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amaronee1 Calculating status...

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Indesign CS5 crashing repeatedly.

Jul 18, 2012 11:51 PM

I've been using Indesign CS5 for about a year now, migrating from Quark. It's been remarkably stable, running on my iMac OSX10.6.8, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo w/4 GB SDRAM. Then suddenly today, one particular file starated crashing repeatedly. I ran Disc Utility off an other start-up drive, repaired permissions; everything checked out OK. Still crashing. I created new docs and dragged thumbnails page by page trying to ID the offending page, but every doc of this lineage crashes. (It would take a long time to rebuild from scratch.) The original doc became unrecoverable. The original crashing file had a couple rows of type on a circular path and I wondered if that was the problem. I deleted my .plist. Finally, I uninstalled and reinstalled the entire Creative Suite5. Still crashing. Any ideas? I need to be up and running for my work. Many thanks, Dianne,

3131 Views 30 Replies Latest reply: amaronee1, Aug 6, 2012 6:16 PM

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1. Eugene Tyson,

Jul 19, 2012 1:09 AM in reply to amaronee1

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Sounds like a corrupt document http://forums.adobe.com/thread/526991

From time to time code can build up on saves - or items within a page become corrupt.

If the link there doesn't work wholly for you then I suggest another method - divide and conquer.

When files become murky like this I will take the file and split in half - and then see which document crashes or becomes unstable.

I then take that file again, and split in half again. Then eventually I can whittle it down to a page range - and usually rebuilding this small page range will fix the issue.

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2. Eugene Tyson,

Jul 19, 2012 1:28 AM in reply to Eugene Tyson

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Just to add - do this on a COPY of the original! Don't want to lose the file if something wonky happens.

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3. Peter Spier,

Jul 19, 2012 6:27 AM in reply to amaronee1

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It might be very helpful to see one o fhte crash reports. You can post it on pastebin.com and put a link here.

In addition to Eugene's suggestion, try opening the file as a copy. Sometimes that works, too.

When all else fails, and the file is worth the expense of the service, Markzware offers a corrupt file recovery service on a no-recovery, no-fee (other than a nominal take-in charge) basis. You can learn more about that at Bad InDesign or Quark File Recovery Submission Form

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4. amaronee1,

Jul 19, 2012 8:46 AM in reply to Eugene Tyson

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Eugene, thank you. I'll try this. I suspect you are right and it is a corrupt file. Being relatively new to ID, though, I'm curious to know if it doesn't like multiple lines of type on circular paths, items placed at angles, etc., b/c this short doc has lots of those. Certain things could make Qk crazy; I'm just learning ID. Best, Dianne

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5. amaronee1,

Jul 19, 2012 8:46 AM in reply to Eugene Tyson

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Will do. Thx.

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6. amaronee1,

Jul 19, 2012 8:50 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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Peter, thank you for the report eugene mentioned, which I am about to try. I don't know how to create a crash report, but since ID is working OK w/other docs, I suspect it is a acorrupt file adn will haaveto rebuild it. Can you advise on generating crash reports? Best, Dianne

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7. Peter Spier,

Jul 19, 2012 8:50 AM in reply to amaronee1

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Was this file converted form Quark originally, or made entirely in ID? Converted files often have little problems that can become big ones down the road and a good practice is to always export to .inx/.idml after conversion.

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8. Peter Spier,

Jul 19, 2012 8:53 AM in reply to amaronee1

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I'm a Windows user (and I think Eugene is too), but if memory serves the Mack should al least offer to generate the report automatically, if not actually make it.

Amy Mac lurker care to elaborate on finding it?

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9. amaronee1,

Jul 19, 2012 9:14 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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Not converted, made entirely in ID. I did the" export as .idml," and the file was working well..... until it, too, crashed.

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10. Peter Spier,

Jul 19, 2012 9:24 AM in reply to amaronee1

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Found these two links which might help you with finding your crash reports:

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/technotes/tn2004/tn2123.html

http://serato.com/scratchlive/support/6600/how-to-get-a-crash-log-in-m ac-osx

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11. Peter Spier,

Jul 20, 2012 5:04 AM in reply to amaronee1

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Any luck with this?

I've been corresponding with David Dilling of Markzware (a conversation not triggered by this thread, but relevant) who has decided to offer a 50% discount, on a trial basis, for first-time users of the InDesign file recovery service who learn about it here on the forum. The discount will apply to the recovery fee, if there is a successful recovery, but will not apply to the file takein fee. He says for the moment forum users who want to use the service for the first time should include their forum username and the URL of the thread where they learned about the service when they submit their file.

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12. amaronee1,

Jul 21, 2012 12:14 PM in reply to Peter Spier

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Thanks, Peter, for y our efforts w/Markz.

I rebuilt the offening file from scratch. I imported colors into the new file by dragging swatches and I selected a line of type, cut and pasted it into the new doc. Otherwise, it was all brand new. And all seemed to be well until... it, too crashed. I am thinking it must be the color swatches and line of type that carried corrupt cide somehow. I put it aside and had to go on to something else. A brand new doc, running well, all is good and then... crash. Same with another brand new doc. Running well, all is fine, then... crash. Sometime the crashes occur spontaneously when moving an object or selecting type, simple stuff. Often, they occur when exporting to pdf. The process won't finish I cannot escape the program w/out forcing quit.

Any ideas?

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13. Peter Spier,

Jul 21, 2012 12:22 PM in reply to amaronee1

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Could be a bad font, or corrupt font cache (you can use a utility like Cocktail to clear the caches). Do you run a font manager?

It would REALLY be helpful to see the crash reports...

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14. amaronee1,

Jul 21, 2012 6:23 PM in reply to Peter Spier

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OK, Peter. Thanks. I think I figured out how to create and post the crash report. Pls go here and see if it's what you're looking for. It's just the latest crash report. There are others, as well.
http://pastebin.com/nHWva63B
Than you for your effort on my behalf. Sincerely,
Dianne

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15. Larry G. Schneider,

Jul 21, 2012 6:41 PM in reply to amaronee1

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You might first try updating to version 7.0.4 instead of the 7.0.0 listed in the crash log.

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16. amaronee1,

Jul 21, 2012 6:42 PM in reply to Peter Spier

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I use Linotype Font Explorer X and just cleaned the system and applciation font caches. I will let you know if I continue crashing when I resume work on Sunday or Monday. Thank you again. If you learn anything from those mysterious crash reports, pls let me know!

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17. Peter Spier,

Jul 22, 2012 4:40 AM in reply to amaronee1

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As Larry says, you ABSOLUTELY need to apply the 7.0.4 patch. If it doesn't come up when you try Updates from the ID help menu, go to http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5004 and dowload and install it manually.

The crash report seems to indicate to me a problem in the user interface, rather than a font problem, so hopefully the update will fix things. There were quite a few bug fixes.

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18. amaronee1,

Jul 22, 2012 9:00 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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OK. The font cache clearing removed a font that was a common to all the crashing files, a free-- and very popular-- font called "Nevis Bold." I went back to the original zipped file and reinstalled it. Am now downloading updates... doesn't Adobe have an auto update feature like Mac, Microsoft Office, et al? I've restarted several times in the last few days and got no update notifications.

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19. amaronee1,

Jul 22, 2012 9:10 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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Just looked at the very first crash report from Weds night. I did have the 7.0.4 patch installed when the crashes began. I did not update after reinstalling CS5 later Wednesday night. Posted that first crash report here for greater minds than mine: http://pastebin.com/XWXGZVZ2

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20. Peter Spier,

Jul 22, 2012 9:15 AM in reply to amaronee1

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That one is definitely text related. Try substituting another font for the Nevis temporarily and see if it stops crashing.

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21. amaronee1,

Jul 23, 2012 10:10 PM in reply to Peter Spier

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I reinstalled Nevis from the original, downloaded zipped file, and all seemed to be fine, until I attempted to export to pdf. Crashed. No crash report was generated, so I have nothing to post, except question marks.

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22. Peter Spier,

Jul 24, 2012 4:30 AM in reply to amaronee1

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Try substituting ANYTHING else for the nevis and see if it will export without crashing.

ID is very picky about fonts, and fonts that are slightly defective and may still work in other applications can be problems in ID. You may need to find a different font.

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23. amaronee1,

Jul 25, 2012 4:27 PM in reply to Peter Spier

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Changing the font seemed to work... until it didn't and the crashes began again. They didn't generate any reports, however, so no clues there.

Crashes occurred in the middle of packaging and exporting to pdfs. The process would never complete.

After the crashes, I would get pop-up message when I reloaded ID, saying 'it couldn't find the file, did I want to recover later,' although the file would be open right behind that window. This happened repeatedly.

It also occured to me that I have several other files using the original "offending" font (Nevis bold) that never crash at all, so I'm very doubtful it was the font. But, just to be sure, I had downloaded it again, deleted ALL copies on my machine and reinstalled it, before replacing it altogether.

I suspect ID gets clugy with several discrete lines of type on differerent circular paths. That's what makes this file different.

I haven't been so sidelined by a software program in a long time. Pity the poor printer who has to take this file from here. She's going to hate me.

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24. Peter Spier,

Jul 25, 2012 4:52 PM in reply to amaronee1

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If you have the time, make a copy of the file and change ALL of the type to one font that you know is OK. Doe it work? That will tell you if the problem is a font, or maybe the type on a path.

Start adding back fonts until it fails (you can do it groups to make it faster if you have a lot of fonts to add).

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25. amaronee1,

Jul 25, 2012 5:59 PM in reply to Peter Spier

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No. I'm working with files right now that use the exact same fonts as were in the file that was crashing and theu yare perfectly stable.

It's InDesign, not the fonts, that are borken. The program needs to be fixed.

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26. Peter Spier,

Jul 26, 2012 6:34 AM in reply to amaronee1

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Yes, it's entirely possible the fonts are fine and there's a problem in the file itself or new bug you've discovered, but the only way to know is to dig deeper, and my suggestion was the first diagnostic elimination step.

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27. amaronee1,

Jul 26, 2012 11:33 AM in reply to Peter Spier

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OK, now another file, which has been fine since it was first built a month ago, is crashing when making pdfs. No crash report generated.

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28. Peter Spier,

Jul 26, 2012 12:13 PM in reply to amaronee1

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Starting to sound like some other software running on your system is corrupting ID files...

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29. amaronee1,

Jul 26, 2012 7:41 PM in reply to Peter Spier

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I've had no changes to my system, which has been stable.

Regarading suggestion " change ALL of the type to one font that you know is OK. " How does onie know if a font is OK? To the best of my knowledge, all my fonts are OK. I guess any font could be accused of being corrupt once ID crashes and leaves no report in its wake to provide evidence. Sounds like all fo my fonts are guilty until proven innocent. That's why I cannot undertake that diagnostic elimination process.

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30. amaronee1,

Aug 6, 2012 6:16 PM in reply to amaronee1

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Wow. Just now noticing that the file that was stuck in "InDesign Recovery" dated back to 6/24/12, so it was likely a contributor to the frustrating crashes on this thread for the past six weeks. Perhaps not fonts at all.

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