Solving Application-Level Errors and System Failures

The more you work with Final Cut Pro, the better you get at distinguishing between error alerts generated by the system and those generated by the application. In this section, we'll look first at application-level errors, including out-of-memory errors and unexpected quits, and then we'll look briefly at several types of system-level hangs or crashes.

For more information, refer to Lesson 10 to review how to set up your system preferences to get optimal performance from FCP. For a comprehensive list of the possible system-level error alerts, consult a book dedicated to the Mac OS.

System Lockups and Failures at a Glance
Type of Problem	Symptom	Possible Cause	Solution
Error alert	#1: General error alert while FCP is running	Impossible task or corrupt file	Perform error-minimization steps, page 847
	#2: Out-of-memory error appears while FCP is running	Corruption in one or more of the following: a sequence, a clip in a sequence, or a sequence or render file	Disable corrupted sequences and sequence elements, page 849
Unexpected quit	#1: FCP crashes when a specific project or sequence tries to load	Corrupted project or media file	Fix the crash-prone project or sequence, page 850
	#2: FCP crashes randomly	Corrupted preferences files or other files, insufficient or faulty RAM, introduction of faulty hardware or software	Perform general maintenance and evaluation steps, page 851
System hang or kernel panic	#1: Complete system lockup: frozen pointer onscreen	Damaged file directories, hardware incompatibilities, or processor problems	Perform lockup-recovery steps, page 853
	#2: System hang: prolonged spinning beach ball	Processor-intensive activity or delays in communicating with external device	Restart and reset devices, perform hang-recovery steps, page 854
	#3: Kernel panic: Mac OS interface replaced by message advising restart of Mac	Faulty RAM or hardware, problematic device drivers or other software	Perform system troubleshooting steps, page 855