Cakewalk Freezing - Requiring Computer Restart.

[Ben Grauer]

I'm having a problem within Cakewalk where the application freezes and becomes “not responding."  This requires me to force close the application.  When I do so, it will either not start, or will give a message saying I do not have enough memory for it.

 

PICTURE1 – These are the specs for my computer running Cbb.

PICTURE2 – When Cbb comes up as “not responding”, CTRL-ALT-DELETE, this is what comes up in Task Manager at the top of “Apps.”

PICTURE3 – Under “Background Processes”, this is what still remains,after force closing Cakewalk from under “apps” above.  It does not terminate for about 5 minutes.

PICTURE4 - When I relaunch Cakewalk, this is the amount of memory and processing power I have.  However…

PICTURE5 –I get this message saying there is not enough memory to map my hardware, running contradictory to Picture 4.  I cannot use my MIDI controllers when I relaunch the app.

 

The only thing I can do is to restart my computer which, on average, has to be done about 3 times a day.  I cannot be productive with this happening.

 

A Cakewalk user suggested that there is a “ghost process” that did not close when I ended the process, which could be contributing to this…  Per his suggestion, I uploaded the CWP file (without audio), and the system dump file I created when it crashed again, and have sent it to support.cakewalk.com.

 

While I await a remedy, would anybody have any suggestions for resolving this problem soonest?  Thank you so much for your help.

Attachment(s)

[Lord Tim]

^^ Good advice here.

The "not enough memory" error is a generic Windows error that Cakewalk is just passing on - basically it means something else has taken control of the MIDI device. This could well be the reason you're getting hangs, because something else is grabbing the driver, and Chrome is a common smoking gun.

[Promidi]

How long has this been happening for?

What have you tried so far?

Have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers for your Axiom 61?

https://m-audio.com/support/download/drivers/axiom-installer-1.1.2-driver-5.10.0.6002

My PC is as per my signature and I am not having this issue.

[Ben Grauer]

This has been happening for over a year.  (Don't ask, I know I wasn't proactive in addressing it sooner...) 

Pursuant to a different issue with Cakewalk, the application has already been uninstalled and reinstalled.  Even after multiple software updates, the problem is still persisting.

I have not yet done the installing and reinstalling of the drivers.  I will give that a try...

 

Additionally, Sibelius is also giving me the same memory issue....

[Promidi]

3 hours ago, Ben Grauer said:

This has been happening for over a year.  (Don't ask, I know I wasn't proactive in addressing it sooner...) 

Pursuant to a different issue with Cakewalk, the application has already been uninstalled and reinstalled.  Even after multiple software updates, the problem is still persisting.

I have not yet done the installing and reinstalling of the drivers.  I will give that a try...

 

Additionally, Sibelius is also giving me the same memory issue....

When you say “Cakewalk Freezing”, can you be working away, and then the mouse and keyboard stops responding, and you’re left with a static image of what ever is on your screen, cakewalk session and all?

That, to me, sounds like a hardware issue.

As far as the “There is not enough memory available”, check to make sure nothing else is using the Axiom 61 driver.  I have seen other posts that indicate that Google Chrome might be a culprit here.

If you are using Google Chrome

1. In chrome navigate to 'Settings > Advanced Settings > Content Settings'.
2. Locate the 'MIDI devices full control' section.
3. Enable the 'Do not allow any sites to use system exclusive messages to access MIDI devices' option.

Personally, I would also disable some of those background tasks tat you don't need to be running.  (like Avidappmanhelper, GPUtweak, Monitor, etc)

ASGT.exe is a ASUS GPU Tweak  used for over clocking your graphics card.  This should not be required on a DAW PC.  In fact, I would remove this.  In fact, overclocking  too far can lead to freezes.   Personally, On a DAW PC, I would set everything to stock and not overclock anything what so ever. (CPU, GPU, RAM).

If none of these help, and if you are confident,  maybe open up your PC and remove and reinsert your ram modules.  Also, if you have a graphics card, try the same with that.  Remember, only if you are confident getting to this level.  Otherwise, get someone you trust as certified to do this for you.

[Starship Krupa]

Another interrupt-y background process you might wish to banish during DAW sessions is your Canon Inkjet network scan utility.

[djGman]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:24 PM, Promidi said:

When you say “Cakewalk Freezing”, can you be working away, and then the mouse and keyboard stops responding, and you’re left with a static image of what ever is on your screen, cakewalk session and all?

That, to me, sounds like a hardware issue.

As far as the “There is not enough memory available”, check to make sure nothing else is using the Axiom 61 driver.  I have seen other posts that indicate that Google Chrome might be a culprit here.

If you are using Google Chrome

1. In chrome navigate to 'Settings > Advanced Settings > Content Settings'.
2. Locate the 'MIDI devices full control' section.
3. Enable the 'Do not allow any sites to use system exclusive messages to access MIDI devices' option.

Personally, I would also disable some of those background tasks tat you don't need to be running.  (like Avidappmanhelper, GPUtweak, Monitor, etc)

ASGT.exe is a ASUS GPU Tweak  used for over clocking your graphics card.  This should not be required on a DAW PC.  In fact, I would remove this.  In fact, overclocking  too far can lead to freezes.   Personally, On a DAW PC, I would set everything to stock and not overclock anything what so ever. (CPU, GPU, RAM).

If none of these help, and if you are confident,  maybe open up your PC and remove and reinsert your ram modules.  Also, if you have a graphics card, try the same with that.  Remember, only if you are confident getting to this level.  Otherwise, get someone you trust as certified to do this for you.

Thanks for this! trying the Chrome thing now - error be gone!

 

[David Baay]

18 hours ago, Frank Thomas said:

1. In chrome navigate to 'Settings > Advanced Settings > Content Settings'.
2. Locate the 'MIDI devices full control' section.
3. Enable the 'Do not allow any sites to use system exclusive messages to access MIDI devices' option.

My Chrome browser is up to date but does not have anything like this path in Settings. After much poking around, I found the following:

Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Additional permissions > MIDI devices > Don't allow sites to connect to MIDI devices

 

[Lester]

On 12/5/2022 at 9:25 AM, David Baay said:

My Chrome browser is up to date but does not have anything like this path in Settings. After much poking around, I found the following:

Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Additional permissions > MIDI devices > Don't allow sites to connect to MIDI devices

 

My chrome is up-to-date as well and there is no "Advanced Settings" Either????

[OutrageProductions]

On 2/19/2022 at 8:24 PM, Promidi said:

... maybe open up your PC and remove and reinsert your ram modules.  Also, if you have a graphics card, try the same...

I concur on this.

[User 905133]

WTF??????  What was the original question?  The one about "not enough memory" for a midi device?  For me that was always, "something else is using the device."   

On 2/20/2022 at 5:02 AM, Lord Tim said:

The "not enough memory" error is a generic Windows error that Cakewalk is just passing on - basically it means something else has taken control of the MIDI device. . . . something else is grabbing the driver . . . . [emphasis added]

This ^^^.  In 100% of the cases with my own PC and those of others I have helped, the solution has been to stop the "something else."  

On 2/20/2022 at 5:02 AM, Lord Tim said:

. . . . Chrome is a common smoking gun.

While the software using the MIDI device (or port), could be a web browser, I can't recall that being the case for more than 2% of the cases.  There was a time in the infancy of what became Web MIDI that some browsers wouldn't ask if it was OK for a site to use / take control of a MIDI device / port, but due to potential security issues (among others) it became important for browsers to ask first as the default.  I cannot imagine that Chrome has backslid on that.

Of course, if a user gives blanket permission ( as in [ X ] Never Ask as opposed to allowing only specific sites), it could be an issue.

If the issue is "Where in Chrome is the setting to say [ X ] Always Ask (or [ X } Never Allow, if indeed browsers now default to allow sites to take over MIDI devices / ports, that's one question.

If the issue is "something  else" is using the MIDI device / port, I would look for some software that is using the device / port.  It could be (for example) a utility such as MIDI-Ox, a standalone soft synth, another DAW or utility, a device / hardware / interface configuration utility, etc.

If the issue is the computer locking up / freezing, that is yet another issue.  (See suggestions above.)

2 hours ago, Lester said:

My chrome is up-to-date as well and there is no "Advanced Settings" Either????

  What problem are you trying to solve?

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by User 905133
edits for the sake of clarity

[User 905133]

29 minutes ago, User 905133 said:

While the software using the MIDI device (or port), could be a web browser, I can't recall that being the case for more than 2% of the cases.  There was a time in the infancy of what became Web MIDI that some browsers wouldn't ask if it was OK for a site to use / take control of a MIDI device / port, but due to potential security issues (among others) it became important for browsers to ask first as the default.  I cannot imagine that Chrome has backslid on that.

See the table under "Browser compatibility" here.  Notice that Chrome implements "requestMIDIAccess."  Notice the other tables as well.  The issue of websites gaining access to PC Connected MIDI devices without the express permission of PC owners was a big one as I recall. (Don't ask me to look for the historical docs on the issue.) 

Bottom line: I really doubt that Chrome or any other Browsers that allow sites to use MIDI devices on their webpages would have backslid on this. 

[Lord Tim]

Chrome has the option to stay resident in memory (and usually does this by default) and if you've ever been to a site that does require WebMIDI, it's not out of the question that things can get stuck on a page and happily stay resident after you've closed the window.

But agree, lots of other things on a system that can cause issues.

Not sure why this was bumped after nearly 8 months - the OP disappeared and the new bumping post didn't actually ask a question 🤔

[rfssongs]

Every once in a while I freeze cakewalk and have to reboot the machine. Rebooting Cakewalk in these cases is not enough. I'm sure some of you have a better perspective on this but this solution works for me.

[Lord Tim]

Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen Cakewalk itself freeze (crash, sure! I don't think I've met software that hasn't crashed at least once). If it ever gets to the point where it freezes and you can't get control back, I'm sure the devs would love to see a crash dump to find out what's causing it:

https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/3865-better-problem-reporting-how-to-capture-a-crash-dump/

[User 905133]

23 minutes ago, Lord Tim said:

Chrome has the option to stay resident in memory (and usually does this by default) and if you've ever been to a site that does require WebMIDI, it's not out of the question that things can get stuck on a page and happily stay resident after you've closed the window.

But agree, lots of other things on a system that can cause issues.

Not sure why this was bumped after nearly 8 months - the OP disappeared and the new bumping post didn't actually ask a question 🤔

Yup, yup, and, yup.  Maybe Lester will clarify.

Evidently Chrome just asks Allow or Block ? and once allowed it stays that way for that site.  😮 (No allow once, Allow always . . . .)

  

Edited August 16, 2023 by User 905133

[User 905133]

3 hours ago, User 905133 said:

If the issue is "Where in Chrome is the setting to say [ X ] Always Ask (or [ X } Never Allow, if indeed browsers now default to allow sites to take over MIDI devices / ports, that's one question.

• I found two paths to control website access to MIDI devices in Chrome at:
  • . . . [more] 
    • Settings
      • Privacy & Security
        • Site Settings
          • (1) View Permissions Across Sites
            • (permissions - Ask, Allow, Block, Reset, etc.)
          • (2) Additional Permissions
            • (allow sites to ask, don't allow sites to ask)

(1) For example, I looked up emu.tools since I had given it permission after it asked me (Allow? Block?). I had permissions set to Ask (default). I didn't have to but I choose to reset all permissions for that emu.tools.

NOTE: The default is for MIDI Devices is "Ask. 

BOTTOM LINE: Unless you changed MIDI Devices for any sites that use MIDI Devices to Allow, all you need to do close Chrome and restart it.   

(2) There is a search bar in Settings.  When I typed MIDI two locations were found. In addition to Site Settings > Vew Permissisons . . . there is another access point at Site Settings >  Additional Permissions. There, I found a setting for MIDI Device to set the default--either "Sites can ask to connect to devices" or "Don't allow sites to connect to MIDI devices."

Hope this helps.

 

5 hours ago, Lester said:

On 12/5/2022 at 12:25 PM, David Baay said:

My Chrome browser is up to date but does not have anything like this path in Settings. After much poking around, I found the following:

Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Additional permissions > MIDI devices > Don't allow sites to connect to MIDI devices

My chrome is up-to-date as well and there is no "Advanced Settings" Either????

Edited August 16, 2023 by User 905133

[sjoens]

My Chrome listed 2 results for MIDI under Site Settings, but when going there I found no reference to them.

Googling Chrome MIDI only leads to an endless display of outdated info since Google keeps changing the Settings menu.

[User 905133]

2 hours ago, sjoens said:

My Chrome listed 2 results for MIDI under Site Settings, but when going there I found no reference to them.

I will double check and get back to you on this.

• UPDATE: These are the steps I followed:
  • 3 vertical dots [more] at the top
    • Settings
      • OPTIONAL STEP: Type "MIDI" in Search Bar
        • 2 results found
      • Site Settings
        • Privacy & security
          • (1) View permissions  and data across sites
            • Search for the specific site you want to change the MIDI Device permission
              • Search bar
              • Look through the long list
          • (2) Additional permissions
            • MIDI devices
              • Default behavior
                • (O) Sites can ask to connect to MIDI devices
                • (    ) Don't allow sites to connect to MIDI devices
              • Customized behaviors
                • Sites listed below follow a custom setting instead of the default
                  • [I don't have any listed here]
                • Not allowed to connect to MIDI devices
                  • No sites added
  • IMPORTANT: I did not spell out "Click on ________________" to expand the category. 

 

2 hours ago, sjoens said:

Googling Chrome MIDI only leads to an endless display of outdated info since Google keeps changing the Settings menu.

I suppose I should have listed the versions/builds I used.  I can look that up when I double check.

• UPDATE:  Version 116.0.5845.97 (Official Build) (64-bit) and whatever I had before I updated Chrome this morning.  

Hope this helps. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by User 905133
to add details

[msmcleod]

Exactly this thing was happening to me a few years ago on my i5-3570.  

I tried literally everything to try to get to the bottom of it - in the end it was a bad memory DIMM, and the reason it only happened in Cakewalk was because it was the only app I ran on that machine that actually used enough memory to have it access the bad memory.

The thing that pointed me to the memory was when I checked the BIOS, and it was identifying one DIMM as having a slightly different speed from the others. As they're all identical, this look suspicious.  You may not have such an obvious indication though.

What you could do is take all of the memory out, and run it one 8GB DIMM at a time (I'm assuming you've got 4 x 8GB modules).   Create a relatively modest project in Cakewalk that causes your memory usage to go around 75% - 80%.  Save this project and shut down your computer.

Swap out the DIMM's one at a time, and try loading the project... if one crashes and the others don't, then you know it's a memory issue.