Sonicfire Pro 5 Hangs when Trying to Open Project: Quick Fix

by Andy Simmens

Software can do horrible things to you. Horrible, terrible things. They can play with your emotions, toy with your livelihood, rip your heart out and smash through your tolerance level.

But you knew that.

It's a shame software can be so evil. Because really, life as we have come to know it is not possible without software.

Fortunately, sometimes there is a fix for all the trouble software bestow upon you.

If you're a user of Sonicfire Pro 5, you may have had the problem described following. I've had that problem. It can make you think there is no hope in life.

Here was the horrible situation: I spent hours and hours and days, scoring a piece of movie. Scoring a movie isn't in anybody's blood, because there's a lot of going back, spending hours on something and then just deleting it and doing it over because something didn't feel quite right, etc. Yes, Sonicfire Pro 5 and I have seen many days and nights, spent in each other's company.

So, eventually I've worked enough for the day. I switch off the computer.

Next time, I switch it on again. I open the project.

At first one doesn't realize how long it's taking to open the project file.

And then, one thinks that perhaps the computer just had a glitch or something. Shutting down and restarting the computer will help.

It doesn't.

Trying to open the project, how many times, all produce the same results:

IT'S NOT OPENING.

The fact stabs one like an ice cold stalagtite through the heart. What is it? Is there not enough memory in the computer? Is the computer too old? Is there a virus in the software? Is it a curse??? WHAT IN BLAZES IS THIS SETBACK???!!! Booo hooo hooo hoooooooooooo!!!!

Frustration soon turns to tears and swearing. Usually some kind of computer hardware like the mouse, keyboard, or whatever other unfortunate piece of something was lying around, gets a beating of sorts if one's self control flies out the window at a situation like this.

Clicking around on the screen with the mouse produce "(not responding)" to the program's title bar.

Then comes the decision making time: We can fiddle around trying to open this project, give up on the project and quit, or just plain start over.

But, what if your project was perfect as it was? You know things will never be exactly the same if you did it over.

Are the aforementioned decisions really the only choices? Really, really, really-eally? Is life really as tragic as all that?

Probably not, but what to do? What is the solution? What?

Would a software update through the internet do it?

I connect the internet. Many software update automatically when you start them up while connected to the internet. Sonicfire Pro 5 doesn't.

I look through the software program's menus. No update command listed.

But, there is a "Library Update" menu item. Not quite what I'm looking for, but what the hey, might as well update the music library so I run the available updates that get listed.

Now, logic tells me that would not have fixed the problem I had prior with the troubleshooting project. However, I put logic aside for once, since I'm desperate enough.

I try once again to open the project that wouldn't open.

IT WORKS!!!

So, remember this punchline:

Should your Sonicfire Pro 5 project not open ("not responding"), connect to the internet and go to the Tools menu. Select "Library Update Check...", let it find updates, and then install the updates.

When you try to open the project that wouldn't open, it should now open.

It works for me and I sincerely hope it works for you. Was the one time just a fluke? No, it has happened again some weeks later and again, I updated the library and then the project opened. Not sure about the workings behind this fix but it works, so that's good enough for me for now, and hopefully helps you out too.

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