Serious crash in score editor when using ctrl+ or ctrl-

I am trying to be real composer and actually compose music using the score editor before I play and record it, and I’ve suddenly come across a bug I’ve never had before:

When I use ctrl + or ctrl - to fast forward or rewind (there should be other options in the score editor, BTW), I sometimes get a catastrophic crash with cascading “serious error” boxes, on which I can click neither OK nor Cancel. Cubase has to be killed with ctrl-alt-delete.

This crash also comes sometimes when I do various other minor things like moving notes.

I have tried to use another piano VSTi than HALion 4 - same result. There is nothing else going on.

I really can’t get anything done here, and I have a ton of ideas that I want to turn into a piece!

This is what Cubase6.log says:

Cubase6.exe Version 6.0.5 Build 357 - 16.2.2012 19:18

Timestamp is 4e8f28a6 (Fri Oct 07 18:28:22 2011)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe

Exception code: C0000005 ACCESS_VIOLATION
Fault address: 00E2FF12 01:00A2EF12 C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe

Registers:
EAX=1710c6c8 ECX=00000000 EDX=ffff0001 EBX=00012de0 ESI=4f4f4f4f EDI= 0016f510
EBP=179f8280 EIP=00e2ff12 ESP=0016f4dc CS= 00000023 SS= 0000002b Flags=00010293
DS= 0000002b ES= 0000002b FS= 00000053 GS= 0000002b

Float Save:
Control Word= 0000027f Status Word= 00004000 Tag Word=0000ffff
Error Offset= 75a17c3c Error Selector=02e90023
Data Offset= 07720264 Data Selector= 0000002b
Cr0NpxState= 002b0023

Bytes at CS:EIP:
39 5e 14 7f 79 83 7e 0c 00 74 73 0f bf 56 20 c1
ea 06 f6 c2 01 75 5f 8b 06 8b 50 60 6a 25 8b ce

Call stack:
Address Frame
00E2FF12 0016F4E4 0001:00A2EF12 C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
00E30CA4 0016F4F4 0001:00A2FCA4 C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
00DD5546 0016F51C 0001:009D4546 C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
776A14D1 0016F530 HeapFree+14
0141FDB5 0016F57C 0001:0101EDB5 C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
011FB37C 0016F58C 0001:00DFA37C C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
011FB37C 0016F59C 0001:00DFA37C C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
011FB37C 0016F5AC 0001:00DFA37C C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
011FB37C 0016F5BC 0001:00DFA37C C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe
00DD5ECF 0016F5E0 0001:009D4ECF C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\Cubase 6\Cubase6.exe

No such problem here

The log points to …Program files (x86).… which indicates that you’re running 32 bit Cubase on a 64 bit system. Can you try 64 bit Cubase and see if that solves anything?

/A

Running it in 64 bit could solve the problem, but I’m using lots of plugs that are 32, and Cubase is supposed to work in 32 bit.

Bear in mind that this is just about the only situation where I get any crashes in Cubase nowadays, but it is tragic bug, because it completely prevents me from doing any serious composing using the score editor, which is an ambition I’ve discovered recently.

I get to work maybe 5- 10 minutes before it crashes with cascading, out-of-control error boxes. And then it spends a good 2 - 3 minutes to load my VSTi-heavy piece. HELP!

Yes, Cubase is supposed to work in 32 bit and it does, I’ve run both C5 and C6 32 bit successfully to save some projects with plug-ins that wont work bridged in 64. But I never compose or mix in 32 bit because the memory fills up in no time, making the system instable and eventually leading to issues such as the one you are describing.
That’s a limitation of the 32 bit architecture, not Cubase.
Now I’m not saying that this is the problem you are having, but it’s a likely candidate, especially since you’re saying that your projects are VSTi-heavy.

/A

I would advise against using the Score editor to record into from midi source.
As it’s really only meant for printing as much as it has developed over the years to widen that function (the manual heading is actually “Cubase Score and PRINTING”) it is still basically a graphical tool rather than an audio one.
Care is needed in using it as there have been issues in the past along these lines.

You have to move tracks in the Project page to assign instruments to the proper stave positions (ie: if your bass track is at page top and you want displayed belo the piano line underneath then you have to move the bass track under the piano for it to be reflected in the display in Score.
What this suggests to me is that Score follows Project page and not the other way around.
To be sure, on the face of it, it doesn’t look like it matters but if you record in the Score editor just keep that in mind if any other problems crop up.

Conman, I am not recording into the Score Editor, I am mousing in the notes or using step input. I need to see the music as I am composing it, with the Piano Roll, I can’t do that. After the music has been composed and structured and arranged in a way that involves my brain (as opposed to just my ears and fingers), I then play the instruments live from the sheet music.

So in a sense, I am using the Score Editor as a graphical tool.

However, I have yet to reach the final stage, because the score editor keeps crashing. I have also had a couple of episodes where it is crashing without me using ctrl + or - , just play.

So here I am, trying to take things to the next level and progress from just “playing the feel” and editing live-played midi in the piano roll, and Cubase won’t let me!!

OK. Cheers. Just my usual heads up on the subject. I’ll see if I can reproduce.

Have you tried changing the key command for fast forward or rewind? For instance, I use F and R for those, and it seems to work great. Swapping to a 64 bit environment would probably give your setup the boost to get over this problem. The score editor being the fussy old woman it is, you’ll need every bit of RAM you can get your hands on to overcome it’s pathetic graphics stability. The Key Editor is far more stable for several reasons, but of course any keyboardist knows you can’t compose there.