After Effects CS6 going nuts!

I have After Effects CS6, no updates or add ons. It has worked fine all along, but then today it went nuts. The problems: I was making a deep space scene, placing tow planets in the scene and moving them about. Usually I make a planet by importing a texture, then using CC Sphere to make it round, as most people do. Well, this worked fine. Then I usually use scale and size with key frames to move it about. Today however, I couldn't get the 'planet' to move, and when I tried to play it back, it gave me about 1 second of very quickly changing textures (wow, didn't understand that) and the 'planet' dissappeared. When I move the cursor back to the start, it reappears. Then I noticed that the actual 'track' on the timeline is tiny, no where near as long as the composition settings.
As this has worked well for a while, I have not added computer info, which I have not changed since installing AF.
I figured it was a fluke, as I've done this before, but now I can't get it to work at all. So what to do? I can't find anything in the Preferences that look wrong. Should I try reinstalling?? Any advice? Thanks!!

Yea, guess you are right. Just doesn't seem to be system related. It's a PC, Asus P5N7A motherboard with an Intel Core2 Quad, with 3 gigs of memory (yea, I know I need more memory), Windows 7 build 7601. It will slow down now and then, but has always worked well with Adobe stuff. All my textures are simple .jpg files (which all worked in the past).
Indeed, I have just now discovered that AE no longer works right with any still image! Here's a shot of my screen when it stops working correctly. [I get the feeling there is something I'm forgetting to do].
You may also notice that the timeline appears to be marked in....frames?? I don't remember that either!

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After Effects CS6 error: RAM Preview needs 2 or more frames to playback - any ideas please?

Hi everyone,
I'm running After Effects CS6 (11.0.4.2) on a MacBook Pro 2.8Ghz with 16GB RAM (Mac OS 10.9.4)
As a test, I created a 3 and a half minute Sequence in Adobe Premiere CS6, and then imported this into After Effects CS6, and placed it on the AE timeline.
This footage involves a couple of 1920x1080p footage movies, some psds and a large number of JPGs exported from two videos arranged as a sequence in two layers in Premiere, one on top of the other. So all in all for a Premiere / After Effects file I'd say it's reasonably heavy.
I then did a RAM Preview with Multiprocessing switched off - the 3 and a half minute sequence loaded into RAM, taking about 1min 30seconds, and played back in realtime at 25fps. This worked fine with 3,4,5 and 6 GB RAM available to other applications in the Memory Preferences. All things considered I think this is quite good. I can make changes, reclick the RAM Preview icon and my changes load into RAM and it previews ok.
My only 'complaint' is how long the RAM Preview takes to load up the whole thing.
I've been reading up on Multiprocessing and decided to try this to see if I can speed up the time it takes my RAM Preview to load up.
So I looked at some recommendations from Adobe and read information on various forums including this one.
My settings in the Memory Preferences are currently
• 6GB reserved for other applications
• Reduce cache size when system is low on memory - unticked
• After Effects Multiprocessing - ticked
• Installed CPUs (processor cores) - 8
• CPUs reserved for other applications - 6
• RAM allocation per background CPU - 3GB
• Actual CPUs that will be used - 2
This combination takes about 25 seconds to load up my 3 and a half minute sequence which I thought was pretty amazing.
I then pressed the stop button and then the play button - so now just playing the sequence briefly.
And also added a new layer - into the timeline - just a simple shape.
Then I tried a RAM Preview again.
I found I could load up part of the sequence but not load the whole thing into RAM.
I kept trying to get a RAM Preview and got this message
"After Effects error: RAM Preview needs 2 or more frames to playback" which seems to prevent RAM Preview from working.
Eventually I quit and restarted After Effects and the problem went away temporarily and then came back when I tried again.
I tried various changes to the Memory Preferences - trying 3GB available for other applications. This gave 13GB of my 16GB RAM to After Effects.
This made it take slightly longer for the After Effects error to appear but it still appeared.
I tried ticking Reduce Cache size in the Memory Prefs - the After Effects error still appeared, so having read this is supposed to make the issue better I now leave it untucked, but as far as I can see ticked or untucked, it makes no difference, the problem remains.
I've since tried -
Making 2,3,4,5 and 6 CPUs available for other applications.
Changing the Background RAM allocation per background CPU to 0.75GB, 1GB, 1.5GB, 2GB and 3GB
Lots of combinations.
But in the end, I always get the "After Effects error: RAM Preview needs 2 or more frames to playback" error.
It might take less or more time for the message to show up, depending on the combination of settings, but in the end I always got the same message appearing.
And I notice that I can RAM Preview less and less of the timeline. i.e. it becomes more blue than it does green and will load in only a small section of the timeline as opposed to the whole thing.
Reading further, I tried Edit > Purge > Image Cache and Edit > Purge > All Memory but still get the error message.
I also tried ensuring there were no other applications running e.g. Safari or Chrome or Firefox. And certainly not Photoshop or Premiere etc.
Reading even further, I tried two Memory management applications - 'Memory Clean' and 'Purge.'
Neither has had any effect - the After Effects error still appears.
Then I went back into the Memory and Multiprocessing Preferences.
I unticked Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously. And now the RAM Preview loads the whole 3 and half minute sequence in entirety, taking about 1 and half minutes to do so. It's working as perfectly as if I'd just quit and re-opened the application.
Then I went back into the Memory and Multiprocessing Preferences.
I reticked Render Multiple Frames Simultaneously.
The chose Edit > Purge > All
And tried a RAM Preview again. It loaded up in 25 seconds, but then, as previously, the error message came.
I tried Edit > Purge All - no effect.
And I tried going into the Media and Disk Cache Preferences and clicked Empty Disk Cache - still the problem remains.
I understand from my reading that After Effects CS6 11.0.2 was intended to fix this issue but I'm on 11.0.4 and as far as I can tell, I still have it - assuming it's the same thing.
As far as I can see, not using Multiprocessing allows me to work without these errors but take a bit longer to load the RAM Preview.
However I'd like to be able to use Multiprocessing as it seems it can potentially speeds things up quite a lot. I realise I could just not use it and AE would work, but I'd rather be able to make use of a feature of the software if possible, especially if it will speed things up and make optimum use of the my computer's hardware.
I've downloaded a trial copy of After Effects CC 2014. I'm still testing it but as far as I can see the RAM Preview error appears in this version of AE as well, but can take bit longer to show up in my experience.
Thanks everyone - if anyone has any thoughts or advice I'd appreciate hearing your opinions.
Kind regards,
John

You need to have much more RAM reserved for other applications and more CPUs reserved for other applications. Your current settings are crippling your performance.
Read these:
https://blogs.adobe.com/aftereffects/2009/12/performance-tip-dont-starve-yo.html
http://blogs.adobe.com/aftereffects/2010/03/performance-tip-dont-oversched.html
After you have adjusted your settings according to the recommendations on those pages, restart your computer and try again.

HP 15-d030nr: What Upgrades Do I Need To Make In Order To Be Able To Use Adobe After Effects CS6?

HP 15-d030nr, what upgrades do I need to make in order to be able to use adobe after effects cs6?
I installed Adobe After Effectss CS6 because I was told by HP Support that it would still work; it doesnt. It is very slow, and locks up bad. What upgrades do I need to do, or am I looking at having to go buy another labtop? Also, can I do these upgrades myself - at what cost?
**HP 15-d030nr**
Hardware
Product Name 15-d030nr
Product Number F5X99UA
Microprocessor 2.0GHz Intel Pentium N3510 Processor
Microprocessor Cache 2MB L2 Cache
Memory 4GB DDR3L SDRAM (1 DIMM)
Memory Slots 2 user accessible
Video Graphics Intel HD graphics
Display 15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit touchscreen display (1366x768)
Hard Drive 500GB 5400RPM hard drive
Multimedia Drive SuperMulti DVD burner
Network Card 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Connectivity 1x1 802.11b/g/n WLAN
Sound HD Audio with stereo speakers
Keyboard Full-size island-style keyboard with numeric keypad
Pointing Device Touchpad supporting multi-touch gestures without on/off button
External Ports Multi-format digital media card reader for Secure Digital cards 1
SuperSpeed USB 3.0
2 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0
1 HDMI
1 VGA (15-pin)
1 RJ-45 (LAN)
1 Headphone-out/microphone-in combo jack Dimensions 1.11 in (H) x 14.88 in (W) x 10.20 in (D) Weight 4.96 lb Power 45W AC adapter
3-cell 31WHr 2.8Ah lithium-ion polymer battery ID Mech Description Front facing HP TrueVision HD Webcam with integrated digital microphone
**After Effects CC (2014) system requirements and language versions Windows**
Intel Core2 Duo or AMD Phenom II processor with 64-bit support
Microsoft Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1
4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
5 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)
Additional disk space for disk cache (10 GB recommended)
1280 x 1080 display
OpenGL 2.0–capable system
QuickTime 7.6.6 software required for QuickTime features
Optional: Adobe-certifi ed GPU card for GPU-accelerated ray-traced 3D renderer
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, validation of subscriptions, and access to online services.*
*I also have a 1TB external hardrive*
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Your problem is that the program wants a good video card and a fast hard drive and lots of memory and you have none of the above. If you upgraded the RAM to 8 gigs and installed a solid state hard drive you might make the program useable but the real bottleneck is going to be the Intel HD graphics, which cannot be upgraded.
You do have an open slot to add one 4 gig memory module. This is an easy relatively inexpensive upgrade. See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7FvZ-JduRM
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/ct51264bf160b
I would try this a step at a time. Next would be the solid state drive. That would cost maybe $150. Post back if you need more help.
If this is "the Answer" please click "Accept as Solution" to help others find it.

After Effects CS6 and CC crash when Composition panel is closed, moved, switched w/ Layer panel, etc

Kind of hard to word the problem in a non-confusing way, but here goes. After Effects CS6 and CC will only work if the Composition panel is in its default spot in the Standard workspace, and that it's the only thing displayed there. No layer or footage panels can be opened - it can only be Comp or nothing.
In other words, AE is 100% certain to crash if:
- The composition panel is closed or moved to another spot in the workspace.
- A file from the project is double-clicked and opened as a layer/footage panel
- Any attempt is made to switch the Standard workspace to another
The crappiest thing about this is that I've searched Google using as many different phrases as I can and haven't found any discussion about this particular problem. It's as if I'm the only one on Earth who is having this issue.
It should be noted that After Effects CS5 does not have this problem on my PC, but I need CS6 or better because that's what we're using at work now. I can't work from home (as I need to do occasionally) if AE won't work properly.
System:
Windows 7 PC, 12GB RAM, Quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.7 Ghz, ATI Radeon HD 6700 series GPU (1GB)

It's not like a regular crash that instantly closes the program and has a "sorry, AE crashed" popup. It basically just freezes until the process is forced to quit.

Adobe After Effects CS6 takes FOREVER to lock existing frames before rendering

My After Effects CS6 locks up for 3 minutes "Locking Existing Frames" before it even begins to start rendering, every time I need to preview anything - even at the lowest possible quality.
The render goes perfectly normal - it is not the rendering that is the problem - it is the "Locking Existing Frames" process BEFORE rendering that freezes up my computer for 3 minutes, and ruining my life.
I am using Adobe After Effects CS6 on a Mac Book Pro with a 2.9 GHz Core i7 processor (2 cores) and 8 GB of RAM.
Please help me understand what is happening when it is "Locking Existing Frames," and what some solutions could be to reduce the amount of time it takes to do this.
ALSO: I have scoured the Web for hours looking for the answer to this problem, and to this point it has never been solved. If you can solve this issue, Adobe should give you a promotion and $1 million.

Hi Rick and Greg,
Thanks for the quick responses. Below are all the details to all your questions. Also - just to emphasize again - my rendering goes super awesomely fast. It is not the rendering. It is the "Locking Existing Frames" process before the rendering that is ruining my life.
FREE MEMORY:
This is brand new Mac Book Pro with hardly anything stored on it.
The 8 GB of RAM is split into 2 memory slots, each with 4GB of RAM
3RD-PARTY CODECS:
I am not aware of any third-party codecs in this system. I imported some fonts (ITC Franklin Gothic) and some video files (see below), but I am not aware of any third-party codec installed on this system.
DISC CACHE:
My Disc Cache is enabled
My maximum disc cache size is 69 GB
I do not have a seperate "fast hard drive" or "SSD" seperate from my main hard drive, where I store my footage.
MPEG SOURCE FILES:
If by source files, you're asking about the video files I imported:
2 MP4s (5 sec. each)
3 QuickTime .mov (3 sec. each)
1 Audio-only FLV. (2 minute background music throughout video; used to be a Premiere working file)
MULTIPROCESSING
Turned off, but still locks up forever before rendering.
ADDITIONAL FUN FACTS:
Here are some additional observations that might help:
It doesn't just take a long time to start rendering; it freezes my entire computer for the duration of the "Locking Existing Frames" process - putting my entire life on hold for 3 minutes, every time I need to preview a minor detail... It's a nightmare.
The video is 1 min. 45 sec. long so far, and has 15 sec. to go.
The video is comprised of 99 percent motion graphics, and 1 percent actual footage (Occupy Wall Street hates my footage)
The complexity in this video is that there are a lot of compositions inside of compositions inside of compositions, but even when I go to the very beginning of the first comp - where the only animation is a line being drawn with the "Stroke" effect - it still takes 3 minutes to "Lock Existing Frames."
Again... The rendering goes super fast after the "Locking Existing Frames" process. The problem is NOT with the rendering. The problem is the "Locking Existing Frames" process BEFORE the rendering starts.
This is my job and I can't do efficiently until I solve this problem, so I will be very responsive until we can identify the issue.
Thanks again for all your helpful responses!

Audio problem in Adobe After Effects CS6

When ever i import a clip into adobe after effects cs6 the program does not read my clips audio i know how to ram preview its just the program doesnt read the audio what so ever but when i preview the clip on my desktop using windows media player it works fine and you can here the audio. My clips are recorded by my HDPVR Haupauge and it records in m2ts file someone please help me this is a serious problem with this program

Hi,
When you installed the full version, DId it install "Over" the existing one, or is it seen as a new installation (Sorry, I have never re-installed AE, so I am not sure of the way it works) - but coming from an IT background, sometimes installing a bought version, will overwrite all user settings that were set up in the trial.
In other words, recheck all the program user properties and audio check boxes to make sure the re-installation did not reset something to "off".
There are a few Audio discussions going around today, check the forum and give them a quick read to get a reminder of where all the possible Adio "on/off" switches are hidden.
Hope that helps
Pierre

After Effects CS6 Won't Launch After Mavericks Upgrade.

Hi All,
I have seen a few posts regarding this and have scoured the web for few hours looking for answers. So far all I have found are patches from Adobe and their asking that we uninstall and reinstall the app.
None of this has worked so far.
In fact I've gone from an error of "Can't use this version" to adding the patches to now getting "After Effects Cannot Be Opened Because Of A Problem". It goes on to add this...
Check with the developer to make sure Adobe After Effects CS6 works with this version of OS X. You may need to reinstall the application. Be sure to install any available updates for the application and OS X.
Click Report to see more detailed information and send a report to Apple.
Two questions:
1. Is there a fix for this?
2. If not, how can I revert back to 10.8 without losing everything.

Ok, I found one more article talking about upgrading to 11.3 upgrade instead of 11.4(latest). Finaly worked. Hope this helps someone else, this was painful.

After Effects CS6 Trial download.

I have been searching the web for After Effects CS6 trial for mac, but I have had no success in finding it. Can someone redirect me to a link or tell me what to do. Thanks!

> it comes up with an error
We need a lot more information from you if we're going to help, beginning with the exact error message that you're seeing.
In general, please provide answers to the questions listed here: "FAQ: What information should I provide when asking a question on this forum?"

After Effects CS6 Update fails with the code (U43M1D204)

I was just downloading and installing the latest updates on both my windows workstation and my Apple MBP. Everything went fine on the windows machine but I keep getting the following error when my MBP attempts to update After Effects CS6:
Update Failed
The download appears corrupted. Please try again after a few minutes.
(U43M1D204)
I am running the latest version of Yosemite (10.10.2). Is there some half downloaded file I can delete to make this work? I've waited. I've rebooted. I'm VERY reluctant to delete my current installation of CS6 if this is what is required. I'm an instructor at a local community college. The college currently only runs CS6. I teach an animation class that uses After Effects and as such I need CS6 working on my MBP. If this update is non critical I'll just let it ride. Oh, yea and I also keep AE CC and AE CC 2014 for no other reason than I can take a students CC 2014 file all the way back to CS6 so they can work in class. I'm guessing I'll need to add CC 2015 or what ever they call it so I will have 4 installations of AE just to do file conversions..... but that is another thread.
Any help on the current install issue would be appreciated

rimcrazyph wrote:
If this update is non critical I'll just let it ride.
What update is it? What current version of CS6 do you have?
It may be a permissions thing. Mac OSX goes all screwy in the permissions whenever it updates. Try fixing that first. fixing permissions problem that impedes start of Adobe applications

After Effects CS6 crash (Windows)

hello,
i got a problem with after effects cs6, i got windows 6 64bit i7 3770K 16 gb ram and a 7770 amd hd card. so when i started after effects and imported footage, there came a blue screen and windows was going to reboot, i thought: strange, but then my after effects wont start up (splash screen). so i reinstalld it and it wont work.
some people told me to trash my preferences but it wont work at all.
im running out of options. could anyone please help me?
im 13 and live in the netherlands so dont get to hard on me please.

Provide the exact crash info:
Working with your Operating System’s Tools
BSODs are 99% of the time driver crashes, so als o check your device manager.
Mylenium

After Effects CS6 - Initializing Mediacore Issue - More Complex.

Hi, I recently got After Effects CS6, and I have had the program open a few times - when I say a few, I mean 4 or 5, all in the same day, and I was only opening and closing the program to check to see if I'd installed plugins correctly. So, anyway back to the point; I sat and created a 10 second clip for which I was going to use for a YouTube intro. I finished and exported the clip, only to find that after I had saved and closed the program, the clip I had exported was some form of .AVI that had encoded incorrectly (or something similar, this part isn't particularly relevant.) Then when I tried to re-open AE, the program hung at the 'Initializing Mediacore...' section of the loading screen, and it has done for a while now. I have tried restarting, re-installing, removing the 3rd-party plugins, and re-intalling QuickTime. I've been reading all the forums and looked up the issue on YouTube, and all the answers are wrong or lacking information about my issue. Every working answer I find is either about about a Mac issue, or any Windows issue keeps mentioning these 3 programs; Adobe QT32 Server.exe, dynamiclinkmanager.exe, and PProHeadless.exe, none of which I have.
I run a 64-bit, Windows 7, Acer Aspire with 4 GB of RAM. Any helpful - emphasis on the helpful there - information will be greatly accepted.
Cheers.

The executables are in the program directories. Still, none of that is probably relevant. Something is damaging your media cache and/or blocking those services from even launching, which takes us back to basic trobleshooting steps which are:
Run as admin
Turn off security tools
Verify file and folder permissions on the temp and user directories
Cehck drive integrity and health
More here:
Important Directories
Installation Preparations
Mylenium

After Effects CS6 Crashing on Start up - Invalid Type Conversion

Hi Guys,
I just installed Adobe After Effects CS6 - along with photoshop, indesign and illustrator, all of which are working fine.
When I start After Effects up it goes until it gets to Initializing User Interface. There it stops and I get the message - After Effects warning: Invalid type conversion.
What does this mean? How can I fix it?
I am running Windows 7, if you need any more system info please let me know. Im a bit of a newbie

I have Windows 7 64, quad core, 8gb DDR3 ram, nvidia gtx460se card. I found a way to work around it: I had my computer set to 16 bit; when I set it back to 32 bit it worked fine. If AE is up and I set the computer back to 16 bit, sometimes a message pops up that says 'After Effects warning: A problem occurred when processing Open GL commands'. I can get it to happen whenever I switch from the footage window to the composition window.
Max

Color in .mov file from After Effects CS6

Scrren shot of how my animation looks in After Effects CS6 (on the left), vs. how it looks when rendered to a .mov file. (on the right). See how washed-out the colors look?
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Possibly export settings, because I do not know thing one about those!
Thanks,
--Carol Gunn
Gunn Graphics
Austin, TX

Read this FAQ: What is the best format for rendering and exporting from After Effects?
Then I would suggest trying a different codec. When you send your comp to the Render Queue it says lossless next ot the Output Module Settings, that means that it's using After Effect's defualt lossless settings, which uses a codec called Animation. Animation is an ancient codec that delivers huge files and it isn't used so much in production anymore. If you click on lossless the Output Module Settings screen will come up where you can change the format of your render and you can change the codec by hitting the Format Options button.
I've seen that washed out issue before with the Animation codec and just did some tests. I also played with the Color Management settings using the Animation codec by going to the upper right hand tab in the Output Module Settings menu. That seemed to have no effect on the final look of the render. A quicktime render with the Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) codec seems to match the AE screenshot almost identically.
Unfortunately, you can't get the ProRes codecs without having either Final Cut Pro installed or Apple Motion. I think it's possible to buy them from the Apple website. However, there are other lossless codecs you can try such as Uncompressed YUV 10bit or 8bit, but I just did a test and I got a much darker render than the ProRes renders and the screenshot. Judge for yourself what's best...
If you want ot know more, here's an FAQ on the basics of rendering and exporting in AE...
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/aftereffects/cs/using/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103a4f2dff7-79f4 a.html#WS3878526689cb91655866c1103a4f2dff7-79f1a

Cannot launch After Effects CS6 or CC HELP!!!

When i try to launch CS6 I get this message:
You can't use this version of the application "Adobe After Effects CS6" with this verson of OS X.
You have "Adobe After Effects CS6" 11.0
When i try to launch CC this message:
You can't use this version of the application "Adobe After Effects CC" with this verson of OS X.
You have "Adobe After Effects CC" 12.0
My Creative Cloud desktop App Home page says
Your Home Feed is Empty
Get the most out of Creative Cloud
Install Adobe Apps
when i click on it, it goes to my Apps page that shows that i have 30 Apps, all Up to date
I have recently updated to Mac OS 10.9 and I saw that there's a patch on this page:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=5696&fileID=5715
but when i tried to install it the message reads:
Update Failed
Updates could not be applied
Please contact your Administrator if you wish to apply updates on your machine. Updates have been suppressed by the Administrator.
If the problems persist, contact customer support for further assistance.
All other Adobe applications seem to be OK though Premiere CS6 is terribly unstable - crashes A LOT.
I am in the middle of a project and I have a deadline. PLEASE HELP!!!

Hi lulugrrrl,
Please follow the below mentioned steps:
1. Enable root account: https://support.apple.com/kb/PH14281.
2. Follow the knowledge base article and install the patch: http://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/kb/effects-launch-mac-os-109.html.
Regards,
Romit Sinha

After Effects CS6 render fails!! Help!!!

Hi,
I have an issue with my Adobe After Effects CS6. When I try to render a compostion that contains video and audio, the render fails. I need your help very urgently.

We need to know a lot more if we're going to help you. Please provide answers to the questions listed here: "FAQ: What information should I provide when asking a question on this forum?"

After Effects CS6 going nuts!

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