DVDSP3 Won't Make New Buttons, Won't Open Project Files

Question

HELP!!!!
The button editor in my DVDSP 3.02 stopped working after it opens a new project file. I mean, when you go to a menu and then hold down the mouse button and drag, nothing happens. It will not create any new buttons. Even if you drag a button template over and use the pop-up submenu. It will not create any buttons.
Worse is what happens when I open an existing project file. Then it stalls forever at the "Loading Menus" point in the "Loading Project" dialog. It doesn't crash, it just stalls there forever. However, if I click "cancel" - THEN the app crashes.
But it won't make buttons in the new project files it can open, and it won't open any existing project files. Very confusing.
Here's what I know and have done to this point...
If I watch this whole process in the Activity Monitor, here's what I see. I find that two apps named "DSPX_AEncoderServer" and "DSPX_EncoderServer" get hung (and turn red) when the "Loading menus" point is reached in the document load. Sometimes DVDSP will say it's hung, too, but not always.
However, I found that my DVDSP app still runs flawlessly if I boot from my "clone" backup drive, which is how I'm still able to get work done currently.
Back on my normal boot drive, all of the other Apple Pro apps still run perfectly - FCP, Compressor, A-Pack, etc. But not DVDSP.
OK, here's a clue, but I don't know what it means. Two months ago, I had the logic board replaced on my G4. All the pro apps made me re-register. Then this DVDSP problem appeared out of the blue. Nothing fixed it that I could find. What made it finally go away was the timely arrival of a new Security Update to the OS via "Software Update." Installing that made the problem with DVDSP go away, for good.
Not doing hard drive maintenance, repairing privleges, fully optimizing OS, Disk Warrrior, Norton DiskDoctor - none of them worked. But that Security Update showing up, installing, and then doing the post-install optimize fixed the problem. That time. Or maybe it didn't? Because...
Two weeks ago the FW ports on the "new" logic board blew, just like the original, so AppleCare gave me a third logic board.
Same deal as before with all the pro apps wanting to re-register because they are seeing a different serial number in firmware.
Also, just like before, I have this trouble with DVDSP. But I can't fix it this time.
In the past three days (two of which were really one "large" day with no sleep period in between) here's what I have done in an attempt to fix this, without success.
I dumped the receipts for the DVDSP v3 installs and upgrades, then I reinstalled the DVDSP components from my original disc, and then reinstalled the online 3.02 upgrade. No go.
I did all of the above, except this time I found an Apple TechNote on deinstalling DVDSP v2. So using that as a guide I did my best to delete the app and all its supporting files, as well as the install receipts, before doing a fresh install of the app and the v3.02 upgrade. No go.
I did a plethora of hard drive and system maintenance thinking that perhaps some files had been misplaced, a hard drive directory corrupted, a bundle bit here or there un-set, a few system libraries de-optimized, various font and system caches corrupted, as well as numerous log files too filled up with "essential" data to run correctly therefore in need of deletion.
Along with anything else I could think of based on my 20+ years of supporting Macs in a production environment. Again, no go.
So I deleted all the DVDSP files and receipts from my boot drive again. Then I dumped all the install receipts for OS 10.3.9 and ran the "combo" version installer for that OS upgrade. Next I dumped the receipts for the Security Updates and reinstalled those. Then I did drive maintenance, OS permission fixing and optimizing. Then reinstalled DVDSP and friends. Still no go.
But my version of the app that is on my backup hard drive that I cloned right before taking the Mac to the shop for the 3rd logic board still runs just fine. I boot off that drive (connected via Firewire) and DVDSP will run fine.
I'm confused.
Now I'm not inclined to spend a lot more time on this since my DVDSP 4 upgrade is due for delivery any day now, and I'm sure that will work OK. Especially since I'm planning on moving to Tiger at that point, too.
But in the meantime, it sure would be nice to know what happened to my "regular" copy of DVDSP.
Can anyone figure this out, or at least give me some new ideas on now to troubleshoot this?
Apple Support refuses to help me because I'm still using an "unsupported" version of DVDSP. Even though I'm still using it because my purchased upgrade is being delivered via "media mail" - the US Postal Service's version of the proverbial "Slow Boat."
That was a difficult and frustrating conversation withthe Apple Support rep, too, let me tell you. I've been a fan, user, customer, supporter, and evangelist for Apple hardware and software since 1984. But when that voice on the other end of the phone essentially told me that...
a) if I was not using the latest and greatest version of the software, AND...
b) if I was not willing to spend several hundred dollars each year on support fees...
...then I was basically on my own and they would not help me. Worse, they didn't care that I was an old and loyal customer, or that I was even a stockholder in the company. The support system essentially told me to get stuffed. Yee-e-e-ow!!!!
I was especially mad about this because I have this nagging suspicion that this whole problem I'm having with DVDSP is somehow related to some kind of copy protection scheme that Apple has going on but doesn't talk about.
I mean why did I need to re-enter the serial numbers for all my pro apps when I changed logic boards? Is my problem being caused by some Pro App component that knows enough to stop working when it thinks it's been bootlegged, but doesn't know enough to trigger a re-registration of itself.
At this point, that idea is beginning to sound more and more plausible as the cause of my trouble.
Anyway, this problem is seriously hurting my workflow. I'm out of ideas and I need some guidance from the collected wisdom of the forum to solve this problem.
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I didn't see anywhere that you had downloaded and
installed the latest proApplication Support file. If
you haven't, you should do this next:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/proapplications
upport31macosx1039.html
Hal:
I had reinstalled that ProApps Support version, but I hadn't done it since I deleted all the app files and such, then done a complete reinstall from the DVD.
So I just downloaded it afresh, and then installed it. Then I restarted, and then repaired permissions with Disk Utility.
Still no go.
I'm bamboozled. I thought I knew something about this stuff, but I guess it's good to stay humble.
However, my 5.1 studio upgrade just arrived in today's mail. I think I'm going to take a chance. I'm between projects right now. So I'm going to upgrade my OS to Tiger>then 10.4.6 upd. Then I'll take a shot at installing the new FCP Studio upgrade and see what happens.
Any comments or advice? Otherwise, wish me luck. I'll let you know how this works out with a post here.
Sure wish I could figure out what's going on with my DVDSP v3, though. I really HATE to leave unresolved problems hanging out there. Seems like they always come back to bite you again if you don't deal with them.
Thanks for the help.