Apogee Ensemble Update NOT working-- 10.4.10 update?

[jordanh]

Everything has been working great, and I recently updated my Ensemble with the updater just a week ago or so...I ran the updater for the hell of it the other day and for some reason it says my ensemble isn't connected to the computer. The ensemble is working fine however-- i've been using it in Logic and regular audio playback seems to work just fine-- I just can't seem to run the updater.

I did two updates in the past week, so it could have something to do with either of these:

1) Updating ensemble to latest drivers
2) Updating Max OS X to 10.4.10

I am downloading the combo update from apple right now and will post my results after re-installing the update and will surely let you all know. Has anyone else experienced similar issues?

Maybe the apogee team can help me figure this out...

Jordan

[jordanh]

Here is a detailed walk through of what I've done to try and remedy this situation in case you have come across the same thing. Hopefully apogee tech's see this too...

1. Clicking continue to go passed not recognizing my ensemble, the updater said that Componen FWAUDIO needed an update. I believe this was at the current update number before I did my 10.4.10 update. Anyway, it said my current version was v1.2.2b1 and the web version was v2.02fc8 (I'm 99 percent sure i had that installed before 10.4.10). I ran the update two times with no luck. It still says I have the old version and need to update.
2. On the second reboot (update requires a reboot), I left the ensemble on, reopened the updater, and it surprisingly recognized the ensemble! This was great...at first. I say this because although the ensemble worked flawlessly (and I didnt even wait for the computer to boot before turning it on), something else was buggy. The audio worked, and so did the Output dial however the audio slider in my toolbar as well as in System Preferences stopped responding to adjustment of the output dial as well as adjustments made ON the computer.
3. I ran the update again and it still did nothing-- it recognizes my ensemble now but still doesn't reflect that the update was installed. I also clicked the allow downgrades option in the updater software but this didn't have an effect.
4. I tried turning the unit off, rebooting, and turning it on once booted into 10.4.10 but it still doesn't have an effect on anything, or the update actually working.

I am not positive but I think this has something to do with me updating to 10.4.10. Luckily the ensemble still works and so does the output dial, but I need to be able to make adjustments to the output volume via the computer not just the dial-- so this is a big problem for me.

I know others have had other problems with their units not being recognized at ALL after doing the 10.4.10 update... Perhaps there is a way to downgrade back to 10.4.9?

All I can do now is hope apple and/or apogee figures this out. I would appreciate any and all help anyone from the boards or apogee could give me on this. Thanks a lot.

Jordan

[Paul Lowden]

If you're running any other firewire hardware - a hard drive, for example - it will mess up the update's recognition of your Ensemble.

I've had no problem with 10.4.10 and I've recently up-dated the ensemble to the latest firmware. But it took me two or three tries before I realized that it was the my external hard-drive which was causing the up-dater to tell me that it couldn't find an ensemble. Once I dismounted the hard-drive and updated the ensemble, everything worked a treat. [Oh, except I had to go in and reset the clock to 'internal'.]

Just a thought.

Paul

[jordanh]

I tried it with my external disconnected and the FWAUDIO still says it requires an update...everything else seems to update fine-- I think if I could get FWAUDIO to update, then I wouldn't have any issues with the volume sliders in my taskbar and under system preferences. I am pretty sure it was a result of the 10.4.10 update because everything was up to date just until I did the OS update and since then i started having this weird problem...

[Paul Lowden]

Okay, then I'm tapped out.

Call Apogee. I've found them to be very responsive and quite helpful.

Best of luck.

Paul

p.s. - There's too many variables to comment from a distance, but my Ensemble is completely up-to-date and running on 10.4.10 just great. I had a lengthy session yesterday with no problems at all.

[Stiff]

This is an extreme longshot, but did you update OSX using automatic update or the combo updater found on Apples website? I ask because the automatic updater have caused problems with Pro Tools and a few other applications. If you used that, then you could try the Combo updater.

[jordanh]

originally I had done the automatic update, however, when I started getting problems, I reinstalled using the combo update from apple support downloads... still nothing :(

[Clawson]

Hi Jordan,

Please give tech support a call (310)584-9394 (If you have not already) and I am sure me or one of the other guys can get you up and running.

Chris Lawson
Apogee Electronics

[jordanh]

Thanks a lot Chris-- I will call you guys when I get off work. What time is tech support around until? I think with the 2 hour time difference between Chicago and California I should be able to catch someone... Thanks again, hopefully we can figure this out!

Jordan

[Clawson]

We are open from 9 am to 6 pm pacific time.


Chris Lawson
Apogee Electronics

[jordanh]

Big thanks to Apogee for responding to the post and even bigger thanks to Apogee for helping me fix the issue in under 15 minutes

[Paul Lowden]

That's great.

Maybe you could enlighten us and tell us what the solution was.

TIA,

Paul

[jordanh]

Hey Paul,
Well, it seemed to be a combination of things. Somehow all my drivers and firmware and software got all crazy-- I'm really not sure how but it did. When I opened up Maestro and went to about, most of my version numbers came up as vx.xx...etc it was real weird.

1. One of my main problems was that even though my external HD was OFF, the fact that it was plugged into my Ensemble was causing all sorts of weird issues. Unplugging anything chained was the first thing I thought of doing, but I figured turning it off was enough-- but it turns out it wasn't, the cable has to be completely disconnected from the ensemble. Once I took the cable out, the Ensemble Updater started working in a much more stable manner.
2. First I ran the ensemble updater I had and although it couldn't connect to the Apogee servers, I ran the update off of local files.
3. Then apogee tech support actually sent me some installer/driver from apple called "AppleFWAudio-2.1.0fc9-e2.pkg
4. After installing that, I downloaded the NEWEST Ensemble Updater and same thing, installed from local files, and everything was updated correctly finally.

This fixed all the problems except it IS NOT perfect. When I chain my external HD into the Ensemble, it creates the same problem I originally had. I plug in the HD and suddenly System Pref. and my toolbar quit responding to volume changes done on the ensemble, and vice versa. The output knob still works and adjusts the output volume, but I cant adjust it via the computer or see the volume sliders change in sys pred or toolbar. I'll call Apogee tomorrow and let them know about this bug.

At least I know that everything DOES work for the most part, but Apogee/Apple still have a lot of little kinks to work out with their drivers-- especially in terms of firewire connectivity and using other devices. There is no reason Ensemble users shouldn't be able to daisy chain hard drivers and other necessary firewire devices to the ensemble and not expect them to work or cause weird little glitches.

That being said, I love my ensemble and have really seen them make it extremely stable since it first came out. If anyone has any ideas on getting it working perfect when I have a hard drive chained, I appreciate the input, likewise, if I need to buy a firewire PCMCIA card, what do all of you recommend?

Jordan