M-Audio Dropout Nightmare

[Nigel451964]

Hi,

I have an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R audio interface which is a nice piece of kit but I'm having a chronic problem with dropouts when running my recording software and any media player. The dropour occurs every two seconds when recording and playing back as if it's synched up with a metronome and it's driving me insane.

I've tried changing buffer settings and removing processes that may be affecting performance and I've actually just performed a system restore on my pc so it should be fairly crap free.

The Fast Track's been ok (more or less) until now so I have no idea why this is happening but I can't do any recording until I've sorted this out which is a pain because I've got shit loads to do.

I hope you can help.

Cheers
Nigel

[String7th]

Couple possible problems:
1. You are running recording software & a media program? It's loosing sync because your media center program and your DAW are running different bit rates. If you play an MP3 in Windows Media Player, it runs at 44.1kbs, and have your Cubase set to record 48kbs, it will fight eachother and lose sync. I can't use both even set at sames bit rate, just doesn;t work for me.

2. Your computer may not be up to par with the demands of multitracking. Are you connected to the internet? What's the specs on your CPU and RAM?

[Nigel451964]

No I'm not running recording software and a media program at the same time. The same dropout is occuring independently.

My computer RAM is 512MB and is 160GB.

Perhaps the memory isn't enough with the Fast Track and I have had latency problems before but I've not had dropouts like this where I can't record or playback.

[Nigel451964]

I've checked my computer's CPU which is 2.8GHz and the minimum requuirement for the Fast Track is 1.6GHz so there shouldn't be a problem running it on my pc.

[String7th]

2.8 ghz and 512 Megs is very small. If it's a single core processor, sounds like you are running a small laptop or outdated desktop not quite up to par for computer recording, especially 8-channel USB.

But still sounds like something else too. Go through this checklist:
Updated driver software from M-audio?
Updated drivers from your recording program? (which DAW you using)
Updated XP or Vista drivers? Using 64-bit?
USB port is secure and not loose?

[Nigel451964]

What would you recommend as being a decent size CPU and RAM for recording? I know my system isn't the best for what I'm doing although I thought 2.8GHz was powerful enough but maybe not the RAM.

I've updated the M-Audio driver and XP SP2 to try and solve this problem and I'll check the USB connections as the pc keeps freezing every few seconds which is a new problem that's just cropped up.

I guess what I really need is a new computer.

[String7th]

Ah, PC freeze.
After a PC restore, the only thing left is that it's just not powerfull enough to run that interface. You can test this theory by uninstalling all the M-audio and recording stuff, and see if a simple cd plays through the headphone jack of the motherboard or stock soundcard. If it plays fine and even runs a word doc or something with no freeze, then it helps my theory.

For a USB interface with 8-channels like that, I'd suggest a dual core CPU to start. AMD compatible ones are fairly cheap around $110 for 3.1 ghz (which roughly translates to 6.2 ghz speed). 2 gigs of ram is about $40 and enough to run 8-tracks plus more. I got 4 gigs at 1066 speed for $60, so it's affordable.

If you can't install it yourself, an upgrade that will tripple your computer power would be $250-300 from a computer shop. Maybe cheaper.

[jagcmos]

If it just started happening, it might be a virus that wakes up every two seconds and performs a brief task that exhausts the cpu or it could be some software that you installed doing the same.


Your system restore may have been infected as well, my virus scanner oftens finds virii that copy themselves to the system restore volume.

Go to Start->run
Enter msconfig
Go to the startup and services tabs and look for suspicious entries that are not part of know installed software.

Be careful when deselecting startup entries and services. Google them if your not sure.
Helpful link: How to use MSCONFIG in Windows XP and Vista
Here's another:
Services Guide for Windows XP

At 2.8 Ghz, your system should easily handle 8 tracks, but I would get at least 1 gig ram minimal.

Good luck.

[tatteredstudios]

512 ram is not enough. Get at least 2 gig, and on a single core processor it will work, but dual or quad will be MUCH better

[Nigel451964]

Thanks guys.