Crashing on OSX Sierra

[KableChannel]

I'm getting a consistent crash on OSX Sierra 10.12.1 with an NVIDIA GTX 750M and an Intel Core i7 processor. Upon a fresh install of the software, inserting nodes, importing files, and many other actions cause an instant crash, making the software unusable.

One other thing I can say could affect this is the fact that I'm running a dual-monitor with a vertical mount, using the HDMI port as a connection.

What can I do to ensure a fresh installation of the software in order to make sure it works?

[Magic]

I've had some users report crashes like this, but they all turned out to be due to third-party utilities. In one case, it was an ad-blocking utility that the user had installed, and in a different case, it was a mouse utility.

My suggestion is to make sure you are running a stock installation of Sierra -- in other words, disable every utility you installed that could be running in the background. If that doesn't fix it, let me know.

Ideally, a fresh Sierra installation would be the best thing to test with, but I know it's not always feasible to completely wipe your OS. A potential alternative solution might be to create a new user account and try running Magic there.

[KableChannel]

Just a quick update: removing the second monitor made the program far more stable for some reason. Will try some other possible fixes.

[Spaceface]

Hey I updated to OS Sierra 10.12.6 and I am also getting consistent crashes when connecting nodes.

I've closed all backround apps and yet, the crashing persists. I'm not certain what you mean by using a new login - for a while it worked when I simply created a new project and imported the old project, but as I hooked it up to the LED's, it began to crash again.

[Spaceface]

Update: It seems that the Syphon Output option is disagreeing with the new operating system. Thoughts?

[Magic]

Hmm, I can't seem to get any crashes on 10.12.6 with or without Syphon.

I'm not certain what you mean by using a new login

Create a new user account on your system by going to System Preferences > Users & Groups. Log out of your normal account and log back in with your new account. Your new account should have all the default settings of your system, which is a good way to test any differences with your normal account.

But as I mentioned earlier, the absolute best thing is to do a completely clean install of your operating system. The reason is that I spent pretty good amount of time with a user trying to figure out why Magic was crashing on his Mac all the time, and it turned out to be a bug with a mouse utility he had installed called "Better Touch Tool" (https://www.boastr.net/). But sometimes it's hard to remember what utilities you've installed, or even to disable them all, so a clean OS install is a good starting point. If you don't want to lose your current OS configuration you can always do a dual-boot.

Obviously it's possible that there's still a bug in Magic somewhere, and I'll keep looking, but it's rare that such consistent crashing wouldn't affect every user.

[Spaceface]

Okay Thanks! I'll get cracking on the new user stuff..

In the meantime, my crash report is claiming it's a video card error, though it never had that problem before my update. Is there anything in that??

[Magic]

Hard to say. I've seen that some OS X updates introduce new video card bugs. What kind of video card do you have?

[Spaceface]

Okay So: Syphon Output and all that basically works fine as long as I'm not using all the added effects that require opening Magic in 32-bit mode.

I'm still a little perplexed as to why my computer would just now decide that these same effects I was using a few months ago are suddenly too much to handle.

[Magic]

I'm not sure, but any time you are using third-party effects, especially FFGLs, you are subjecting yourself to the possibility of crashes caused by those effects. Many third-party developers don't do the same kind of exhaustive crash testing that we do here for Magic.

[Spaceface]

Interesting . .

My video card info: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB