The dreaded disk to slow or system overload error ?

Question

SC1991 Author

Level 1

8 points

The dreaded disk to slow or system overload error ?

Ok i know this question has been asked many times before but i wondered if someone could explain it in simple terms for me. Im trying to record in logic pro x everything was going fine then today when i re-opened my project to start tracking some more guitars i keep on getting the disk is to slow/system overload error when trying to record. If i uncheck all the inputs then it manages to playback without crashing but as soon as i try to record it instantly crashes after the count in.

Im using a 2.7Ghz mac book pro and im using a 1TB Hitachi external drive to record the audio on to. So far i have about 12 audio files and 1 software instrument which is toontrack EZ Drummer (could it me this software instrument) ? I have recorded projects in the past with more audio files than this.

Basically just want to know how to fix as its really frustrating. Do i need a better fater external drive or is my laptop just not cut out for this ? Although i think it should be for the amount they cost, i hope so anyway because theres no way i could afford to get a mac pro tower !

Any help appreciated need to get this sorted asap !

Posted on Oct 6, 2013 7:28 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 6, 2013 9:34 AM in response to SC1991

The 1TB Hitachi... What type (5400 or 7200 rpm) and what bus (FW400/800/USB2/USB3/Thunderbolt)?

The following is not recommended for Audio streaming/samples/projects

USB2 or FW400 and/or 5400 rpm

Also energy saving/green HDs are not recommended eitehr as they tend to either go to sleep quickly and need to be woken up causing disk to slow issues.. or they only run at fast speeds for short periods of time and the rest of the time they can and often do run even slower than 5400 rpm drives!

FW800/Thunderbolt 7200 RPM or greater drives are the ones that are recommended. USB3 can also work but as some people report issues with intermittant bus slow down issues and high CPU usage when transfering data, those can be a bit of a gamble..

Finally, disk seek/acces times can be important too.. Not all drives are built equally... and typically the larger the drive, the slower the seek/read/access times are.. but most 1TB drives are fine..

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Answer 2

SC1991 Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 6, 2013 11:24 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

Thanks for the reply, i think it must be the external driver im pretty sure it only spins at 5400rpm and im using USB...For the time being im using the built in hard drive on my macbook which works for now but i need to get another external drive. Can you reccommend a good 1TB external drive that uses FW800/Thunderbolt and spins more than 7500rpm ?

Thanks

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Answer 3

Oct 6, 2013 12:00 PM in response to SC1991

Personally I always use Glyph ext HDs.... These drives have proven to be very fast, reliable and come with excellent warranties...

However, they are not by any means the cheapest.. but you do get what you pay for.... I've found. The drives they use are high quality, long lasting, non domestic versions choosen, built and fully tested for the job of providing audio and video streaming and use..... along with excellent quality enclosures...

http://www.glyphtech.com

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Answer 4

Jan Due1

Level 2

473 points

Oct 6, 2013 2:46 PM in response to The Art Of Sound

I completely agree. Go for FW 800 disks. I use Glyphs myself.

On the other hand, was on the run, and made a track:

2 instances of Kontakt, 8 audio tracks, 4 x Ultrabeat, 3 x Exs,

1 x Es2, 2 x Massive, And about 20 plug-ins (Logic, Waves, Sonnox, Soundtoys etc.)

On a MacBook Pro, i5 2.4Ghz, 8 gig Ram, using the internal drive!

I did get some system overloads. (You always do, whatever system you have.)

But mainly at the beginning of sessions. I managed to do the job.

So the above mentioned project,12 audio tracks and one software instrument,

should run just fine on any newer MBP, using the internal drive.

Could be the EZ Drummer, could be lack of memory, could be the ext. drive, could be

some drivers issue, could be the number of threads running in background. Don't know.

But in my experience System Overload can occur with just one audio track and 2 Apple

Loops open.

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Answer 5

Pancenter

Level 6

14,638 points

Oct 6, 2013 4:06 PM in response to Jan Due1

Could be the resource heavy operating system!

In every test I've made with clients (now mostly former clients) using Logic 9.1.8 on OS version 10.8, and in some cases 10.7 overall performance, track count and stability is not at the level of the same application running under Leopard or Snow Leopard. I'm talking projects that have 40+ audio tracks not being able to run.... period. System Overloads, stuttering and higher latency. I also know that Logic X tends to use more resources than Logic 9.xx so I can see why performance related issues are cropping up. My old G5 could manage over 50 24-bit audio tracks with plugins used mostly on sends/bus but a many Logic compressors and channel EQs were in use as well.

Apple should consider making a cut down RAM efficient operating system for professional graphics/video and audio/recording clients, imho... the do-it-all kitchen sink mode of recent operating systems is less than stellar for audio/graphics use.

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