Dynamic Link hangs / Projects Won't Open

[mskdonaldson]

I reinstalled Windows to get a fresh start, which meant re-installing Adobe Creative Cloud, and now Dynamic Link is completely hosed. I tried to open current After Effects projects with Dynamic Link compositions and the "Opening Project" progress bar moved at a truly geological pace. When I finally quit the import, I got many, MANY, double-tapping-both-enter-keys-many of "cannot identify Source ID XXXX" messages, and everything in the project was Placeholders.

I got a similar reaction from Premiere when I tried to open Premiere files with Dynamic Link content. It would take a very long time and never really load. I could make new projects and open them, but anything with Dynamic Link would never open.

I had a friend open and re-save a Premiere project on his machine, and when I brought it back into Premiere, it opened. YAY! Resources and files imported as usual. However, trying to re-link any of the Dynamic Link content made Premiere hang again. And we tried the same thing with After Effects (opening and re-saving), but no joy there. I also created new Premiere and After Effects files, and that was fine, but when I tried to create a Dynamic Link from those new files, it froze on me. So all the problems seem to stem from Dynamic Link.

Things I have tried:

- Restarting the computer

- Refreshing Windows (again)

- Repairing Microsoft Visual C++ files (10.0.40219 is unrepairable, but I've tried uninstalling them and re-installing, and they always come out that way)

- Adding a Dynamic Link Media Server folder to Users > [User] > Documents > Adobe

- I started with a fresh Windows install from a bare drive, so I don't see how it could be a cache error. Of course, I could be wrong.

Please help, this is creating real problems for me. Thanks!

[Mylenium]

Impossible to know anything. You have written a lot, but not offered any actual details about your project such as sequence settings/ comp settings, footage items used, your computer, storage locations and so on.

Mylenium

[mskdonaldson · Accepted solution]

Hi Mylenium! Big fan. I use Simple Camera Rig all the time. Been watching you chastise forum-goers since forever, and now it's my turn. 😛

I encountered this problem on a variety of different projects, ranging between packed full of footage and compositions and test projects with a single composition/sequence. For that reason, I didn't think that kind of information (sequence settings, footage items) was relevant.

My computer:

Processor: 2950X Threadripper

MB: Asus Zenith Extreme Alpha

GPU: Asus TUF 3080Ti

Monitor Card: Blackmagic Mini Monitor PCI Express

I have 1 local NVMe drive for Windows, 1 local NVMe for project files, and a network-connected QNAP for my footage.

I'm posting all this because you asked and it might be useful for others, but I SOLVED THE ISSUE by following the instructions here and using the Adobe Cleaner Tool. I picked the most thorough options in the tool and erased a lot of stuff (but not the beta AE install, oddly enough), restarted the machine, then re-installed After Effects and successfully opened one of my files.

I didn't get any responses besides Mylenium's, but reading the forum gave me the idea to seek out the Cleaner Tool (along with a bunch of deadends, but hey, it's a process). Thanks to everyone who posts and responses and especially those who mark Correct Answers! Hopefully I'm back in business for good, but we all know I'll be here again before too long. 😛