hey guys. i recently bought a new laptop and installed my copy of VDL2 on it. it has better specs than my last machine, but when i try to playback some pretty complicated parts in the music, finale freezes. after i close the program, finale wont open back up. could this be cpu related or is it a setup problem? thanks.

This sounds like a Finale problem.  Is there any reason to believe that VDL2 has anything to do with this?

there is not enough evidence to point to either program being to problem. im going to try buying and installing more RAM, but i have a feeling that wont do anything.

Generally speaking, a freeze shouldn't ever happen, no matter how much ram you have (as long as it is the minimum).  Do you have any freezing with just Finale?  Do you have any error codes or blue screens?  If it has better specs than your last machine, it's hard to imagine that ram alone will fix it.

Remember, we can't see your machine.  Can you clarify freezing?  How about some basics like is it a PC or mac?  Read this (below) over, and maybe we can get you an answer quickly, and without spending money...

https://www.tapspace.com/forums/index.php?topic=1410.0

sorry, i forgot to mention that its a brand new toshiba pc with a centrino duo processor. when i say freezes, i mean that during playback of a complicated passage, finale locks up and has the not responding message. i have to ctrl+alt+del to close finale. After i do that, none of my finale files will open up, nor will the program itself.

OK, that's good to know.  It helps!

A few questions to drill down:

First, when you play the complex passage, does it freeze each and every time?

Second, does a complex passage freeze in the same manner without VDL2 running?

Third, besides a non-responding error, when you close it, Windows should give you a ";would you like to report"; etc., msgbox.  It asks whether you want to see the technical stuff they're going to send.  What module is failing?

Maxpower - while you're collecting more info for drumcat, it may also be worth including what kind of soundcard and audio driver's you are using. If you're not sure, you might find it easiest to list all possible options from within the ";soundcard"; setup window in VDL2. If you're not used to working with pro audio, sometimes this can be an area of confusion since there can be many variables and options to confuse windows users.

it does not freeze every single time, but very frequently. if i start the counter near the passage, it sometimes plays through it. i tried playing the piece with just finale running, and there's no sound being played back at all. here's what the technical report says in the send error message.

C:\DOCUME~1\STEVEH~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER3523.dir00\FINALE.EXE.mdmp
C:\DOCUME~1\STEVEH~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER3523.dir00\appcompat.txt

error signature-

szAppName : FINALE.EXE    szAppVer : 8.0.0.0    szModName : hungapp   
szModVer : 0.0.0.0    offset : 00000000   

This is whats in my VDL2 setup about the sound card:

Interface: Directsound
Sample Rate: 44100
Output Device: DS SoundMax HD audio
Output Latency: 49 ms

I hope this helps!

update: my new laptop decided to die. it doesnt recognize that it has a harddrive. very frustrating. so ill go back to my old machine. when i get my new one fixed, ill probably be back here. thanks for your guys help. sorry it couldnt have fixed the problem before the failure.

Well, this is clearly a finale issue, at least prior to the ";death"; of said laptop.  It sounds like you'll have to reinstall Finale, and frankly, that's what I'd have suggested anyhow.  If Finale hangs without audio, and without VDL2, you've isolated the problem.  However, with a flaky hard drive, it could be a thousand unpredictable things.

When you get around to ";redoing"; your new rig, be sure to check out http://musicxp.net/  for some tips on helping your computer do its best.

Good luck.

Max-

You will need to resolve the unstable environment of your hard drive before Finale issues can be addressed.

If you experience a crash, you will want to access your task manager and check if [i]finale.exe[/i] is still running. The inability to reboot Finale indicates that there are processes running that need to be stopped for Finale to reboot.

If your computer uses hyperthreading, you will need to disable that feature just for Finale '03.�� Open up your Finale folder located at C:\ProgramFiles\Finale.�� Right-click on the Finale.exe and choose ";Properties";.�� Click on the Compatibility tab.�� Checkmark ";Run this program in compatibility mode for: (Windows 98/ Windows ME)";.�� Click Ok.�� Hyperthreading is now disabled for Finale.

I will need to get a diagnostic reading of your machine before I can accurately help you solve this problem. Please follow the directions below and send me (PM) the diagnostic.

From the Windows Start button >> Run...
In the Run dialog box,
enter ";dxdiag";
click OK
This should start the DirectX diagnostic program.
��
Click on the ";Save All Information"; button...
for Save In, choose the Desktop.
click the Save button.
Exit the DirectX diagnosis program.
Attach that ";DxDiag.txt"; file (it's on the Desktop) to the PM.


Matt

Forgive me, but what does DirectX have to do with the crash?  Are you inferring this?

DirectX Diagnostics Tool is somewhat similar to a Macintosh System Profiler.  This can let someone look at things like SoundCard information, Audio H ardware connected, etc.  So this wouldn't neccessarily mean that DirectX version is causing an issue, but there are known audio issues that can arise when using an old Direct X version.

[u]The DxDiag will:[/u]
1. run a test of all hardware
2. indicate failing devices and specify emulated audio devices (Finale uses directsound)
3. give you driver dates of audio/video/external devices

Direct X (in a nutshell) is the language used by windows to manage audio and video devices. Since Finale is asking a lot from both audio and video (for scrolling and redraw) devices on playback, the dxdiag is the most thorough tool to eliminate the system from the problem. IMO....�� ��

Gotcha; you're after the profile.