Dorico 3 crashes when I open certain projects.

Hey, Dorico team!

I started working on a transcription of a piece last week, after Dorico 3 was released and I had already installed it. I finished the transcription within the same day. Later, after saving and closing the project, I tried reopening the project file to show the transcription to a friend and Dorico crashed the second I tried to open it! Steinburg Hub opens just fine. I can still create new projects, write out music, playback the music, and even open older projects from Dorico 2. However, I couldn’t open the specific project that crashes Dorico. Keep in mind that I saved multiple times before I ever closed the project, the issue only occurred later when I attempted to reopen the project after a full closing of Dorico. I brushed it off as a okay loss and moved on, thinking that it wouldn’t happen again. Well, it did. I was sketching a piece for orchestra today, saved and quit so that I could come back to it later. When I tried to open that file Dorico crashed again in exactly the same way as the other file. If you guys have any ideas, I would appreciate it. I’ve attached both project files that are causing the crash as well as the Diagnostics Report.

Thanks,
Mason

P.S.: If there is already a forum addressing this issue, I wasn’t able to find it.
Crashing Projects.zip (1.05 MB)
Dorico Diagnostics.zip (625 KB)

This isn’t much help, but the projects gave me the same result. So it must be something within the project file itself.

Was it a new project, or an XML import?

Anything noteworthy in the score? Condensing, divisi, independent barlines, etc?

I’ve had a similar problem with a project (too big to attach here) which crashed once or twice switching between galley view and page view with condensing on, and eventually Dorico crashed trying to open the last saved version. The feedback from the development team was that this was a bug triggered by a combination of condensing, tuplets, and notes tied across barlines.

One manifestation of the problem (before the project refused to open at all) was a condensed staff where what should have been a bar rest in one of the parts was a “random” collection of shorter rests which didn’t add up to the correct duration of the bar.

If you can go back to a copy of the project in your backup directory (or in the recycle bin or trash if you need to go back for several versions), you may find that switching off condensing lets you carry on working on the project with no problems, until this gets fixed in an update to Dorico. That worked for me.

Both were new projects started from a blank template. The music was as vanilla as it comes; condensing was off, no divisi, one of the projects was literally just a piano part and the basic project info like title composer etc. It did have a second voice in the treble stave if that is significant.

Thanks for the tip! Upon investigation of the backup folder, the transcription project was actually started in Dorico 2 and then converted the next day while the other project was in Dorico 3 from start to finish. I’m able to open each version of the project up until the update from Dorico 2 to Dorico 3, so I would conclude the problem stems from something within Dorico 3, likely condensing or other new feature. I’ve attached the Backup folder for that project, maybe it could help with finding the cause through comparison? Just an idea.

Anyway, thanks.

I do not see the attachment.

I tried to open the project with the same result. If it helps, before crashing, I’ve got the message saying that the NotePerformer template could not be loaded (since I don’t have it installed), so at least the loading got to that part, whatever that means for debugging.

By bad, I forgot to attach the backups after compressing them into one file.
Crashing Projects.zip (1.05 MB)

Welcome to the forum, Digital_Turtle, and I’m sorry that your first post here is about a crash. The problem is caused by a bug in Dorico 3.0 that causes it to explode when it encounters an instrument that doesn’t have a standard and/or advanced range set (for the View > Note and Rest Colors > Notes Out of Range feature). This bug will be fixed in the next available update. In the meantime I’ve fixed up these two projects so they will open once more. Sorry for the inconvenience!
fixed-projects.zip (1010 KB)

Hi Daniel, I’m tearing my hair out. I have Dorico pro 3.1 and Native Instruments symphony series.Followed all the advice what hardware to get, Ram, i7 etc. To begin with it all worked fine, I wrote a lot of stuff, then the cut outs started, then whole bars missing and play head stopping, then weird stuff. And now I can’t even open any projects, they ghost over and I get “Dorico not responding”. My husband who is much better than me with computers, reinstalled Dorico he also did everything Anthony suggested in his YouTube video. We wonder if it might be an issue between Dorico and Native? But it’s too late now to switch libraries. H.E.L.P please!! Thank you! Jenny

Can you zip up one or two of the problematic projects and send them to me by email at d dot spreadbury at steinberg dot de? Please also do Help > Create Diagnostic Report, which will produce a zip file on your desktop called ‘Dorico Diagnostics.zip’, and send that to me as well?

Yay! Sent you’re last 2 projects if you could debug them that would be amazing. But can’t send diagnostic because I can’t get in. Thanks Daniel

Arrrg! I just got hit by this too. I can open this file, but then as soon as I try to do anything with it Dorico goes into a permanent hang state. It is a native Dorico file, not XML import. Can anyone else open it and do anything? I’m supposed to have the woodwind parts tracked by tonight to hand off to the keyboard player and I’m guessing I’m gonna have to start over.
Kevin Eubanks - Poem.zip (1.08 MB)

Your project seems to behave itself OK for me, Todd, but here it is resaved with the ‘Silence’ playback template applied, in case the hang is somehow playback-related.
Kevin Eubanks - Poem.dorico.zip (206 KB)

Whatever you did, I’m back up and working now. Thanks!!!

Weird, it’s seems to be some sort of Halion issue but specific to this file. Other files using Halion sounds still function and play back ok so I don’t think it’s an eLicenser dongle issue. I switched the file you sent over to Aria / JABB sounds and it’s working fine, but as soon as I tried to use Halion sounds again it hangs. Anyway, I’m back up and working so thanks again!

Daniel did my 2 project zips and 1 diagnostic zip arrive ok? Any thoughts? Thanks! Jenny

Jenny, I’m afraid not. Did you perhaps have a typo in my email address? It’s d dot spreadbury at steinberg dot de. Apologies for writing it out “phonetically” like that, but thar be spammers. If you prefer, you could send me a private message including your email address, and I’ll then email you from my own email address, and you can reply to send me your files.

That’s so kind! I’ve sent you an email and as soon I get a reply I’ll send you my dodgy project and diagnostic zips. Thanks Daniel

Hi again! If anyone here, who uses big VST libraries such as Native Instruments, has issues with cut-outs and clicks, have a look at your memory! Turns out I was up to 93%, at 16GB RAM (so my husband tells me) He installed two extra modules, taking me up to 32GB. Also, some sounds, such as woodwind, are just as good in some smaller libraries, so I’m now mixing and matching. Thank you Daniel for all your help, and congrats on the new update, amazing work! Jenny