I'd say before you do something drastic or that you'll regret, that you first share the details of your system and your problem. But you also have to accept the fact that not all problems can be resolved in some specific DAW systems, and it can sometimes require major changes to the current hardware and/or software.

The other thing is that you may have a problem with your MOBO that you are not even aware of or you may have some other hardware problem. A couple of years ago we had a machine that would go flaky every once in a while. It would shut down at random times and was a mess. We finally traced it down to a bad power supply, replaced the power supply and BINGO no more problems. Turned out that the power supply had some internal problems caused by component failure and was shutting down when certain circumstances happened inside the supply. Modern computers are wonderful but they can have all sorts of problems. I just repaired a friends computer and it turned out to be a problem with the memory sticks not being properly seated. I would check over all your connections, rule out the obvious and start doing some trouble shooting based on logic.

Best of luck

Some info on your computer would help a lot,

That sounds reasonable.

SYSTEM DETAILS:
Dell Optiplex GX270 small desktop model
2.6 GHz
80 GB hard drive
1 GB RAM
Windows XP SP2
Cubase LE
Tascam FW-1884
SIIG 3-Port PCI i/e FireWire card
SoundBlaster LIVE!
USB peripherals including printers, hub, card reader.

This computer is not dedicated solely to audio processing. I use it for everything, including iTunes and internet.

The problem existed prior to adding two external USB drives.

PROBLEM DETAILS:
In both of my only two Cubase projects, I get audio dropouts at FW-1884 Control Panel Audio Latency settings lower than 2048. Typically on playback of recorded audio I will hear 1/2 to 1 second of audio, followed by 30 to 35 seconds of silence, followed by 1/2 to 1 second of audio, etc., etc.

At a setting of 2048, I get occasional crackling sounds of very short duration - fractions of a second.

Cubase responses to 1884 controls are delayed, and the Cubase tracking bar may or may not hesitate as it moves along in the project window.

I have followed recommendations found on various forums, including:
Optimizing Windows
Following all setup instructions in the manuals
Checking all the settings in the FW-1884 Control Panel
Installing the latest ASIO drivers
Changing FireWire cards
Disconnecting the SB LIVE!
Using a shorter FireWire cable
to name a few.

I do not have an electronics background, am moderately intelligent, and do not always notice the obvious.

By the way, it was good of you to respond.

Well it sounds like your firewire device is not keeping up with your computer. There are many things that could be causing this. We recently had to switch to Granite firewire cables for our video studio and they helped a lot. Our computers are in a machine room and we had about 15 feet of, what we thought was good firewire cable, connecting up the firewire in the computer to our Canopus interface. The Granite cables seem to cure the problem. I would do things in a logical order.

Get a good quality firewire cable and substitute it for the one you have, If that does not help the problem, then try a different Firewire card (there are differences in firewire cards and you want one that subscribes to the Texas Instrument protocol. (see here http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/tex/tex384.html) Some devices are more tolerant than others of problems. There is a new firewire standard the "b" version which allows for higher speeds, I would also contact TASCAM to see if they have seen this problem. I would also look at your Device Manager in your system in the control panel to see if you have some IRQ conflicts with your firewire card and what those conflicts are. If you open your device manager and see anything with a red symbol on it check out what the problem is.

The replies you have gotten so far are all valid. You need to be very systematic in your trouble shooting. I would get a BIG yellow pad and write down every step as you try it ( this keeps you from going over and over the same problem and may lead to some interesting discoveries along the way.) I am assuming that you have your program on the C: Drive and are using one of the USB drives for your audio files? If that is the case is the external USB drive USB 1 or USB 2? If it is USB 1 there maybe a bottleneck at that point. If you are writing back to drive C: that can also cause problems. Is you internal drive drives IDE or SATA?The other thing would be to check and see what other programs are running in the background. Sometimes programs going out to check the status of the printer or card reader can interfere with the audio stream. I have also seen problems when the video card is on the same IRQ as the firewire card. There are SOOOOOOOOOOO! many things this could be it will take a good detective to find the solution.

Best of luck and as you trouble shoot let us know what you are finding.

I have tried different FireWire cables and am using a good quality one now. I have tried different FireWire cards, and the one I am using now is TI OHCI compliant. I have not tried a 1398b cable because the FW-1884 is limited to 400mbs, as is the SIIG 3-Port PCI i/e. I have tried to contact Tascam. Tascam U.S. won't acknowledge my emails; Tascam Germany tells me to contact Tascam U.S. There are no red symbols in the Device Manager.

I have the program and audio files on the c: drive as I've just recently added the external drives, both of which are USB 2.0. The internal drive is an 80 GB EIDE, 7200 RPM, ATA/100. The problem occurs with no other programs running in the background.

This is what I see in System Information:

IRQs:

IRQ 0 System timer OK
IRQ 1 Easy Internet Keyboard OK
IRQ 3 Intel(R) 82801EB SMBus Controller - 24D3 OK
IRQ 4 Communications Port (COM1) OK
IRQ 6 Standard floppy disk controller OK
IRQ 8 System CMOS/real time clock OK
IRQ 9 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System OK
IRQ 12 Logitech-compatible Mouse PS/2 OK
IRQ 13 Numeric data processor OK
IRQ 14 Primary IDE Channel OK
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE Channel OK
IRQ 16 NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X OK
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D2 OK
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24DE OK
IRQ 16 Creative SB Live! Series (WDM) OK
IRQ 17 Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller OK
IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D7 OK
IRQ 18 Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection OK
IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers OK
IRQ 19 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D4 OK
IRQ 23 Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller OK

Conflicts/Sharing:

Memory Address 0xF0000000-0xF7FFFFFF Intel(R) 82865GPEP Processor to AGP Controller – 2571
Memory Address 0xF0000000-0xF7FFFFFF NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 PCI bus
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 PCI bus
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 Direct memory access controller

I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF Intel(R) 82865GPEP Processor to AGP Controller - 2571
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X

Memory Address 0xFD000000-0xFEAFFFFF Intel(R) 82865GPEP Processor to AGP Controller - 2571
Memory Address 0xFD000000-0xFEAFFFFF NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X

IRQ 16 NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D2
IRQ 16 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24DE
IRQ 16 Creative SB Live! Series (WDM)

IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D7
IRQ 18 Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Network Connection
IRQ 18 Intel(R) 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers

Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF PCI bus
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF Intel(R) 82865GPEP Processor to AGP Controller - 2571
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X

I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB Intel(R) 82865GPEP Processor to AGP Controller - 2571
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X

I see that the numbers 16 and 18 appear more than once on both lists, but I don't know how to interpret that or what to do about it.

The multiple instances of Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D are a result of my inability to discern whether initial and subsequent attempts to install had been successful.

s

Woah thats some buillsh****t i feel sorry for you..... hmmm.... personally i'd reformat the whoe system before ending it all....... but probably before i did that i'd try my hardware on a friend's machine..... and with different software on the existing one, if you know anyone who'd lend you an interface it'd be good to borrow it and try it on your system..... sound blaster LIVE aint exactly pro gear so i wouldn't expect pro performance but that sounds ridiculous, even still i don't trust that SB and if you haven't got a fully updated cubase well you know.... how about RAM have you got different manufacturers chips in there? Could try removing one

Are you serious?

I've tried it with the SoundBlaster removed. Nothing changed. The SoundBlaster is not the problem.

I'd try it on a friend's machine if, (sob) if I had any friends. Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo!

s

As long as you want a general purpose PC, you are preventing yourself from obtaining best possible performance.

Here is some tips I got from E-MU that really helped my system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
We would suggest that if have not already done so, optimize your system and XP. Make sure that you are not running anything that is not directly audio related such as virus, spyware, internet browser, email, chat, messenger, spreadsheet, word processing ect.. as well as closing any non audio applications that load on startup and reside on your windows task bar

Go here for tips on optimizing your PC for audio applications:

http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php

http://www.cgoff.fsnet.co.uk/popsclicks/

KB885222

Windows XP SP2

Are you familiar with hotfix KB885222? If you are not, read on. If yes then I cannot offer any help.

Look it up on microsoft.com. With SP2 the performance of S400 and S800 was brought down to S100. So your system is actually bandwith starved.

They offer a download that you can run and then they'll guide you through a registry edit. Follow these instructions carefully. Do yourself a favour and make a back-up of your registry before changing anything.

I know this because I work on mLAN. After this my system finally worked.

Good luck!!

How very clever of Microsoft to provide an update that corrupts an entire means of data transmission, then provide a hotfix that requires one to read fourteen pages of Rube Goldberg's diary before performing brain surgery. That's it. I'll never buy anything with a Windows OS again, unless I need something to shit in.

I'm gettin' a G5. Problem solved. 8-)

s

sibleypeck wrote: I have the program and audio files on the c: drive

Since it sounds like you've covered everything else, I'd almost guarantee you that this is your problem. It is highly recommended that you save your audio to a completely different drive.

You have to figure that your computer is running your OS, any background applications, Cubase, any plugins all off of the C drive. Adding audio data to that mix is just asking for problems.

Create a new project but save your audio to one of the external drives.
OR
Try copying the audio to one of your external drives. You'll probably need to change the the project in Cubase so that it knows to look for the audio files on the new drive.

Well sibleypeck, I´d look into a Mactel if you want to get rid of MS. These new Mactel babies seem to be really something. All I am saying is that 30 minutes of your time might save you from spending $ 2000,00 right now.

Even a noob like me can do this fix and it works like a charm. It will take you about 15-30 minutes total and you should have a working system again. Just make sure you download the version with the right language. If that´s English then there´s nothing to it. I needed the Dutch version, which was kind of hidden. The only scary thing was the regedit, especially since one of my cats paid me a visit just after I openend the regedit.

I agree it´s a sloppy thing on MS's side and we critical users do not easily accept from a company that makes billions of dollars on OSs with errors like these. I guess they were so obsessed with safety issues that they forgot about us DAWers. Hope they will make this up with Vista.

Wellcome back again to the living :wink:

Modern computers are wonderfull pieces of technology until you have a problem. Then, as you have discovered, all he!! brakes loose. I have to say that I never knew about the problem with firewire but it makes sense and I am performing the update as I write this. (nice of MS to let everyone know that the problem existed and that there was a fix for it)

I am still saying that if this does not cure your problems you need to carefully trouble shoot the machine. I think if you do as other suggested and update the firewire and put your audio files on a seperate hard drive your problems will be solved.

If not get back here for some other solutions.

Gentlemen,

I've manually edited the registry before. I have no problem with that. What I'm afraid of is getting two-thirds of the way thru, then finding out the instructions are vague - and being unable to back out of it.

Nevertheless, three guys who have done it are telling me to jump. So I guess I will. If you hear a loud noise, you'll know I screwed up.

s

There is always the possibility to make a safety backup of your C: before doing anything like this.

I do hope this will fix your problems, because you seem to have tried everything else. Otherwise I agree with Thomas W. that you go through it step by step. Keep us posted.

Make sure that you are not running anything that is not directly audio related such as virus, spyware

Good start... =P

sorry, couldnt resist. there isnt anything else running on the firewire bus is there?

twon

cfaalm,

Please explain. What am I to do with this download after I install it?
Just Run it? Do I have to follow instructions that tell me how to manually edit the Registry? Do I have to do anything besides run the update I download?

s

Cruel World,

I downloaded and installed KB885222. Then I searched the Registry for "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetEnumPCI1394_hc_hw_id1394_instance_id|DeviceParameters". It wasn't there.
I found
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetEnumPCI", but there was no "1394" after it.
So I thought, well, maybe the "_id" means the particular controller identification. There was an "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetEnumPCIFW1884", followed by, "*FDG0076&3b7028b6&0&00000000", containing three folders, one of which was Device Parameters, so I tried the edit with that.
There was no "SidSpeed" so, as per the instructions, I added it and modified it. I modified it to "2", which didn't help, so I modified it to "3", which didn't help help either.
I had backed up my c:drive just to be safe, which took about 2 hours. And the edit itself took about an hour, considering I did it twice, checking Cubase each time. Thank God I didn't waste the whole afternoon.
So, what now?
Did somebody say, "Mactel"?

s

Okay. I've got it figured out. The EnumPCI1394_hc_hw_id1394_instance_idDevice Parameters is actually EnumPCIVEN_104C&DEV_8020&SUBSYS_00D81028&REV_004&19FD8D60&0&60F0Device Parameters for my Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller.

Interestingly, in the right frame of VEN_104C&DEV_8020&SUBSYS_00D81028&REV_004&19FD8D60&0&60F0Device Parameters, three things are listed:

1. (Default) REG_SZ (value not set);
2. SidSpeed REG_DWORD 0x00000002 (2);
3. SidSpeedOld REG_DWORD ffffffff (4294967295).

It appears the SidSpeed has already been modified to S400. Wouldn't you agree?

s

You are going through all this system modification stuff and to tell you the truth, from the description of the problem, I don't think any of this is necessary.

Have you tried using a project where the audio is NOT on the same drive as your program drive?

I think everyone reading this thread missed that point and they've all been focused on another problem.

I'm not saying that what you are doing wont help. I'm just saying that the problem is more likely caused by running everything from the same harddrive.

Hi sibbeypeck, I have tried to watch this thread closely to see how things were, but I live in GMT+1 so I must have missed something :D

2. SidSpeed REG_DWORD 0x00000002 (2); It appears the SidSpeed has already been modified to S400. Wouldn't you agree?

Read the remark at point 5 carefully. From the knowledge base :

Note If you try to use a value that is larger than 3, SidSpeed will use a value of 0 (S100 speed).

Put it on 3.

Did you run the hotfix already?

I'd like to agree with pr0gr4m on the separate disks. At a higher track-count you are sure to run into trouble.

Our keyboard player had no problems however to record 16 x 48KHz/24bits + 1 midi track on the same disk as his OS. It was only a separate partition. Even 4 x 44.1KHz/16bits on a 5400 rpm notebook drive can be done. These are stone cold facts.

Now that 16 track thing was just tracking (on a Maxtor SATA I 250GB 16MB), but it is to illustrate that it can be done to a certain extend.

Gentlemen,

Thanks for staying with me on this.

Regarding SidSpeed, my interpretation is that a value of 2 configures Windows for 400 mbps, and a value of 3 configures Windows for 400 or 800 mbps. Since the FW1884 runs at 400 mbps, I thought setting the value at 3 would be unnecessary.

I have run the hotfix - at least, I think I have. I downloaded and installed and ran KB885222.

I have not tried putting the project files on a separate drive. Such was not necessary with Cakewalk. I have uninstalled Cubase, and will try putting the project files on a separate drive after I re-install Cubase.

An interesting aside: since downloading and installing the hotfix, the colors are gone from this forum, and I get an error message with each screen change.

s

Have you done a testdrive since the hotfix yet? We are all very curious of course.

I have read a little more on the microsoft page and sidspeed 3 S400/S800 speed turns out to be the Windows XP Service Pack 1 [SP1] value. My PC has a Gigabyte K8NF9 Ultra with onboard 1394b. There was no question what value. But even with your SIIG card I'd put it on the value that XP had before SP2 threw it all to the birds.

I think right now the only other company that makes a PCI-E FW-card is Belkin.

Hey man...

Fellow FW-1884 user here.

Love it, but it has also caused a LOT of pain in the past. Seems to work
great with some Texas Instrument Firewire cards and NOT with others.

But your not alone, a TON of people have obtained drop-outs. With
some tweking you can get rid of it though.

For me it took disabling my 'firewire' connections in "Network Connections"
and also making sure that my onboard soundcard was selected in windows
audio manager instead of the FW-1884.

Here's a thread with a TON of different things you can try:

http://tascamforums.com/index.php?showtopic=8729

Seach those TascamForums for other threads... tons of stuff about drop
outs on there.

Btw, to any possible new buyers of the FW-1884. Even though it's been
a pain to set up completely, it's worth it. This is a great piece of heavy
duty gear that has streamlined my work process a ton.

PCI Audio is where it is at!!! Never a peep of issues like these on any 3 of my Intel DAW's with RME PCI DSP cards... Firewire can be wonderful, it is just not 100% yet IMO...

:cool:

I uninstalled and re-installed Cubase. And, I started a new project with the project files on an external USB drive.
Result: I can record and play back audio at 512, with fewer pauses of shorter duration.

I do not like having to go to extraordinary lengths only to make audio processing work better than it did, but still not as well as it should. I do not know what the answer is. My computer system should be adequate. I have optimized it for audio in so many ways that I get error messages when Internet screens change.

I feel like maybe 5% of the changes I've made have had any positive effect on audio performance, while 90% have had detrimental effects on system performance, overall. I may reset everything but the registry edit and the file location to default, and proceed from there. I suspect those are the only two changes I've made that have helped.

treysmith,

You say, "it took disabling my 'firewire' connections in 'Network Connections'". Does that mean: Start > Control Panel > Network Connections > LAN or High-Speed Internet > 1394 Connection 2 > Disable?

And, what exactly do you mean by, "making sure that my onboard soundcard was selected in windows audio manager instead of the FW-1884."?
Which is my "onboard soundcard"? - the SB LIVE! card?, or the A/D converter in the 1884?
And how do you get to "windows audio manager"?

s

Where'd everybody go?

sibleypeck: I can fix all your problems in one procedure....................
you ready? ............It involes a shotgun and your PC and then later a ride to the apple store. If this is too drastic for you or you really can't afford a Mac (understandably) , then you have ONLY 2 options:

1. Quit using your PC as a general computer

2. Quit using your PC as a general computer and get another inexpensive computer for your general computing.

You will never ever ever ever have a stable, efficient Daw if you use it for email, websurfing,or anything other than Audio. There are just to many misc. drivers, hardware conficts, SPYWARE, etc. etc. etc. Get EVERYTHING off of your computer (printers, freeware, MS office). Reinstall Windows and your DAW software and thats it !!!!!! Update both and unplug your ethernet to it. You should then have a very stable DAW. (for a PC anyways)

Good Luck

lk,

Should I use .12, .16, or .20 ga shells for that? I just got a Core Duo Mac mini, upgraded to 2GB RAM.

I also got an Avocent Switchview 2-Port DVI KVM switch so I could use both the Mac and the PC with the same monitor, keyboard, and mouse (and computer speakers, if I wish). Plus, I switched to Logic Express (should be here in a couple days). I just need to run down one more DVI cable, and I should be able to set everything up.

My only question is, how do I download the proper drivers and updates for the Mac if only the PC is connected to the internet? The clerk at the Mac store said he would have no qualms about connecting the Mac to the internet. What's your opinion on that?

What does your setup consist of?

s

I use a 12" G4 Powerbook/ 1.5 Ghz/ 1.25G ram/ Motu DP 4.6/ and I had Motu Traveler but sold and now I am about to gett a Focusrite Saffire Pro. I used to use Pro Tools on PC so I know where you're coming from. Its possible to have a stable PC/Daw but its just so much easier with a Mac. OSX is excellent when it comes to setting up i/o.
You can leave a Mac connected to the internet and pretty much not worry about it. Don't put any Antivirus on it, don't surf for porn on it, and you should be OK. I have heard excellent things about the core duo. Your setup should be very powerfull. You will still need to get a external firewire drive if you want to play over 8 tracks at a time.. I am jealous...... :twisted:

What software are you using?

I use Motu Digital Performer on OSX 10.4.whatever. Thats pretty much it on that computer. I also use my mac for Photoshop, email etc. but I have never really had a problem that wasn't fixed by updating a driver. I have used Logic a good bit and it is definitley very powerfull. From what I've read Logic Express is lacking a few VI's and some other things, but for the $700 difference between Pro and Express I can see Express being a good deal.

David Pogue's iLife chapter on Garage Band paints that app as simple to use, yet versitile. Comments I've read on various forums give me the impression that Logic is not very intuitive. So, I am tempted to learn to crawl with Garage Band and put off using Logic until I find myself bumping up against GarageBand's limitations.

I intended not to connect the mini to the internet, but I've changed my mind. So, in addition to a 10' DVI cable, I still need two ethernet cables. The mini manual states that the user will be taken through the "connecting to the internet" routine during setup. I'd rather do it then, than later on.
Best Buy wants $50 for a 10' Dynex. That's nuts! Dynex does not make a quality product, IMHO, and I wouldn't pay that much even for a quality cable. Unfortunately, the only store I am aware of that carries such an item at a reasonable price is out of stock and won't get any more for two weeks. So I guess my choices are 1) find another source for cables or 2) wait two weeks to use my new machine.

What kind of mixer do you use: outboard, or software?

s

If you're new to DAW software than I definitley NOT suggest Logic Pro or Expess. You need a good understanding of audio and midi signal flow just to set it up.

A few years ago I spent several hundred hours recording with Cakewalk Pro Audio 8 as a hobby. And I have struggled for the past few months with compatibility issues between Cubase, the 1884, and Windows. In other words, I've completed DAW 101. But I'm unacquainted with Logic.
I don't fear Logic, but I respect its sophistication. For that reason, and others, I'll probably start with Garage Band. Then, once I'm comfortable with the operating system, I will very likely switch over to Logic.

s

Logic is awesome. The "enviornment" is what scares people. I was lucky enough to be trained on it at school so I didn't really go thru some of the frustration of learning it, but like I said its a bit too much for the average Joe.

i have a 1884 and i had lots of issues at first. i had most the problems you did. I found out it was my mother board. I got a gigabyte K8 triton for 80.00 buck a vuwalla! Just thought i would let you know.--CK

ckswartwood wrote: i have a 1884 and i had lots of issues at first. i had most the problems you did. I found out it was my mother board. I got a gigabyte K8 triton for 80.00 buck a vuwalla! Just thought i would let you know.--CK

ck,
That may very well have been my problem, too. I never successfully diagnosed it - I just gave up and bought a Mac. I have had none of the problems with it that I had with my Dell. Kind of you to mention it. I appreciate the help.

s

AudioGaff wrote: I'd say before you do something drastic or that you'll regret, that you first share the details of your system and your problem. But you also have to accept the fact that not all problems can be resolved in some specific DAW systems, and it can sometimes require major changes to the current hardware and/or software.

Like buying a Mac and kissing the problems goodbye. I haven't had a single issue since.