Studio crashes in Edit mode
Answer ID 6786
If Studio is crashing, the cause is most likely either a configuration issue or a problem with a project or content file. This type of issue can often be fixed with one of the following methods:
· Uninstalling and reinstalling Studio.
· Optimizing the computer.
· Rebuilding a corrupt project.
· Recapturing a corrupt clip.
To help troubleshoot the problem, determine which of the failure modes listed below best matches the symptoms you are experiencing, then refer to the corresponding set of instructions:
· Case 1: Studio crashes randomly. There doesn’t seem to be any one thing that will cause the crash, but crashes happen frequently.
· Case 2: Studio crashes every time you click on some particular tab or button within Edit mode.
· Case 3: Studio crashes each time you carry out some specific sequence of steps.
Case 1: Studio crashes randomly
Try each of the following solutions in turn:
Get the latest version of Studio: Make sure that you have the latest version of Studio 14 installed. The latest version can be found on our website at:
www.pinnaclesys.com/support/studio14
Be sure to close all other programs before installing a new version.
Adjust Studio settings: Choose No background rendering in the Rendering dropdown list, and clear the Use hardware acceleration checkbox. Both options are found on the Edit options panel.
Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to open the Task Manager. You probably won’t see much under the Applications tab, but the Processes tab will show you the software that is currently running. It can be difficult to be sure which processes should not be closed, but software utilities are available that can assist with this procedure.
Update audio and video drivers: Make sure that you have obtained the latest drivers for your sound and video cards from their manufacturers’ web-sites. Even a brand-new computer may be sold with outdated drivers installed, and should be checked for updates. You can see what sound and video cards you have in the Windows Device Manager.
To determine what video card you have, click the plus sign in front of Display Adapters in the Device Manager list. The name of your video card is now displayed. Double-clicking the name opens another dialog, where you choose the Driver tab. Now you can view information about the driver’s manufacturer, and the names of the driver’s constituent files.
The sound card is displayed in the Sound, video and game controllers section of Device Manager. Again, double-clicking the name lets you access the driver details.
Go to the manufacturers’ web-sites to get the latest drivers for your sound and graphics cards. Many users have NVIDIA or ATI graphics cards, for which the latest drivers are available at:
www.nvidia.com and www.atitech.com
Those with Sound Blaster audio cards can get updates here:
Update Windows: Make sure you have all the latest Windows updates that are available.
“Adjust for best performance”: Use this system option to turn off visual extras that consume additional CPU time. Right-click My Computer, select Properties from the context menu, then click on the Advanced tab. Under Performance, click the Setti
ngs button to open the Performance Options dialog. Select the Adjust for best performance option and click OK.
Update DirectX: Update to the latest version of DirectX. You can download it from Microsoft here:
www.microsoft.com/windows/directx
Open up space on your boot drive: Make sure you have 10 GB or more free space on your boot drive for paging.
1. Uninstall Studio: Click on Start Ø Programs Ø Studio 14 Ø Tools Ø Uninstall Studio 14, then follow any on-screen instructions until the process is complete. If the uninstaller asks whether you want to delete a shared files, click Yes to all. Disconnect the camera and cable from your DV board, if you have one.
2. Reinstall Studio: Insert your Studio CD and reinstall the software. Make sure you are logged in as the Administrator (or as a user with Admin privileges) when installing Studio. It is strongly recommended that Studio be installed in its default directory on the main OS drive.
3. Download and install the latest version of Studio: Click the Help Ø Software Updates menu command to check for updates. If a new version of Studio is detected on our web-site, you will be asked to download it. Download this patch file to a location where you can find it easily (such as the Desktop), then exit Studio. Finally, double-click the downloaded file to update Studio.
Rebuild corrupt project: Try rebuilding the first few minutes of your project. If no problems occur, gradually add to the project, checking periodically to ensure that system stability is maintained.
Fix corrupt video or audio: Sometimes the instability may occur only when you manipulate certain audio or video clips. In such cases, you should recapture the audio or video. If the audio or video was created by another application, recapture it with Studio if possible. While Studio supports many video formats, the particular clip you have may be corrupt or in an uncommon format. If you have a wav or mp3 file that seems to be problematic, convert the file to the other format before importing the file. Many wav and mp3 files on the Internet are corrupt or non-standard.
Reinstall Windows: This is quite a drastic step, but if the previous steps have not helped, Windows itself may be corrupt. Even though your other applications may appear to be running properly, the size of the video files used in Studio may well tax your system to the point that a latent instability is revealed.
Case 2: Clicking a tab or button crashes Studio
Please start by trying the steps given above for Case 1. This kind of problem often means that Studio was not installed properly or has become corrupt. Uninstalling Studio, reinstalling it, and patching to the latest version will generally solve the difficulty.
Otherwise, try creating a new project called “test01.stx” to try to determine if the failure is specific to a particular project. Open the demo video file and drag the first few scenes onto the Timeline. Now click on the tab or button that seems to cause the failure. If this test project does not crash, it may be that the problem is with the project you are working on rather than with Studio or your system. If the test project does fail, please contact our support staff and provide us with details on the exact failure mode. We will try to recreate and solve the problem.
Case 3: Performing certain steps crashes Studio
This is just a more complicated version of Case 2, and the same troubleshooting steps apply. Since it may be quite difficult to determine the exact sequence of steps that produces the failure, you will need to be methodical in your approach. Creating a small test project, as described for Case 2, helps eliminate variables that may confuse your test results.