Have posted on this issue before and it seems other people are having the same problem.
I believe i have had the same problem on all the laptops i have been using pc or mac and the problem still persists. previous times that we have discussed this problem there has been no resolution and all the info i gather is that its just to do with recent macbook pro's and there is no resolve for it?

Problem - I will be djin away and all of a sudden the sound drops out and the wave form disappears and i lose complete control of everything. the only way to sort the issue is to exit the program and restart it.
All overviews are built there are no corrupt tracks.
There is no crash logs as i presume the program believes it is not crashing.
every setting seems to be right and exactly the same as a friends older mac which works fine and never experienced the problem.

help s.o.s!!!!

Hey Nick,

There could be two causes that we know of that would cause this...
1. Your computer needing this --> www.macworld.com
or
2. Your using an external drive that is having issues.

So.. first.. I would check to see if your computer needs that Performance update.
If not, I would then ask you if your using an external drive?

well i checked the performance update before and it said this computer does not have eligible hardware.
ive changed the internal hard drive to a 5000 speed one from the 7200, put ram in, taken ram out.
im using a 500gig external lacie rugged drive same as my mate who doesnt seem to have any issues with it.
this has been a recurring problem for ages now.
ive scanned the hard drive with a virus checker.

im seriously stuck for options.

If you take the external out of the equation and just play songs from your internal do you still experience this issue?

Yep, even when i first switched to the mac from the pc i rebuilt the library from new. ive tried copying my mates music on his drive which is exactly the same as mine and doing it that way and it still does it.
ive tried a different external that i have and it still happens on that or even just having all the music on the laptop hard drive, which is why i thought it be best to go to an external hard drive?

is there any possibility that it could be the box at all or usb connection to the box?

ive tried switching usb leads or the opposite side usbs on the mac but makes no difference.

plus it seems to have had the same kinda problem on each version of the programme so i cant remember a version recently where it hasnt had the problem???

only thing realisticly that hasnt been changed is the box????

I don't think this is going to have anything to do with the box but I suppose you could test that theory by using a friends box or use your box on a friends computer?

For testing purposes I would take your external out of the equation since I'm assuming its something with the actual computer.

I would then try repairing your disk permissions via "Disk Utility" inside the Utilities folder in your Applications folder.
Click 'repair disk permissions' let it do its thing.
Once done, click 'repair permissions' again to do it a second time.

Give it a test after that.
Let us know your findings.

UPDATE - I have used the repair disk utility a couple of times, compiled a new music drive on the laptop hard drive and taken the external out of the equation.
used it on saturday night and it went fine and even performed a little faster with no lag on loading tracks. possibly due to less music on there tho.

the real test will be this weekend and to see if anything happens. will keep you updated.

UPDATE - more testing gone on with just the music on internal hard drive, no external. and it crashed 3 times tonight doing the same problem as described before!

whats the next step????

Ok.. try this test making sure no external drives are connected.

1. Shut down any program you have open.. including SSL.
2. Rename the ScratchLIVE folder inside your Music folder on your internal drive so it reads
ScratchLIVE1.
3. Open SSL and you should have a completely empty library.
4. Import 10 files from your internal drive.
5. Drag/drop them onto the analyze files tab to verify they aren't corrupt.
6. Put both virtual decks on INT mode.
7. Press the 'auto' tab at the top of the page.
8. Check the 'play from start' option in the Playback tab of setup.

Play those 10 songs on both decks in INT mode for an extended period of time.

The point is to determine whether the crashing issue is due to corrupt files in your library or an issue with your computer.
If its corrupt files then SSL won't crash during this test because we'll know for certain that the 10 files your testing with aren't corrupt.
If it crashes during this test then the issue is going to be a problem with your computer or an overheating issue.

Let us know your findings and we'll go from there;)

UPDATE - haven't tried the possible fix suggested above but was using the mac last night and was having issues with it again (same problems) and switched to my mates pc which has worked fine and solid with no problems at all before and experienced the same problem within the first 2 tracks.

ive also looked back over past issues as i was sure this wasnt an issue just with my mac and found my old thread www.scratchlive.net
same problem basically different laptop.

the only real constant throughout all is the serato box.

is there a possibility that the usb connection could be slightly damaged on the sl1 box.
kinda of like when the phonos are messed up or the wrong way the scopes indicate the issues or it plays backwards.
i presume usb dropout is indicating that usb on the computer has issues so maybe this is what happens when usb on the box is slightly damaged??

almost like the program is thinking the usb has been unpluged so wants to exit to offline player but it hasnt been unplugged so drops the wave form out and sound???
perhaps????

i have noticed that it has been on the left deck a few times but couldnt say for sure that it was always this side...

Usually if the issue is with the usb on the box the interface won't connect at all.
The dropout indicator lets us know that SSL isn't receiving enough juice to function properly. It doesn't let us know that there is something wrong with the port.

Please do the test I suggest above and let us know your findings.
That will help narrow down where the problem is.

Hes bort an sl-3 now lol, but they have had issues with every system they use the sl-1 box on. so im guessing it must be the box. i did however tell them to try and borrow a sl-1 to make sure.

So see how he gets on with the sl-3...

To be fair i did try a different kinda version of the suggested fix above by just importin 4 78minute mixes and leaving them running back to back.
same as above just with longer tracks.

just running it with the sl3 box now. so far so good. no problems fingers crossed it stays like this.

That's fine.. as long as the external is unplugged and you've renamed the ScratchLIVE folder prior to testing.
The important part is that you've cleared out the info in SSL basically creating a clean slate.

Have you tried using your SL1?

I tried that fix by having nothing but the 4 tracks on the hard drive and in the library and that was on the sl1 box and it just run fine throughout the whole day.

This is a proper intermittent problem and sometimes can work fine for a couple of weeks of gigging then will just crash 2 or 3 times a night.

Got the sl3 box today and have been running it all day in the mix and on internal with some long mixes and its still going ok.

Ok.. so at this point we can rule out any issue with your SL1 or the program.

You said that you've tried moving your files to the internal drive, taking the external out of the equation, and your still having this issue?

If so then the problem is more than likely corrupt files in that library.

With that said, I would move your library back to your internal drive just so we can take the external out of the equation, rescan your id3 tags, and then click 'analyze files' to locate any corrupt files.
My guess is you will find one or some.

Once those are out of the library I would then test again with the files playing from your internal (external still unplugged).
If it runs fine at that point I would move the library back to the external (if you want your library read from there) and test.

Let us know how you get along;)

Ive had the library on the external and on the internal. re scanned the tracks each time and rebuilt the library from scratch.
It makes no difference.
It's not bringing up any corrupt files and even when it has in the past i have deleted them straight away when re-building the library.

A definite test would be to move all of your files back to your internal drive, not any of your crates, unplug your external, import your files into an empty SSL library, and give it a test.

If SSL crashes its got to be due to corrupt files in that library.

UPDATE : couple weeks in with the sl3 box and so far things are going fine! no crashes, no glitches, nothing! will keep you updated.

Good to hear:)

if for instance we dont experience any problems after a few months could we possibly presume it is the box and then would you be interested in testing it at all yourselfs???

I really doubt the issue is the SL1. Since it only seems to be happening after a couple weeks I would let one of your friends borrow it and have them test it out.
We don't really have the time to test an issue that only seems to happen every couple weeks.