Has anybody else experienced this:

(Cubase/PC/ASIO multi-channel PCI card)

Buses dropping out accompanied by nasty noises when starting/stopping the tape transport.

Sometimes it's fine for hours, then the master bus drops out, somethimes it's bus 2 (chan 3/4). Sometimes it's flaky from the start.

When a bus drops out, it usually looks normal in both VST channel and master mixers and in the ASIO control panel, but audio is muted.

Sometimes the mute checkboxes in the ASIO panel have been applied by an unseen hand, but even unchecking them doesn't restore output...

...often it's fixed by re-starting cubase, but not always.

...often playing a bit of audio with a simple app like medis player will 'kick start' it again.

I'm now using a Delta410 (8 alalogue out) card, having had other problems with Audiowerk 8 soundcard.

Have set the basics - DMA on hard discs, CD checking off, graphics on low, virtual memory at fixed size, very clean system with minimum apps, alerts off etc,... but I am not proud and will accept the most basic tips!

...asio options include usual: clock internal xtal, fixed sample rate (44.1), don'r reset when idle, disalow other apps to change settings...

using win 98SE with an 800MHz celeron (I know that should be intel P3, but don't think that can be this problem, surely)

Am using latest driver for the soundcard (v41) - have tried beta v42, but worse if anything.

Have installed the 4in1 for via chipset patch recommended elsewhere.

Am using a USB midi interface (Roland MPU64 4in/out).

Have tred every PCI slot, and soundcard is on IRQ5 sharing only 'placeholder for PCI bus steering' which I believe is OK.

Midiman tech support chaps are nice and cheerful but are not offering any solutions...

I've looked around the usegroups and forums, but nobody else seems to have experienced this...

...anybody got any ideas at all? Tearing hair out at this end.

Thanks.

Norman