distorted imported audio

[caulto]

Hi there,
I have a problem with importing audio. After I import a song (WAV) and play it back it is distorted and doesn't sound like it should (i.e. instrumental tracks lacking certain components)
Has anyone had this problem.
I'm new to pro tools so i hope there is a quick fix.
By the way my specs are:

Pro Tools LE 7.4
Mbox 2

Toshiba Laptop
Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 SP2 Build 2600
Intel Perntium M Processor 1.60Ghz

Let me know if you can help

Thanks

[DigiTechSupt]

What are you importing from - cd, dvd, your hard drive, etc? What format are the original files in? Where did they come from? Do they play back properly in another application, like iTunes, Quicktime or Windows Media Player?

[caulto]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.
The files i'm importing are WAVs (bit rate: 1411kbps, audio sample size: 16 bit, stereo, audio sample rate: 44khz, audio format: pcm) from my hard drive that have been copied from CD. Yes, they all playback fine in other applications

Here is my laptop spec:

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.60GHz
Speed : 1.60GHz
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile
Internal Data Cache : 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Back, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 lines per sector

System
System : TOSHIBA EQUIUM M40X
Platform Compliance : Intel Centrino Mobile Technology
Mainboard : TOSHIBA EAL30
Bus(es) : PCI IMB PCMCIA CardBus USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : TOSHIBA V1.60
Total Memory : 504MB DDR SO-DIMM

Chipset
Model : Toshiba 82915PM/GM/GMS, 82910GML Host Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 133MHz (532MHz)
Total Memory : 512MB DDR SO-DIMM
Shared Memory : 8MB
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 166MHz (332MHz)

Video System
Adapter : Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/GMS,910GML Express Chipset Family (128MB, PCI, PS2.0)

Storage Devices
HTS541060G9AT00 60GB (ATA100, 2.5", 5400rpm, 7MB Cache) : 56GB (C:)
MAT[bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep]A DVD-RAM UJ-831S (ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 56GB (NTFS) @ HTS541060G9AT00 60GB (ATA100, 2.5", 5400rpm, 7MB Cache)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A @ MAT[bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep]A DVD-RAM UJ-831S (ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Toshiba 82801FBM (ICH6M) LPC Interface Bridge
Audio Device : Toshiba 82801FB (ICH6) AC'97 Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor 0052h
Audio Codec : 494Ch 0027h
Serial Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Toshiba 82801FBM (ICH6M) SATA Controller
USB Controller 1 : Toshiba 82801FB (ICH6) USB UHCI Controller 1
USB Controller 2 : Toshiba 82801FB (ICH6) USB UHCI Controller 2
USB Controller 3 : Toshiba 82801FB (ICH6) USB UHCI Controller 3
USB Controller 4 : Toshiba 82801FB (ICH6) USB UHCI Controller 4
USB Controller 5 : Toshiba 82801FB (ICH6) USB 2.0 EHCI Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Toshiba OHCI Compliant IEEE-1394 FireWire Controller
CardBus/PCMCIA Controller 1 : TI PCIxx21/x515 Cardbus Controller
System SMBus Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Network Adapter : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport (Ethernet, 36Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line
Battery No 1 : 97%

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP (2002) Home 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86

any more help would be great. if you need anymore info let me know.

thanks

[spkguitar]

Need some more info from you;

1. How, exactly are you doing the import?
2. What procedure are you following?
3. Are the destination tracks in Pro Tools set to sample based or tick based?
4. Do you have elastic audio turned on?
5. Are the files you are trying to use tempo based loops? If so, what format? (REX? ACID?)
6. If REX/ACID files, have a look at my tutorial

Also, you've only got one hard drive listed, and it is WAY too slow for Pro Tools audio. Since you are using a laptop, you need to be using an external firewire drive, with at least an Oxford 911 chipset and 7200rpm.

[DigiTechSupt]

Along with spkguitar's questions, there's a few things I wanted to comment about. First, you have well below the minimum RAM requirements for 7.4:

Total Memory : 504MB DDR SO-DIMM

1GB is the minimum recommended.

Also, you only have a single hard drive:

Storage Devices
HTS541060G9AT00 60GB (ATA100, 2.5", 5400rpm, 7MB Cache) : 56GB (C:)

It is not recommended that you record or playback from your system drive - get a secondary, dedicated audio drive to store your sessions.

I don't necessarily think either of these are a factor in the problem you're having, but you should know about them to avoid further problems.

[caulto]

Hi all, thanks for all the help and advice.
I finally had to time to mess around with my mbox 2 today to see if i could fix the problem and i did! In the end it was an easy fix - i changed the output on the track from output 1-2 to mono. This helped yet i don't fully understand why.
Just one more thing, if i buy an external hard drive with "at least an Oxford 911 chipset and 7200rpm" e.g. GT050Q) and upgrade my RAM will this avoid any other problems you foresee?
thanks again for the help with my 'noobie' problems