Ctrl+shift+Esc brings up the windows task manager straight away, much easier than using Ctrl+Alt+Del
Not Cubase related. Not having a clue about what kind of systems and system setups you use there’s probably not a lot anyone can do from here and you will need more detail for support or they will just ho-hum you out of the loop.
My guess from that two month mark is that you are getting fragmentation and system clutter somewhere. Even if you do defrag you may need to get a third party defragger rather than Windows own. Consider checking your ram as well. Rogue sticks are not unusual and they’re also usually guaranteed for life or very close.
Another consideration would be checking the PSU. Do you always use ones supplied with the computers? They are usually underpowered for the needs of a decent DAW build. Usually by about 50% under spec and it’s not just wattage.
he needs to go to Cubase x64 bit. i am in the same boat…using Cubase x32 on Win7 x64 and i perodicially run out of memory (ie load a minimoog vsti…and it simply doesnt show up in the slot…vanish).
remember any x32 bit app can only get access to 4 gig of mem.
^^ what he said.
Mauri.
To my ears this sounds like having a virus/spyware on some of your installation media which returns when the media is used. Do you have some harddrives or usb sticks with software which you install after you reinstalled you’re whole system? Might be worth looking into.
sorry guys, I went out of town and didn’t check this thread until today. I am glad there is some attention here.
I forgot to mention some things:
-audio interface:RME FireFace 400
-YES all my CPU components are new.
-BRAND new Intel Solid State Hard Drive for my C drive (audio and projects are on diff HDs)
-No, I don’t use Synthedit plugins
-Common VSTs I use in a typical setup
FXPansion Geist (3 instances)
U-he Diva (3-4 instances)
NI Massive (1-2 instances)
RobPappen SubBoomBass (1 instance)
Waves plugins (tons of them all over)
SoundToys plugins (tons all over)
and then some random assortment of other VSTfx
I’ve never really thought it was a memory issue but I will take a look. Never noticed my memory or CPU maxing out.
I guess I DO use a lot of intensive plugins.
Also, I decided to install Cubase 32 bit because I didn’t want to worry about which plugins are 64 bit compatible or using Jbridge, etc. I figured for Cubase alone, 4 gigs is plenty of RAM, especially when other 4 can be allocated for Windows and other tasks running in the background.
Why I don’t think its a memory or build issue:
I opened up a project that was originally created in Cubase 6.0 that has always been unstable. And by unstable I mean it crashes within 2 mins of opening it every time. I re-created it by doing “Backup Project” and then re-opened the new project. Suddenly this project is stable. No crashes. And I am able to work on it. Although, now 2 weeks later (and having not added much to it, I am mostly arranging the song at this point), I am seeing its stability start to decrease. IF it was a memory issue, why is this project much healthier when I re-created it as a new project?
I also want to point out that when I first re-installed everything, my system ran like a dream. I thought the workflow destroying bugs were finally a thing of the past. However over time, the same problems started reoccurring. This makes me think maybe the difference is that I keep accruing more and more 3rd party plugins. Maybe those are to blame? It just seems to me that even if the plugins are the source of the problem, Cubase should be better at being able to handle the plugin crash and not have the exceptions ruin the running of the host process itself. Cubase should remain stable even if plugins crash imo. But thats a different discussion.
Anyway, long story short guys, I am at a loss for what to do next to resolve this other than NOT use 3rd party plugins (which isn’t really an option). I will however monitor my RAM usage and report back for now. Does Cubase store any logs of exceptions when it crashes? Maybe thats worth a shot?
Thanks everybody who provided helpful comments. I am not one to complain and troll on forums. I genuinely LOVE everything about Cubase as a serious music producer who does this fulltime currently. But for me, these stability issues have plagued me since SX2. I’ve honestly flirted with switching DAWs but always try to avoid it because Cubase is the program for me. I just don’t know how much longer I can deal with these bugs. So any help is very much appreciated.
Question: when Cubase gives a warning that the system is behaving in an unstable fashion (but Cubase is still running and hasnt closed yet), is it SAFE to save the project, close Cubase, re-open, then re-use that project? Or has corruption already occurred at this point? I think its possible that some of my most unstable projects are ones I saved during instability and tried to use again rather than admitting defeat and letting go of all the progress I made in that session
Usually when Cubase asks you to save due to an error, it will prompt you to save it with a different name (so you don’t over write the original file), I would always recommend that you save your file with a different name when the system goes unstable.
This message normally comes form Cubase when it is running low on RAM. I used to get this, but once I increased the RAM, I have never seen this type of message again.
Your problems are probably memory related, but any plug in or application that may be running in the background could be causing it. Cubase itself, will not be the problem.
You can’t say with any certainty whether it’s not a memory or build issue. I regard myself as pretty knowledgeable and I would NEVER assume it wasn’t me until I’d thoroughly checked my system.
Also I’d never assume it IF THE OTHER SEVERAL THOUSAND USERS DIDN’T ALSO HAVE IT.
My guess is that, like physical audio leads, that great bunch of plugins you have there will be likely tangling internal connections and robbing each other of vital data-packets at the wrong time, should be uninstalled, Cubase reinstalled without them and restarted. Then see where you are. Then go to support rather than here as I don’t think you’ll get more than simple to medium problems fixed in a forum unless you get a one to one.
You’ve built a complex software collection for yourself there so it probably won’t be an easy fix.
Any other studios or engineers in your neighbourhood shed some hands-on light for you?
u could use VEP to host the plugins. Im using VEP and it runs like a charm. Vienna Ensemble Pro
I have more or less the same HW as you and I have no problems. Cubase (32 bit) is very stable here.
Could it be something as simple as a faulty firewire cable or maybe your firewire card ?
Mads
I actually returned my FireFace400 and got a new one, so unless BOTH are faulty, its highly unlikely that its the sound interface.
But it could be the socket or usb chip it’s plugged into.
Or the driver
Just because no one else suggested it…and you might have done this already…
Did you trash the preferences and then re-start Cubase when working on this project that became unstable over time?
I have used Cubase under Windows 7 both 32 and 64 bit with JBridge. Based on your tools, you really should get more RAM even if memory isn’t the problem. Diva 3-4 instances…wow! Massive 1-2 instances and Waves plugs “all over the place” and you think 4 is enough? Any sampler? How many audio tracks in your typical project? I don’t even know about the other plugs you mentioned.
Do any projects work fine until you open a project (with some or all these plugs I assume)? I assume no illegal copies of plug-ins?
It sounds like things are fine at the beginning of certain projects, but over time it becomes unstable. What does the asio performance meter (the one in Cubase) show? How about the task manager meter? These do not reflect the same things.
What I would do is process of elimination. I know that is frustrating and totally time consuming, but also logical.
Reinstall Cubase and get things going in its most virgin state. No plug ins, special tweaks, etc
Then, when you are confident things are good with the virgin state, install just one plug and be patient…testing…looking for issues. Be patient. When you are convinced the plug is good, then introduce another one.
If you get all the plug-ins installed and everything works perfect, which due to testing may take days to achieve, then it’s time to open an old project that previously caused instant crashes or open the project that caused problems over time.
Good luck!
I don’t really understand why everybody here assumes its my pc hardware or sound interface.
My Pc is running plugins more efficiently than those any other person I know personally
Here’s a picture of the insane amount of plugins I have running and showing how little the ASIO meter is being worked.
I am also attaching my Task Manager performance screenshot while I was running Cubase
Also forgot to mention, I know some of my crashes happen with FXpansion Geist because when I re-open Cubase, it tells me GEIST crashed and asks to show the log (which usually isn’t helpful).
I really am convinced its software related bugs. Maybe conflicts between plugins
Hi there,
thanks for the screenshots and they are very helpful.
I think that your PC maybe is running very stable, but when you use so many VST Plug-Ins for a while and then some crashes occur, this can be caused by several things:
The VST Plug-Ins are causing this, because of incompatibility at each other.
Please rename your VST plug-in folder temporarily to e.g. “VSTPlugins_inactive”. With this approach, you will be able to check if a particular plugin is causing the problem.
The standard VST Plug-in path for 3rd party plug-ins is:
Windows XP (32-bit)/ Windows Vista
(64-bit)/Windows 7 (64-bit)
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VSTPlugins
Please rename to
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VSTPlugins_inactive
For 32-Bit VST Plug-ins on Vista 64-bit/ Windows 7 64-bit:
C:\Program Files(x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins
You must rename to
C:\Program Files(x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins_ inactive
Mac OS X (up to version 10.6)
Hard disk // Library // Audio // Plug-Ins // VST
Hard disk // Users // Username // Library // Audio // Plug-Ins // VST
Please rename to
Hard disk // Library // Audio // Plug-Ins // VST inactive
Hard disk // Users // Username // Library // Audio // Plug-Ins // VST inactive
Mac OS X (version 10.7 or later)
Please create a new folder in
Hard disk // Library // Audio // Plug-Ins // VST
Hard disk // Users // Username // Library // Audio // Plug-Ins // VST
and move the plug-ins into that folder as it is not possible to rename the VST folder anymore.
If this procedure has fixed the problem, you know that a particular plugin has caused the error. By copying the plugins of the inactive folder to the active “VSTPlugin” folder one by one and starting the sequencer over and over again, you can identify which plug-in in particular is causing the issue.
You maybe have a thermal issue with your RAM or Mainboard itself. When the temperature is rising, the RAM is getting more and more unstable as well as the Mainboard itself. In this case you should prove your temperature
with some tools, I know this is not the best way, but maybe you can find something obscure.
Cheers,
Marcus
I’ve heard numerous problems with NI Massive. Every now and again it requires deleting the database folder forcing it to rebuild. Some say that just happens with the cracked version though, so no doubt wont apply to you.
I have plenty of plugins that dont like 2 instances of themselves runnning in Cubase – maybe you could ask the manufacturer about that, or try freezing some instances of instruments.
To be honest whenever I have made songs that get ‘too big’, in my experience Cubase starts to fall apart. Not sure if other DAWs do this, and maybe like the other guys said it is a memory thing or maybe there’s just more chance that plugins will start to conflict. Again I would recommend testing whether freezing instruments helps.
ps: looking again at your screenshot I see AVG antivirus is running – this is not recommended for a start. I repeat what I said earlier – Have you ever looked up any tutorials for how to best set up a Windows DAW? This is step 1 on your road to happiness
We don’t really understand why it’s Cubase as several (hundred?) thousand users run Cubase without a hitch.
So, if you have a flawless system and it still trips up I’d say it’s useless trying to get help on a forum. You would do far better to call Steinberg support and/or get some hands on help from a local computer / studio engineer.
I think it’s fixable and it’s been going on long enough for you and I don’t think anyone here is of any help for you. You need it fixed yesterday.
Conman’s right - you really shouldn’t be putting up with this j0hnglist, after all you’ve been through.
Plenty of folk do run the programme perfectly happily for months on end; however, perhaps you are being particularly stressful of it - in some untypical way, that only the SB folk themselves will be able to help with. Hey, with your methods of working, you may even have stumbled on something legit, that they haven’t come across before… 
But as Conman says, you need this fixed soon.
Also, be prepared the solution might mean changing your ways/methods a little too.