Is Halion crashing your DAW?

[Whirly]

Most of the time I make my synth presets from the ground, and when tweaking Halion it's just a matter of time before it will crash my DAW, either it's Cubase or Ableton.

Are there more Halion users with this experience?

I have no clue what's causing this, but now it's about time I figure it out

[maggie]

No crashing problems here in Windows 10 64bit and Cubase 8.5 64bit.

[Whirly]

Thanks. Good to know that it's still hope if I only find the cause.

[bluzkat]

I'm using Windows 7 with no problem.

Hopefully some of the Mac users will respond.

[PeppaPig]

Halion crashes my Cubase 8.5.15 sometimes - usually when previewing flexphrase patches, as I click through the patches I get increasing numbers of stutters and clicks like the CPU is flat out (it isn't) and then the old "Cubase Has Stopped Responding" message appears and bang! Never had a crash whilst mucking around in Kontact!

[jovemprogramador]

Chrashes all the time, if I was played a midi file and load a new file and I´m using my created sounds.
If I use my sounds or 16 midi multitrack, Halion several times crashes on MIDI load on my DAW, if I use basic GM sounds, Halion does not fail. If Halion crashes then ASIO is locked in Windows, restart is necessary.

It is impossible to play live.

[Jan Riesener]

Hi,

Please make sure to have the latest version of the eLicenser Control Center installed. Also the latest version of HALion 5 should be installed. Here you can find these updates:

http://www.steinberg.net/en/company/tec ... enser.html

http://www.steinberg.net/en/support/dow ... ion_5.html

[Whirly]

Thank you, Jan. I did have an old version of the eLicenser CC. Hopefully, installing the latest version will fix the problem.

[Whirly]

Inspite of downloading and installing version 5.1.10, the Halion 5 i open in Cubase still says version 5.1.1.60 (Jan 2015). I have even deleted the .vst3 file, downloaded and installed the new version, but with the same result. Can someone please explain what I need to do to get the latest version?

Thanks!

[Whirly]

I guess 5.1.1.60 actually is the same as 5.1.10 ?

[PeppaPig]

Thank you, Jan. I did have an old version of the eLicenser CC. Hopefully, installing the latest version will fix the problem.

I have the latest elicenser software and Halion still crashes my Cubase when browsing flexphrases.

[Whirly]

Thank you, Jan. I did have an old version of the eLicenser CC. Hopefully, installing the latest version will fix the problem.

I have the latest elicenser software and Halion still crashes my Cubase when browsing flexphrases.

Thanks. Nothing has changed after I updated the elicenser. Still crashing Cubase and Ableton for no appearant reason. I seem to have the same problem with Retrologue 2, both synths that I really enjoy, but I can't keep using them as long as they crash my projects where other synths are working just fine.

[Brian Roland]

Crashes for me if I use MIDI program changes to call up larger patches/samples too quickly. This behavior is at its worst for me with Sibelius 7.5.1, and do get them with Cubase 8.5 as well (it's easier to avoid in Cubase though).

Program Changes work just fine if I stick with the GM patches, or others that have really lean sample sets. If it's a patch with larger samples...crashes are frequent and super annoying.

For me, it's not such a big deal with Cubase since I'm having to plan and load my patches from the ground up anyway, and can avoid using Program Changes. With things like Finale and Sibelius, it's super annoying since I'd really like to take advantage of the instrument profile systems of these applications which use Program Changes to automate setting up my favorite scores (rather than having to go into Halion itself and do it all manually time and time again).

So far, this is the only thing I've run into that causes a hard crash with H5. Sadly, when it crashes like this, it does bring down the host application too (and quite often locks the audio hardware in a noisy loop back so bad it needs the audio-card reset, or even an entire reboot)! Happens on more than one PC/System......

[jovemprogramador]

Me too. +1

[Matthias Quellmann]

Crashes for me if I use MIDI program changes to call up larger patches/samples too quickly. This behavior is at its worst for me with Sibelius 7.5.1, and do get them with Cubase 8.5 as well (it's easier to avoid in Cubase though).

Program Changes work just fine if I stick with the GM patches, or others that have really lean sample sets. If it's a patch with larger samples...crashes are frequent and super annoying.

For me, it's not such a big deal with Cubase since I'm having to plan and load my patches from the ground up anyway, and can avoid using Program Changes. With things like Finale and Sibelius, it's super annoying since I'd really like to take advantage of the instrument profile systems of these applications which use Program Changes to automate setting up my favorite scores (rather than having to go into Halion itself and do it all manually time and time again).

So far, this is the only thing I've run into that causes a hard crash with H5. Sadly, when it crashes like this, it does bring down the host application too (and quite often locks the audio hardware in a noisy loop back so bad it needs the audio-card reset, or even an entire reboot)! Happens on more than one PC/System......

Hi Brian,

Could you please check on the HALion options page if Multi Loading in the Performance section is set to "clear before". It does sound like a memory problem. How much RAM do you have installed on your system?

[Brian Roland]

Hi Brian,

Could you please check on the HALion options page if Multi Loading in the Performance section is set to "clear before". It does sound like a memory problem. How much RAM do you have installed on your system?

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I've tried this option (and more settings in the advanced memory/streaming management adjustments). I've also tried the always preload option in the Program Tree. I have 8gig total RAM, and stream Halion samples from Samsung 850 SSD media. Have run latency checks and find no obvious problems there. Have run extensive Memory tests, and CPU burn in tests with no issues reported.
Here is my dxdiag system log: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-9pj ... FNjYkNYZ2M

While my system is older, it rarely ever breaks a sweat for the size/scale of projects I do when I run DAW software on it. This sort of crash is something I've only encountered with H5 thus far, and I can reproduce it when it has all kinds of free memory left to work with.

The crashes usually do not occur the first time an instrument is loaded, but if a channel gets a second (new and different) MIDI program Change event at any point, and it's not calling a Program from the Halion GM set, it is prone to crashing. This crash can happen even if there is no 'note on/off' events coming into H5.

Note, I do NOT expect to be able to quickly swap large Programs with big multi-layered sample sets on the fly while music is playing on that channel. Naturally a larger Program needs some time to load and initialize before it can 'play'. I'd expect a potential for 'lost notes, or glitches' under such a condition. I just hate that it 'crashes' and brings down the whole Host with it, even if no 'note on/off' events are being generated at all.

When working with Cubase, I really don't care about MIDI Program changes. I don't need or use them very often with CuBase.

Where it matters is:
Consider using something like Sibelius. One can build 'soundworld' tables that will send a PC to load up an instrument when it is called for from inside Sibelius, and also assign key switches, CC events, and so forth to toggle articulations and more. Naturally, the goal is to simply get the nice fat HSO patch loaded, and use the key-switches to do any 'rapid transitions' from inside the fully loaded patch. In this case, every time one starts the Score playing from the beginning, it will send all those PC events again (usually all of them at once). Finale has similar tables and files where a plugin or MIDI instrument can be set-up via Program Change events.

So, I went in and built an H5 "Program Tree" where I could call up all my favorite HSO Programs via Program Change, all ready to respond to the sorts of Key-Switches and CC events that Sibelius was configured to send, and I built Sibelius soundworld tables to go with it all.

At one point I suspected that Sibelius sending so many PC events at once when hitting play could be the problem (Trying to load 20 or so Programs all at the same time). So, I set H5 up in a Plogue Bidule host, and made some filters that would delete all events but the Program Changes, and introduce a full 30 second delay between each one. I.E. Send the PC for channel 1, wait 30 seconds, send it for channel 2, wait 30 seconds, and so forth.

During this test, I discovered that everything was fine when starting with FRESH instance of H5 with either no instruments loaded at start-up, or with a small GM instrument (I.E. I chose the GM Xylophone since it's a really small patch). If at some point I changed one of the instruments again via PC, and the PC change came over a channel that was already in use by some other larger Program (I.E. Swapping from an HSO Violin to an HSO Viola)....it'd crash and take out the Bidule host with it.

So, to avoid the crashes I typically start a Sibelius or Finale project with a fresh instance of H5, set up my initial score, hit play, stop, then go into H5 and turn off its ability to apply MIDI program changes on an instrument by instrument basis. From there, if I want to 'change' any of these instruments I have to do it directly in H5 or risk a crash. Adding new instruments to previous unused channels via PC is rarely a problem....it's just when attempting to 'change' one.

Some time ago I bundled up all the steps to make H5 crash, along with example Project/MIDI files for Cubase, as well as examples/soundworld maps, for Sibelius, and all the crash reports and core dump files I could find on my system and sent them off with a support ticket. I haven't heard back, but that's OK since I said in my message that I didn't really expect a reply unless they knew of a solution, or needed more information from me in trying to 'duplicate' the problem at Steinberg.

Despite this little glitch (at least with my aging system), I'm still an H5 fan...particularly in Cubase.

[jovemprogramador]

I am using various DAW, the crash is the same above. Only H5 crash, I was loading various Kontakt patches, gigas in size, nothing crash like H5.

[jovemprogramador]

In standalone is same thing.

[Matthias Quellmann]

We are currently collecting the crash reports and will get back to you with more details and hopefully a solution soon.

@Whirly @PeppaPig @jovemprogramador: Would you guys please sent me a PM with your email address?

[Whirly]

Matthias - is it possible that the eLicenser version 6.10 helped on the situation? I haven't had a crash since installing it a week ago. Before that I could make Cubas to crash within minutes just having Retrologue or Halion 5 in the project.

[Matthias Quellmann]

I always helps to have the eLicenser on the latest version, but we need to have a closer look at the crash reports for a better understanding of the issue.

[Bacizone]

I can confirm the HALion 5 freeze when switching between larger presets on Cubase 8.5 64-bit, Win 10 version.

[Norbury Brook]

I had this yesterday too, twice in a row when trying to load a trombone XXL and then a trumpet XXl preset.

Windows 10 pro x64, Cubase 8 latest x64 and Halion 5 x64

I'm going to check my halion version. I'm pretty sure my elicenser is current.

MC

[DaveP]

I am getting this too (on Mac), it seems to happen pretty much anytime I click on the edit instrument button to bring back the Halion Window to make a change.
As soon as this is clicked complete crash of both Halion and Cubase with a return to the desktop.

I have sent a log to support with the details of this but maybe anyone else that sees a crash log can look out for the following in it - CFNOTIFICATIONCENTER_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_AN_OBSERVER

This seems to be there every time and while not a coder a quick search seems to identify this as a pretty common problem with telling your main program if windows are in an open or shut state.

I love Halion and am happy to send any logs or reports if that helps!

Update - Just tried the change mentioned above to Multi Loading in the Performance section and set to "clear before"
still had the same situation as described above.

Update 2 - Following advice from support I have reset my preferences file and am pleased to say all seems to be fine so far. I have been trying to replicate the previous crashes over the last 24 hours and so far all is good.
Crash logs are being examined by Steinberg and I must say a big thank you for a quick response from the support team.

[Spidermix]

Yep pretty randomly on MacBook Pro running Logic 10.3. Sometimes if I load a song that has Halion Sonic in it, the program will crash on launch! Matthias indicated that the fix would be out near the release of H6....can we get an estimate on when this MIGHT happen now that H6 is in the wild?