Profile Manager problem

System used :Windows 10 22H2 / RME Fireface UCX / Cubase Pro 12.0.70

This morning, as I never have used it until now, I tried the Profile Manager implementation to see if it could be an alternative at what I’ve been doing since years with Cubase : “manually” saving regularly the whole C:\Users[UserName]\AppData\Roaming\Steinberg[Cubase version] folder in a safe place. First, I carefully saved again this folder, just in case… Then, I went to the Edit > Profile Manager window, created a new profile and activated it. I got a warning, saying that it will be applied after a relaunch of Cubase. Fine : so did I…

The result :

  1. at the relaunch, Cubase freezed on the VSTConnect.dll stage, to the point that I had to go in the task manager and use the End of task command on Cubase 12.
  2. Trying to relaunch it, afterwards, I got the following screens :

I choosed the Disable program preferences option on that one…

C12_profileManagerCrash2

Since years, I’ve been using the first of the two, of course…

I’m 110% sure that the Use Hub option in the Preferences > General panel has always been UNticked… So, I used the cancel option…

C12_profileManagerCrash4

No more Recent Projects available, after all these…

  1. At the end, when finally succeeding to relaunch the project I was working on, all the toolbars setups were lost, as well as most of the colors set in the Preference > User Interface > Color Schemes panel.

Seeing the mess, I closed the project WITHOUT saving it, and quit Cubase. I then deleted all the preferences folder content and replaced it with the backup I made previously. Relaunching Cubase, all was well again, as it’s been for months without a single crash, using Cubase 12. Phew… :sweat:

FWIW, here is the .dmp file from the initial Cubase freeze :

Cubase 12.0.70.464 64bit 2023.10.15 9.23.30.748-freezedump.dmp (374.1 KB)

The moral of it ? Something is fishy with the profiles management… :roll_eyes:

Hi,

If you choosen the option mentioned above…

…of course you don’t get your own preferences. You have chosen to Disable program preferences, therefore you got the defalut preferences, where the Hub is enabled.

Of course, because you have chosen to Disable program preferences.

From my point of view, the moral of it is following: If you make a decision, be aware what you are doing and be aware of the consequences of your decision.

You didn’t understand that you started from scratch with the new profile.
It’s like a new user on Windows.

And the start without program preferences isn’t helpful at all.

That is not the intention of the profile manager.

Just after a freeze/crash ? I’m not sure that it was the best choice, at this stage…

No need to patronize : I have enough Cubase experience to know what I’m doing. I was rather expecting from you to eventually explain what’s in the .dmp file, as the choice I made when disabling the program preferences was to avoid any corrupted files to be applied. And this doesn’t explain the initial freeze/crash, the first i got since several months…

So, you have chosen to be aggresive with your bold characters : I regret it, as I still think that this is an usual behavior, after a crash, but maybe you can tell me why it was a bad decision…

OK…
C12_ProfileManagerOptions

Can you tell me what option I should have used, in this window, then, to save my present settings ?

Then, what is the “profile manager” supposed to do ? Excerpt from the C12 Pro Operation manual :

Hi,

@cubic13 , in your original post, there were statements based on your wrong expectation (not knowing the specification). So I will try to explain these more in detail.

Disable program preferences
Choosing the Disable program preferences in the Safe Mode dialog, Cubase renames the defaults.xml file and then starts. That means you don’t get fresh Cubase (factory settings), but most of the visible settings (because most of the user settings are stored in this file) become disabled. For example, your Key Commands remain, because they are stored in another file. Once you quit Cubase after this, Cubase deletes your new defaults.xml file and replaces it with the original one. Then your Cubase starts with the original defaults.xml again (if you don’t delete the file manually or from the Safe Mode dialog).

Profile Manager
I know, the Profile Manager is far from being intuitive. Therefore it’s important to learn how it is working before you start to use it.

Profiles here working ok. Exchanging them between my laptop and desktop also.
I analyzed your dmp and I can see errors related with ati, amd, vst connect, license-engine-access and synsoacc.

1 Like

A new profile starts from scratch with default settings. It is empty, so to say…
The files are still there in the default profile or in the last used profile.
That is the current point where you should start.

Duplicate the default. That will duplicate the settings, and you can store them.

It enables to have more than one environment at hand to work in.
Multi user situations or different settings for one user.

No fix from me , i don’t use the profile manager for the simple reason , a couple of years ago i mistakenly changed the profile thinking everything was saved . I was wrong and had a total nightmare retrieving my setting switching back to the original profile .

So i use the good old fashion way of saving the preference folder .
Better safe than sorry

1 Like

And this is precisely what it didn’t, as all my whole preferences were completely reinitialized, with a freeze crash as an additional event…

OK. So why this procedure isn’t clearly stated in the Cubase 12 Operation Manual ? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Hi,

Are you sure? Try following:

  • Change the Project window color (for example green).
  • Quit Cubase.
  • Start Cubase.
  • Create a Profile. (This should contain the green color.)
  • Change the Project window color (for example red).
  • (You can restart Cubase, to store the change to the preferences.)
  • After the restart, Cubase spears red.
  • Call the profile (green).

=> Cubase should be green.

Or am I missing something?

Thanks for the analysis, but I’m rather puzzled : I never had any issue related to the licence stuff, whether USB e-Licenser based or the new Steinberg licence scheme.

Beside this, all what what is AMD related works as exoected, so… This let the VSTConnect issue, as the first freeze/crash occured exactly on that one…

If you start cubase empty, then load your saved profile and then load a project what happens?

Ahhh , never thought of this , if you have different user profiles then Cubase will want access to SAM which requires being online ? For proof of the user profile having a licence ?

Hi,

Isn’t your VST Connect version old and using eLCC? Isn’t the VST Connect disabled/blocked by your real preferences?

Didn’t VST Connect load because of the Disabled program preferences, then the eLCC issue occurred with the VST Connect and maybe even the AMD issue based on the VST Connect load?

Hi,

You can use offline activation. SAM doesn’t necessarily requires to be online. If you are using the online version, then SAM is being asked during the session multiple times.

Hi,

What would you expect? Sorry, what is the point of this test? I’m just curious.

Btw, the Profile Manager works the same if you open a project or not.

I am not sure how you read a dump file but this section here…
grafik

… does not indicate anything in regards to the freeze/crash.

Also: snysoacc.dll is part of the license scheme.

And it looks like this is where the program halted - in synsoacc.dll. Maybe there was an issue with the local license server, which could be fixed by a computer restart.

No, it doesn’t.

I did this some years ago with my Nuendo on the now outdated studio machine.
I was trying to set up a multiuser environment. Furthermore, I failed on the first attempt.

A new profile is empty!
All your current settings belong to the “default” profile. Just rename it, or duplicate it.

Or did they change that in a recent update?

Because he said that was stuck at vstconnect and I am guessing that it is not part of the profile manager.
So if he just opens cubase without getting the vst connect freeze the he can mess with the profile manager so any errors coming will surely be from profile manager.
Then load a project to check if his settings are there etc