I have NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 on my computer. I'm not sure where the update tool is but I keep my video drivers updated. In fact, I even switched from the Game to Studio version based on a comment that I read that could prevent the crashing (but to no avail). I'm running Windows 10. No changes to input media files. In fact, I tried rendering something totally different and it crashed too.

@dave-k,
Important specs to show here with screenshots are
1. Options/ Preferences/Video
2. Options/Preferences/File I/O
3. Help/Check for Driver Updates

I have attached screenshots. Thanks for offering to help.

Thank you. Your hardware looks a bit like mine (Signature) and I use the same specs you showed ( not mkv reader at File I/O).
With me all went fine, no problems like you.
Only thing I can advice at the end is to reset Vegas following exactly this: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/faq-how-can-i-reset-vegas-pro-to-default-settings--104646/

I went ahead and reset Vegas but it still crashes. It usually freezes within 20 seconds of rendering, but this time it got to 6%. I was hopeful that it was going to work, but it didn't.

I went ahead and reset Vegas but it still crashes. It usually freezes within 20 seconds of rendering, but this time it got to 6%. I was hopeful that it was going to work, but it didn't.

What type of video format do you usually edit?

Mp4

Mp4

1. change to intel graphics.

2. dynamic ram privew to 0.

3. Maximum number of rendering to 30

Try it and let me know.

Max render threads should be set at the number of logical cores your processor has, so if it's an 8 physical, 16 logical core CPU, you'd set it at 16.

I would try this... in file I/O, where it says "auto - intel", try manually selecting the Intel GPU instead of the auto option.

If this fails, switch that to the Nvidia GPU.

If that fails, switch it back to Intel, then go into the video tab, and switch that one to Intel as well.

If that fails, disable GPU acceleration and decoding in both the video and file I/o tabs. (I understand this will negatively affect your playback performance, we're just doing this to isolate the issue, we'll re-enable it later)

If that still fails, check the "enable legacy AVC decoders" option in file I/O.

Let me know how that turns out.

@Coriaman With those settings, it crashed at 3%

@fr0sty How do I determine how many logical cores I have? Also, what should the Dynamic RAM Preview Max be set at?

Mp4

@dave-k Hi, MP4 is just a container

'MP4 is a container format that allows video, audio and other related information to be bundled together in a single file'

There's a tool called MediaInfo, download it, it's free https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo
After downloading, right click on the media in your Windows folder, open MediaInfo, choose Text from the View option, select all, copy & paste in a comment here, 👍

eneral
Complete name                            : F:\Backup\Downloads\2022-05-29 09-51-16.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media
Codec ID                                 : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size                                : 5.60 GiB
Duration                                 : 1 h 35 min
Overall bit rate                         : 8 404 kb/s
Writing application                      : Lavf58.76.100

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings                          : CABAC / 1 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP                     : M=1, N=60
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 1 h 35 min
Bit rate                                 : 8 201 kb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 30.000 FPS
Standard                                 : Component
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.132
Stream size                              : 5.46 GiB (98%)
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.709
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709
Codec configuration box                  : avcC

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : mp4a-40-2
Duration                                 : 1 h 35 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 192 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate                               : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 132 MiB (2%)
Title                                    : Track1
Default                                  : Yes
Alternate group                          : 1

I went through every scenario suggested above and it crashed every time. I went with these attached settings and it crashed once but actually made it all the way through the second go-around. I'm not sure, however, that these are settings I'd want to keep going forward for the best output results, right?

@dave-k Online it says you i7-9700K is 8 cores & 8 threads?

you can find out by right clicking on the taskbar bottom of the screen - Taskmanager - Performance, on the CPU option it shows below the graph how many Logical processors

In your pics you've always got MKV reader ticked? i would untick that,

Also in the Hardware decoder to use, set that to Nvidia, the options asked for in the other comments are about testing your system, with the settings you've got there you're not using your 6GB GPU,

I have none of those boxes ticked

btw that MediaInfo looks fine to my untrained eye, AVC plays well in most/all software, 4.2.0 8bit is 'normal', Constant rather than Variable frame rate is often suggested as preferable in Vegas, & it's only 1920x1080 HD file, it's a bit big 5.6GB but should play fine, I'd be interested if someone else can find a reason that file wouldn't play/render?

I agree with @Former user other than having 'Enable legacy AVC decoding' checked - but that is possibly only because of the 4K MP4 video media that I am using. In both VP18 & 19, having this item checked has improved timeline performance - but no crashes to speak of.

@dave-k,
Which (customized?)rendertemplate do you use which is crashing the program?

@Dexcon Hi, i had Legacy AVC ticked for a while, but unticked it, I only use 4k UHD MP4 AVC files, I haven't noticed much if any difference with it ticked or unticked?

Terrible crashing with files no more than a year old. I don't even get as far as rendering anything. My head is spinning with all these Preference changes. Vegas has alway been unstable, but I put up with it by rendering MXF'S instead of nested timelines and keeping my timelines as Spartan as ever, but with 636 the situation is untenable. Specs forthcoming...

My newer timelines do much better but anything over three months they never even open without crashing...

Processor AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor 3.60 GHz Installed RAM

Windows 10

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660

Media info shows audio at 44.1khz Should it not be 48khz?

Media info shows audio at 44.1khz Should it not be 48khz?

@diverG Hz is frequency but i don't know much more, Vegas gives the option to render at 44.1Hz, i just rendered a clip that was 48Hz down to 44.1Hz, I see/hear no difference in the rendered file apart from a slight lowering in volume,  

44.8Hz on the top 2 track, 44.1Hz on the 3rd&4th tracks