SoundTrack Pro doesn't start-up 10.4.4

[DR J]

Hi there,

System configuration G5 2GHz DP 1st generation, with ATI graphics and 2GB RAM. 10.4.4, FCP Studio 5 (all updates), iLife (05/06 doesn;t matter).

After recent updates, SoundTrack Pro failt to launch (nothing happens and a null.plist file appears in the prefs folder).

After several tries of re-installing soundtrack, removing and re-installing Pro-Applications support 3.1 (as Apple suggest, when some programs don't run), decided to do a full re-install.

Format Harddisk, reïnstall 10.4 + all updates. reïnstall Final Cut Pro 5 Studio + all updates. With this clean install Soundtrack Pro still doesn't run. You click on the icon and nothing happens !

Final Cut Pro and other applications do run, although QuickTime sometimes crashes when used as stand-alone, or within Safari (as plug-in).

I have another G5 with the same configuration, only differnence is that it has a stock NVDIA5200 card installed instead of an ATI.

Counldn't find ANY information ANYWHERE on this problem. The only hint was the Pro-Application re-install from the Apple support site, but that doesn't help at all.

I hope someone knows where to search for the answer, thanks in advance.

Joep

 

[DR J]

Beats me, but this is what happened; I did swap the graphics card for an NVDIA, but that didn't make a difference. Then I did two things simultaneously and I'm not 100% sure which one solved the problem, but let's see...

1) In the G5 were two LaCie PCI FW800 cards installed. I removed one card and put the other one in slot 4 , instead of slot 3

2) I swapped the clock battery with one from another G5. Later on , the battery read 3.24 V, which should be 3.6.

From then on SoundTrack Pro did launch and the problem was solved. I assume that replacing the battery had more influence than swapping the PCI card, but I didn't have the time to change it back and try one-by-one.

Conclusion: it might have been the battery after all, although ALL other programs had no problem whatso-ever with running AND the G5 clock is always synchronized to the Apple Internet clock time; which is up-to-date, so the battery didn't make a big difference there...

Whatever the problem you might have with your car in the future; just change your daily suit and your problems might fade away ;-)
By comparisson, that's roughly the relationship that the battery seems to have with SoundTrack Pro not starting up. Whatever...

 

[fryke]

Hm. While we now don't know what was the culprit, we know what users have to do, should they encounter the same problem. First: Move PCI-cards around (since that one's free), and if that doesn't help, replace the battery.

I *could* imagine that Soundtrack Pro somehow checks something about the on-board clock/battery. Could be a copy-protection scheme of some sorts (checking whether you're trying to copy an installed version of Soundtrack to another computer).