6031 error

[odeu87]

i installed 8.0.1 and started having the 6031 error message i reinstalled 8.0cs3 ....had a session tonight and it just popped up 6031 .. i hadn't had this message before updating to 8.0.1 and then going back to 8.0cs3 its still thererandomly what gives digi has this update corrupted my computer its not like with 8.0.1 which is ever ten seconds ...but it is still lurking in my system pro tools pci x hd3 !!!!!!!!!!!what now!!!!!!!!!!!

[MEAT]

Originally Posted by odeu87

i installed 8.0.1 and started having the 6031 error message i reinstalled 8.0cs3 ....had a session tonight and it just popped up 6031 .. i hadn't had this message before updating to 8.0.1 and then going back to 8.0cs3 its still thererandomly what gives digi has this update corrupted my computer its not like with 8.0.1 which is ever ten seconds ...but it is still lurking in my system pro tools pci x hd3 !!!!!!!!!!!what now!!!!!!!!!!!

8.0.1 has possessed your pc and now all Hell is gonna break loose!!!!!! BWWWAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh the drama

[PaulV]

The 6031 errors that some Windows users are seeing more with 8.0.1 are caused by other device drivers on the system misbehaving - holding off processing too long. 8.0.1 has better detection of this situation, which can in some cases lead to noise during playback or recording (8.0.1 throws a 6031 error in that situation instead of tolerating it and risking the noise). The down side is that certain systems with drivers that cause this will show 6031 errors more frequently in Pro Tools. The 6031's are less likely at larger playback buffer settings, so you might try that in your Playback Engine setup dialog.

Now if you're seeing this error after downgrading to 8.0, it's possible that you've still got the 8.0.1 device driver installed; this file is found here:

\Windows\System32\drivers\dalwdm.sys

Find that file in the explorer, right click on it, choose Properties, and click the Version tab. If the version is 8.0.1, just delete it and reboot. After rebooting, in the Explorer find Program Files\Digidesign\Drivers and run the DigiDriver utility. This should reinstall the 8.0 driver.


* Now, that said, there is a workaround for the 6031 with 8.0.1, but it leaves you vulnerable to noise caused by other device drivers on your system. If you don't mind that risk, you can try the following, to use the 8.0 dalwdm driver with 8.0.1:

1. With 8.0 [cs] installed, make a copy of the Program Files\Digidesign\Drivers folder on your desktop.
2. Install 8.0.1, reboot.
3. Copy dalwdm.sys from the Drivers folder on your desktop to \Windows\System32\drivers, replacing the one that's in there.
4. Reboot.

If your 6031's are caused by this driver issue, this should clear them up. (But bear in mind the risk.)

Edit: If you have any trouble during steps 3 or 4, or if Pro Tools won't launch afterward, run the DigiDriver utility in the Program Files\Digidesign\Drivers to restore the default setup.

I hope that helps.

[x9blade]

thank you paul v .this is the best news i've heard since 8.0.1 came out,even if its only a workaround.
its not pretty around here these days. will there a real fix besides this workaround? or is this just the way its gonna be

also there was a pretty big thread about a feedback loop problem. is this related?

[PaulV]

Originally Posted by x9blade

will there a real fix besides this workaround? or is this just the way its gonna be

Well unfortunately the real fix is to find out what driver is holding off processing for too long; it's a bit of a limitation of how Windows is designed in relation to real time software like Pro Tools (see the link below for the full explanation) that leaves it open to this vulnerability. That said, if all the vendors' drivers on a system behave properly, it should all work well and shouldn't give any problems. While Pro Tools could just not report this error, that would potentially allow for noise to occur (the 6031 change was put in because some users were experiencing noise in this situation); generally we would rather throw an error than allow noise to get into someone's recording. What we might be able to do in the future is provide more information in the error about what driver is misbehaving, and / or allow the user to decide if they want to risk the noise and have Pro Tools disregard the error.

There is a utility for tracking down the source of this type of problem, and it's web page also details the nature of this problem (which doesn't just affect Pro Tools; it could affect almost any real time software). They give steps that can help narrow down the driver that's misbehaving (technically, causing a high DPC (deferred procedure call) latency):

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml


Also, here's one more thing to check: when you're getting the 6031's, do they still happen if you move the Pro Tools window almost all the way off the screen (far to the lower right off the screen, but not minimized)? If so, the video driver may be involved. Let us know if that's the case, as we might be able to adjust how we interact with the display.

[x9blade]

one more question , is the 6031 and pops and clicks problem related
(pops and clicks on recorded audio tracks). thanks for all of the useful info. i will try what you suggest this evening

[DigiTechSupt]

one more question , is the 6031 and pops and clicks problem related

Yes - I think Paul answered that with this:

8.0.1 has better detection of this situation, which can in some cases lead to noise during playback or recording (8.0.1 throws a 6031 error in that situation instead of tolerating it and risking the noise).

Were you getting pops/clicks in previous versions? If so, 8.0.1 is going to throw a 6031 error instead of risking any pops or clicks. The fault, though, lies in the configuration of the PC - some driver is interrupting Pro Tools. The solution is to find which driver is causing it and disable/update it so that it won't cause the interrupts. IRQ sharing may be at fault as well - but that's a tricky one to solve, usually only done by reinstalling Windows from scratch so that it can reassign IRQ's. There's a way to do it manually, but I would look at driver interrupts first.

Did you do all the other suggestions I gave in one of the other threads you posted in? Using msconfig to disable startup items and services? Are all hardware drivers for any graphics or other cards updated to the latest versions? Have you disabled all extraneous hardware and wireless devices such as sound cards, network cards, bluetooth, etc?

[x9blade]

Originally Posted by PaulV

generally we would rather throw an error than allow noise to get into someone's recording. What we might be able to do in the future is provide more information in the error about what driver is misbehaving, and / or allow the user to decide if they want to risk the noise and have Pro Tools disregard the error.

reread this at home rather than at work.

give the user the option to decide if they want the noise or not...........................

just want to make sure we're on the same page here. the noise in the recorded region makes the recording useless. why would someone want the "chose noise option"???? the pops and clicks are very very loud in the recording, you wouldn't be able to use it

[Shan]

Originally Posted by PaulV

...(the 6031 change was put in because some users were experiencing noise in this situation)...

On which platform? Mac? PC?...or both?

What we might be able to do in the future is provide more information in the error about what driver is misbehaving,

This should be a standard utility if you can provide one. I myself would rather just have the OS kernel only and PT running whether on Mac or PC. Everything else just gets in the way.

There is a utility for tracking down the source of this type of problem

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

Good utility. My own PT rig passes with amazing low latency. My laptop on the other hand is an obvious pile of crap after running this utility.

Also, here's one more thing to check: when you're getting the 6031's, do they still happen if you move the Pro Tools window almost all the way off the screen (far to the lower right off the screen, but not minimized)? If so, the video driver may be involved. Let us know if that's the case, as we might be able to adjust how we interact with the display.

+1 for the above tip.

Shane

[PaulV]

just want to make sure we're on the same page here. the noise in the recorded region makes the recording useless. why would someone want the "chose noise option"?

Exactly; that's why we didn't make it an option to disable. We tend to believe that most users would rather an error before allowing noise to get in (either on playback or recording). That said, the noise doesn't happen 100% in this situation (what the 6031 is reporting), and maybe some folks want to risk it; who knows. In any case, not a recommended option.

On which platform? Mac? PC?...or both?

This one a Windows-only issue. Is the nature of how the OS processes these things. PT on the Mac can get a 6031, but not for this particular situation.

By "noise", are you referring to the sample errors being reported also described as "pops and clicks"?

Could be pops, could be short sections of repeated audio, and could be a gurgly sound of one buffer of audio rapidly alternating with another. The 6031 notification prevents those now.

So, prior to 8.0.1, some of these systems probably have noise and errors in their recorded audio??

Sadly yes. Now the only confirmed reports we have of this issue were during playback, not recording, but it could've affected recording in theory.

This should be a standard utility if you can provide one.

I'll forward on your sentiments to those working on it.

I myself would rather just have the OS kernel only and PT running whether on Mac or PC. Everything else just gets in the way.

We surely would as well. These OS's weren't designed to be real-time systems, so we spend quite a bit of time working to squeeze more consistent real-time behavior out of them.