is windows recognizing your motu as the primary sound device? have you tried unplugging the fw connection to your computer then plugging it back in? sometimes i do this with my usb interface and then it works. it's like my computer forgets the interface is connected, so i replug it in and it seems to work.
hope that helped?

This is a PCIe connection. Thanks though.

woopsy daisy. here i thought it was firewire. well....good luck! hopefully someone helps soon.

No dude, jordy was right....the link between your computer and your pci card is a firewire cable. (I have a system in my studio utilizing a 2408mkIII)

It's not FireWire it's a proprietary connection that looks like firewire but it's definitely a pci card.

Eric,

There are some simple things you can do to help isolate the issue. First is to establish that your computer is still recognizing the card. Check this through Start>Control Panel>Sounds and Audio devices. Check all tabs.

Also you can check in System Hardware to see if the computer still recognizes the card. Start>Control>System: select hardware tab>Device Manager. You are looking for yellow exclamation points, a red x or anything that could apply to this card directly.

If none of this provides any insight, or you have already tried these, you can shut the computer down, discharge static from your person and removing the side cover of the computer, try moving the card over to a different slot.

I would turn things on in this order. DAW, MOTU, Monitors. The comp needs to be on to recognize the card. Just make sure your amp or monitors are off or you'll hear and probably feel a loud pop...just before your speakers are blown.

What ever order he is used to should be fine.

Space wrote: What ever order he is used to should be fine.

That's the thing, he's not used to anything. As he said, he doesn't turn it off usually.

I know it shouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things(with the exception of monitors last), but at this point we're kind of grasping at straws. And since he's stated that he was able to fix it by adjusting the boot order, it may be more critical than we think.

I have a 2408 mkII. This unit has the ability to be used as a standalone device or with the PCI 324/424 card, as a computer interface. When used as a standalone device it can accept analog line level inputs, up to 8 & directly converting them to ADAT optical or TASCAM TDIF digital outputs. Conversely, it can also convert from ADAT optical signals to TASCAM TDIF when used as standalone. It might be looking for a sync signal, which would prevent any audio from passing through weather it is standalone or connected to the PCI card. The LED front panel indicators can be a bit confusing in this respect.

When connected to the PCI card in the computer, it may need to be reset via the control/mixer applet which in itself is not explained well and totally confusing in the manual. I've had gotten founding problems like this myself with this unit. I doubt whether anything is wrong with the unit as it appears to be a fairly rugged unit in its design & construction. What are the front panel LEDs indicating may I ask?

Unicorns have never been known to be terribly intelligent
Ms. Remy Ann David

Hey fellas.....Maybe my 2408 mkIII is diff from his...I suppose maybe they make diff models for overseas, but mine INDEED DOES have a pci card(in the computer)...that pci card is linked to the 2408 via a 6 lead firewire cable...there is simply no other way for the signal to leave your daw and arrive at the 2408! I will try to take some pics of the back of my system tomorrow and post them here. I didn't understand all the routing configurations either when I got my system (5 years ago)...and there are soooo many configurations possible that it can be a bit unnerving. Think in an analog mode and it will come to you. Let's use a bass guitar as an example. Joe bassist plays a note on his bass guitar. That note travels through cable to direct box....then to MOTU input #1....then where? In my studio the next step is a/d conversion inside the MOTU then out thru the firewire to the MOTU pci card installed in my mac. I can't think of any other way to use the MOTU for a/d conversion and still get the digital signal to your 2408's PCI card(which should be installed in your computer(mac or pc irrelevant) The Motu's pci card has three or four firewire inputs if I remember correctly. One thing I remember reading in the motu manual is that the firewire coming from your 2408 to the pci card is supposed to plug into either the far right or far left input...I can't recall which one right now(It's in the manual) Also, the boot order is INDEED "VERY" critical...even MORE so in a mac! Also remember consumer video uses a micro-firewire cable...not the same six lead firwire needed for pro-audio and video...infact pro-video is usually not carried via firewire at all but by bnc cablies.

Whoops!!! Ms Remy is of course correct in stating that one can use the motu as a stand alone and utilize the tdif and adat optical outputs as converters...It's been so long frankly I forgot about that! Thank you Ms. David for reminding me of how little I use this really UBER-adaptable gizmo for....Sincerely...Rob(Rock Dawg Studios of Grand Blanc Mi.)

I guess the real concern is that as long as nothing with the computer parts has actually been changed due to the storm he went through, it should come out OK.

That is what I am waiting on.

one more point I've run into from time to time...I have krk v8II monitors...and I cannot, for some wacky reason, use the auto-on feature on them. If that is what you are using, that's your culprit. Just turn them off then back on...usually works for me!

So sorrt I havent gotten back with everyone here. Thanks for all the replies/suggestions. It is now Saturday and I am just getting to sit down to try to deal with this.

Let me be specific about a couple of things here.

There was a storm coming so I turned power off to everything. I did not unplug anything but the 110v outlet that powers my rack and everything connected to it. Furthermore, the storm never really materialized. My action was cautionary but ultimately unneeded. In other words, I dont think lightning hit within 50 miles of here.

My monitors are fine. I have a mixer between my MOTU and my monitors with several synths plugged in along side the DAW inputs. All other signals are getting through fine.

When I go Control panel>Sound and Audio Devices, under the first tab named "Volume" It says "No Audio Device". Under the "Audio" tab it says "PCI-424 Analog 1-8" under Default devices for "Sound Playback" and "Sound Recording". Under the "Voice" tab, it say PCI-424 for "Voice Playback" and "Voice Recording". Under the "Hardware" tab, it shows the "MOTU PCI Audio Driver" and it says that the device is working properly.

In the device manager, it shows all the MOTU drivers and no conflicts at all. All drivers report to be working properly.

I have tried resetting it in every manner possible. I have refreshed the drivers. I have powered and unpowered the 2408 with the PC off, on, and everything else.

Now, when I turn on the PC, sometimes I hear the Windows logo thing barely coming through a bunch of machine gun like white noise that sounds like a clock signal out of sync or something. THe white noise sometimes continues to chatter and other times it stops after a while.

I have an order into Sweetwater tech support and they should be calling me between 11 and 3 today. I'll let you know if I get anything figured out.

Thanks so much.

E

Ok, I got it working. DOnt ask me how, but I did. I dont think that this makes much sense but let me mention this. I normally use the 2408 all by itself for most of what I do which is Cubase 4 running all vsti's. No audio input from external sources. When I do run audio in, it from my Tascam DM-4800 which is connected via 3 TDIF cables. Word clock goes out of the MOTU to the input on the DM. I generally leave the DM off all the time until I get a musician over here like a vocalist or guitar player. I also always leave the MOTU on all the time and shutdown my PC every night. All of this has worked flawlessly for a long time until I killed power to the MOTU unit.

Anyway, one of the last things I did before getting it to work again, was to fire up the DM. Dont ask me why. I just thought that maybe the MOTU was looking for that TDIF connection and was freaking out without it. So I turned on the DM, then went back to the MOTU audio control panel, reset the ins and outs to TDIF, refreshed the drivers for the 10,000th time, then restarted windows. When it came on, Windows media player worked. I then had to set the PCI-424 as the device undewr volume in the sounds and audio devices for itunes to work. Then itunes worked too. I then fired up Cubase and it was working to. The moral of the story; well, there isnt one. I just got lucky I think.

Stay tuned next week for when my neck tie gets stuck in my DVD drive and wont reopen. Thanks everyone.

E

Are you by any chance using outboard mic pre's? I have a focusrite octo-pre in my studio and if one doesn't have the bit rate/sampling freq set correctly when sending a signal to the adat optical inut on the MOTU then we do indeed have similar issues to what you are experiencing. Bit rate is irrelavant, but sampling freq for optical inputs(on the MOTU) should be(at least based on my experience) 44 or 48k. Also, and I know I've beat this issue like an old Mare, check the firewire cable for complete connection. Ours has a tendency to wiggle loose enough to cause issues!( that is the cable connecting your MOTU to your pci card)

Well congrats, i don't think you probably had to reset anything other than setting the MOTU to TDIF, wish I'd known u were using them, coulda saved you a ton of reading my drivel! congrats anyway...Rob

I guess I was under the impression this computer was for audio recording only. If it is in fact connected to the 'net, I could see where things would get rather erratic over an unknown timeframe :0