Some comments which may not help much.
Search the Vegas forums for Blink3times discussion of revising some dll firles. Lots of info there and helped me out,.
My experience has been even when .avi files were the great video I used. Capture files, but not try to bring in more than a DVD would handle. like 305 GB hour 15 min.
My new camcorder (Sony HD SR11) captures variety including Mpg4 and mpg2. NO WAY WILLVEGAS ALLOW ME TO BRING IN hardly any footage of mpg4. So setting as HQ mpg2 files, with blink's info, I can now load a reasonable amount on time. But still usually an hour is pushing it. Finally, the result for me has been that I must bring in blocks of about 15-20 miinutes edit and re-render as Vegas mpg2. Strangley I can bring in more than an hour of mpg2 (re-rendered) into one final hour plus mpg2 file. All kinds of discussion of quality and hints and suggestions, but no way my Vegas 8 or 9 not crash. similar to yours. My system is I7 6 GB Ram etc etc.
Finally, I have not heard of folks loading 20GB and larger files, but maybe they did in the old days. I believe you will have to find a software to split the files and then work with smaller files.
Good luck

Thanks, Bob, for the information and suggestions. I tried turning off thumbnails and waveforms, as you suggested, and I can load and split every which way. When I turn them back on, I run into trouble.

Sony support did get back to me and just suggested I make smaller files, but that would be a pain to recapture everything. With the waveforms and thumbnails trick, I can load, split and render the files into smaller pieces if I have to.

I tried running a memory test, MemTest86, and didn't turn up anything, but I'll try a couple of others. I'm hoping the memory is good, since it's a brand new system (no guarantees, I know -- in fact, this is my second system in a month, since I had to send the first one back).

I'll keep looking at the memory issue. Maybe something is running in the background that's getting in the way.

Thanks again,
Jon

I noticed the same problem in 9b and ended up moving the large files onto a drive that had hardly anything else on it (the drive they originated on was up over 85% full) and this seemed to help. At the time, i chalked it up to an older machine running 32 bit and too many full drives. Since then, i've had other issues with 9b that drove me back to V8 and am much happier for doing so.

Thanks, johnthor, for the Blink3times/dll tip. I read through the thread -- a lot of interesting stuff there. I'll keep reading....

Jon

Woodenmike,

Thanks for the suggestion. My files are on a 1 TB disk with 730 GB free, so that's probably the best I can do there. Along with lots of RAM, a newer machine running 64 bit, etc., you'd think my PC would be able to handle it.

I don't have 8 to go back to, since I just bought 9. I'll hope it continues to improve, and/or I'll figure out the work-arounds.

An update: I tried the blink3times trick, and it didn't help -- didn't hurt either, as far as I can tell. I'm not surprised, since I'm already running 64-bit Vegas in 64-bit Windows.

For now, I'll have to turn off the waveforms and frames and work that way, although I really like having them on. Maybe once I get the pieces smaller....

I don't have 8 to go back to, since I just bought 9.

??? Did you already sell your 8?

If not, you are explicitly allowed to use it. And even sell it.

(The buyer will be able to register it with Sony, but won't get the upgrade price for V10.)

Thanks, but I never had 8. My previous experience with Vegas was Home Studio 7. I liked it enough (stable, intuitive, etc.) that I decided to go w/ Vegas Pro when I needed a new editing system. I'm kind of bummed about the crashes, but I think I can work around them now. (And there's always 9.0c, which I'm downloading now....)

Not sure if this issue is still hanging around in 9.x, but in 8.1 (64bit) having thumbnails turned on in the project media bin caused crashes if you had more than a dozen or so "standard" DV clips being displayed -- their size wasn't an issue.

The workaround was to view the project media bin in detail (or list) mode. I never noticed a problem with displaying the timeline in thumbnail mode.

jdw, thanks for the tip. I looked at the project media bin, and it doesn't seem to be an issue -- even without thumbnails, if I only add one or two clips, the program crashes.

All I can say is this. For my money this whole 64bit thing is still bleeeding edge. I have precious few issues running even Vegas 9.0b under WinXP 32 and I'm throwing anything and everything at Vegas, even AVCHD, HDV, MXF and DV and huge files of it and lots of them.

I did have V9.0b chuck a minor wobbly 72 hours ago when I put a 35min VOB file onto the T/L or at least tried to. A restart and a stake through the heart via Task Manager to kill of the ghost in the machine Vegas left behind and I was good to go.

Hm, now there's something for you to check.
When Vegas crashes ALWAYS check in task manager that it hasn't left behind a Vegasxxx.exe stuck in RAM. If you restart Vegas in this state things will just keep going downhill.

Bob.

When Vegas crashes ALWAYS check in task manager that it hasn't left behind a Vegasxxx.exe stuck in RAM.

Bob, one of the many fixes in Pro 9.0c is:
* Fixed an issue that could cause the Vegas90.exe process to remain in Task Manager after closing Vegas (Windows XP only).

Mike

12 Hours is a lot, but I've had half that on a single session. No problems at all. You could break up the project into smaller pieces then put their veg files on a single timeline (nested veg files) for the final edit.

Are you sure that Vegas "just stopped"? You have an awful lot of temp files (swf for example) to generate. Except for a tiny % completed changing, you won't be able to do much else.

If your TEMP folder is on a nearly full drive, then you could get exactly this condition. (Partitions are not separate drives, they are an evil anachronism from the days of 16-bit.)

Thanks, Bob (and Mike) for the exe RAM warning. That doesn't seem to have been a problem in this case.

Steve, yes, Vegas "just stops" -- the program goes away, replaced by a dialog box that says, "Vegas has stopped working," and offering to let Windows try to find the solution to the problem (it never does). My two drives (one for programs & OS, one for videos) have over 750 GB each on them, so space shouldn't be a problem.

Also, the program crashes when I add just one or two avi files to the timeline, so I don't have anywhere near the 12 hours on it. Thanks for the ideas, though.

Jon

>"Vegas Pro (9b, 64 bit), and the program keeps crashing when I add large files
> to my timeline."
FWIW...
What happens with Vegas 32 bit? Might give a few clues. Maybe look at codecs, DS files/filters, plugins etc, & maybe even any graphics stuff that would have setup system-wide decoders (based on waveform & thumbnail aspects of prob).

In my experience with Vista &/or 7, all it takes is one minor component, not necessarily something you'd think of as being involved, & if it throws out an unexpected value for instance, an app like Vegas 9 64 can just crash. When you stick an avi on the t/line, Vegas doesn't *know* that it's std DV or DivX, so it runs it thru a few tests & filters. *That's* one part, when Vegas is figuring things out, where *un-related* stuff can cause headaches. Then when Vegas displays graphics, Vegas doesn't actually display anything, but tells Windows to. Whatever Windows calls up to display the thumbnails might not behave as Vegas things it should? Myself, I tend to over-think... I've had better luck & more importantly results, from taking a more Holistic approach, eliminating (usually non-Microsoft) stuff & seeing what happens. However if/when push comes to shove, Nirsoft & Systems Internals have some process monitors that can tell you exactly what Vegas is using.

AHA!

"Steve, yes, Vegas "just stops" -- the program goes away, replaced by a dialog box that says, "Vegas has stopped working," and offering to let Windows try to find the solution to the problem (it never does). My two drives (one for programs & OS, one for videos) have over 750 GB each on them, so space shouldn't be a problem.

Also, the program crashes when I add just one or two avi files to the timeline, so I don't have anywhere near the 12 hours on it. Thanks for the ideas, though."

Now we're getting somewhere. The problem is in Windows, not Vegas. I get it sometimes when starting Adobe Photoshop. This dialogue box is the latest incarnation of the Windows "Blue Screen of Death". (I wonder if *anyone* has ever gotten a positive response to the "let windows search.." solution?)

Google "stopped working message" and you will see that you are not alone. But, it's a Windows problem, not Vegas. There doesn't seem to be a common thread or cause, but it sort of points to the Video for Windows API because video or the ability to view video thumbnails seems to be the common feature of most of the programs that stop.

I wonder what would happen if you upgrade to Windows 7?

Well, this is getting interesting. Thanks for the ongoing ideas about this. (Sorry I didn't provide more details up front -- I guess I had too much faith in tech support -- which wasn't that useful....)

I don't know about 32-bit. My 32-bit system (where I was using Home Studio 7) died, and when I finally got around to replacing it, I was convinced that 64-bit (Vista and Vegas Pro) would be the way to go.

FWIW, when I crash and look at the details, it's always:

Problem: Unmanaged Exception (0xc0000005)

(It beats the blue screen of death, at least, since it doesn't take the whole system down with it.)

The fault is one of three modules -- it varies among the three, with no consistency that I can see:

Fault Module: C:\Program Files\Sony\Vegas Pro 9.0\vegas90k.dll
Fault Module: C:\Program Files\Sony\Vegas Pro 9.0\FileIO Plug-Ins\aviplug\aviplug.dll
Fault Module: C:\Windows\system32\kernel32.dll

Maybe it is a Windows problem. I have Win 7 on order, so I guess I'll see if it gets any better when that shows up.

Here's a strange little detail, though, that I discovered by accident:

I can recreate this fault fairly easily -- I open Vegas and drag one or two of the large files I mentioned (15-20 GB each) onto the timeline. As explained before, if "Waveforms and Frames" is turned off, I can put as many files on as I want without a problem, but if it's on, it crashes with just one or two files on the timeline. (Some times it's one, but usually it's two before it crashes.)

I was going through the process again -- I put on one file -- no crash -- and then accidentally started played that video clip before I dragged on the second clip. The weird thing is -- it didn't crash! I could add all of my clips (9 video tracks + 9 audio tracks, 150 GB total), with waveforms and frames on, with no crash, as long as the clip was playing!

I would think that would take up more memory rather than less. I tried this four different times, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and it seems to work every time. I also tried splitting and moving around some clips -- all while the file was playing -- and it seemed fine.

I can't keep adding clips indefinitely -- if I add one or two more clips/tracks beyond that (using the same files a second time), Vegas crashes. But in general, playing the video on the timeline seems to "stabilize" it.

What's that about? Any ideas?

Thanks again,
Jon

Well, the bad news is:
1) Windows 7 doesn't help. I just installed it, and the same thing happens.
2) It's apparently not a file size issue, since it sometimes happens with smaller files as well. Not as often, but it still crashes.

I guess this isn't a rampant issue with Vegas or Windows, from what I can tell from the forums, so I guess it's just me. ;) Well, probably my spankin' new hardware is to blame. I checked the memory as thoroughly as I know how and found no problems, but I don't know what's left at this point.

I guess I'll have to rely on the time honored technique of "cross your fingers and save every 30 seconds," which I haven't had to do for quite a while. Grrrrrr....

>"I don't know about 32-bit. "

In Vista &/or 7 64 many (most?) run both 32 & 64 bit versions of Vegas 9, because most plug-ins, codecs etc are 32 bit & won't run in the 64 bit version of Vegas. 64 bit Windows doesn't care if you run 32 bit code -- you just can't mix 32 bit & 64 bit in most cases. With 7, 64 bit Windows is finally getting popular, so companies are moving 32 bit software including hardware drivers to 64 bit versions as well. In some cases they screw up -- their 64 bit versions haven't had the bugs worked out yet.

>"I guess this isn't a rampant issue with Vegas or Windows, from what I can
>tell from the forums, so I guess it's just me. ;) Well, probably my spankin'
>new hardware is to blame. I checked the memory as thoroughly as I know
>how and found no problems, but I don't know what's left at this point.

Unrelated, but it illustrates the point I think that the root cause of any particular problem in Windows can be pretty far away from what you'd normally & logically think of... FireFox now has an optional privacy mode. with this PC & with that on in 7 64, right clicking on any folder with an msi file crashed Windows Explorer instantly. Changed a few things in the registry, and turned off a few services... This cured the immediate problem, but after using F/Fox a while different problems kept cropping up until I re-booted, then I could go a while again. The ultimate cure (for now at least) was to turn off F/Fox's privacy mode, but as I played more & more with Windows, the problem changed, with for example Windows Explorer crashing when I right clicked the Recycle Bin. And I've yet to find or see any link between any of the crashing and FireFox. I wouldn't have made the connection but for posts I read after days of Googling.

I don't think it's a hardware issue (though I could be wrong), but it could be a driver issue. I run an ATI graphics card, & ATI has a bit of video processing & hardware accel bundled together in what they brand Avivo. Depending on the driver version, it can break video playback & decoding -- only once, with a particularly nasty driver version, did this sort of prob cause system crashes, but it can/did happen. Like a Lemming drawn to the cliff, every month I install the latest driver, then run through a whole routine to see if it broke anything video-related -- usually I can tell by playing a variety of video in a variety of players, & often I can get by turning hardware accel off when/if there's a problem. I've seen this on/with a few ATI cards so it's not a bad card causing it, & on a few different motherboards. If I remember correctly, from posts I've read same sort of thing can happen with nvidia, as they've got hardware video accel too.

>"I could add all of my clips... with waveforms and frames on, with no crash,
>as long as the clip was playing!"

Nowadays I think most video software uses Direct Show [DS] &/or Direct 3D manipulating & displaying video, even if the codec originally used was VFW (Video For Windows). The thing about DS is that Windows builds a chain of filters, each one dependent on the one before it. The easiest way to illustrate is with an app called Graphstudio, going to the File menu -> Render Media File. Where it gets tricky, is for any DS filter needed, you can have more than one installed, & Windows picks which one to use. These DS filters can be incompatible with each other, or with some apps, & often lie to Windows about what functions they provide. It can get tricky because a lot of video-related code was written for & maintained compatibility with XP, since so many refused to move to Vista -- Vista & 7 are much different in what they use to decode & display video.

At any rate, something you could look at... I could see playing the video assembles the proper DS filter chain (called a graph), which Vegas might not be doing or capable of otherwise. Could also see it tying up your graphics card's video accel features, & with those resources already tied up, they can't interfere with Vegas doing it's thing.

> I guess it's just me. ;)

No, it's not you. I have exactly the same problem with 9.0c when using large files. Even a simple project with just a few tracks and one or two text titles crashes regularly. I'm now converting all of my 1080x1920 16 mbps WMV files to 720x1280 at 8 mbps, and hope I can "slip them in behind Vegas' back" to not have to start my project all over again. The conversion should be done in a few hours, and I'll report back later or tomorrow if that fixes the problem. If not, I'll start over again in Vegas 6, which I know works well with WMV files at that size and bitrate.

--Ethan

Just to confirm that reducing my WMV files from 1080x1920 at 16 mbps to 720x1280 at 8 mbps solved all the crashing problems.

--Ethan

MPM, thanks for the ideas. I hadn't realized that I even had the 32-bit version, but I found it on my installation CD, so I tried it as well. It gave me the same problem, but it was worth trying.

I would guess it's a driver issue, but I don't know how to isolate it or identify it. I'll keep working at it.