Posted
Windows 11/Synfire Pro
I took a break from Synfire for a couple of weeks while I figured out how to integrate some outboard equipment into my studio. When I returned to Synfire I found that my projects would not open. I was at that time one patch behind the most recent patch, so I updated Synfire, but this didn't solve the problem.
When I try to open a Synfire project (I've tried several.), it scans all of my vsts, and the scanner hangs on the last few. Sometimes it does finish scanning these, but even though the scanner window says the scan is 100% complete, the window does not close. Sometimes I see a message that Synfire is waiting for scanner.exe to give it a list of scanned plugins.
Sometimes a cmd.exe window pops up, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything, and just sits there.
While all this is happening I can do nothing else on my computer. I've tried using my screen capture program, but cannot. I can't even open the Task Manager to do an End Task. I have to use my computer's Reset button to reboot.
Suggestions? Thanks.
Sat, 2023-07-22 - 11:31 Permalink
This sort of total blockage sounds much like the influence of some anti-virus or security utility. In most similar cases that came up during the years this was the always culprit.
Synfire would not pop up cmd.exe or block other software, let alone the operating system. Plugins opening dialog prompts invisibly, or checking copy protection may get stuck, but that doesn't hinder others from being scanned.
Plug-ins that take a very long time to scan will linger while others are scheduled for scanning in parallel. It is normal that 2-3 very slow plugins keep sitting until the end (and beyond).
Sat, 2023-07-22 - 23:36 Permalink
I made note of the problematic VSTs, then moved them to a different folder (one not scanned by Synfire), along with a note as to where they had originally been. Not the most elegant solution, but Synfire loaded without a hitch the next time I tried it.
The VSTs in question were for programs I never use anymore, so no great loss.
But I do wish I knew why they suddenly became a problem.
Thanks to both of you.
