Hi Daniel, I’m having crashing problems. Have read through a bunch of the related threads and must admit to being a bit bewildered - or at the very least lacking in a reference point. I’m on a 2021 MacBook Pro, running MacOs Ventura 13.4.1. I’ve been experiencing crashing issues with Dorico since updating to 5, which have continued with the latest update. I just tried going back to 4 and it’s still happening. Sometimes the crash is on start-up with the audio process, other times its around saving etc. What do I need to do? Cheers, Jabra
Hi @jabralatham , welcome to the forum.
Can you get Dorico 5 still running, I mean at least to the point that Dorico’s hub window appears?
If so, then please do from Dorico’s menu Help > Create Diagnostics Report and attach the corresponding zip file to an reply here.
The diagnostics contain all the information that we need for a start. We will come back with more advice later. Thanks
Thanks for the data @jabralatham .
It contains one Dorico crash file, but what strikes me is, that the audio engine process log file is frequently incomplete, which means that it is not shutting down properly. That could also potentially be the cause of the Dorico crash.
We will take a second look as well, but we also like to ask you to keep an eye in the Activity Monitor app on the VSTAudioEngine process. Does it go away if you shut down Dorico? Maybe you can try several times, loading project and quitting Dorico. What does happen with the VSTAudioEngine?
The one Dorico crash log contained in the diagnostics shows that Dorico crashed during scrub playback – I’d be very interested to know if you can reproduce that problem, so that we can look into it and fix it.
However, looking at the rest of the diagnostics, it seems pretty clear that the audio engine is either hanging or crashing, and that’s why you’re unable to start Dorico a lot of the time. Of the last 10 runs, at least 5 were aborted due to being unable to initialise the audio engine. Ulf will no doubt have some more ideas about what is going on there.
Thanks for the responses. I think I only used scrub playback just to try it on first release. Definitely haven’t used it any time recently. I just tried to recreate it the crash that way as suggested, but it’s running fine today. When I open Dorico there’s usually a pause at “waiting for audio engine initialization”. Sometimes it’s brief and things continue. Other times the programs freezes. Once the freeze happens, and I force quit, the only way to get the Dorico to open again is to restart my computer - works most of the time but not always. I did a re-install of 5 right after your first reply, and things have been fine since then - so can’t offer any evidence of audio engine problems in the Activity Monitor. Will certainly keep you posted at the first sign of trouble. Beautiful software by the way. Thank you.
If you find that Dorico hangs on start-up, it’s because the audio engine has hung/stalled. You don’t need to restart your computer at that point: run Activity Monitor, and find the Dorico and VST Audio Engine processes, and force quit both of them. Then wait a second or two, and you’ll find that Dorico can start again.
However, we need to try to figure out why the audio engine is hanging/stalling on your computer. I guess Ulf will chime back in soon.
Thanks. Still running fine today.
Hi,
Posting this here since it might be a similar problem.
I’m encountering a technical problem in Dorico Pro 5. When working in Dorico and using Spotify at the same time, both programs have audio.
- When keeping Spotify open, closing Dorico and starting up Dorico again, a message appears during startup: “Wait for audio engine initialization” and startup freezes.
- When closing both Spotify and Dorico and starting up (only) Dorico again, the same message appears and Dorico also freezes.
This problem only dissapears after a complete reboot.
Using Dorico Pro 5 and Win10 Pro. Any tips or clues appreciated.
P.s.: only closing Dorico in Windows Task Manager doesn’t solve the problem. Also closing VST engine in Task Manager does.
Hi @kleinesteentjes , may I ask you to get the free tool Process Explorer and use it instead of Task Manager.
Task Manager is not always reliable in terms of showing all background task (such like the VSTAudioEngine process). Process Explorer on the other hand can always be trusted.
If you follow your recipe again, please have Process Explorer open all the time and a focus on the VSTAudioEngine process. Does it also go away when you shut down Dorico, or does it linger on?
Hi Ulf,
Thanks for your reply. When downloading Process Explorer, it shows 3 different files: procexp.exe | procexp64.exe | procexp64a.exe. Which one do I use for installation?
BTW: I tried some processes (still with Windows Task Manager). This might be normal behaviour, but when Spotify is running and I start Dorico for the first time (after a reboot), both programs have audio. If I close Dorico, VST Engine is still visible in Task Manager. If I close VST Engine in Task Manager, it is no longer possible to start Dorico.
@kleinesteentjes , if the audio engine lingers on when Dorico closes, that is not a good sign for a start. I wonder though that you can’t start Dorico anymore once the audio engine got killed off by you.
I’ve sent you a private message, please check.
Turns out I’m having the same issue with Spotify v Dorico as @kleinesteentjes. It hadn’t even occurred to me previously. Thanks, @kleinesteentjes. I seem to be able to force quit Dorico, quit Spotify, and then restart Dorico normally. @Ulf, I’m not seeing any VST hangover.
Hi @Ulf, I just had a very random crash. Created the diagnostic file straight away
Dorico Diagnostics.zip (1.1 MB). Wasn’t running Spotify. May have just tried to save something. No freezing, just a total crash.
Crashed again. I was moving a couple of Dorico windows (different scores) around. Only other thing running was Safari. VST Audio Engine stayed running in the Activity Monitor. Dorico restarted just fine.
Dorico Diagnostics.zip (1.3 MB)
Hi @jabralatham (cc @dspreadbury )
the diagnostics contain new crash files from Dorico (I added them to TST-1884) and they all show the same pattern again, that means a crash in the ScrubPlayback area. So if you think back, was there anything that you did consciously with ScrubPlayback right before the crashes?
And that with Spotify is a different problem. Kleinesteentjes had wrongly the impression that Dorico and Spotify clashed. Actually one of his projects did not load sounds and therefore was mute.
If you wish, we can also have a remote screen sharing session if you can reproduce the problem.
Hi @Ulf, I definitely wasn’t using ScrubPlayback. The only time I’ve touched that recently was a few days ago when advised by Daniel. It’s not a function I’m currently making use of. The only common factor I can recall is that I was moving (or opening and closing) project windows. I have no idea if this is connected, but I notice if I close the window via the top left red circle X, there is a slightly delay of 2-3 seconds. I always save before I do that.