MP 7,1 Adobe CC / Mac Pro 7,1 / W7500X

[bsbeamer]

CalDigit TS3 Plus has a firmware update - make sure that is installed. Did more than just boost the TB3 PD capabilities for MBP16,1.

Timing sucks - I get that, run into it often, especially as a freelancer. Past 7+ months have been abysmal. BUT, it does not mean that a workstation-style machine should immediately be put into active service without verification. You skipped a crucial verification step (especially for troubleshooting this specific problem) and are now running into issues.

I'm not familiar with the full details of the boot process with MP7,1 or if there are any NVRAM style "flags" like what happened with MP5,1 and MP4,1>5,1. If there is a way to clear those 100%, would suggest doing do.

What I can specifically tell you - it appears the Wacom driver loads early in the boot process.

Every single time the driver updates, there is a full/complete restart required. It is very similar to the old NVIDIA web driver install process. Several machines (my own and colleagues) have just been "hanging" on driver updates/install. Those that get through it randomly are running into issues. It seems they are specifically triggered by Adobe applications like Illustrator, but not exclusively.

Had a very similar issue with Wacom products back in the Octane days that required purchasing brand new hardware because the device firmware itself could not be updated for compatibility with a software/OS update.

This could be causing or contributing to the panics, or might not be at all. The biggest problem right now - you'll "never" know for sure unless you can 100% restore this machine to a fresh, out of the box state to begin troubleshooting. Run the machine in that state for a few days. Then gradually add one device/product at a time. Anything that requires add-on drivers could be a contributing factor, just like a Windows or Linux box.

 

[choreo]

This could be causing or contributing to the panics, or might not be at all. The biggest problem right now - you'll "never" know for sure unless you can 100% restore this machine to a fresh, out of the box state to begin troubleshooting. Run the machine in that state for a few days. Then gradually add one device/product at a time. Anything that requires add-on drivers could be a contributing factor, just like a Windows or Linux box.

I totally agree that is the way to isolate the cause. Unfortunately, sometimes I have not seen a crash on the 7,1 occur for up to almost a week and then start again with a vengeance. To strip my 20-year workflow down to bare bones and add back one thing per week, could take months to diagnose.

I can live with the sleep crashes as long as the apps don't crash. So far I have not had any app crashes on the new install, but time will tell.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^There's a new Wacom Driver:

Wacom Global

Wacom Global

www.wacom.com

Scroll half way down the page.

Lou

 

[choreo]

^^^^There's a new Wacom Driver:

Wacom Global

Wacom Global

www.wacom.com

Scroll half way down the page.

Lou

Lou... Yes, I did two things last Thursday morning after reading bsbeamer's Post #351...

1) I installed the new Wacom Driver v6.3.41-2 which looks like it installed a newer version of SiLabsUSBDriver64.kext
2) I removed one of my two Wacom Tablets from my configuration

I was waiting to report back until I was more confident in the results, but since then I have not had a single incident!

If this does solve the problem, then I am not sure which action was the fix, but if I can make it a week without a panic, I will try adding the second tablet back in and that may narrow the problem down. It is still a bit premature to take a victory lap, but I am cautiously optimistic.

The Wacom Driver allows for multiple tablets to be installed on the same machine and allows for unique configuring of each. I have a large Intuos Pro 5 and an older large Intuos 4 - I have been using this dual combination for years on my previous 2012 Mac Pro. The reason I keep the Intuos 4 is because it supports the discontinued Wacom Mouse which I use in Pen-Mode across my three monitors - this is my normal mode of operation 75% of the time as it is more efficient than fooling with a stylus for the majority of my activities. I watch a lot of tutorials and you can see many professionals still struggling with trying to use a stylus for navigation - they just get used to doing everything twice! The Intuos 5 no longer supports the Wacom Mouse which they have in their infinite wisdom discontinued after I have used Wacom and Kurta mice for over 20 years! On top of that, the over-priced cheaply-designed Wacom Mouse has a short lifespan, I am lucky to get 9 months out of one before it starts double-clicking on a single click. Therefore, I have been buying them up on the grey market for the past couple years when I can find them. It appears someone still makes them in Japan? I have far more money invested in Wacom mice now than all their tablets over the past 20 years. 25% of my time is spent in Photoshop and Illustrator where I need the pressure sensitivity of the stylus. I "can" still use the old Wacom 4 for everything (until they drop support for it). The two reasons I purchased the Wacom 5 is because it had better sensitivity AND has trackpad capability (which unfortunately I needed for selecting certain fields in Dreamweaver until recently as they did not respond to the Wacom mouse?). So actually now I can disconnect the newer Intuos 5 and get by without it (which is what I am doing as of last Thursday).

The only real long-term solutions for me with the Wacom issues are:

1) Wait for Wacom to reintroduce a new updated Mouse that will work with their newer tablets (not likely)
2) Keep searching for a piece of software that will provide a means of mimicking the Wacom pen-mode mapping across multiple monitors using a regular mouse with no tablet needed (not likely)
3) Hope for a Wacom alternative (not likely)
4) Struggle with trying to make a stylus work for everything (Wacom's position)

 

[th0masp]

I'd be careful with updating the Wacom drivers. They seem to have had a lot of problematic releases - I always end up googling extensively before trying an update and often go for a slightly older one. Not talking about system crashes, mind. Just regular irritating behaviour.

Anyway, wow that setup sounds reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaally specific. I have worked in small and fairly large art departments for nearly 20 years and not a single person I remember has actually used those Wacom mice we had lying around everywhere. Personally I have a whole stack of those from tablet generations Intuos 1 through about 3 or 4, all in mint condition. We used to call them tablet cleaners since they have some kind of carpet glued to the underside that might come in handy for that purpose.

Time to simplify things maybe just a little and get used to using a single tablet across all screens and navigate with the pen only? I use a pen for almost everything. IMO touch input is just weird on a tablet and has historically not worked well on the Intuos. I'd look into the Apple touchpad gadget if I were interested in touch on a desktop setup.

 

[daveedjackson]

The crash issues I started this post for had nothing to do with Wacom. I have had issues since upgrading to the w5700x. It’s been verified with Apple, and a service provider. AMD themselves wouldn’t issue a hardware replacement and cited the issue was driver related, and referred back to Apple. I’m awaiting a refund for the card. I’m so frustrated. Apple have no processes in place for repairing/replacing or refunding a card which has a fault after 30 days. I’ve Had so much red tape to deal with. It’s laughable. After sales, technical, managers all want to refund, but the systems apples end do not allow it. It’s not an apple product.

I’m now waiting to see just how long this takes. Given I’ve been months with this issue. Been passed from pillar to post. It is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[patrick.a]

Had my MP with the W5700 since August and the first couple of weeks were all fine. Then it started to show pixel-shifts after wake-up sometimes. And now it's crashing and restarting from time to time. It's crazy - like a power failure. The computer is off from one moment to the other. I think it only happens when I have InDesign open.

Is there anything I can do about it? It boggles my mind that Apple apparently still hasn't fixed this issue. Does anyone know if it gets resolved with Big Sur?

 

[bsbeamer]

FWIW, Adobe released several product updates this AM. A few appear to just be re-releases of the prior updates (build numbers did not change after install).

After updating the Creative Cloud app itself (before product updates), several product bugs and quirks are gone. Startup speeds also seem to have been improved.

If anyone is running into the Wacom issue, this is the full uninstall run through:

Wacom Global

Wacom Global

www.wacom.com

 

[choreo]

I am not experiencing any issues with the Wacom 6.3.41-2 Driver that I can see in the latest Catalina the past ten days.

 

[bsbeamer]

Premiere Pro 14.6 released and adds fixes/optimizations for AMD performance and memory handling. Those with 16GB+ GPU's should see improvements, especially with 4K.

 

[daveedjackson]

After months of politics, red tape and lack of practices in place For returns. Being passed from pillar to post. AMD got involved, after apple tried to wash their hands of the card by claiming it wasn’t their product. Funny given it was made With apple, used in marketing and made for an apple only product. AMD’s response after a warranty claim which was the only menthol left to try to get a refund, outright said “it’s a driver issue, which means it’s and apple issue” referred back to apple engineers who basically said “refund customer” but after sales had not function or ability to do this as the systems physically wouldn’t let them, no barcode or serial for the product apparently. So absurd. Finally today I got my refund. And received my vega card.

 

[choreo]

Finally today I got my refund. And received my vega card.

So did they do an even swap or did they "upsell" you?

 

[daveedjackson]

So did they do an even swap or did they "upsell" you?

I had no choice, I had to pay the difference and just suck it up. **** when you have to pay even more for a fit for purpose solution. The w7500x isn’t fit to be sold, they know it, AMD know it. Funny a few weeks ago the tech guy said something interesting. I said “apple don’t make their own GPU so I’m stuck with the products they are pushing for the Mac Pro” he relied, simply “not yet” so I assume they will go into gpu soon too.