Topic: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Worked fine previously, turned it on today to get ready for a job and tiktiktiktiktiktiktiktiktiktik!  With little bits of audio in between, occasionally.  Only in xp pro, boot to the osx side and everything works fine.  Same problems in Pyramix and Nuendo when playing back or recording on xp pro side. Winfire 2.9991 and firmware 2.77, latest and greatest pmx & nuendo.  As soon as I start either program, the error count begins going up (10,000+ in a matter of minutes) and I can see the meters jumping in slow motion. Used the latency checker, everything is green and no spikes.  I run a fw800 cable to a glyph HD and from there another fw800 cable to the ff800.  Is this a bandwidth issue?  Is xp going 100 speed on me?

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Try going back to 2.998 drivers.

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Ok, did that and no change.  One difference I did notice between the DAW's, when recording in pmx there is no input, just a low level tick-tick-tick and a flat waveform, but in nuendo there is some audio in between the dropouts and a waveform of some sort.  Both stop recording after a few seconds.

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

4

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Your guess about XP going 100 speed is a good start - check your SidSpeed value in your Registry (you'll find detailed instructions in this thread:  http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4123 )

Have you checked your latency value for the Fireface Settings?  It could have been changed somehow, to a value that is too short for proper operation with your system. 

Have you done any upgrading/updating to your XP installation recently?  Perhaps try a System Restore...?

I know the Glyph Manager software can be buggy - try ending that process and seeing what happens (the drive will still work).  In the Glyph Manager program > Options, I disable all four check boxes, so that it doesn't run at startup, and doesn't linger in the taskbar.  You can still run it directly, to check on your drive's health, but otherwise, it seems to be better to quit it entirely.  (I'm assuming you're using a Glyph 062 or 062E RAID drive, which uses this application - otherwise, nevermind...)

Try disabling the Realtek audio driver in Device Manager during the times you're using the Fireface, to rule out that possible conflict.

Frank Lockwood
https://LockwoodARS.com
Fireface 800, Firmware 2.77
Drivers: Win10, 3.125; Mac, 3.36

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

First of all, thank you guys for the help, I appreciate it.
More info: xp pro sp3 installed on mbpro right out of the box and have not messed with it since, and everything has been working until yesterday.  Realtek audio driver disabled, bootcamp keyboard manager disabled, wifi and bluetooth disabled, battery level-meter-thing disabled, ff800 latency set at 1024, no glyph manager software installed.

Found the 1394 controller in the registry, but can't find anything that says SidSpeed.  What am I looking for in there?

Also tried yelling, stomping around, and holding my breath.  Nothing.

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

6 (edited by fl 2010-01-20 16:18:45)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Okay, if you can't find the SidSpeed entry in your Registry, using Regedit, then you need to create it.

First thing:  You need to look for the correct ID number for your Firewire controller in the Registry.

To know what's the correct ID go to:
Control Panel->System->Hardware->Device Manager
Find IEEE 1394 Bus Host Controllers - click on the "+" sign next to it to show the sub-entry:
"Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 HOst Controller"
Right click on that, and select "Properties"
In the "Details" tab you can see the Device Instance Id.
This is the ID number that you should look for in the registry.  Write it down now, or keep the Properties window open for now.

For example only, my ID is:
VEN_104C&DEV_8025&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_01

followed by a "\"

and then 4&6B16D5B&0&18F0

Yours may be different.  In any event, you'll want to use YOURS.

Click your Start button, click on "Run" and in the window that opens, type "regedit" (without the quotation marks).

Go to:  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and click on the "+" sign to open its contents.
Go to:  SYSTEM - open its contents
Go to:  CurrentControlSet - open its contents
Go to:  Enum - open it
Go to:  PCI - open
Go to:  the ID number you found above, starting with "VEN....." and going to the first "\" - open it
Go to:  the number that followed the first "\" in the ID number you found above, like "4&6B..."

In other words, go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI\VEN_1-4C...\4&6B...

In the right side of the regedit window, you should see the contents of this last entry. 
At the very least, there should be something called "(Default)" and a second entry called  "SidSpeed".

Now, here's the crucial bit:  If there is no entry for SidSpeed, you can create it by right clicking anywhere in that right side of the Regedit window, and using the pop-up menu that appears, create a new item.  Name it SidSpeed - just like that, all one word with the two capital "S"s.

Once it's created, you need to enter its value.  Do this by right clicking on it, and select "Modify" from the pop-up menu.  A window will appear with a field for "Value data", and two radio buttons for selecting either "Hexadecimal" or "Decimal".  Select "Hexadecimal", and enter a "2" in the Value data field.  Click "OK" to close the widow.

Close/Quit Regedit.
Restart your computer.

If the SidSpeed setting was indeed the source of your problems, then your Fireface should start to function properly now.  If not, well, sorry about all that...

Now that you've created the SidSpeed entry, you can find it again easily by using the "Find" function in Regedit, found under the "Edit" menu item.

If you like, you can experiment with entering a "3" instead of a "2" in the Value data field mentioned above, as the value of SidSpeed.  This is supposed to enable speeds faster than Firewire 400 (which is to say, Firewire 800), but there is some debate as to whether this is actually necessary.  I've found both to work with my Fireface 800.

Frank Lockwood
https://LockwoodARS.com
Fireface 800, Firmware 2.77
Drivers: Win10, 3.125; Mac, 3.36

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Copy that.  Did it, no change.

What are the telltale signs of running at 100 speed?

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Just enabled internal soundcard and used the spdif input on the mb from an ad converter and everything works.

Hurry Dr. Watson, game is afoot!

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Tried changing drivers with no luck, 2.9991, 2.998, and 2.94

Is there anyway to clock your firewire?

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

And what are the errors being counted in the settings dialog?

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Hey just checked my firewire card - it's the lucent 5901 revision 6.  That's right, the good one.  yaaay.

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

FW643 (FW800, PCI ID 5901) Revision 6: connection problems, stop after playback starts - <= this one

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

13 (edited by Timur 2010-01-21 03:21:36)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Sorry, I meant pre 2.998, but you already tried that. Rev. 6 is the problematic chipset btw (rev. 7 is the fixed one), but since it worked before that shouldn't matter.

I'd try uninstalling both the Fireface *and* the Firewire port driver via device-manager. The error count should not happen and I'd say try another cable or maybe your hd case in between got problems.

14

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Rev 6 is the culprit then. If it worked before then it was just luck. A minimal change in whatever hardware value/parameter and it enters the 'normal' mode - not working.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

I just got back from recording a two hour jazz concert using nuendo in osx at 96/32 five channels with no problems.  Actually sounded pretty good.  Does that rule out the cables and the hd case?

Bought the mbpro last April and have been running pmx in xp pro with no issues until now.  Is it possible to upgrade the chipset, to at least rev. 7?

I just uninstalled the ff800 and fw port driver in device manager, restarted, then reinstalled, and I am still getting the error count and no recording/playback.  Please don't tell me that I have to go to the Nuclear Option.

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Cable and casing *should* be ok if it runs on OS X, but it's not for certain, because Windows and OS X handle Firewire slightly different as far as I understood (that's why I proposed using a pre 2.998 driver, because that makes a difference, too). But before trying anything else you should really try another cable and hub to make sure. Since it worked before you need to find out what *changed*, if it's not some hardware change (like broken cable) there must have been a software change (installed new firmware, new service pack, new bootcamp, new anything?).

You cannot upgrade to a rev. 7 chipset, it's soldered into your mainboard, but you can try a Firewire ExpressCard.

If you have a drive spare (you should!) then you could try to do a clean installation of Windows XP with just the bare minimum drivers for testing. If you find out that it works there you know it's some software problem, if it doesn't you know it's a more serious issue and likely a hardware problem.

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

I did switch cables with no luck, but my hub options are limited.  Going in direct did not change anything.  Nuclear Option it is. 

Express Card sounds interesting now that I know my chip sucks.

Thank you for your time, sir.

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

So with the talk of ExpressCards and Windows here in this thread, I was wondering: is there some FW ExpressCard that is known to really work in Boot Camp, instead of produce the Code 12 error that seems to be very common with them?

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

I used a cheap TI based (Hama) FW400 ExpressCard once and it generally worked. Only on Windows XP though because Apple still did not update their EFI/BIOS to support EC on Vista/W7.

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Ah yes that makes sense. I guess more waiting to do, or using XP and not being able to access all the RAM. (I'm presuming XP x64 won't work either)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Quick update, I bought a LaCie fw800 expresscard that has a TI chip and everything works (unless you bump it and it pops out), thank you everyone for your help.

I am still going to try a reset of xp without going full reinstall later on this week. 

Also, someone mentioned that you could upgrade the firewire driver in xp to one from vista, but I could not get it to recognize and it just resets if you do it manually.  Anybody tried this?

Peace

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)

Re: ff800+2009 macbook pro bootcamp getting dropouts in xp pro

Interesting discovery (to me, anyway): I pulled the fw800 cable out of the expresscard and plugged it into the macbook fw800 port and everything works(!) and I can even pop the card itself out right in the middle of playback.  The LaCie expresscard comes with orangeware firewire drivers that apparently run everything as long as the expresscard is there (at boot, anyway), but as soon as I "Safely remove PCI standard to PCI bridge", back to square one.

rev. 6 + xp fw driver = fail

--

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)