1 Topic by OB1K (edited by OB1K 2010-07-01 18:32:47)

  • OB1K
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  • Registered: 2010-07-01
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Topic: FF800 audio steam stops occasionally

Hi everyone, had a fireface 800 for over 4 years now, no major probs at all. but recently this problem is getting worse, without any changes to the system.

so what happens is, if I leave itunes (or any media player) playing, the audio occasionally 'crunches' to a stop for a few seconds then resumes. if I'm in an asio app (in my case cubase 4 or 5 or ableton 8) the audio usually survives but the graphics freeze momentarily. this used to be quite rare, a couple a day. but it got up to approx every 2 mins at one point. I can force it to do it if I play with the faders on total mix. also totalmix graphics sometimes appear 'messed up'. don't know if that's related

Now I know this is probably not a problem with the fireface, but I was wondering if you could help me brain storm what might be 'interrupting' it.

this has all got proportionally worse to my windows boot time, which started to stay longer on the welcome screen and explorer (taskbar) would take a while to appear once on the desktop, which used to be instant.

UPDATE: I did a windows repair, which made me re-install the drivers for everything, and I'm back to quick boot up and only a couple of interruptions a day again, but would still like to know what's causing it.

Here's my system spec:
XP SP2 with all popular tweaks done, including RME's 1394 fix
Custom Build:
Asus P4B premium
Q6600
4 x kingston 667mhz DDR2
page file 1024MB (C drive)
3 x Seagate barracuda drives (system, audio, vsti samples receptively)
FSB:
Asus Nvidia Gforce EN7300 GT silent
Siig 1394b pcie card (FF800 connected on 800)
Powercore v1 pci
Powercore express Pcie
Uad1 pci
Uad1 pcie
Liquidmix (con. to mb 1394 port)
Virus Ti (USB)
M-audio midisport 8 x 8 (USB)
roland Phantom X (USB)
powered usb hub for dongles, mouse and keys

changed PCi latency's to give 1394 ports priority, running pci latency monitor software reveals no hardware interruptions .
Full virus, spyware, malware, rootkits scan: no improvment. machine is not connected to the web or networked
defrag of all drives: no improvement

Any Suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Ben

  • Registered: 2008-01-01
  • Posts: 3,025

Re: FF800 audio steam stops occasionally

running pci latency monitor software reveals no hardware interruptions

How long did you run DPC Latency Checker? If dropouts only occur occasionally you need to do a long-time measurement.

I would uninstall the NVidia driver and do a fresh reinstall then. Also check the "Troubleshooting" option under the Display settings and try to turn of some of the accelerations there.

  • OB1K
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  • Registered: 2010-07-01
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Re: FF800 audio steam stops occasionally

thanks Timur,
                  I monitored latency checker whist I was getting the glitches and kept it on until the next one, and it showed no change.

would you recommend I uninstall the Nvidia driver all together, just use windows pnp display drivers?

meanwhile I'll turn display hardware acceleration off and see how it goes, didn't think of that!

thanks
B

  • Registered: 2008-01-01
  • Posts: 3,025

Re: FF800 audio steam stops occasionally

What measurements do you get then and what audio buffers are we talking about.

I wouldn't use the Standard VGA driver regularly, but you should try it to get an idea if there is a connection. You should also try to disable PowerMizer if the NVidia driver offers that option for your card (again only for trying out first).

You should also try running ProcessExplorer (download) to find out which process brings your system to a
momentary halt.

When you say that "no changes" have been done to the system, does that include drivers? Maybe try to turn off *all* non RME interfaces (especially the Midi ones) and see if that stops the dropouts, then work your way through all your interfaces.

Also try to turn off any LAN interface, even when it's not connected. Make sure to not set any PCI latencies higher than 64 (!) and recheck if the NVidia driver maybe reset its latencies to 253 (or whatever value it was) and change it to 32.

Check if you accidentally changed the Power Profile. Try "Desktop" or "Always On" if it's not already chosen (try changing anyway).

Try taking out 2 of your 4 ram modules and check again.

For a try, disable any Virus, Spyware, Firewall or whatever checker, best to even uninstall it, to make sure that it's not been changed to bad by some update. But since the machine is not network connected I assume you don't use these in the background anyway?!

Reset the BIOS, maybe even a full reset via jumper/battery (plug out). But only do this if you know how to set it back up again (it will load default settings that will work, but may not be optimal).