1 Topic by yellowchops (edited by yellowchops 2012-02-24 19:14:59)

  • Registered: 2011-05-19
  • Posts: 15

Topic: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

Hello.

I have a FireFace UFX.  I'm trying to find a 2.5" or 3.5" drive that won't give me any errors.  I've tried several drives, but I haven't found one that doesn't give me any errors.

For testing, I've followed Matthias' instructions from this post http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11050.  It seems to me that there may be something faulty with my FireFace UFX; however, I want to be sure before sending my FireFace UFX along with my BabyFace in for repair.

My tests were 34 channels at 96K.  I formatted the drives with FAT32 and using the MBR partitioning scheme.  For the USB 3 drives, I tried using a USB 3 -> USB 2 cable and a USB 2 -> USB 2 cable.  This did not change my results.  The documentation I've read basically said that thumb drives will give you mixed results, but 2.5" and 3.5" drives should have no problem performing this test.

I've tried the following 2.5" / 3.5" drives and all of them have given me errors:
1) FreeAgent GoFlex Desk External Drive 3.5" 2 TB - USB 2/3 Interface
2) FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-portable Drive 1.5 TB - USB 2/3 Interface
3) Western Digital Passport 2.5" 500 GB - USB 2 Interface
4) USB 2 enclosure with a SATA 2.5" 60GB 7200 RPM disk inside - USB 2 Interface
5) Seagate 2.5" 320 GB 7200 RPM bare drive with a SATA -> USB adapter - USB 2 Interface
6) Seagate GoFlex Portable Hard Drive 500 GB - USB 2 Interface

Can anyone advise me on a specific model for an USB external hard drive that works with FireFace UFX or is simply that there is something wrong with my FireFace UFX?

Thanks in advance.

  • Registered: 2011-10-27
  • Posts: 47

Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

I've tried just one HD with my UFX and it worked perfectly smile It's quite a old maxtor onetime 300Gb USB -drive.

-J-

  • Jeff
  • Jeff
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  • Registered: 2007-05-21
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Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

I have a WD My Passport 500GB that gives an 85% load with no errors during the test.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • Registered: 2011-05-19
  • Posts: 15

Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

jemaliahz wrote:

I've tried just one HD with my UFX and it worked perfectly smile It's quite a old maxtor onetime 300Gb USB -drive.

-J-

What test did you try (# of channels and sample rate) and for how long?

I'm hoping that it's just that I keep choosing the wrong drives for my FireFace UFX.

  • Registered: 2011-05-19
  • Posts: 15

Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

Jeff wrote:

I have a WD My Passport 500GB that gives an 85% load with no errors during the test.

Jeff, would you mind sharing the # of channels, sample rate, and for how long with this drive?

  • From: Washington DC, USA
  • Registered: 2007-08-06
  • Posts: 442

Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

I have had trouble with number of drives, too.  In fact, I have still have not found a drive that works as I expected.  See this thread:

http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic.php?id=13609

For most, I found each drive worked well for a few minutes and then started reporting errors.  I would be curious to know how long RME is running their tests as this is an important factor.

I have not seen any reports of success recording 34 tracks at 96 khz for any length of time from users.  RME reports they have had success, but they typically have not reported how long they have tested.   In the thread linked above I asked RME to test one of their drives for a longer amount of time and they reported a small number of errors.

I am beginning to suspect that the UFX is typically not able to handle recording this many tracks at 96, except perhaps under ideal conditions (whatever that may mean).

I have plans to go to another UFX users studio in a few weeks to try recording on his system.  I will be sure to report back my findings here.

  • Registered: 2011-09-29
  • Posts: 94

Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

I Recorded 34 tracks at 96K for 45 minutes with no errors at all and HDD load not exceeding 80% using a Segate Momentus XT 500GB drive. its a cheap hybrid Solid state/ hard drive, it has a 4GB solid state memory + 7200RPM 500Gb hard drive. the beauty about this is that you have 4GB of buffer size on the drive itself (instead of 8,16,32,or 64 MB that most drive has). Those 4GB adapt automatically to your most used application, and when used with the UFX, it usess the 4GB solid state memory to off load the data from the UFX rapidly to the main drive.

FF UFX - ARC - U87Ai - 828Mk3 Hybrid - Digimax FS - Tascam MH8 - MIDI Express 128, 24GB RAM, i7-3630
  • Jeff
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Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

yellowchops wrote:
Jeff wrote:

I have a WD My Passport 500GB that gives an 85% load with no errors during the test.

Jeff, would you mind sharing the # of channels, sample rate, and for how long with this drive?

As described in your link, I get no errors after 30 min, and no errors after 90 min in another test:

- At 96 kHz sample rate enable 34 channels for recording. This is the worst case scenario. It reaches the highest data throughput (9.79 MB/s) with the smallest internal buffer size (around 306 ms). Most external hard drives will have no problem to continuously record at this rate until the drive is full, with zero errors.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

  • Registered: 2011-05-19
  • Posts: 15

Re: FireFace UFX - Multiple 2.5" and 3.5" Drives All Giving Errors.

Jeff wrote:
yellowchops wrote:
Jeff wrote:

I have a WD My Passport 500GB that gives an 85% load with no errors during the test.

Jeff, would you mind sharing the # of channels, sample rate, and for how long with this drive?

As described in your link, I get no errors after 30 min, and no errors after 90 min in another test:

- At 96 kHz sample rate enable 34 channels for recording. This is the worst case scenario. It reaches the highest data throughput (9.79 MB/s) with the smallest internal buffer size (around 306 ms). Most external hard drives will have no problem to continuously record at this rate until the drive is full, with zero errors.

Thanks, Jeff!  I'm getting errors before I get to 90 minutes.