• Registered: 2012-10-29
  • Posts: 2

Topic: Tried everything and FF400 still not recognised by win 7

Hey all,

Spent a lot of time reading and going through the archives on this forum.

I've tried everything on Windows 7 to get my Fireface running but it just isn't recognised.

So let's cut to it:

-Works fine when I switch it back to my XP computer (so no issues with the FF400 unit or cabling)
-Have tried both legacy and 2 other firewire drivers that came with the Firewire PCI card
-The card is recognised fine but the FF400 does not show up in device manager anywhere
-I've tried to run the Flash Update tool but nothing happens after I run the executable (the program doesn't open)
-Can't do anything with the driver because the hardware isn't recognised

The Firewire card is a Sunix PCI thing. Recognised and working fine on Win 7. I'm already on my second firewire PCI card to get this Fireface working. Last one didn't do anything either.

Is there anything else I can try to get this thing working??? Anything?

I miss XP already but have invested too much already into getting everything else running on Win 7...

2 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,604

Re: Tried everything and FF400 still not recognised by win 7

A standard FireWire card does not need to install any driver, they are included in the OS. From your description it might be that you installed the incompatible Unibrain drivers which still work somehow in the system.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2011-05-03
  • Posts: 94

Re: Tried everything and FF400 still not recognised by win 7

Have you tried updating the firmware while in Windows XP, since yous aid it works in XP.

Although I don't know if that will help, when I first got my FF400 it had the initial, or one of the earliest firmware versions and Windows 7 x64 picked it up just fine and then I updated the firmware and drivers.

Do you have another PC available you can test with? Or a spare HDD you can do a clean install of Win7 to test?

  • Registered: 2012-10-29
  • Posts: 2

Re: Tried everything and FF400 still not recognised by win 7

MC: Sorry I meant the generic Win 7 drivers, not the manufacturer of the firewire card.

Basically I have 3 options for drivers:

1. 1394 ohci compliant host controller
2. 1394 ohci compliant host controller (legacy)
3. LSI 1394 ohci compliant host controller

None of them work.

Maybe it's worthwhile trying this Unibrain driver. I read somewhere that Texas Instruments chips were required to get this thing working. Not sure if there is any truth to that.

Funkyspace,

Yeah I considered putting it back onto my xp pc, flashing the firmware to the newest version and then trying again on win 7. But to be honest, I was a little scared that if I did that and it didn't work, I wouldn't be able to get it to work back on my XP computer... I guess I don't have a lot to lose though at this point as Ive invested in win 7 with my other software. If I can't get this thing going by the weekend, anybody in Australia is welcome to it as I'll have to just bite the bullet and go pay for a device that runs off USB3 or something. This is computer/hardware nightmare to me at the moment!

5 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,604

Re: Tried everything and FF400 still not recognised by win 7

Unibrain drivers do not work with our interfaces, and are not required for a chip to be recognized.

The latest firmware is XP compatible, so there is no probem in updating under XP. You could even downgrade later if it should be necessary.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2011-05-03
  • Posts: 94

Re: Tried everything and FF400 still not recognised by win 7

Stick with the Win7 built in 'legacy' driver would be my recommendation as it's known to be the most stable in Vista and 7.

But even the standard default driver in Win7 should see your RME, if you do get it working and have pops/crackles and random noises then do try the legacy driver. 

With the legacy driver in Win7 x64 and the latest RME firmware + drivers it's a truely rock solid experience.