Finale Forum

Hi all. Every time I have Finale open and leave it for say 5 minutes, I get this message. "Finale needs to shut down" and it restarts and I need to "Recover the auto-saved documents". Takes about 45 seconds, so not a huge deal, but it happens to me several times a day so is a bit of a pain. I often use Finale when practicing and will have Band in a Box, Reaper and other programs open at the same time.

Anyone else had this or know what is happening?

Pete

Uh oh!! Looks like I am alone with this problem, something you never want to hear in the computer world...

I occasionally get the shutdown. It recovers the work I was doing, so not bad like the old days where you lost the most recent work since the last Auto Save. Anyway, the most common connection I can gather for me is that some of the JW Plugins are a bit unstable. That's it. Maybe the other programs you have open are connected to it for you. You might try working with those off and see what happens. If no shutdowns, then start turning them on one at a time until the cause is found, or at least seemingly so.

Zuill

Something's definitely wrong. Not only shouldn't it crash, it shouldn't take 45 seconds to recover--only a few.

If you haven't already done so, I suggest starting here:

https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/ ... inale-etc-

... some of the JW Plugins are a bit unstable.

I would delete all JW plug-ins and try Finale alone with no other software running either.

Next create a new dummy account. Run Finale as Administrator in that account also with no other software running. In this account add back the plug-ins you use most. Then run BITB and then the rest. Sometimes there is a permissions thingy in WIndows 10 this should eliminate that.

I think deleting the JW Plugins isn't necessary. For testing purposes, which I have done before, just move them to a temporary folder for testing. If they are not the problem, then move them back to the plugins folder after testing. There was only one time, long ago, when having too many of the plugins and/or certain plugins caused issues. That time is long ago and that issue doesn't exist any more.

Zuill

I think deleting the JW Plugins isn't necessary. For testing purposes, which I have done before, just move them to a temporary folder for testing.

zuill,
The point is to remove them! However you do it, delete or temp folder isn't the important part. But, if you do delete them you can d/l new copies, making sure you have the most current version, that can be helpful, too.

But, if you do delete them you can d/l new copies, making sure you have the most current version, that can be helpful, too.

Also only install the ones you actually use. Don't just grab every plug-in made. If it is a plug-in that you won't or never use don't keep them.

I've got over 100 plug-ins installed and they give me no trouble. Best to try recreating the preferences file before going into all that.

I agree. Having the plugins installed doesn't cause Finale to shut down. There are just a couple of the JW plugins that have caused a shutdown for me, and Finale recovers all my work for me, so it is not a problem.

Preferences can be an issue. Also, keeping finale open for long periods of time might contribute as well. I save my work and close Finale frequently to prevent in possible issues. When I close, I immediately delete any tmp files before reopening, to prevent any confusion between sessions. I have found that some files leave behind more tmp files than others. This has specifically happened when I open files downloaded from the Forum that I am looking at to help a user. I am guessing that either file corruption or bloat can contribute to the excessive tmp files being left behind. In any event, Finale's ability to recover a file is a time saver.

Zuill

I was going to suggest the custom temp directory, since there's the known issue of Finale mishandling temporary files. The 45 seconds to recover could suggest that Finale is slogging through a ton of old crash files. Perhaps we should write up how to make a custom temp directory and keep it cleaned out.

petimar, with Finale, Band Box, Reaper, etc. closed, navigate your way in Windows Explorer to

C:\Users\Petimar\AppData\Local\Temp

(change "Petimar" to whatever your Windows login is.) I'm curious if there's a folder in there called Finale, and also if there are dozens of files called fin*.tmp. In any case, you can select all files and press Delete. You'll get some "File is in use" messages: you can tell it to skip those files. Then restart Finale, see if things improve, and report back.

I believe that one needs to select the option to show hidden folders first. I can't say for everyone. For me, that was a step I needed to take early on when setting up my system.

Zuill

You're right--AppData is hidden.

I created a folder for tmp files that is not buried that deep, and then told Finale where to find it. I have a folder on my desktop with links to the Temp folders for every version of Finale on my system (6 total), and navigate to them regularly to do my clean up.

Instead of cleaning up those tmp files, I would just create the new folder and start fresh. Once Finale is set to look in the new folder, those old tmp files won't be any problem.

Zuill

That was going to be my next suggestion if cleaning out the folder improved things, but I guess you're right--it's a good idea in any case (I do the same thing). I think both Windows and Mac have the same temp file issues. Perhaps someone should write up foolproof instructions and we can put them in a pinned thread.

I guess everyone is different. I let Finale run sometimes for days. I just get up and walk away when the juices stop flowing or a coffee run is calling. Either addition or elimination!

I never, until today right now, clean out the temp folder. I used to have around a dozen plug-ins but since Perfect Layout came along I rarely use most of them. JW Change and Polyphony are my main most used plug-ins since PL. I probably should delete the rest of them!

I use Garritan and Note Performer 3 interchangeably and at the same time. I have TAL Reverb 4, too, but use it very little.

However,
I can't remember the last time Finale crashed. It's been that long. One thing that I do that may be different than most is I have a third
2 GB HD. It is dedicated to just cache, swap files and temp files, a working HD, for all my heavy hitting software. Photoshop and Lightroom for example along with Finale and some others. They share this drive, I call it drive Z:.

If I had a hundred plug-ins I would spend more time looking for the right one than I would likely spend just doing whatever the plug-in did. I thought 12 was too many and so happy to have PL.

The only BIG problem I ever had with Finale 26 was the blank, disappearing, printing window. MM blamed MS and MS blamed MM. Somebody fixed it as it now, too, seems to work flawlessly. That is if you can call the Finale print abilities flawless.

I agree that plug-ins are not the cause, neither is having multiple resource-hungry programs running in the background. Sometimes I have two or three orchestral scores open for weeks at a time and let my PC sleep overnight without experiencing any issues. But when adding customized expressions, articulations--especially SmartShapes for guitar--and start editing, Finale becomes entirely unstable. Fortunately, I am always able to recover the document, although occasionally a few minutes of work is lost. When the latter occurs, I console myself with a drum-stick...the ice-cream variety!

Thanks all. Support suggested delete and reinstall Finale. All seems fine now.

I am also having this problem after installing Windows 11. I have uninstalled/reinstalled but the problem persists.
But if I open Finale as 'administrator' this error doesn't present itself.

I think you mean run Windows as Administrator, which I do. There is no specific Win service in GPedit for MakeMusic or Finale,

Yes, that is what I mean.

After I bragged about Finale not misbehaving forever and ever it started with the Finale had an error and will shut down. I am still on WIn 10 but perhaps there was a Win 10 update involved I don't really know.

I contacted MM support which tracked it down to an outdated sound driver. I updated the Realtek sound driver and now all is running great again.