Old 09-24-2020, 04:22 PM   #1
vanceen
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Default Reaper hanging - won't close

Has anyone had a problem with Reaper hanging and failing to close?

This seems to happen most often when trying to instantiate plugins with iLok protection, and sometimes when those plugins are scanned (e.g. after an update of the plugin, or after "Clear cache and re-scan".

"End process" in Task Manager doesn't stop Reaper. I've even tried "taskkill reaper.exe /f /im" in an administrator's command window, and I get back the message that no instance of Reaper is running.

Sometimes the "Reaper is not responding..." window appears, but selecting "Close the program" doesn't, well, close the program.

Sometimes it eventually closes after a long time, like ten minutes or more. Restarting the computer is of course an option, but sometimes that is extremely inconvenient, e.g. when a backup has been running for hours and isn't finished.

I'm hoping there's a way to get around this. Thanks in advance.
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Old 09-24-2020, 04:55 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by vanceen View Post
Has anyone had a problem with Reaper hanging and failing to close?

This seems to happen most often when trying to instantiate plugins with iLok protection, and sometimes when those plugins are scanned (e.g. after an update of the plugin, or after "Clear cache and re-scan".

"End process" in Task Manager doesn't stop Reaper. I've even tried "taskkill reaper.exe /f /im" in an administrator's command window, and I get back the message that no instance of Reaper is running.

Sometimes the "Reaper is not responding..." window appears, but selecting "Close the program" doesn't, well, close the program.

Sometimes it eventually closes after a long time, like ten minutes or more. Restarting the computer is of course an option, but sometimes that is extremely inconvenient, e.g. when a backup has been running for hours and isn't finished.

I'm hoping there's a way to get around this. Thanks in advance.
This is usually caused by a plug-in. It can be difficult to track down which plug-in is causing the problem. Recently I was having issues with sound toys. Once I removed that plug-in from all my project certain problems disappeared.

I-Locks are notorious for causing all kinds of issues. I hate them. It may not be the I_locks themselves but rather how they are coded because some plug-ins that use this method of copy protection seem to be stable and others not so much.

Also, maybe try using the quit from menu rather than the close button at the top right if you're using Windows.

I've also found that sometimes you try to add or replace things in the FX chain or move them around while reaper is playing it can cause weirdness which can result in losing control of reaper where it cannot be closed properly.
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Old 09-24-2020, 07:07 PM   #3
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This is usually caused by a plug-in. It can be difficult to track down which plug-in is causing the problem. Recently I was having issues with sound toys. Once I removed that plug-in from all my project certain problems disappeared.

I-Locks are notorious for causing all kinds of issues. I hate them. It may not be the I_locks themselves but rather how they are coded because some plug-ins that use this method of copy protection seem to be stable and others not so much.

Also, maybe try using the quit from menu rather than the close button at the top right if you're using Windows.

I've also found that sometimes you try to add or replace things in the FX chain or move them around while reaper is playing it can cause weirdness which can result in losing control of reaper where it cannot be closed properly.
Thanks. I've tried closing from the taskbar menu, too. (Of course, "close program" from the File menu in Reaper can't be accessed because Reaper isn't responding. I don't think there's a way of closing a program that I haven't tried.

I have noticed that this happens most often with a handful of plugins. Unfortunately, some of those plugins are very useful and not cheap.

Hopefully, someone has found a way to get Reaper to close when it's not responding.
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Old 09-25-2020, 12:13 AM   #4
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Related to this: https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=241743

Interesting that it might have to do with i-lok plugins specifically. I'm having similar issues btw.
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Old 09-25-2020, 03:14 AM   #5
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Thanks. I've tried closing from the taskbar menu, too. (Of course, "close program" from the File menu in Reaper can't be accessed because Reaper isn't responding. I don't think there's a way of closing a program that I haven't tried.

I have noticed that this happens most often with a handful of plugins. Unfortunately, some of those plugins are very useful and not cheap.

Hopefully, someone has found a way to get Reaper to close when it's not responding.
Personally, after years of frustration, I don't care how useful or expensive a plug-in is, if it isn't reliable it's useless and worthless to me.

My own experience has been that since I got rid of all my i-lok stuff, I've had virtually no problems and found reaper to be very stable and efficient on CPU. There are so many plug-ins to choose from these days that you can usually find something that is reliable to foot the bill even if it isn't a golden carriage. After all a cadillac isn't worth much if you can't get in it, start it up and take it where you need to go without it breaking down and leaving you stranded or worse. There aren't enough hours in the day for me, as it is, to be wasting time recovering from crashes whether they be because of Windows updates or buggy plug-ins or software copy protection boondoggles.
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Old 09-25-2020, 03:21 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vanceen View Post
Has anyone had a problem with Reaper hanging and failing to close?

This seems to happen most often when trying to instantiate plugins with iLok protection, and sometimes when those plugins are scanned (e.g. after an update of the plugin, or after "Clear cache and re-scan".

"End process" in Task Manager doesn't stop Reaper. I've even tried "taskkill reaper.exe /f /im" in an administrator's command window, and I get back the message that no instance of Reaper is running.

Sometimes the "Reaper is not responding..." window appears, but selecting "Close the program" doesn't, well, close the program.

Sometimes it eventually closes after a long time, like ten minutes or more. Restarting the computer is of course an option, but sometimes that is extremely inconvenient, e.g. when a backup has been running for hours and isn't finished.

I'm hoping there's a way to get around this. Thanks in advance.
I experience it to and my only solution is to freeze every track that has an fx and media item. It's now an effortless part of my workflow and makes Reaper very happy. Weird that I have to do it.
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Old 09-25-2020, 04:20 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by ramses View Post
Related to this: https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=241743

Interesting that it might have to do with i-lok plugins specifically. I'm having similar issues btw.
I'm not sure that thread is talking about the same problem. I have no issues at all with closing Reaper during normal operation, or closing tabs. The problem comes when loading certain plugins or (sometimes) starting projects with certain plugins. And there are no steps that I have found to successfully close Reaper when this happens, apart from rebooting (which is a drag when you are in the middle of a long download or backup).

Perhaps I'm stubborn, but it's hard for me to accept that I have to avoid highly useful, expensive plugins to avoid this problem. I have other software that scans the same plugins (Vienna Ensemble Pro, Sound Forge) and they don't hang up and refuse to close, they just scan the plugin.
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Old 09-25-2020, 04:23 AM   #8
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I experience it to and my only solution is to freeze every track that has an fx and media item. It's now an effortless part of my workflow and makes Reaper very happy. Weird that I have to do it.
That could be a workaround for me, although it shouldn't be necessary, as you say. Of course, it would depend on getting the projects with the plugins in question to open before I can freeze them.

The weird thing is that it happens sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. I was having repeated hangs with Exponential Audio's very excellent Phoenix Verb, sold by Izotope. I uninstalled and reinstalled the plugin, and it worked fine for a while. Then it didn't. This just isn't good enough.
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Old 09-25-2020, 05:48 AM   #9
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That could be a workaround for me, although it shouldn't be necessary, as you say. Of course, it would depend on getting the projects with the plugins in question to open before I can freeze them.

The weird thing is that it happens sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. I was having repeated hangs with Exponential Audio's very excellent Phoenix Verb, sold by Izotope. I uninstalled and reinstalled the plugin, and it worked fine for a while. Then it didn't. This just isn't good enough.
Same thing here. I finally just started freezing everything to make things work. Even at 1024 samples when mastering Reaper is not responsive enough for me until I enter the frozen zone.

Here are the scripts I use

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?p=2218945
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Old 09-25-2020, 06:00 AM   #10
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Same thing here. I finally just started freezing everything to make things work. Even at 1024 samples when mastering Reaper is not responsive enough for me until I enter the frozen zone.

Here are the scripts I use

https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?p=2218945
Thanks! I'll give those a try.

Still hoping for a more general solution, though.
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Old 09-25-2020, 06:39 AM   #11
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This may be a totally different situation ...

When Reaper hangs on closing for me (which is very rare), it is usually because a dialog box has popped up (for example, "Do you want to save the project before closing?"), but it popped up behind another window that I had open (FX window, Routing window, etc.). The hidden dialog box steals the focus, so that clicking the "close" button on the window in front doesn't work, and I can't get to the hidden dialog box to close it. It is hard to tell when this has happened, because you can't see the hidden dialog box to know that it is even there! I've just gotten used to the idea that when Reaper hangs up, it might be a hidden dialog box.

Often, I can resolve the problem by using the Windows Win+D shortcut to hide all windows and show the desktop. Usually when I open the Reaper window back up, the hidden dialog box has risen to the top, and I can close it. Then Reaper will close.

Hopefully that helps someone out.
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Old 09-25-2020, 07:02 AM   #12
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Usually when I open the Reaper window back up, the hidden dialog box has risen to the top, and I can close it. Then Reaper will close.
If windows open behind others you may want to check your "ForegroundLockTimeout" setting in the registry,
https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=241215
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Old 09-25-2020, 07:24 AM   #13
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Thanks! I wasn't aware of that. This is a rare problem for me, but if I can optimize my settings to prevent it, all the better.
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Old 09-25-2020, 10:03 AM   #14
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This may be a totally different situation ...

When Reaper hangs on closing for me (which is very rare), it is usually because a dialog box has popped up (for example, "Do you want to save the project before closing?"), but it popped up behind another window that I had open (FX window, Routing window, etc.). The hidden dialog box steals the focus, so that clicking the "close" button on the window in front doesn't work, and I can't get to the hidden dialog box to close it. It is hard to tell when this has happened, because you can't see the hidden dialog box to know that it is even there! I've just gotten used to the idea that when Reaper hangs up, it might be a hidden dialog box.

Often, I can resolve the problem by using the Windows Win+D shortcut to hide all windows and show the desktop. Usually when I open the Reaper window back up, the hidden dialog box has risen to the top, and I can close it. Then Reaper will close.

Hopefully that helps someone out.
I've experienced this too.
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Old 09-25-2020, 10:41 AM   #15
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A lot of times, hovering the cursor over the Reaper icon in the bottom task bar will show any windows/dialog boxes Reaper might have open.

If there is an open dialog box shown, clicking on it will bring it to the front and you can proceed from there.
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Old 09-25-2020, 11:43 AM   #16
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Thanks all. I've had the hidden dialog box issue in the past (like most people). That's not what's happening here.
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Old 09-25-2020, 12:27 PM   #17
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This is probably a long shot, but you mentioned the backups. Do you have backups that run automatically in the background?

Like I said, a long shot but backups do tend to temporarily lock files.

Maybe take a look in the Event Viewer and see if anything is showing up in there.
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Old 09-25-2020, 12:41 PM   #18
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This is probably a long shot, but you mentioned the backups. Do you have backups that run automatically in the background?

Like I said, a long shot but backups do tend to temporarily lock files.

Maybe take a look in the Event Viewer and see if anything is showing up in there.
Thanks, I'll take a closer look at that. I try to have all my backups run overnight, but when it's time for full backups (as opposed to incremental) they can continue running through the day. The problems I was having yesterday were with files that weren't involved with the backup, but I realize that there could be more to it than that.

I'll also check the Event Viewer. I'm in touch with iLok (Steinberg) and I'll let everyone know if I get anywhere, since I don't seem to be the only one with this problem.
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Old 09-25-2020, 03:03 PM   #19
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Default Smasher with Reaper 6.14 x64

I use the last version of Smasher (Pulsar) - vst plugin, works using Ilok manager. Recently I noticed this plugin blocks reaper.exe process in the task manager when closing DAW. In this case the reaper shut down normally, but the process hangs. OS - Win7 sp1 x64. Can anyone help me to solve this problem?
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Old 09-25-2020, 09:47 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by Steviebone View Post
Personally, after years of frustration, I don't care how useful or expensive a plug-in is, if it isn't reliable it's useless and worthless to me.

My own experience has been that since I got rid of all my i-lok stuff, I've had virtually no problems and found reaper to be very stable and efficient on CPU. There are so many plug-ins to choose from these days that you can usually find something that is reliable to foot the bill even if it isn't a golden carriage. After all a cadillac isn't worth much if you can't get in it, start it up and take it where you need to go without it breaking down and leaving you stranded or worse. There aren't enough hours in the day for me, as it is, to be wasting time recovering from crashes whether they be because of Windows updates or buggy plug-ins or software copy protection boondoggles.
This mirrors my experience.
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Old 10-01-2020, 10:55 AM   #21
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I thought I would post back on this, in case it helps someone.

toleolu suggest as a "long shot" that it might have something to do with backups running in the background. It looks like toleolu was right.

I'm running EaseUS Todo, and I've now noticed that when it's running, this problem happens, so far every time I've tried it. When it's not running, it doesn't happen. It doesn't matter whether the drive being backed up is involved with my audio stuff or not, and the destination drive is an NAS RAID accessed over a network so it's not involved in the audio either.

Now this is a major pain, because in order to keep all my stuff backed up, I have to run backups every night. That is, I have all my drives split up into seven tasks, so that everything is backed up once a week.

When an incremental backup runs, it's no problem, it's all finished before I get to my DAW in the early afternoon. But once in a while you have to run a full backup, and that takes a really, really long time. I changed my schedule to start at 8 PM (I'm rarely working after that), and today (16 hours later), I find a full backup of my Vienna Symphonic Labs stuff 44% complete. So if I want to work with any of the iLok protected plugins, I have to scuttle the backup (can't be paused) and restart it when I finish, hoping it will complete!
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Old 10-01-2020, 10:56 AM   #22
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Good but I don't have any backups running and I still get hangs when I use file / close project.
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Old 10-01-2020, 01:09 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by vanceen View Post
I thought I would post back on this, in case it helps someone.

toleolu suggest as a "long shot" that it might have something to do with backups running in the background. It looks like toleolu was right.

I'm running EaseUS Todo, and I've now noticed that when it's running, this problem happens, so far every time I've tried it. When it's not running, it doesn't happen. It doesn't matter whether the drive being backed up is involved with my audio stuff or not, and the destination drive is an NAS RAID accessed over a network so it's not involved in the audio either.

Now this is a major pain, because in order to keep all my stuff backed up, I have to run backups every night. That is, I have all my drives split up into seven tasks, so that everything is backed up once a week.

When an incremental backup runs, it's no problem, it's all finished before I get to my DAW in the early afternoon. But once in a while you have to run a full backup, and that takes a really, really long time. I changed my schedule to start at 8 PM (I'm rarely working after that), and today (16 hours later), I find a full backup of my Vienna Symphonic Labs stuff 44% complete. So if I want to work with any of the iLok protected plugins, I have to scuttle the backup (can't be paused) and restart it when I finish, hoping it will complete!
It's always a good idea to check your Windows scheduler from time to time as programs have a sneaky way of adding things like this to your scheduled processes which are invisible to the desktop. Anything especially a task that is doing a lot of disk access in the background will cause all kinds of problems for DAW, not just locked files but CPU consumption that can cause dropouts, clicks and other unwanted phenomenon.

If you've never checked this you may be surprised to find out how many scheduled tasks have been added without your knowledge.
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Old 10-02-2020, 12:41 AM   #24
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One thing I have noticed very occasionally is that if Reaper closes due to a fail in a re-scan or cear/re-scan of plugins, if I then just start re-opening Reaper, reaper remains "open" when I check taskmaster - usually because the "new" Reaper iteration is hanging on (typically) MIDI devices. I came close to reporting this as a bug a few times till I figured out why it was happening.

Quick & dirty fix if you are in a hurry is to do a warm reboot.
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