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Is adobe after effects not compatible with certain PCs?
So i’ve been wondering this for a long time if after effects is not compatible with my HP Envy laptop because of its instability. Or maybe i just have a computer full of bugs? However this statement only holds true for AE
For the past year I have been in hell with after effects trying to build up my resume for a demo reel that i intend to put together. I have been able to complete zero videos because my after effects freezes my PC RANDOMLY and there is nothing i can do but hard shutdown. It can literally freeze at anytime or maybe even decide not to freeze, but it freezes more often then not. One time it even froze during a project save and as a result I lost a project in which i had to use recuva to restore it.
There is literally no explanation that I can think of as to why this is happening as i have a very fast computer with a very good graphics card and RAM.I have the latest updates of after effects from adobe, I always clear my disk cache, and I have 12GB ram reserved for after effects. Every other program works fine from photoshop to Sony vegas pro 13. My work space is very complex using a crap load of effects along with audio and 3D camera work.
I really need help as this is a huge road block in my career at this point, and I think i’ve been a little too patient. No one seems to have the same problem as me, it’s so strange.
Here are my PC specs
HP ENVY 17t
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit via Windows 8.1 downgrade rights
Processor: 5th Gen Intel® CoreTM i7-5500U Dual Core CPU (2.4GHz-3.0GHz Turbo, 4MB L3 Cache)
RAM: 16GB DDR3L RAM 1600MHz
Maxed Out!Display: 17.3″ diagonal Full HD Anti-Glare WLED-backlit Display (1920×1080) Non-Touch
Graphics: 4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M Graphics
Storage: 1TB (1,024GB) Hybrid 8GB NAND SSD 5400RPM SATA III Hard Drive
Optical: Blu-ray DiscTM RE SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW drive
Wireless: Intel 802.11ac WLAN and Bluetooth(R) [2×2]
Keyboard: Premium Full-size Backlit Keyboard, 10-key numeric keypad, Fingerprint Reader
Mouse: HP Control Zone with multi-touch gesture support
Webcam: HD webcam and microphone
Ports: 3 USB 3.0 Ports, HDMI, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 1 headphone/mic combo
Audio: Beats AudioTM with 2 speakers and 1 subwoofer
Power: 90 Watt AC Power Adapter
Battery: Lithium Ion Battery (4-cell/48Wh)
Weight: 6.33lbs
After effects version 13.1.1
Help would be greatly appreciated
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10 Replies
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Generally, I find Ae to be pretty stable on a variety of hardware; I’m surprised to hear you’re having so much trouble.
Ae can push your computer harder than most other software can. You might consider testing your RAM, either with Windows’s built-in tool [link] or with a third-party tool like MemTest86 [link], and also ensuring adequate cooling and airflow (clean the vents of dust, place the computer on a hard, level surface with a bit of open space around it).
It may also be a software issue. Are there specific third-party effects you’re using? Are your drivers up-to-date? Does it make a difference if you enable or disable the Hardware Accelerate Composition, Layer, and Footage Panels checkbox in Edit > Preferences > Display?
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
What kind of footage are you using?
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Firstly I wanna thank you for taking the time out to respond to this issue. It has been driving me insane now and it is wonderful to have this issue be acknowledged.
Well that is precisely why I think it might possibly be my system’a fault (HP Envy) my household is full of editors like me they use after effects on systems with lower RAM and graphics cards than mine and they have no problems with AE. I tried emulating their preferences but the results remain the same.
I keep my PC well ventilated with a fan that I bought from staples. The PC doesn’t seem to overheat. Also I can’t seem to find the hardware accelerator option under preferences I’m not sure why. Does my version of after effects not include this feature?
I use mp4 as my main source for footage
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[Zaire Vaile] “I use mp4 as my main source for footage”
Have you tried importing the files to Premiere?
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I actually don’t use adobe premiere. I use after effects and sony vegas pro 13 as my primary editing programs. I try to use after more than anything though as sony vegas is very limited when it comes to translating my ideas to reality. I have solid knowledge of after effects also at this point
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Tero is trying to help you troubleshoot by reducing variables: in this case, decode of the footage itself.
If you transcode the MP4 footage to another format (via Adobe Media Encoder or similar), do you run into problems during the transcode? If not, does the transcoded material work better in Ae?
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
I haven’t actually tried importing transcoded footage into after effects however given the scenario that after effects doesn’t crash before I attempt to transcode my footage it usually is successful. Although I have had it freeze during the render process it generally is fine with rendering the footage successfully.
I also think it’s important that I add that I have contacted HP technical support. They troubleshooter my problem by remote viewing my computer and assessing the problem. They also witnessed how my computer behaved when I used after effects. He was as confused as me, as the computer seemed to be running just fine while I was working in after effects. No overuse of GPU or RAM. So that took me back to how none of this is making any sense. Based on my knowledge a lone the only explanation I can come up with is my computer is buggy with after effects itself. It would explain how rare this problem is, as I can no one else who has this same problem.
What do you guys think?
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There are any number of things that could cause the crashes you’re seeing. Hardware drivers, codec packs…
You might consider cloning your hard drive for backup, then wiping it and re-installing from the ground up.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
[Walter Soyka] “Tero is trying to help you troubleshoot by reducing variables: in this case, decode of the footage itself.”
Yeah, there are a bunch of different H264 codecs and not all them are supported. Best case scenario for these is that they might show up in black and white and in worst case they might crash the program.
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This is the conclusion i’ve been coming to for a long time now. I see no other way of fixing this problem but to buy a new pc or restore my pc back to factory settings. I’ll have to do this and report back to you guys. Thank you so much for all of your help it was greatly appreciated and i’ll never forget it
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