After Effects only playing back a few frames

[Angus0D4D]

I am using AE 2022 with a Mac Mini with M1 Chip.

When I try to play my project in AE, it only plays a few frames. I have made sure my play range is set correctly. Even when I open a new, blank project, it still only plays back a few frames. I have been using AE for a couple years now and this is the first time this has happened! 

Things I have tried:

- Purging all memory and disk cache

- Reserving minimum amount of RAM to other applications in Preferences (> Memory and Performance) 

- Setting playback resolution to 'Quarter'

- Setting playback to skip 2 or even 5 frames

- Uninstalling After Effects and Reinstalling

- Shutting down computer 

- Using Activity Monitor to shut down any apps using up RAM

- Using Task Manager to quit all other applications

- Going to Preferences > Media and Disk Cache > Empty Disk Cache

- Going to Preferences > Media and Disk Cache > Clean Database and Cache

- Deleting all Cache files from Mac 

- Using the Terminal application to clean out RAM space

- Unistalling Plugins

My Mac has only 8GB of RAM, however, after checking in my Activity Monitor, I still have plenty of RAM available to use. Please help!

[S_Gans · Accepted solution]

Hi. I'm really sorry to say, but even though your computer has "plenty" of RAM to use, that's not what AE considers to be enough. According to their system requirements page: https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/system-requirements.html - their MINIMUM is now a 16GB machine. This means that any number of seemingly random errors can occur, when you try to use it on a machine with less.
Unfortunately, the newer minis are not RAM upgradeable (for which, I'm personally quite angry). You may want to look into downgrading your AE to an older version, that may be happier in less RAM.

 

[Angus0D4D]

I was hoping I wouldn't have to get a new computer because I just bought the Mac Mini not long ago😩 I think I just have to accept that now though! I will install an older version to see if that helps as a short term option. Thank you for your help!

[nubnubbud]

That's one of the largest issues with macs and adobe programs. Adobe programs suck up many times what more modern programs would use for the same performance, and run best on apple products. apple producs are advertised as creator platforms, but in reality cost the same as a modest workstation but only have a third to a quarter the performance, and sometimes are totally incompatible, and nearly always almost impossible to upgrade, by design, to make you repeatedly buy luxury-level products. Take it from a VFX editor. this unfortunate loop has caught me optimizing simulated moon dust for a 2013 macbook in 2022.

If you REALLY, REALLY need ios, just make a hackintosh for now. Those days are ending though, as one of the reasons apple is making their own hardware, is to make it impossible to run ios on an accceptable workstation, so they can sell bargain bin computer parts in a shiny sheet metal shell. Ironically, just like the pricing and performance catch-22 above, that mirrors adobe software's constantly increasing overhead and decreasing reliability.

TL;DR, adobe runs best on mac, but adobe's required specs are too high for most macs and getting higher and less compatible with new hardware, while apple's products have all new hardware and stagnating specs since 2014... but these perfomance issues are worse on windows. 
so if it continues there will be a point at which you can only run adobe programs on computers they can't run on.

I do hope you can manage to install an older version. They don't allow you to go more than a year or two back any more. I was able to drum up an old CS6 code, myself, and it's been smooth sailing- but even that old version struggles with less than 32 gigs of RAM.

[christianf6038129]

I have a 2021 Macbook Pro, M1 Pro with 16GB of RAM and have the same issue. Nothing seems to solve it 😔. I can open my files on older machines with equal or less RAM with no issues.