System overload--its because of CPU or Memory?

I believe we all met System Overload The audio engine was not able to process all required data in time.

 

This is means CPU is not enough or we are somehow short of memory?

I've had the same problem. I read on another thread to disable the 32-bit bridge. I'm going to give it a try.

I believe we all met System Overload The audio engine was not able to process all required data in time.

 

This is means CPU is not enough or we are somehow short of memory?

 

Is your signature up-to-date?

I believe we all met System Overload The audio engine was not able to process all required data in time.

 

This is means CPU is not enough or we are somehow short of memory?

 

Is your signature up-to-date?

 

Yes

Then why are you still on 9.1.3?

I believe we all met System Overload The audio engine was not able to process all required data in time.

 

This is means CPU is not enough?

 

Indeed, yes, that is correct.

 

or we are somehow short of memory?

 

No. We're not. If we were, the message would have contained words like "memory" and "enough" and "not".

I've had the 'System Overload' message a few times recently, but after clicking on 'continue', it does not reappear during that particular session & everything functions as normal. My current processor is 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5. I never encountered this glitch with my previous MBPro which had a lower spec...any thoughts anyone?

Nigel.

If that's a CPU issue, could somebody, please, explain this paradox. I have 2 quad-core xeons 2.67 GHz each, the total of 8 cores.

While I'm running Logic I have no processes in the background, the Meter never shows CPU or Memory overload, but this System Overload issue keeps bugging me on and on. Please, see the pic below.

NB! My preferences are fresh and not crashed, this is a fresh installation of Logic Pro 9 (not updated from 8th).

Could somebody explain this, before I switch to Pro Tools and Ableton?

 

http://dali-music.com/images/external/system%20overload.png

What have you tried to combat/troubleshoot it?

 

One option to try is to set the number of Processing Threads to the highest availble, instead of to Automatic (which is the default)

Logic pro>Preferences>Audio>Devices>Coreaudio.

Also: what exact version of Logic do you have? 9.?.?

 

 

I have to add that I do no like your "or else..." attitude. You're not the first to do it and you will not be the last, but frankly, it can make posts go unanswered. Remember, none of us represent Apple in any way, we're all Logic users here, not Apples' sales representatives. That I am nevertheless replying is just because I am in an inexplicably forgiving mood today... 8)

Logic has been behaving itself for the last day or two, but I've followed Eriksimon's advice & set 'Processing Threads' to 4. The only other options being '2' or as Eriksimon says: 'Automatic'. I'll post again with the results. Thanks Eriksimon.

Happy Music Making,

Nigel Paterson.

Come on, Eriksimon! That was irony )) In those cases our keyboard man says: "Alright, if that s#!+ doesn't work, I sell my Apple and switch to Windows or even better old-school hardware".

And back to the issue. The version is a most basic 9.1.1 (I know it's ancient, but previous times I upgraded, I had some weird issues, so this time I decided not to)

As for troubleshooting, I tried messing with Preferences, but all it came to was my having to restore all my keyboard shortcut. Previously I also tried some other piece advise, which didn't work either (slipped my memory, can't remember what it was). By the way, I have this issue on my MacBook as well. So I thought it's just a programming bug you have to live with.

Tried setting the Processing Threads to '4'. I'm afraid to say it made no difference. Didn't bother with '2' & have re-set to 'Automatic'. The overload problem only occurs with Playback. I don't think it's happened when I've been recording. I notice on the error message it says: 'Audio Engine' rather than CPU...excusing my ignorance, but are they two, separate beasts? On the days when I've had no overload issues, Logic has been the only program running...everything else (Mail, Safari, the lot) turned off. I do have iStat running in the background & it's never shown a spike when the overload message has appeared. Maybe there IS a bug that Apple need to fix?

Have a Musical Day,

Nigel Paterson.

Another take on this issue. I upgraded my RAM from 4 to 8 last week, wondering whether the 'System Overload' would finally be sorted. It has popped up randomly since I last posted. As I was checking over my MBPro after the installation, the 'System Overload' message appeared. The Tech Guy who installed the new RAM opined that it could be a buffering issue. Logic buffering is set by default at 256, which would appear to be fine for recording. Setting the buffer at 512 for playback (System Overload only ever appeared during playback) seems to have cured the problem. Begs the question: is there a general principle here that one should use a lower buffer setting for recording & change to a higher setting for playback?

Musically, Nigel Paterson.

is there a general principle here that one should use a lower buffer setting for recording & change to a higher setting for playback?

 

Yes.

Eriksimon, your minimalist but apposite replies are just perfect! An important lesson learned from a single word.

Thank you very much,

Musically,

Nigel.

I've been getting the same thing, as soon as the song runs into a software instrument (EXS strings 2). Never happened on my lower spec C2D. I make sure that no software instrument is selected when I hit play. Seems that once this happens, it runs fine afterwards. Still, it is a bit annoying, since the i7 is supposed to be a much more powerful computer than my old C2D iMac.

is there a general principle here that one should use a lower buffer setting for recording & change to a higher setting for playback?

 

Yes.

 

If you're doing everything in-the-box then yes, that's the rule of thumb. And for playback/mixing, I've found that higher buffer sizes result in more clarity in audio playback.

 

Just a note regarding the default settings for buffer size as mentioned by Nigel... FWIW, the value of 256 is utterly meaningless. There's no magic (or even programming) in place afaict to suggest that this value is somehow calculated to be an ideal or even suggested setting. The minimum buffer setting needs to be set specifically to suit your particular system for maximum performance and least amount of latency for recording. For mixing, bang it up to max (or near it) for mixing -- again, as long as you're doing everything ITB.

 

On setting the # of processor threads, lately I've been working exclusively at a setting of 16 (which means that I've got twice as many threads as I have cores (8)) and the frequency of overload messages has diminished greatly. Still, to be honest about it, Logic is effed regarding how it deals with initial audio playback. The first time I hit play on a project, it's a crapshoot as to whether or not I'll get a system overload message.

The minimum buffer setting needs to be set specifically to suit your particular system for maximum performance and least amount of latency for recording.

Thanks Ski.

 

Is there a straightforward way one can set this minimum buffering value?

Musically,

Nigel.

i just keep it set at the max (1024) for playback and

hit the "low latency" button when recording.

 

although it sucks that Logic doesn't offer any higher

buffer settings than 1024 ; i think i used to use 5120 in Live7

That's the sort of straightforward response I appreciate. Thanks, 1pauper1

Musically,

Nigel

de nada Nigel

I was getting this on my old iMac on a regular basis and am surprised that I'm still getting it on my brand new iMac (12 GB RAM, 3.1 Ghz processor and 700GB free space : 10.8.2)

 

I've linked to an image showing that the failure happened when only 2 audio tracks were playing (no plug-ins on either). Running it again it failed at the same point. It will start again but then fails further into the track.

 

After speaking to Apple I reinstalled Logic but it's made no difference.

 

What I did notice though is that the whole machine seems to slow down prior to the failure. I had Safari open at the same time initially and I was typing an email before doing the playback and I was getting the old spinning beach ball (on an email???). I then shut down Safari and the track failed in the first 2 bars.

 

I've tried changing the buffers as described above but it's still happening. The actual screen shot was when only Logic was running.

 

Edit: I forgot to say it happens running Logic in both 64 and 32 bit modes.

 

Any other ideas what may be the cause and what I can do about it?

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8327/8093165532_c0462216c2_b.jpg

 

Thanks

i have found that some tracks need to be forced to play

all the way thru a couple times before they respond well.

 

keep hitting continue and play until you get all the way thru the song.

after enduring that setback the song usually is ok for the rest of that session.

 

and there is no rhyme or reason to it.

 

i have one song that is just 2 tracks that chokes Logic every time i open it.

 

Logic has been like this since i started using it back in Logic 8.

 

its not your ram or whether or not you use a separate scratch drive or anything

hardware related.

 

it's a bad flaw in Logic.......and some fanboys will disagree , but it's true

Logic chokes alot. its the code....not the hardware.

i have found that some tracks need to be forced to play

all the way thru a couple times before they respond well.

Yup, unfortunately documented for a few years now.... --> System Overload alert the first time playing through project

So far, with my RAM boosted to 8gigs; recording in Low Latency Mode & playing back with buffering set to the maximum available value, the dreaded System Overload alert has not, so far, made an appearance. Got everything crossed I can cross without falling over!

Musically,

Nigel.

On setting the # of processor threads, lately I've been working exclusively at a setting of 16 (which means that I've got twice as many threads as I have cores (8)) and the frequency of overload messages has diminished greatly. Still, to be honest about it, Logic is effed regarding how it deals with initial audio playback. The first time I hit play on a project, it's a crapshoot as to whether or not I'll get a system overload message.

 

I have this problem sometimes too. So to clarify, should I change my processing threads from "auto" to "8" which is the max available option? And should "process buffer range" be changed from med. to large?

Edited October 23, 2012 by jimmymio

After my most recent post (the optimistic one with everything crossed), I started to playback my previous day's work and....yep, you've guessed it, up pops that 'friendly' little overload alert! Ironic doesn't come close! It made one appearance & that was it for the day. I think 'Put up & Shut Up' is going to have to be my motto from now on.

jimmymio, wish I could help you with your question. I'm sure you'll get the answer you need,

Musically,

Nigel