FF 400 Problem- Dropping Out Constantly

Shadow Rose · 17th March 2008, 07:18 AM

My problem has been going on for quite a while now and i havent been able to find a solution and i feel like ive exhausted every option.

My FF440 keeps dropping out when i am working on music.. The vocals keep dropping out and when i go to mix down songs, they still drop out in the .mp3 file! Its driving me crazy cause its so unstable. And it happens every 5-7 seconds.

MY FF440 is plugged into a Texas Instrument Fire Wire card and i have also tried playing with the buffer size settings to no avail as the problem still exists..

I have used the DSP Checker and that hasnt helped.

My Computer Specs are:
Intel QUAD core
Asus P5K
4gig RAM
2 * 300gig HDD
Windows XP Professional
Texas Instrument Chipset

jcschild · 17th March 2008, 01:40 PM

HI,
have you turned off networking? particularly wireless!
have you turned off anything your not using in the bios?
is your drive connected to the j-micron ports on the Asus board?
(yet another reason to not use Asus)
when you did your install did you turn off Raid in the bios?
have you done all the windows tweaks?

sounds to me like something is hitting the bus or your config is not right.

majortom · 17th March 2008, 02:06 PM

That's really odd that it's dropping out during mixdown. I was under the impression that most DAW software doesn't involve the soundcard during mixdown.

Just a shot in the dark, but you don't happen to have an unregistered plug-in in the chain that drops out every 10 seconds as a nagware measure.

Are there any errors registering on the Fireace Setting panel? They would appear under the "Word Clock Out" section. You shouldn't have any, but you may occasionally get a few.

majortom · 17th March 2008, 02:14 PM

If you don't have this patch installed, you should install it:

Download details: Update for Windows XP (KB896256)

It's a multiprocessor patch. May help.

Shadow Rose · 18th March 2008, 04:19 AM

Thanks for the help guys.

I've disabled every item possible on my DAW through the BIOS, including my network adapters etc... I have the IRQ running on its own, and the Texas Instrument Chipset is not being shared by any other devices.

I am not using pirated software either, but i havent registered my products either as my DAW is not connected to the internet. Is that a problem?

jcschild i've done all that you have mentioned to no avail.

I will install the patch and let you know how i go..

Shadow Rose · 18th March 2008, 05:22 AM

Installed the patch and it didnt work..

HOWEVER, i installed the FF400 along with my TI firewire card in my other computer which uses a different motherboard and it runs PERFECTLY! Even when its sharing the IRQ's. Audio runs very smoothly with no drop outs what so ever @ 128 samples.

So the question is, what do i do from here? Should i replace my mother board? or can i tweak the settings in windows?

majortom · 18th March 2008, 02:10 PM

When I said "register" I really meant "authorize." Some plug-ins insert silence every 30 seconds or so as a nagware measure to allow you to demo them, but not really use them without authorizing. Since you seemed to be saying that just the vocals were dropping out and that the drop-outs were occurring on mixdown it points to something other than the firewire interface. It would be really strange for just one track to drop out with the other being fine. If that's not what you meant, then you can pretty much ignore my advice below:

Bypass all your plugins on the vocal track(s) and see if that helps. Don't forget any sends or busses that may also have plugins just affecting the vocals.

I've had issues before where previously authorized plug-ins lost their authorization information and started inserting snippets of silence. It took a little while to figure out what was going on.

BTW, which DAW are you using?

Shadow Rose · 18th March 2008, 09:53 PM

Im using Cubase 3..

I by passed all pluginis and the audio didnt drop out once. But when i do have the plugins in it drops out when ever it feels like. And sometimes during mixdown it doesnt drop out at all, only sometimes.

I tried using the Cubase plugins (the standard ones) and the audio didnt drop out either.. I just feel the issue is deeper than this.. I guess i need to do more testing..

Thanks for the input..

majortom · 19th March 2008, 12:51 AM

I'd start bypassing plugs to find the culprit. Look for CPU spikes. I know some plugins on P4 and AMD processors have/had problems with really small floating point numbers (denormals) causing CPU spikes. I'm not sure if newer processors have the same problems.

One other possible issue could be using software RAID or an onboard raid controller. I've had problems with that in the past.

Good luck.

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17th March 2008, 07:18 AM	#1
Shadow Rose Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	FF 400 Problem- Dropping Out Constantly My problem has been going on for quite a while now and i havent been able to find a solution and i feel like ive exhausted every option. My FF440 keeps dropping out when i am working on music.. The vocals keep dropping out and when i go to mix down songs, they still drop out in the .mp3 file! Its driving me crazy cause its so unstable. And it happens every 5-7 seconds. MY FF440 is plugged into a Texas Instrument Fire Wire card and i have also tried playing with the buffer size settings to no avail as the problem still exists.. I have used the DSP Checker and that hasnt helped. My Computer Specs are: Intel QUAD core Asus P5K 4gig RAM 2 * 300gig HDD Windows XP Professional Texas Instrument Chipset

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17th March 2008, 01:40 PM	#2
jcschild Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 838	HI, have you turned off networking? particularly wireless! have you turned off anything your not using in the bios? is your drive connected to the j-micron ports on the Asus board? (yet another reason to not use Asus) when you did your install did you turn off Raid in the bios? have you done all the windows tweaks? sounds to me like something is hitting the bus or your config is not right.

17th March 2008, 02:06 PM	#3
majortom Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 488	That's really odd that it's dropping out during mixdown. I was under the impression that most DAW software doesn't involve the soundcard during mixdown. Just a shot in the dark, but you don't happen to have an unregistered plug-in in the chain that drops out every 10 seconds as a nagware measure. Are there any errors registering on the Fireace Setting panel? They would appear under the "Word Clock Out" section. You shouldn't have any, but you may occasionally get a few.

17th March 2008, 02:14 PM	#4
majortom Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 488	If you don't have this patch installed, you should install it: Download details: Update for Windows XP (KB896256) It's a multiprocessor patch. May help.

18th March 2008, 04:19 AM	#5
Shadow Rose Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Thanks for the help guys. I've disabled every item possible on my DAW through the BIOS, including my network adapters etc... I have the IRQ running on its own, and the Texas Instrument Chipset is not being shared by any other devices. I am not using pirated software either, but i havent registered my products either as my DAW is not connected to the internet. Is that a problem? jcschild i've done all that you have mentioned to no avail. I will install the patch and let you know how i go..

18th March 2008, 05:22 AM	#6
Shadow Rose Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Installed the patch and it didnt work.. HOWEVER, i installed the FF400 along with my TI firewire card in my other computer which uses a different motherboard and it runs PERFECTLY! Even when its sharing the IRQ's. Audio runs very smoothly with no drop outs what so ever @ 128 samples. So the question is, what do i do from here? Should i replace my mother board? or can i tweak the settings in windows?

18th March 2008, 02:10 PM	#7
majortom Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 488	When I said "register" I really meant "authorize." Some plug-ins insert silence every 30 seconds or so as a nagware measure to allow you to demo them, but not really use them without authorizing. Since you seemed to be saying that just the vocals were dropping out and that the drop-outs were occurring on mixdown it points to something other than the firewire interface. It would be really strange for just one track to drop out with the other being fine. If that's not what you meant, then you can pretty much ignore my advice below: Bypass all your plugins on the vocal track(s) and see if that helps. Don't forget any sends or busses that may also have plugins just affecting the vocals. I've had issues before where previously authorized plug-ins lost their authorization information and started inserting snippets of silence. It took a little while to figure out what was going on. BTW, which DAW are you using?

18th March 2008, 09:53 PM	#8
Shadow Rose Gear interested Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4	Im using Cubase 3.. I by passed all pluginis and the audio didnt drop out once. But when i do have the plugins in it drops out when ever it feels like. And sometimes during mixdown it doesnt drop out at all, only sometimes. I tried using the Cubase plugins (the standard ones) and the audio didnt drop out either.. I just feel the issue is deeper than this.. I guess i need to do more testing.. Thanks for the input..

19th March 2008, 12:51 AM	#9
majortom Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 488	I'd start bypassing plugs to find the culprit. Look for CPU spikes. I know some plugins on P4 and AMD processors have/had problems with really small floating point numbers (denormals) causing CPU spikes. I'm not sure if newer processors have the same problems. One other possible issue could be using software RAID or an onboard raid controller. I've had problems with that in the past. Good luck.