Kernel Panic, FCP, LaCie Bigger Disk!!!

[Joni Church]

Have you tried running any hardware diagnostics?

I certainly don’t want to jump the gun on anything here…and since you’re only getting the Kernel Panic when dealing with one specific file, it’s probably not hardware related, but just in case….

I went through a Kernel Panic situation some time ago, and I tried everything to fix it. Disk Warrior, Trashing Prefs, Archive and Installing the OS, Completely Erasing and Installing the OS and everything on the machine, talking to Apple Tech Support over and over again, and eventually bringing the G5 in for service thrice.

The first two times they gave in back to me insisting there was nothing wrong with it. The Kernel Panics kept occuring so I forced them to take it back and persist with testing until they found a problem. After about a week and a half it was determined that I had a faulty CPU. They ordered a replacement, and found that it too was faulty straight out of the box. So the third CPU they installed worked great and I haven’t had any further trouble.

I’m sure you’ll get some more suggestions to help you out with additional things you can try, but just in case you don’t end up with a solution, maybe come back to this. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but figured I’d let you know that it can indeed be a serious hardware problem. I know how things like this can drive a person nuts wondering if there’s something you missed.

Good luck,
Joni

[Debe]

When you say you have your project file on the LaCie…do you really mean the actual FCP Project file? The file you go to when you go to File>Open, or double click on to launch FCP?

Projects files should never be on external drives, especially on external drives that hold it’s media. That’s asking quite a bit of those poor drive heads, to access that media and the project off of the same drive.

Move that to the internal drive. I have a folder in my documents folder called “FCP Projects”, and I organize by client within that folder.

That may not solve this problem, but it may save you from other problems in the future.

debe

[Braden Curtis]

Yeah, Joni, I hope it doesn’t get to that point!

I have re-installed the OS. I’ve run DiskWarrior on the internal drives and the LaCie. Apple says the problem is the LaCie. LaCie says the project file itself is most likely corrupt and the source of the problem.

I’ve copied the entire folder to my internal HD and tried to open the project from there, and still get the kernel panic. I’ve connected the LaCie to a PowerBook and not gotten a kernel panic, but the project file still causes FCP to automatically quit.

This leads me back to a Final Cut or G5 issue. I just can’t get the hardware and FCP folks at Apple to agree.

Thanks,
Braden

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

It seems that no matter what you do your project file won’t open. It is likely corrupted. Check out your autosave vault folder/directory to get the most recent versions, one of which may be good. Keep separate back-up copies of your FCP projects from now on (using “Save As…” in FCP, not by simply duplicating project files in the Finder).

The LaCie drive seems to be okay (not the cause of the kernel panics or FCP crashes). I think it’s too much to expect from Apple or LaCie to get much help, beyond what they’ve already told you, for a “complex” issue like this, unless you have an Apple “pro video” support contract.

The problem may be just with your FCP project file (and possibly media files???). You may have issues with your G5. Memory (RAM) is often a source of kernel panics.

I would suggest that you first try to use an earlier version of your project file, or create a new one and try to recreate the last good state of your project. Or, try a few other test projects with FCP. If things work okay, then it was likely something in your project file.

You may also want to back up your cache, thumbnail, and render files (or deleted them). They could be contributing to the problem.

I would also suggest that you keep your project file on your startup drive and your media files, caches, and render files on the second internal drive. Later on, you could move your media back to the LaCie drive.

If none of the troubleshooting of FCP seems to be working, you may, in fact, be having hardware issues with some part of the G5… I would suggest that you try the “software” solutions I mentioned above first, then ask for more help if that doesn’t clear up things.

Hope this gets you started down the right path….

-Dave

[Braden Curtis]

Dave,

You’re summing up the conclusion I’m just coming to, albeit after three days of tech support calls. One thing I want to ask you, though…you say to “Save As…” instead of duplicating the project file from within Finder. When I was checking the Cow archives for related posts, one poster had said exactly the opposite. I have no reason to believe you or he is more right – just curious what your reasoning is.

Also, there seems to be a consensus that project files shouldn’t be kept on the external drive. That is one change I will be making for sure.

Thanks for the good post.
Braden

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

By doing a “Save As…” periodically in FCP to create different versions of a project file, you are making an entirely new project file each time. In between these versions, you would save the current project file normally. A plain ‘ole file save just updates the file, adding more stuff to the original file. After a while, this updating process itself can create a corrupt project file. By doing a “Save As…”, you are forcing FCP to write a completely new file.

By copying a file in the Finder, you may be copying a file that is already corrupt, rendering the copy/backup no better than the original file. So, if you keep using the same project file in FCP, saving every hour or so, you will be building a larger and larger FCP project file, which at some point may become corrupt. Simply copying this file won’t stave off any of the corruption issues.

Now, if you make back-up copies of your project files that you save “as different files/versions,” that’s fine.

Let me know if you are confused by what I’ve stated.

-Dave

[Braden Curtis]

Dave,

This makes perfect sense. Do you have a personal standard of frequency for making project copies? At the end of every day? Every week? Just curious what you think is sufficient.

Also, at what point do you start deleting past versions? And, do you always save your FCP project files in separate folders on separate drives?

Thanks,
Braden

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

The choice of what FCP project file versions to keep, and how many, is a personal choice. Fortunately, you can put an awful lot of project files on a DVD, especially a dual layer one. Depending on the complexity and length of your FCP project, you could store every version on a DVD.

As far as the frequency of project file “recreation” goes, I would suggest that it’s done whenever “significant” changes have been made to the project. Once-a-day may be reasonable, more frequently may work better (I make a completely new project file at least once-a-day).

-Dave

[Dave Mac]

Braden,

Regarding where to store project files…

One of the general rules of thumb is to keep your project files on your startup drive. Since you have both a second internal drive and external FW drives, I would recommend that you put your caches, autosave vault, thumbnails, and render files on the second internal drive, leaving the media on your external FW drives. Of course, this advice works well for DV-25 media. You could also put someof your currently active project media on the second internal drive.

For more info on system configuration and optimization, I would suggest you get a copy of “Optimizing Your Final Cut Pro System” by Sean Cullen, et al. It covers a lot of what you’ve been asking about.

-Dave

[Braden Curtis]

Dave,

You said:

“Since you have both a second internal drive and external FW drives, I would recommend that you put your caches, autosave vault, thumbnails, and render files on the second internal drive, leaving the media on your external FW drives.”

Just want to make sure I’m understanding you. You say to put FCP project files on Internal HD1; caches, autosave vault, thumbnails (?), and render files on Internal HD2; and all media on External HD. Am I understanding you correctly?

Braden