• Registered: 2007-05-30
  • Posts: 4

Topic: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

Hello kind RME forum folks,

I have been searching high and low on the forum to see if others are experiencing my current problem, though it doesn't seem to be the case -- or I haven't found the relevant thread!

I am running Mac OS 10.6.4 on a 2007 Macbook Pro 17", with a Multiface I and RME ExpressCard.  Since moving my system from Mac OS 10.4 to 10.6 (and upgrading to the RME ExpressCard at the same time), I have found that the settings and the HDSPe Mixer sometimes fail to load.  For now, with the latest drivers and most up-to-date firmware, the card itself is being recognised by the operating system, as I can see it in the sound control panel of the System Preferences.  I can also see the card when I launch the HDSPe Flash Update utility.  Beyond this, though, I cannot seem to access the card in any way.  When I double click the HDSPe Settings or Mixer, they fail to open.  In the past, while running on 10.6, the card, the mixer and the settings would sometimes take a while to show up, but after a short interval (5 - 10 mins), they would suddenly load.  However, earlier today, I put my computer into sleep mode (something I don't normally do), and since then, I cannot get the HDSPe mixer and settings to load.

I know the Multiface and the ExpressCard themselves are still working, as I am running 10.6 from an external drive, so I was able to reboot into 10.4.11, and fortunately, the card loaded along with the settings and the mixer, and sound played as normal.  When I returned to 10.6, the card appears to "initialise" (red host light turns off), but still, I am unable to access the HDSPe settings or mixer.  I have shut down, unplugged, removed power cords, express cards, booted with nothing plugged, shut down, booted again with everything plugged, all to no avail.  I have even gone so far as to delete all HDSP(e) related files on my system and then re-installed the latest drivers, but this doesn't appear to have had any effect in getting the HDSPe settings and mixer to load.

Further to that, I have checked the serial number of the ExpressCard, and it starts with "229..." so I don't think it is part of the batch of cards that were meant to be returned.

Since I don't see anyone else posting about this, I get the impression I am maybe seeing some rare behaviour, but if anyone has any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated!

2 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 24,851

Re: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

Are you using the correct (latest) driver on the 10.6 disk?

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2007-05-30
  • Posts: 4

Re: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

I believe so -- I am running the package from hdspe_276.  Is that the correct one?

  • Registered: 2007-05-30
  • Posts: 4

Re: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

Hello RME forum!  Just checking to see if there is any news, or even any hope of news down the road?  I haven't been able to make any further progress on my side.  The latest drivers are installed, and when booting my computer, the yellow Midi State "In" and "Out" lights flash on for a second (as per usual), the red Host light turns off, I can see the ExpressCard itself in the menu bar of my computer screen, and I can even select "Hammerfall DSP Multiface (ExpressCard)" in the sound control panel, but sadly, this is as far as it goes.  I cannot launch the HDSPe Settings nor the HDSPe Mixer, and otherwise cannot access my Multiface 1 card from any application.  As per my previous post, everything still works fine in mac OS 10.4.  And everything *was* working in 10.6 until I put my mac to sleep that one time.  Since then, my multiface is inaccessible. I also tried updating to the latest dot release of mac os (10.6.5), but that didn't help either.

I have the impression (from the lack of other people complaining about problems with snow leopard and hdspe) that this problem may be difficult to reproduce, but of course, if there is any further information I can provide, or any "diagnostic utility" I could run (if such a thing exists), I would be more than happy to do so.

Thanks as always for your time and consideration!

  • Registered: 2007-05-30
  • Posts: 4

Re: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

Hello again!  I thought I would include this final post for the sake of completeness.  My problem seems to be solved, although the mystery deepens.  While running in mac OS 10.6, I accessed my OS 10.4 disk and I tried opening the old HDSP (not HDSPe) Settings and Mixer that were still there from the days of running older versions of Mac OS with an RME PCMCIA card + duel adapter.  And to my surprise, they launched -- in 10.6.  So I copied these over to my 10.6 applications folder, shut down, rebooted, and sure enough, the HDSP Settings and HDSP Mixer launch automatically when I boot my machine.  I now have full access to my Multiface I card again, and everything runs smoothly as before.

For reference, in OS 10.6 I am running the Hammerfall DSP Mixer and Hammerfall DSP Settings version 1.71.  I still cannot launch the HDSPe Mixer or Settings, but since my card is working, I guess there is nothing more to worry about :-)

Kind regards
Matthew B.

6 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
  • Offline
  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 24,851

Re: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

A critical condition here might be the multi-boot system. On our test system installing the driver on an OS on an external hard drive worked, but we are not 100% sure that it will always work. This specific setup might be the reason that only you see this behavior.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • From: Toronto
  • Registered: 2007-05-01
  • Posts: 95

Re: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

This is, or will be, my set up. I have a 2008 MBP 15" still on 10.5.8 with a Multiface and an Express34 card. I will need to upgrade to 10.6 soon enough to catch up with a lot of video apps that are going 10.6 only and I need this to work. If anyone else is having this problem I'd love to hear about it before I upgrade.
I usually upgrade with a new HD and keep the old OS HD around for a while until I know everything works. I'll be doing that but I'm keeping an eye on this thread.

  • Registered: 2008-02-09
  • Posts: 14

Re: HDSPe Settings + Mixer not loading Mac 10.6 + ExpressCard

Had same problem after updating drivers without de-installing old ones.

After much futzing around I got it going again, here are things I tried (I'm not really sure which one worked):

Deinstall according to: http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic … 681#p23681
Especially this part - "When using the new Snow Leopard driver also delete:
/Library/LaunchAgents/de.rme-audio.hdspAgent.plist"

Reflashed HDSPE to 2.20 even though it was up to date

Reinstall hdspe_276


One or both of these worked for me powering down completely between stages

Good Luck, Stephen