Macbook Pro crashes when using new AI Denoise

[melc88]

I have been trying to use the Denoise without one single success.  My Macbook has 16MB of RAM and is up to that (running Big Sur 11.7.6).

It will continualklycrash before completing even 20% of the DNG generation process andf the crash takes one of three forms.....

1) Lightroom only crashes.

2) all programmes crash but my comnputer does not crash.

3) my computer crashes and I get computer generated warning of the crash.

I have cleaned up my computer, removed unneccessary apps, cleaned out the cache, reloaded Lightroom Classic, run only LRC with all other programmes closed and still no success.........!

I am now running the 30 day trial period of DxO Pure Raw 3 which if I cannot solve this problem will cost me USD129. DxO takes no more than 2 minutes to complete the noise reduction with a 100% success rate.  Needless to say, I do not want to spend USD129 when I already have a LRC subscription. 

Please help to solve this problem. 

[kglad]

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post if it helps you get responses.

<moved from using the community>

[melc88]

Thank you kglad.

[kglad]

(no problem.)

[TheDigitalDog]

Try logging into another Mac user account (you should make a new one); still crashing? 
Try starting up in Safe mode (hold down Shift Key when booting*), still crashing? 
You might want to try running a free utility like Onyx: still crashing? 
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
Also view:
https://www.macworld.com/article/352902/onyx-review-macos.html
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html
From Adobe:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/basic-troubleshooting.html

* How to start your M1/M2 Mac in Safe Mode
On your Mac, choose Apple menu () > Shut Down.
After your Mac shuts down, wait 10 seconds.
Press and hold the power button until the startup disks and Options appear.
Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.

[melc88]

Hi thedigitaldog

Thanks for the multiple suggestions, much appreciated.

Unfortunately I have not been able to solve the problem and below is the outcome of the suggestions you made.

Logging into another Mac user account - crashed around 30% of dng generation.

In Safe mode - Lightroom said my dng files were not compatible with denoise.

Onyx would not run on my OS 11.7.6 OS.

I reset the nvram/pram and smc - denoise managed to load the enhanced preview and said dng generation in 5 minutes. I pressed Enhance and 5 seconds later I got a message saying denoise was not applied "unknow error"!

So many thanks again and I will wait for further suggestions.

[johnrellis]

Do the LR menu command Help > System Info and copy/paste the entire contents here so we can see exactly which versions of hardware and software LR thinks you're running.

[melc88]

[melc88]

John, as you can see, I have uploaded my System Info.  Thasnks.

[johnrellis]

"I got a message saying denoise was not applied "unknown error"!"

That usually indicates a problem with the graphics driver.  On Mac, the only way to update graphics drivers is by updating Mac OS -- you're on Mac OS 11.7.6, for which Apple stopped most updates (except security updates) 1.5 years ago.  

So updating to Mac OS 13 or 12 might help by getting a newer driver. But you may be restricted by the age of your laptop.

Further your graphics hardware, NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, is very old, launched January 2013.  The graphics manufacturers quietly stop fixing bugs in drivers for old hardware, so the updated drivers in Mac OS 12 or 13 may not fix the problem.

And ten-year-old graphics hardware often won't provide acceptable speed for Denoise.  There are many reports here of Denoise taking 5 - 20 minutes per photo on older graphics hardware!  

You may not have very much graphics memory on that older hardware -- System Info unfortunately doesn't always report that for Macs, but you can do Settings > Preferences > Performance, which can show the amount of graphics memory.  LR requires a minimum of 2GB, but reports here suggest that Denoise is very slow with less than 4GB, and Adobe recommends 8GB for best performance.

[melc88]

Many thanks again for your input and advices.  It seems that unless I upgrade my computer, I am stuck not being able to use Denoise.  The NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M ohn has 2GB

[johnb89718280]

I have the same problem as Melc88 but I'm using an iMac running Big Sur too.
Question, why is it that I can run DxO, ON1 Denoise AI, Topaz Denoise AI, Nik Software Define all without any crash, freeze or problem? Yet the infamous Adobe LRC, cannot even get passed 30% of the Denoise AI DNG generated file.
The other software are ways around the Adobe issue, but why spend more cash on software when I'm already paying Adobe monthly subs? Buying a new machine is easy said than done.
Has anyone managed to obtain a working solution to this issue? Would love to hear.

[TheDigitalDog]

Has anyone managed to obtain a working solution to this issue? Would love to hear.

By johnb89718280

Then read the answers. 

https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2023/04/18/denoise-demystified

Need for speed. Denoise is by far the most advanced of the three Enhance features and makes very intensive use of the GPU. For best performance, use a GPU with a large amount of memory, ideally at least 8 GB. On macOS, prefer an Apple silicon machine with lots of memory. On Windows, use GPUs with ML acceleration hardware, such as NVIDIA RTX with TensorCores. A faster GPU means faster results.

[johnb89718280]

Thank you very much for sharing the comprehensive info on Denoise-demystified.

See my iMac...surely enough to run Denoise? As mentioned, it runs ALL other Denoise AI software without any problem. Why only Adobe?

[DdeGannes]

@johnb89718280 , your GPU does not meet the minimum requirement of 2 GB of memory since it's only 1.5 GB.
Have you tried turning off the GPU in LrC Preferences?

It May work but it will certainly be slow, my iMac mid 2015 is also running Big Sur and my experience is over 1 min for one of my Olympus raw files.

[johnb89718280]

Thank you for your response.
Yes I have turned off GPU in LRC...still the same. Crashes whilst (I assume) generating the DNG file after the  preview enhance screen has displayed the denoised image well within a minute. 

[Ian Lyons]

The info shown in your screenshot shows that your computer is using an integrated Intel Iris Pro GPU with on 1.5GB of memory. Therefore, your GPU doesn't meet the minimum requirements for LrC 12.x

Graphics card

GPU with Metal support 2GB of GPU memory

GPU with Metal support 4 GB of GPU memory for 4k or greater displays 8 GB of dedicated GPU memory or 16 GB of shared memory for full GPU acceleration

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/system-requirements.html

[johnb89718280]

Thank you. Appreciate everyones inout. So it looks like I'm between a rock and a hard place 😞
Buy a new iMac (that ain't going to happen very soon either), or buy Topaz Denoise AI, which by my current comparison with the manual LRC noise reduction, does a better job and costs way less than a new iMac 

[DdeGannes]

@johnb89718280 , we are both locked in the same scenario with macOS Big Sur on our iMac and come October this year when both Apple and Adobe have upgraded systems we will not be able to install the new software and receive the benefits of new technology.

I am considering my options and may even switch to Windows if necessary.

[johnb89718280]

I've been using Apple devices since 2009. Gotten quite comfortable with it. Dread the thought of going back to Windows but hey, it may just happen to me too. 
Thanks Denis and all the best mate

[RicardoVeiga100]

I have the same problem, but my macbook has the minimum configuration to work. How can solve this problem?