I have a brand new HP using Vista 32 w/ core 2 quad and 2 gig ram.
I’m using Pinnacle Studio Ultimate and I keep getting random lock ups during rendering.
I have to kill the process and when I try to bring my project back up even after a reboot, it will not open it. I have to re-install the software and try again. I have had to un-install and re-install about 3 times now. I have installed all of its upgrades as well. I really do like what the software can do, but its just killing me to have to go through this. I thought I had a beefy enough desktop. Could it be Vista or is it just the nature of the beast as far as a Pinnacle product?

This is the complaint I'd read about earlier versions of Pinnacle Studio. Vista might partly be the culprit (I have Vista and I prefer the less finicky XP) but I do remember reading on sites that do user reviews about your problem with Pinnacle. HERE (http://www.videohelp.com/tools/Pinnacle_Studio) are reviews from Videohelp.com (a good site).

I might still try Pinnacle to see how its GUI is. But I wish it was a try and buy deal. It isn't. Ulead's Videostudio 11.5 is try and buy. I tried it and bought it and it has been pretty stable. The only problem I've had was with a couple of stitched Jpegs with something messed up in the headers. Once I removed the offending Jpegs the rendering completed perfectly.

I have a brand new HP using Vista 32 w/ core 2 quad and 2 gig ram.
I’m using Pinnacle Studio Ultimate and I keep getting random lock ups during rendering.
I have to kill the process and when I try to bring my project back up even after a reboot, it will not open it. I have to re-install the software and try again. I have had to un-install and re-install about 3 times now. I have installed all of its upgrades as well. I really do like what the software can do, but its just killing me to have to go through this. I thought I had a beefy enough desktop. Could it be Vista or is it just the nature of the beast as far as a Pinnacle product?


With any HP comps you have to kill off all the crapware- the day you get it. Some of those are running in the background silently. Always try to see all the systems that are booted up and running. Reduce it , kill it. Then when you run ANY video editing wares, don't multi-task with other non-video apps. Keep it clean. Ideally you'd want a dedicated comp for editing and photo work only.

Also try not to have conflicts with other media players on the comp. Often, couple of other media players have been assigned as default player- one of the causes of lockups.

Uninstalling and reinstalling is for the most part unnecessary. Reboot will usually unlock Pinnacle.

Update: Thanks for the info by the way. I was able to clean the junkware and have been able to render without a lockup, but now I noticed that the sound is off from the video about 7 seconds. It starts off fine, but about ½ way through it becomes off. Any ideas? I will be giving Pinnacle’s support a call, but I have dealt with support before and they don’t have a clue.

Head Shot's advice is good as usual. Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 11 has gotten better reviews than previous versions. But I think it is still buggy. I only think this because of user reviews. HERE (http://www.amazon.com/Pinnacle-Studio-Ultimate-Version-11/dp/B000PS6QY6) are some current user reviews from Amazon.com. Note that 30 users give it 4 or 5 stars and 35 give it 1 or 2 stars.
Ulead's (Corel) VideoStudio 11 (http://www.amazon.com/Corel-Ulead-VideoStudio-11-Plus/dp/B000PDNHNO******sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1204556562&sr=1-1) plus gets much better user ratings. 32 users give it 4 or 5 stars and 8 give it 1 or 2 stars. It's free to try.
Personally I think Sony's Moviestudio 8 Platinum is better than these two but it requires a lot more homework. It is also try and buy.


Good luck. I know how frustrating :mad: it can be after working for many, many hours only to have trouble in the last (rendering) part of the job.

Pinnacle Studio11 really seems to be a hit-or-miss for working well. I built an XP PC especially for running PS 11 and have had lock-ups on three occasions that corrupt the OS to the point of needing XP re-installation, not just repair, but full on re-install.

Update: Thanks for the info by the way. I was able to clean the junkware and have been able to render without a lockup, but now I noticed that the sound is off from the video about 7 seconds. It starts off fine, but about ½ way through it becomes off. Any ideas? I will be giving Pinnacle’s support a call, but I have dealt with support before and they don’t have a clue.

Forgot to mention this.

Take your comp offline, if you're on broadband. Then turn off all antivirus, antispyware, and any anti-bugware. Then turn off any software firewalls for the duration of your work. Also make sure your automated spyware sweeps are disabled. Keep your comp running with as few necessary programs as possible. Just make sure those wares are enabled automatically/manually at the next boot-up.

This may not eliminate the audio synch problem but is always a good habit to have. I have found some of these "protective" wares to cause editing nightmares in the past.

Another potential issue with this problem you're describing is that you're rendering and storing your video files in the same hard drive as your original video files. And this hard drive is also driving your OS and Pinnacle? If so, then this must also be addressed before further video editing attempts, I'm afraid. Having a second drive is highly recommended. I'd seriously start with internal SATA300, size is whatever you can afford. If external, use IEEE1394 or eSATA instead of any flavors of USB. I have taken apart some HP/Compaq comps, they tend to build it tight and adding an internal HDD might be a sumo wrestling experience.


Please post back with your findings

Pinnacle Studio11 really seems to be a hit-or-miss for working well. I built an XP PC especially for running PS 11 and have had lock-ups on three occasions that corrupt the OS to the point of needing XP re-installation, not just repair, but full on re-install.

I'm sorry to hear that. I haven't had to "go nuclear" yet. The worst lock up for me is the corrupted install of the audio scrub add-on. Many new guys here were too young how slow and feeble comps in the 90's were for NLE's. Today's comp are light years faster than the one last decade. However, on occasion, I get wrapped up with working the edits so fast that the comp is unable to write it fast enough. Some people see this as a lock up, but with enough patience (and waiting) it catches up and can resume with editing without having to reboot.

i learned to save my work every 5 minutes thanks to the older Pinnacle Studio 9. basically the work all day and lose everything type of deal. i haven't used PS11 yet but there are just some things that Pinnacle just doesn't like to do.

The cool part about the 11 version, it automatically save the work when it causes a lockup that you have to reboot.