All the software and up to date drivers all load in successfully

the laptop will not recognise my Scarlett 2i2 software

What do you mean by these two statements?

When you plug the 2i2 in, does W8 indicate it has detected a new device? Does the 2i2 work reliably on a different computer?

Realtek, is not part of your software. It's a crappy built in sound card on your motherboard in your computer, let's get that straight, right now.

Your Scarlett is not software, its hardware, let's get that straight, right now. However it is included with its own special application software and drivers. The software driver applet, allows you to configure your Scarlett, which is also related to the Scarlet's driver. So the software applet and the driver, while they are adding integral component of your Scarlett, are actually two separate functions within the software. One is the driver. One is the controller of the Scarlett card.

Every time you unplug your external USB sound card, the Windows operating system, defaults back to the internal sound card on the computer. And in your software. So every time you do that, the software loses your audio card settings and defaults back to the internal computer sound card. You have to select the soundcard inputs from your software, every time you disconnect that card So, this is just simple operator error on your part.

Of course, most of us have not yet played with Windows 8. There are already some known issues with it. What exactly those issues are, I have no idea? Suffice it to say, Windows 7 was known to be stable. Probably one of the best releases yet? And it certainly isn't crazy 8. But then neither was XP until service pack 2. So you are in a bit of no man's land right now. It's going to take it while before all the manufacturers get up to speed for Windows 8. You may be on the cusp dealing with some irreconcilable differences?

Your computer recognizes your hardware when you plug it in and you hear the tone bell ring. That means your computer sees your hardware. If you don't get the magic chime, it's not being recognized and your drivers are likely not compatible? So if you hear that chime, then you merely just have to direct your software to that soundcard and not the Realtek, " soundcard ". And you can not record with one USB device while monitoring the other soundcard. That doesn't work in the land of computers like it did in the analog days. You can only monitor through what you are recording with. After you are done recording, you can monitor through any soundcard for playback purposes, mixing, etc..

Once ya get the hang of it... it's easy.
Mx. Remy Ann David

Thanks for all the expert help , I turns out the hardware (Scarlett 2i2) was faulty so it would never work.
so I've bought a new one and its fine.
but as we know the problems are always apparent.
can you cast your eye over this problem.

When I open up Cubase as soon as I record a part , when I play it back it sounds DISTORTED like a robot talking.
i sometimes have to restart the computer to get a clear recording signal.

Also the latency is an issue , using the Scarlett 2i2 , there's quite a difference with recording a track while listening to a track , it's like big reverb.

It was faulty? That's not a good quality control indicator. I'm really rather shocked to hear about that.

There are proper computer settings to be utilized for audio applications. These are not the standard Windows default settings. One thing that has been problematic with these types of computer audio interfaces is that of latency. There are numerous sticky threads here, indicating what to do and also other companies, such as Focusrite, also make specific recommendations that you must follow. One of the things that increases latency is any use of any kind of processing i.e. equalization, reverb and time delay effects, increase the latency when they are running. So during any overdubs, you shouldn't be running any effects whatsoever, especially when overdubbing. So you may also be required to reduce your numbers and length of buffers, before you begin overdubbing. Then you increase the number of buffers and the length of the buffer, only when you are ready to start mixing your final product. Most real audio engineers, don't grumble when we have to click a box, throw a switch, grab a knob, or when pizza is your only dinner LOL.

Yes, sometimes these computers can glitch, causing a complete meltdown of your recording. And that requires a restart. Some of this may also be due to too many programs running in the background? Anything that distracts your computer from recording or playing audio is verboten. So, no virus scanning, no memory optimization, no automatic anything. In a sense, we are dialing back the operating system to only its basic functional necessities. Which ain't any fun if you're trying to play games. So you get to make a decision here. Is this going to be a gaming computer or is this going to be a music workstation computer? You get to pick one from column A or, one from column B, because that's all that the operating system menu will allow. And sometimes it's not easy getting your computer to play nicely with your multitrack audio software. If it was that easy, everybody would want to do it. And it's not. So you need to be a real engineer, to get your work done. Sometimes requires days of screwing around with the operating system. Some computers are just more cooperative than others and so are operating systems. If you can't handle the adjustability that Windows offers, then you need Macintosh. Another reason why they are so popular with dumb engineers and musicians. They just work. With Windows, it's a juggling act. One where you will be regularly tweaking to get it to behave properly. It's just one of the many things that audio engineers have to do. And if you can't handle that? You might be more well-suited to using a simple mixer and a multi-track digital audio recorder? Will it cost more? You bet. Lots more. But that will instantly solve your latency problems. Latency in multitrack digital audio recorders is extremely minimal. Only a couple of milliseconds at the most.

There are other multi-track softwares out there that have built-in latency compensation. You might want to look into some of that software? Will it cost more? Yup, lots more. Being in this business, trying to make recordings, is a total money pit. It's never-ending. It requires a serious investment for professional caliber equipment that doesn't suffer from these issues. Remember what you have is mostly a toy, in spite of its professional family that it came from. And really your unit is quite good compared to many others. So your complaint is about operator error, lack of knowledge, lack of reading, lack of investigation. If you don't quite understand the workings behind a computer and its operating system, it will be a continuous struggle. And if you're not really technically inclined, it can actually prevent you from ever producing a professional product. And there is no simple way to understand this. It's of course easier for these kids today, who have been raised with computers. For us more mature folks, it's abstraction coupled with frustration. So you either get up to speed or your left in the dust. But you see... they still got your money, which is what marketing is all about. So your system is ideal for those that are quite adept at their computer operation and understanding. It becomes an exercise in futility if you can't.

In my own professional audio mind, there is nothing wrong with continuing older recording traditions. Pretty much the same way we used to do it, in the analog tape days. However there is this new computer catch. Where the only difference is latency, glitches and crashes. Of course you've heard of folks making live 24 simultaneous channel recordings with ProTools? Yeah... on a $20,000 ProTools, integrated system. And that alone involves no overdubbing. But then when you do, the software compensates for the latency. Other softwares also features some kind of latency compensation. Not all do. And for those that don't, that's where you have to start tweaking the computer for the different purposes during your recording projects. Some people don't want to deal with that kind of nonsense and I can't blame them. Because more musicians today are doing their own recording and not engineers. I know plenty of musicians that really don't want to be engineers. Then they go to their friends, like yourself, that offered to record them only to find these problems that you are currently experiencing. Frustrating isn't it? You bet. It's amazing I still have all of my hair! I've been building up my own computers since 1996 just to get a better handle on this crap. So you can tell it's taken me a few years to get it right. You won't drive through like everybody else wants. And what should you do if the drive-through window is closed? That's what you're facing.

Big Mac and small fries please.
Mx. Remy Ann David

Markjamesacoustic, post: 396753 wrote: Thanks for all the expert help , I turns out the hardware (Scarlett 2i2) was faulty so it would never work.
so I've bought a new one and its fine.
but as we know the problems are always apparent.
can you cast your eye over this problem.

When I open up Cubase as soon as I record a part , when I play it back it sounds DISTORTED like a robot talking.
i sometimes have to restart the computer to get a clear recording signal.

Also the latency is an issue , using the Scarlett 2i2 , there's quite a difference with recording a track while listening to a track , it's like big reverb.

Mark, how's your 2i2 working these days?