Topic: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

12/17/2010
3.0.34.0
This device is working properly.
ableton 8.1.3

select driver type ASIO
select Audio Device FIREFACE 800

hangs

on O2Micro 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller

Is there a known issue?

I can't get the 2.999 driver to work either.

fireface64.sys crashes the system to blue screen
Has this driver worked for fireface 800 on windows 7 pro before?

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

So it's pretty clear to me that RME does not have a driver for windows 7 pro that works. Can you tell me please what one is supposed to do in purchasing a new PC? THEY DON'T SELL XP PRO WITH NEW BOXES ANY MORE. The system I have shipped with Windows 7 64 bit.
HELLO HELLO Anyone home.
Mark

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Ok I fixed the initial install. I'll re-post if there are any stability problems or other crashes.
I have an audiofire 4 that I can use as a fireface replacement if there are any further issues.

    Open the Device Manager.

    Expand "IEEE 1394 Bus host controllers"

    Select your IEEE 1394 (FireWire) controller

    Click on the icon "Update Driver Software" at the top.

    Select "Browse my computer for driver software"

    Select "Let me pick..."

    Select "1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)"

Choose Next and it will install the 1394 legacy controller software. The fireface drivers sit on top of these 1394 drivers, hence the issue if not using legacy.
Just a comment that this should be in the install instructions.

Mark

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

No, this fix of changing the 1394 drivers to legacy DOES NOT WORK.
It gets the fireface up and running but when I chose input config from the ableton options the software hangs.

This is really really frustrating that an interface in this price range does not have current windows 7 pro drivers. I have been using it successfully under xp pro but the new laptops DO NOT SHIP WITH XP PRO.

WTF?

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

The drivers are fine, most users are running on Win 7 without issue. Seems your notebook FW has problems. Did you also update firmware for the unit? Did you set your power scheme to High Performance in control panel?

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

6 (edited by assault 2011-02-07 09:22:18)

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Edit: My problem is different - New thread created.

7 (edited by vocaltrance 2011-02-07 04:38:52)

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

The drivers for the ECHO AUDIOFIRE4 work fine. I am dealing with a buffer underrun problemon the AUDIOFIRE4 so that's causing some glitches but the point is it works fine.

I purchased an RME 800 FIREFACE on the basis that drivers for WINDOWS 7 existed. rme says drivers for the windows  7 64 bit version work.
Hello. Anyone from support around?

8

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

An 8-channel audio card might just work on a weak system, but a 56-channel audio card has much higher demands on system resources and performance. You should try a different FireWire card in your laptop, one with TI chip. Depending on its design this solution might still fail, when the CardBus or ExpressCard interface is weak again.

Assault: your problem is not at all similar. Please open a new thread.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

vocaltrance wrote:

I purchased an RME 800 Fireface on the basis that drivers for Windows 7 existed. rme says drivers for the windows 7 64 bit version work.

They do indeed, and very well. But even the best drivers can not actively compensate for poor PC performance.

Hello. Anyone from support around?

Those of us who are in Germany do tend to sleep at 4:30 a.m., very sorry. Would you like my private phone number for urgent cases like this one? HeadScratch :roll

That said, you already did receive Sunday support from Jeff of Synthax US. But I believe even Jeff may be offline (or at least not working) at 10 p.m. or so on Sunday. I hope that is acceptable...

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

This is a new laptop with I7 processor (4 core 8 hyperthreaded) with 8GB of 64 bit RAM.
the point is this laptop works just fine with audiofire4 drivers but not rme drivers 2.999 or 3.0.34
There is nothing wrong with the 1394, the chip sets, the performance of this laptop, or any other garbage.
stop confusing the issue. i am explicit in my description.
1. fireface64.sys crashes the system or hangs the laptop when chosing the fireface from the latest version of ableton suite 8.
2. The laptop is a brand new Acer with 4 core hyperthreaded to 8 processors with 8GB of RAM.
3. The laptop is running Windows 7 professional.
4. An ECHO audiofire4 interface works *flawlessly* with the same system.

rme does not make a stable fireface 800 driver for windows 7. this is the 4th day I am trying to install it.

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

vocaltrance wrote:

the point is this laptop works just fine with audiofire4 drivers but not rme drivers 2.999 or 3.0.34

Quoting your earlier post: "I am dealing with a buffer underrun problemon the AUDIOFIRE4 so that's causing some glitches but the point is it works fine.". For one, that does not seem to qualify as "works just fine", and apart from that, if your PC works (more or less) with an 8-channel device, that does not mean it is good enough for the FF800. The obvious differences have been stated above.

There is nothing wrong with the 1394, the chip sets, the performance of this laptop, or any other garbage.

Apparently, this is not the case.

1. fireface64.sys crashes the system or hangs the laptop when chosing the fireface from the latest version of ableton suite 8.

The file may be involved in the crash, but that does not necessarily mean it causes it.

2. The laptop is a brand new Acer with 4 core hyperthreaded to 8 processors with 8GB of RAM.

Unfortunately, these numbers alone do not constitute a good audio PC...

4. An ECHO audiofire4 interface works *flawlessly* with the same system.

Apparently not, see above. And it's not a question of which interface works and which one doesn't. It's a matter of which one the PC will work with and which one it won't.

rme does not make a stable fireface 800 driver for windows 7. this is the 4th day I am trying to install it.

You said you did manage to install it...

And again, just for the record: The driver is perfectly stable. You are making incorrect assumptions, I'm afraid.


Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Hi Daniel.
Thanks for wasting my time with this over the last 2 days. The echo drivers for the audiofire4 work just fine.
I'll use the Audiofire4 my time is valuable.
Cheers
Mark

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

You're getting it wrong, comparing apples and oranges, and you're (sorry) barking up the wrong tree, but of course, the choice is yours entirely. The FF works perfectly fine on plenty of W7 systems out there, that's for sure. And installation is a breeze.


Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

14 (edited by Timur 2011-02-07 17:39:56)

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Let's try to pin down the culprit here:

Does the Blue Screen only happen in combination with Ableton Live (version 8.2.1 is the latest non Beta by the way, not 8.1.3)?

Does it happen when you are playing Window Media Player files via the Fireface (WDM)?

Does it happen when you are using Reaper or Foobar (both ASIO) via the Fireface?

Once we are through these questions we can narrow down the issue.

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Thanks for the constructive approach, Timur, but I'm not sure that will help, since it's been so clearly determined that it must be the FF driver... HeadScratch

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Individuals at RME would prefer curt rolled up eye smiley faces to a serious matter of non-working drivers for windows 7 as evidenced by my problems and at least 3 other threads on this site.
Someone at RME has mistaken the time I am spending troubleshooting RME garbage drivers as not valuable.
Sorry I have other uses for my time.

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

And here is my final post.
In case someone at RME cares about windows 7.
ACER | AS8943G-9429 RT Laptop
Windows 7 pro
Ableton 8.1.3
1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)

BYE

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Since I'm always willing to give it one last try...

vocaltrance wrote:

Individuals at RME would prefer curt rolled up eye smiley faces to a serious matter of non-working drivers for windows 7 as evidenced by my problems and at least 3 other threads on this site.

As we've pointed out, these issues are unrelated. And if there were a "matter of non-working drivers", don't you think we'd be seeing more than three threads?

Someone at RME has mistaken the time I am spending troubleshooting RME garbage drivers as not valuable.

If at least you had done semi-serious troubleshooting and proved something beyond doubt, you'd be entitled to do some insulting... But you haven't. You tried one computer. You tried one DAW software, in an outdated version. What does that prove, and more particularly what does it say about Windows 7 or the FF driver under W7? Correct, nothing. It only proves that there is some issue on your individual setup. There are, however, plenty of potential causes, which unfortunately, you choose to ignore, since you have decided it must be the RME driver and nothing else...

3.034 works like a charm on my self-built i7 machine. I can run Sequoia projects at constant CPU load way beyond 80 % (on an i7, that takes a lot of plugins...) with no glitch or crash. Apparently, it also works on plenty of other W7 systems. This IMHO pretty much rules out the combination of FF driver and W7 in general as the culprit.

Try Reaper. Try another computer. If you can prove it is a driver issue, and if we can reproduce it, we'll gladly do what we can to fix it.

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

Also try using the latest version of Live = 8.2.1 at least, since you did not answer any of my troubleshooting questions (regular Windows 7 64-bit + Fireface user here).

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

> The file may be involved in the crash, but that does not necessarily mean it causes it.
OK I made the mistake of coming back to read this thread about the inoperable Windows 7 pro RME fireface drivers.
Look. The laptop functions flawlessly on audiofire4 drivers. Since system tuning there have been no overruns or underruns.
My system is perfectly irrevocably stable without your drivers. When I start your system fireface 64.sys causes a blue screen. It is identified as the cause by the operating system. Ok?
The system is running windows 7 pro updated to the latest version on a brand new laptop that is twice as fast as the old laptop. On the old laptop I had XP pro and was using the fireface 800 drivers without incident over the last 3 years.
The new laptop runs with a solid state disk. It has 4 cores hyperthreaded to 8 processors. It has 8 GB of RAm on a 64 bit operating system. It is about as fast a system as can be devised. You have not a clue what you are talking about my system is not fast enough.

The legacy 1394 port is operated by legacy 1394 drivers as recommended. I am fully upgraded to ableton live 8.2.

I am using the audiofire 4 now because the driver that RME provides to it's customers does not function on my Windows 7 pro system, that operates very fine thankyou very much without it.

I appreciate the wasted effort to troubleshoot this problem but clearly absolutely nothing we have discussed on this thread can assist the fact that I need fixed drivers for the fireface from RME. I cannot send you a dump and frankly you wouldn't have the first clue of what to do with it from the responses I have seen on this thread.

> Try Reaper. Try another computer.

How about we leave it right here, I can go back to work and you can go back to whatever it is you do, clearly not support.
I have a better idea. I'm trying another firewire interface vendor.

Regarding your product support "throw as much shit on the wall to see what sticks" philosophy, well loss of a customer is the result.

Mark

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

First of all: It was me (another Windows 7 64-bit user) who suggested to try Reaper as a way to narrow down the issue!

You may be very right about the driver being the one and only cause for your Blue Screens, but that does not change the fact that these happen under yet to be determined circumstances that are specific to *your* setup!

So if you want RME Support and developers to fix the drivers you either have to provide them with information or stop shouting "foul". Your tone was aggressive from the get go, 12 hours between your first post and the second and you already declared the RME driver to be useless on all Windows 7 configurations.

My advice to you: Get a professional to install your setup or stop using technology that is beyond your scope. If you want Plug&Play get Fisher-Price. Alternatively: Cool down, help RME in helping you and learn a thing or two along the way. fryingpan

Re: 3.0.34.0 fireface64.sys crashes windows 7 professional

vocaltrance wrote:

When I start your system fireface 64.sys causes a blue screen.

According to what you've said before, this only happens with one specific software in an outdated version. That proves that on your specific system the combination of this software and a FW audio device driver that causes more traffic than your Audiofire seems to cause a problem which eventually leads to a BSOD.
You have not tested other software or an update for yours. You have not tested the FF's "Limit bandwidth" option to see whether less FW traffic will help. You have not tested another W7 system. There are so many variables here that your simple conclusion of the driver causing the issue is IMHO quite far-fetched.

It is identified as the cause by the operating system. Ok?

Can you show me some document to prove that when a file is mentioned on the BSOD, it is without doubt the single cause of the crash?

The new laptop runs with a solid state disk. It has 4 cores hyperthreaded to 8 processors. It has 8 GB of RAm on a 64 bit operating system. It is about as fast a system as can be devised. You have not a clue what you are talking about my system is not fast enough.

Once again, these number indicate "fast" on the surface, but as audio laptop retailers like ADK will confirm, "fast" does not necessarily mean "suitable for audio" these days, particularly in the case of mass-produed office laptops, even if there is no BSOD issue. If you believe CPU speed and RAM is all that counts, you are misguided.

The legacy 1394 port is operated by legacy 1394 drivers as recommended.

It is an option, but not a prerequisite. My Intel desktpop board runs fine with the standard FW driver.
Have you tried that?

I am fully upgraded to ableton live 8.2.

First time you've mentioned this fact.


Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME