FileIOSurrogate.exe

Woodenmike wrote on 8/26/2009, 9:47 AM

Has there been any discussion in these forums regarding FileIOSurrogate.exe and what it does within Vegas 9.0a? i have found references within other forums that indicates it is a factor in lock-ups beginning in version 8.1, but i have noticed it sucking resources while running 9.0a and i am experiencing lock-ups without provocation (i.e. while in the middle of a preview of the timeline). i'm just wondering what the function of this (back-ground?) program is?

Comments

xberk wrote on 8/26/2009, 10:38 AM

I'm not any kind of system expert but I think this file is something like a "File in and out go between". It shows up on my system only when Vegas 64 is launched, although the file exists in the 32 bit Vegas Program files but does not seem to launch when running 9.0 in 32 bit.. It's an executable, meaning it is a software program that is running along with Vegas and gets launched by Vegas 64 bit. It shows up in my system as a 32 bit emulation program, having the *32 after it in the process names. So -- it seems that 64 bit Vegas needs a 32 bit emulation software between it and your media files. At least, that's what I think it is doing that takes up resources! It's something to do with how your files are found and processed. I've had no issues or errors involving this Surrogate exe. I'm sure there are more expert explanations out there but I'm sure the file is needed to run 64 bit Vegas.

Woodenmike wrote on 8/26/2009, 12:18 PM

Thanks for the response...i neglected to mention i am running at 32bit and processing SD footage. the CPU usage is jumping up to 50-75% as soon as i start previewing anything on the timeline and i have noticed in the processes that the FileIOSurrogate.exe starts showing increased memory usage at that time also. Since i am running at 32bit, i don't know why this program would be simulating 32 bit files when i am running them natively.
The sticky above references the next fix coming out by saturday (08/28/09) and i will try that to see if it makes my issues any better...if not, i'll be going back to V8 where i didn't experience the headaches i have with this version. unfortunately, i have too much work started in 9.0 right now to go back at this point.

xberk wrote on 8/26/2009, 12:46 PM

I doubt a new release will help you. Seems to me (from all I've heard and experienced) Vegas 9.0 and future releases will remain CPU intensive. If you want smooth previews and a more responsive setup -- think about an i7 with Win7 and at least 12 gig of ram. It's clear that SCS is not thinking let's make our product run slick under 32 bit XP with legacy CPU's or with fast video cards. V8.0c is great and still very useful. But V9 is moving on...

Woodenmike wrote on 8/26/2009, 1:13 PM

I hear you...a new machine is definitely in my future IF i can get a few projects out the door and collect a couple of sheckles to upgrade my dinosaur (3 years old). i am also battling storage issues and need to acquire a media server and the past year have been watching folks go through the Vista issues. My son has a quad core Asus running 64 bit with Vista and hasn't had too many issues with it, but with W7 around the corner, i thought i would wait out the initial complaints to see how it works before putting out the "going out of business" sign! Coming from a woodworking business mentality where our tools worked or they were repaired/replaced by the manufacturer and we were given replacements until they were, so as not to lose our livelyhood, it is tough to move into this field where the attitude is generally accepted to be "when we get to it". I am grateful to the folks who participate in this forum for sharing their expertise and patience with those of us who are not as technologically advanced, but i have to wonder how folks who are in the business are surviving a down economy when their main tools don't perform as they should? xberk, thanks for your insight, and i think you are correct that the new version is definitely geared for the newer more powerful machines...i guess this is my first experience of software passing by the hardware that i have had since embarking on this path 5 years ago and i just didn't see it or hear anyone else say that in so many words. thanks!

john-beale wrote on 8/26/2009, 3:51 PM

this is a bit off topic but I'm mystified as to why V9 would need 12 GB of ram for any normal use. One frame of uncompressed HD 1920x1080 (RGBA, 32 bits per pixel) is about 8 MB. In 12 GB you could store about 50 seconds of uncompressed HD, but unless you're actively calculating pixels on every one of those 1500 odd frames in parallel, I don't know why you'd need to store them in memory.

Spot|DSE wrote on 8/26/2009, 4:09 PM

FileIOSurrogate actually hosts some of the file IO plugins, their
codecs, and the memory buffers related to decode or encode. Primaryreason for it was for interoperating with 32-bit codecs in a 64-bit world since 64-bit processes cannot load 32-bit dlls. Side benefit is that even for a 32-bit Vegas, plugins that use large amounts of memoryduring render can be isolated in a separate process with additional address space to increase reliability against out of memory failure scenarios.

xberk wrote on 8/26/2009, 7:23 PM

Thanks Spot for the lucid and concise explanation of a complex function. My V9.0 64 bit seemed to smooth out considerably after I installed the latest K-Lite 64 bit codec! But I'm working strictly in SD.

But what about the issue of ram? With Win7 and an i7, would 12 gigs be a waste for Vegas?
- Paul

Woodenmike wrote on 8/26/2009, 7:46 PM

thanks for the heads up on FileIOSurrogate.exe, Spot. I am coming to the conclusion that the lock-ups are somehow related to running a preview monitor from my BM Intensity card. I just completed 2 hours of uninterrupted editing without mishap and the only thing i did differently was to turn off the preview monitor and watch the preview screen within Vegas. This is fine for what i was doing tonight (adjusting transitions, tweaking color, etc.) but when i am cutting a 4-6 camera spread and using excalibur in multi-camera mode, i like the extra real estate on my secondary monitor for other uses besides preview. This is what i got quite used to doing in Vegas 8.0 and it worked quite well for me with only an occasional lock-up (usually accidentally hitting the control key and another key while reaching for the shift key with my size 12-1/2 pinky!). I have a doc to finish by mid October and need every once of speed i can coax out of my old machine (the one in my head also).