• Registered: 2010-01-16
  • Posts: 8

Topic: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

Hi there!

I just bought the FF 800 in order to set up a mobile recording rig.

I tried to use it with my Vaio Laptop VPCCW1S1E with Win 7 Home Premium 64bit, and I faced some serious problems.

I managed to install the latest driver (2.9.991.0) and could also run the Fireface Settings and the mixer. I am able to turn on and off phantom power and can do routings (i.e. listen to things on variable outputs I send in via microphone). Up to this point, this works quite reliable.

When I set a FF800 output as standard listening device, I can also listen to music I play with the Foobar Player, and I am able to hear sound from windows games, but not for long. After some time, and for no apparent reason, the connection to the FF 800 is cut off or a bluescreen is shown and a shutdown initiated.

When I run Digicheck, I can see the meters (they react when I use my microphone) when "Hardware Level" is selected in the Input Device Setup. I won't see anything, when "ASIO" is selected. A similar thing occurs, when I try to use Samplitude (9 professional). It works with the Realtek Laptop Driver (Multichannel MME), it crashes when I select the Fireface ASIO Driver and click on OK. ("Access Violation" is displayed). After that, bluescreens appear regularly.

This happens more or less with all three IEEE 1394 drivers (OHCI-konformer 1394-Hostcontroller, OHCI-konformer 1394-Hostcontroller (alt) [means: legacy] and OHCI-konformer Ricoh 1394-Hostcontroller), although I had the impression (I didn't count the bluescreens) that the legacy driver was worst.

The FF 800 should be ok, as I installed it on my desktop computer under win xp SP2 and everything works fine until now. At my desktop computer, I also updated the FF-Firmware to 2.77, as this wouldn't work either on my laptop.

I'm running windows in the classic-look (without the aero effects) and turned off power management already.

Until now, I cannot exactly spot the problem. (I suspect either the firewire connection or win 7.) It seems to me, as if the ASIO-Driver would not be able to be reached, although some sort of connection is set up. I wonder if a FW-express card would help.

This is so far what I have gone through. Any help would be highly appreciated.

Greetings

jb

jbertram's Website

  • Registered: 2010-01-19
  • Posts: 25

Re: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

Hello jb!

I've had a similar experience to what you're describing. Might want to camp in the same thread over there.

3 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,599

Re: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

Does this computer use a JMicron FireWire controller?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2010-01-16
  • Posts: 8

Re: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

No, it's a Ricoh controller. This is what I found in the system settings.

jbertram's Website

  • Registered: 2010-01-16
  • Posts: 8

Re: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

I now tried to connect the FF 800 to my old Laptop, and ran across a similar problem.

It's a Dell Inspiron 510m under XP Home SP2, Intel Pentium M 1.60Ghz, 1GB Ram, 4pin FW with Texas Instruments Chipset.

I installed the latest drivers, could sort of communicate with the FF 800 (via settings, although there was no access to any meters this time), and as soon as I tried to set the ASIO Drivers in Samplitude, I got a bluescreen. This happened again when I tried to play music out of the foobar player - it seems to be even worse with my old laptop than with the new one.

It couldn't be the 4-to-6 pin cable causing the trouble, could it? As I said, with my desktop computer it works well (I'm listening to some recordings the moment I'm writing this).

Can anyone help me?

jbertram's Website

6 Reply by jbertram (edited by jbertram 2010-01-21 23:13:25)

  • Registered: 2010-01-16
  • Posts: 8

Re: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

I have to make a correction: The Problem is exactly the same: I can see the meters in Fireface mixer (I had forgoten to switch to front inputs).

jbertram's Website

7 Reply by jbertram (edited by jbertram 2010-01-21 23:12:23)

  • Registered: 2010-01-16
  • Posts: 8

Re: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

What a relief! It was indeed the cable! '!$?&/XX I spend nearly a whole week on it...

Now I encountered some new problems...

I tried a different cable, and now I'm able to work in Samplitude using the Fireface ASIO-Driver. That seems to be stable, I had no dropouts our bluescreens or interruptions so far, provided I got Samplitude to work. I got a bluescreen (IRQL_GT_ZERO_AT_SYSTEM_SERVICE) setting the driver from Multichannel MME to Fireface-ASIO, but once set, all was stable.
Unfortunately, there are still some things which don't work: I can't change to another project with different sample rate within Samplitude. I have to close Samplitude and reset the driver (deactivate and reactivate the FW-driver). The same when I'd like to use a different program after having used the ASIO-driver once. For example, when I did something in Samplitude (which worked) and wanted to open Sibelius, I had to reset the FW-driver in order to use the FF 800, otherwise the connection would be no longer available (red host light on).

Any ideas what I could do?

jbertram's Website

  • Registered: 2010-01-16
  • Posts: 8

Re: Fireface 800 / Sony Laptop / Windows 7 runs not stable / cannot record

Maybe my experiences will help anyone, so I'm posting it:

It finally works! I just got a Lindy FW-Expresscard, and now everything seems to be working. Just after installing, I had some queer digital noise, but after rebooting, everything was fine...
Hopefully it stays like this...

Nice Greetings from Munich, covered with snow

jbertram's Website