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[kbmill63]

System:
Hardware: Mac mini, 1.4 GHz Dual Core i5, 4 GB RAM, McIntosh D1100 Digital Preamp
Storage: 1TB SSD USB Hard Drive for Hi Res files, 3 TB La Cie 7200 USB Hard Drive for 44/16
All files are FLAC
Normally controlled by JRemote running on an iPad

Problem:
at seemingly random times MC26 will simply stop playing.  JRemote shows the track repeating about 4 seconds of time, the primary UI shows the track as playing but no activity in the timing or wave graphs, and there is no output to the DAC, evidenced by dashes in the display where the sample rate is normally displayed.  I have to stop the playback, and restart the track to continue listening, but the software does not need to restart.

Attempted Solutions:
1. Eliminated as much other running software on the mini as I could identify.  This is the computer's sole purpose.  I fundamentally suspect that I might need a newer processor with more cores, but am trying to eliminate any other, less expensive components first.
2. Migrated 44/16 files to secondary HD because when this first started the primary SSD was within 100 GB of being full.  Didn't seem to make a difference.
3. Implemented the following Background Tools Solutions: Built Missing Thumbnails; Turned off auto-import.  These adjustments (probably  auto-import, most of all) made a dramatic reduction in the occurrence of the glitch - from an average of once/2-4 hours of playback, to once/10+ hours of playback, but the problem has not gone away.

Note:  I wrote the logging file immediately after the latest occurrence of the glitch but the file size is too big to upload. 
download log here: https://www.dropbox.com/l/scl/AACC6zq0l-HfurfofAhYYWAbD8tEMhfyebg

[JimH]

What is the connection between the computer and pre-amp?

[kbmill63]

USB - Audioquest Cable.  MC26 is set to send the entire file to the DAC.

[JimH]

Turn off Memory Playback.

Are the FLAC files just stereo?  Or multi-channel or hi-res?

[kbmill63]

I believe that the FLAC files are stereo or mono only.  They range from 44/16 to 192/24.  I also have a dozen or so albums in DSD.  The problem occurs randomly and regardless of sample rate or bit depth.  I thought I had it solved when I shut down the back-ground processes.

Also, regardless of which external source the media is stored on. 

Another thought: the file always plays just fine after the glitch occurs.  Same file, no signal loss.  Makes me think that something is accumulating, or eroding, to a fail point.

[kbmill63]

I disabled Memory playback, reset the logging file and within 30 minutes the behavior repeated.  I've attached the new log file, which is much smaller because I reset the log right before I started this session.

I've left memory playback disabled to see if the frequency is greater than when it is enabled.

[kbmill63]

Another seize.  I think disabling memory playback has made it worse.  I, again, reset the log after the last crash.  the newest log is attached.

[JimH]

What happens if you unplug the DAC and  plug it back in when you have the problem?

Try using MC's DSP Studio > Output format to force everything to 48Khz.

[kbmill63]

Unplugging the DAC, either from power, or the USB connection to the mini has no effect at all, which surprised me.  Usually if I lose the DAC I get an error from MC. 

I haven't tried the downsampling yet - I hope that's a diagnostic strategy and not a permanent fix.

[kbmill63]

I've been experimenting with individual components of the system to try to isolate the fault.

1. I relocated some files to the internal drive of the mini, created a new library.  Same problem.  I think this experiment eliminates the external drives as a factor.

2. I substituted my new macbook pro for the mini, configuring MC identically, and using the external SSD as a media repository.  I left this system to play for about 6 hours.  No faults, pointing the finger at the mini.

I ran Apple diagnostics on the mini, no errors were found.  I am in the process of completely reformatting the mini, erasing the hard drive and reinstalling the OS.  I have noticed some latency with the mini of late.  I completed a reformat using AFPS for the disk format and there was still a noticeable latency when the mini accesses its disk.  I read a couple of web posts indicating that AFPS is optimized for SSD, not the 6 year-old internal disk that the mini brings to the party, so I have restarted the reformatting process using the mac os disk format.

My working hypothesis is that accumulated upgrades in OS and MC have created an instability. 

Interesting side-note...prior to the reformat, I had MC set to load at startup.  That process worked just fine, but if I quit MC, I was unable to reload the software.  Clicking on the icon did nothing, as did choosing Open from the alternate click menu.  The only way to restart MC, was to restart the computer.

[kbmill63]

Well, I thought the OS reinstall was working, but then, the same glitch so...

I'm conducting a deeper experiment with an Mac Air laptop that is a little newer and a little more powerful than the mini.  if it doesn't fail over the course of a few days, it would appear that the problem is between MC26 and the mini.  The systems worked fine for a long time...since the mini was new in 2014, but something is not right between the two now.

[kbmill63]

I think I've arrived at a conclusion, and it is that MC26 is incompatible with the base 2014 Mac Mini.  3 days of operation with a slightly newer and more powerful Mac Air without a single glitch, using identical setup and components except for the computer itself, following a complete reinstallation of the OS and MC software on the mini can lead to no other answer.

Since the system worked flawlessly for quite awhile, I've got to believe that something changed in the code that effects how memory or cpu is used, but I'm no coder.

A new mac mini is on the way to replace the laptop which looks like crap sitting on top of the D1100