalling and then reinstalling both HALion Sonic and HALion Sonic Selection. Alas! No dice. Dorico is still crashing. Ugh…

4

Hi @davidmgordon , sorry to hear about your trouble.
Please send the diagnostic report directly to u dot stoermer at steinberg dot de if it is smaller than 10 MB. If it is larger please use a file sharing service like DropBox, WeTransfer or the like and post the sharing link here. Thanks

Edit: Or repackage the diagnostic report into smaller zip files and send them in separate mails.

5

I just sent it. The folder is 5MB. Hopefully it will tell you what you need to know. Thanks for your help!

6

Thanks for the data, @davidmgordon .
I appears as if the audio engine is choking on scanning the HALion Sonic plug-in, but I don’t see any reason or why.
Please have a look at C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\Steinberg, is there a folder called HALion Sonic.vst3? If so, temporarily move it out of that folder to for example the Desktop. If you then restart Dorico, does it then initialise and you are able to load projects? Perhaps do a reboot to make sure that no zombied audio engine process prevents a start-up.

7

Hi, same problem here.
I removed HALion Sonic.vst3: no luck.
Removed HALion Sonic, too: no luck.
Rebooted, no luck.
Still cannot start Dorico.

8

Ok, came a step further.
First i reinstalled HALion Sonic but that did not help.
So I had to eliminate the whole content of the folder VST3/Steinberg (Grove Agent SE.vst3, Padshop.vst3 and Retrologue.vst3). After that, Dorico started. I got the following error, though:

image
image507×266 13.8 KB

But because i don’t use any of this plugins, i don’t care for the moment.
@Ulf Tell me please if i can help you identifying the issue sharing some data.

9

The first thing to share would be a set of diagnostics, created by choosing Help > Create Diagnostic Report from within Dorico.

10

Done! :+1:

11

I moved the HALion Sonic.vst3 folder to the desktop as you suggested, then started Dorico. Crashed.

I then rebooted and started Dorico again. Crashed.

I checked the Task Manager while Dorico was attempting to open and found VSTAudioEngine running. I tried terminating it while Dorico was attempting to start (a third time), and Dorico immediately crashed.

Any other suggestions? I’ll email you the latest diagnostic data right now.

12

Oh dear, I did not expect your case to be that bad. Anyhow, please try something more radical then: instead of moving just one plug-in out, move or rename the whole VSt2 and VST3 parent folders in order that the Audio Engine won’t “see” them during start-up.

13

So sorry for the delayed response. I did as you suggested, and as a result, the following window popped up when I started Dorico:

Screenshot 2025-06-01 162136
Screenshot 2025-06-01 162136933×622 44 KB

However, once I pressed OK, Dorico started normally and I was able to open a project.

So, what’s the next step? This got the program running, but I’d like to be able to use Dorico with HALion Sonic 7.

14

Hi David, that pop-up window is just an alert that HALion Sonic and Groove Agent SE could not be found.

No wonder because we just did hide them away from Dorico, so this behaviour is to be expected.

At the same time, this hiding away of all plug-ins shows, that there is or must be one of the plug-ins
must be responsible for your hanging at start.

So what’s the strategy from now?

Put first the VST2 folder into place and start Dorico anew.

Again, that alert box shall get shown, but simply ignore for the moment.

Next you create a new VST3 folder underneath C:\Program Files\Common Files\

and move everything except the Steinberg subfolder into place again.

Do another round and check that Dorico loads fine (except for that alert).

Then you move back the Steinberg VST3s one by one,
and the one where it starts hanging again is the culprit.

Please let me know which one that is.

15

OK, I went through the whole process, and the results are not what
I was expecting. Neither of the re-added Steinberg VSTs have caused it to hang up. Instead, I get this message:

Screenshot 2025-06-02 2
Screenshot 2025-06-02 2994×614 36.6 KB

Groove Agent is in the folder, but Dorico can’t seem to find it.

Screenshot 2025-06-02 1
Screenshot 2025-06-02 1872×280 13 KB

Dorico does run, however. It is no longer crashing.

Thoughts?

16

Please send me another diagnostic report. Thanks

17

Done.

18

Hi @davidmgordon , thanks for the data.
But actually Groove Agent SE gets thrown on the blacklist with you. Therefore I suggest that you reinstall that package.
Go to the Windows setting, there click on the Apps tab, find Groove Agent SE in the list of programs and uninstall if from there. Then turn again to the STeinberg Download Assistant, go to the Dorico section, choose the appropriate Dorico version, and then in the list of installers click on Install again for Groove Agent SE. I shall fall dead if that does not bring back Groove Agent SE.

19

Please don’t @Ulf

Jesper

5 Likes
20

And if I’m still alive, then please open a command prompt (hit the Windows key and type cmd and press return/enter) and into that window copy and paste the line

"C:/Program Files/Steinberg/Dorico6/VSTAudioEngine/Components/vstscanner.exe" -p "C:/Program Files/Common Files/VST3/Steinberg/Groove Agent SE.vst3/Contents/x86_64-win/Groove Agent SE.vst3"

After hitting the return/enter key again after a few seconds some xml should get printed out.
Then do

echo %errorlevel%

and hit return/enter one more time again. A single digit number shall get printed out. Which one is it?
Thanks

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