Thanks for the update, Bitsync - good thing I used 'probably', whew.
 
I still think one of the plugins may have it in for you - might even be some settings combination that hit the F.U. lotto.
 
And I also agree with checking driver and firmware levels on things, just to be on the safe side.
 
Bob Bone
 

sharke
This happens to me on occasion too and I have a feeling the culprit is Channel Tools, will have to do some more detective work. Other suspects include ARC2 and Melodyne clips.

I use ARC and Channel Tools in every project without crashes or issues but never use melodyne so try checking that first.
Try freezing the clip with melodyne on it...

Well, I had just 2 VSTs in the project, FXpansion BFD3 vi and Celemony Melodyne.  I kicked BFD3 out of the party and still had the project shutdown issues.  So then I got rid of all the Melodyne Region FX instances that were in there and the project started shutting down normally.  No problem since then.

bitSync
So then I got rid of all the Melodyne Region FX instances that were in there and the project started shutting down normally.

To quote Herman Cain "I don't have facts to back this up," but I tend to think of open region FX as clips being in a state of suspended animation. I like to bounce them to clips and return them to the real world once I've done the required processing. I used to keep safety copies in case I changed my mind, but never went back to them so I got out of that habit. If something needs to be re-worked, I re-cut it.

Anderton
 
To quote Herman Cain "I don't have facts to back this up," but I tend to think of open region FX as clips being in a state of suspended animation. I like to bounce them to clips and return them to the real world once I've done the required processing. I used to keep safety copies in case I changed my mind, but never went back to them so I got out of that habit. If something needs to be re-worked, I re-cut it.

Yeah, I'm kind of getting there myself.  I've developed this DAW inspired never-throw-anything-away philosophy that is useful far less than I expect it will be.  I had actually already rendered the track some time ago and archived the one with Melodyne in it, but I was keeping all of the constructive work product - vocal comps and takes, Melodyne edits, y'know, just in case...
 
Remember when hitting the record button was always a commitment and there was no such thing as non-destructive?