Ableton CPU load above 100%

L

leandro pit

New member
Ableton CPU load above 100%
Hi guys
First of all I apologize for my English, I'm Brazilian and I'm typing everything in Google Translator...lol

I've had this problem in Ableton for some time now, and I don't know what else to try to solve it.
I use Ableton to play backing tracks in event bands here in São Paulo, and my project is quite big (18 Gb).
It turns out that when I open my project, and when it finishes loading all the samples, the CPU meter goes crazy, measuring 2000%, 1000%, 765%, 1764%, etc...random values, and my session becomes extremely slow , making it impossible to play without crashing every 1 or 2 seconds.
I've reinstalled, reset, moved the samples folder (I saw in some forums that changing the location of the samples folder solved some problems), already turned off all warps of samples, already turned off the HiQ function for each sample, etc. ...
The only thing that partially solves is clearing the cache folder.
When I clear the cache folder and open the project again it loads everything again (it takes about 1 hour to load all the samples) and runs normally. But if I close Ableton, when I open it again the same thing happens (it loads samples faster, but when it finishes loading the CPU meter goes crazy again).
Please, has anyone been through this or have any idea what I can do to solve this problem??
Thank you so much guys

Ableton 9.7.4
MacBook Pro
2.5Ghz Intel Core I5
10 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
OS X 10.9.1
250GB SSD
 
Well you have an odd amount of Ram - and your hard drive is small. But usually when the CPU spikes it is because you are
haveing a 'Kernel Panic' - I would go Utilities/Activity Monitor and find out what's going on.
 
If you just have sound on your channels, then there is something wrong. But I think you have too many effects on your tracks. For those tracks that do not need to be manipulated during the live session, freeze them. Group effects with sends where you can, and only keep the ones you need to have "live" as active effects.

I would bet 99.999% you are have effects issues, unless this happens in Ableton with nothing loaded. Effects are what uses a lot of resources.
 
DM60 said:
If you just have sound on your channels, then there is something wrong. But I think you have too many effects on your tracks. For those tracks that do not need to be manipulated during the live session, freeze them. Group effects with sends where you can, and only keep the ones you need to have "live" as active effects.

I would bet 99.999% you are have effects issues, unless this happens in Ableton with nothing loaded. Effects are what uses a lot of resources.
Click to expand...
I only have a WAVES WLM Meter in my master to check volumes and a MAX FOR LIVE plugin "CC to Program Change" to change tones on my guitar. There is no more Plugin in the session.
What I can't understand is the fact that when I clean the cache folder, and open the session, everything works normally, but if I close Ableton, when I open it again, this problem happens.
And I've just lowered the Mac screen without closing Ableton, so I can use it without having to wait almost an hour and a half to load the samples again (which is what happens if I close Ableton).
 
Well, Max for Live is a resource hog, but you seem to have a serious problem. An hour to load samples sounds almost like you are having hard drive issues, since that is just file fetching.

One thing you will notice with Ableton, if your interface is not plugged in, it behaves very badly. Make sure your interface is plugged in before launching the software. You might also want to check that your drivers for the interface are working correctly. Other than that, I can only think it is a hard drive issue.

If you are using a traditional HD, magnetic, try defragging. Otherwise, find some utility to test that your HD is not going bad. You are right in being concerned, it should not take an hour to load. Also, remove the Max plug just to make sure it isn't causing issues.
 
DM60 said:
If you are using a traditional HD, magnetic, try defragging. Otherwise, find some utility to test that your HD is not going bad. You are right in being concerned, it should not take an hour to load. Also, remove the Max plug just to make sure it isn't causing issues.
Click to expand...
In his specs, he says its a 250GB SSD. That doesn't mean its not a drive issue, but it would probably show up on other programs. I can't comment on the rest since I'm not an Ableton user nor a Mac user.
 
TalismanRich said:
In his specs, he says its a 250GB SSD. That doesn't mean its not a drive issue, but it would probably show up on other programs. I can't comment on the rest since I'm not an Ableton user nor a Mac user.
Click to expand...
Obviously I didn't look. Like you said, still need to check the drive, but I suspect if he is turning on Ableton without the interface plugged in and ready to go, that will cause big issues. I am not sure why, but it causes big issues if one tries to open it without the interface.
 
DM60 said:
Well, Max for Live is a resource hog, but you seem to have a serious problem. An hour to load samples sounds almost like you are having hard drive issues, since that is just file fetching.

One thing you will notice with Ableton, if your interface is not plugged in, it behaves very badly. Make sure your interface is plugged in before launching the software. You might also want to check that your drivers for the interface are working correctly. Other than that, I can only think it is a hard drive issue.

If you are using a traditional HD, magnetic, try defragging. Otherwise, find some utility to test that your HD is not going bad. You are right in being concerned, it should not take an hour to load. Also, remove the Max plug just to make sure it isn't causing issues.
Click to expand...
But if it was the hard drive, this should happen every time I open the project, right??
I find it weird, because when I clear the cache folder, and load it again, the project works perfectly fine.
But I can't close the program, otherwise it happens again...
I've tried taking Max fo Live and WLM Meter out, but the problem still occurs.
I've tried it on another IMAC I have, and the same problem occurs.
I've tried it with different interfaces, or no interface, and the same thing happens.
 
DM60 said:
Obviously I didn't look. Like you said, still need to check the drive, but I suspect if he is turning on Ableton without the interface plugged in and ready to go, that will cause big issues. I am not sure why, but it causes big issues if one tries to open it without the interface.
Click to expand...
I've never had problems connecting the interface, or switching interfaces with Ableton open.
Also, unlike Pro Tools, which crashes when it happens to lose communication with the interface, Ableton, at least with me, doesn't crash if I change the interface, or if I disconnect it. Just reconnect, and it works normally again.
 
I expect 10gb ram is a typo. OP, please confirm.
Regardless, unlikely to be related to anything.

A Kernel Panic is finite, like windows BSOD - It's not something that makes your machine slow or hang - It's an event that happens and there's no coming back.

If you tried on another mac and had the same issue I'd be guessing at a corrupt file in the session. Not sure how you'd prove that but download DriveDX and run the detailed test on your hard drive.
It has a free full-featured trial and is very informative.
 
Last edited:
Well your Ableton is indexing - which is the cause of your issues. You could wait it out - or delete the file and start again.
 
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