Multiple errors/issues in PT LE 8

[Big Blue Barry]

I recently upgraded to PT LE 8 but had to revert back to LE 7.4. I encountered many issues after upgrading. I went through the general troubleshooting guide and did each step and discovered that I had some plug-ins that were not compatible with 8, according to the digi site.

Two of them were Guitar Rig 3 and Line6 POD Farm. I can't do without those so I had to switch back. Since then I have heard from a rep at both NI and Line6 stating that the latest updates of both of their products are compatible with PT 8, even if Digi hasn't updated their web site to reflect that yet.

Prior to switching to 8, I rarely had any problems with PT LE 7.4. The only problem that I experienced on a consistent basis was the Play/Pause issue that's being discussed in the thread at http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread.php?t=229936.

Oh yeah, my hardware is the Digi003 rack unit.

I loved the new interface on 8 and the improved MIDI functionality. I'm dying to upgrade back but I'm real hesitant to do so at the moment. I tried upgrading twice already. I just couldn't get any work done. But I'm not here to complain about that.

Instead, I thought I would post my Sandra report and see if I have any incompatible devices that I'm unaware of. I have a feeling that my internal firewire controller could be the problem. If that's the case, can anyone recommend where I can purchase a digi-compliant firewire card?

Here's the report:

SiSoftware Sandra

System
Host Name : B3PROTOOLS
User : Barry
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+
Speed : 2.81GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 64kB, Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 1MB, ECC, Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size

System
System : HP-Pavilion GN561AA-ABA a6230n
Platform Compliance : AMD LIVE!
Mainboard : ASUSTek Computer INC. NARRA2
Bus(es) : PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : Phoenix Technologies, LTD 5.13
Total Memory : 3.5GB DIMM DDR2

Chipset
Model : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1.00GHz (2.01GHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 313MHz (626MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Corsair CM2X1024-6400 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5.0-5-5-18 3-22-6-3)
Memory Module : Corsair CM2X1024-6400 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5.0-5-5-18 3-22-6-3)
Memory Module : Micron 8HTF12864AY-667E1 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5.0-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)
Memory Module : Micron 8HTF12864AY-667E1 1GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5.0-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)

Video System
Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO (256MB, PCIe 2.00 x16, PS3.0, VS3.0)

Storage Devices
MAXTOR STM3320620AS 320GB (SATA150, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 298GB (C:)
WDC WD4000AAJS-65YFA0 400GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache) : 373GB (D:)
Generic USB SD Reader (USB) : N/A (F:)
Generic USB CF Reader (USB) : N/A (G:)
Generic USB SM Reader (USB) : N/A (H:)
Generic USB MS Reader (USB) : N/A (J:)
TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-H653N (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 333MB (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 298GB (NTFS) @ MAXTOR STM3320620AS 320GB (SATA150, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
Hard Disk (D:) : 373GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD4000AAJS-65YFA0 400GB (SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache)
Audio CD (E:) : 0bytes (CDFS) @ TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-H653N (ATAPI, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Removable Drive (F:) : N/A @ Generic USB SD Reader (USB)
Removable Drive (G:) : N/A @ Generic USB CF Reader (USB)
Removable Drive (H:) : N/A @ Generic USB SM Reader (USB)
Removable Drive (J:) : N/A @ Generic USB MS Reader (USB)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : HP MCP61 LPC Bridge
Audio Device : HP MCP61 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor 888 High Definition Audio
Audio Device : Visiontek RV610 audio device [Radeon HD 2400 PRO]
Audio Codec : AMD (ATI) AA01h
Serial Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : HP MCP61 IDE
Disk Controller : HP MCP61 SATA Controller
Disk Controller : HP MCP61 SATA Controller
USB Controller 1 : HP MCP61 USB Controller
USB Controller 2 : HP MCP61 USB Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : HP FW322/323 IEEE1394 OHCI FireWire Controller
System SMBus Controller 1 : nVidia MCP5+ SMBus 1
System SMBus Controller 2 : nVidia MCP5+ SMBus 2

Printers and Faxes
Printer : EPSON Stylus CX7400 Series (360x360, USB, Colour)
Printer : eFax 4.3 (384x384, Colour)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek RTL8185 54M Wireless LAN Network Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport (Ethernet, 24Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

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

Performance Tips
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

So are there any things here I need to upgrade or change to help make my machine completely digi-compliant? If so, I'll make those changes and then try upgrading again, and if I still encounter issues, then I'll post those errors. I don't want to waste Tech Support's time at the moment if the issue is on my end with incompatible hardware.

EDIT: I did create a "Pro Tools" profile in which my wireless adapter is disabled but this report was generated with my "default" profile.

Sincerely,
Barry

[Big Blue Barry]

After seeing another thread in which someone with a similar Firewire controller to mine was told by DigiTechSupport that their FW controller was incompatible, I dug a little deeper and found the list of certified compliant FW controllers as per Digi's specs. I just ordered the ADS Pyro PCI 64R2 API-315 FW controller, should be here next week.

[TOM@METRO]

Could be the F/W controller, but you seem to be okay on 7.4? I've seen mixed ram create issues.

[Big Blue Barry]

As far as stability goes, 7.4cs8 has been wonderful for me with the current hardware. But I have had a couple of issues that I think could be firewire-related. One of them being the Play/Pause issue that's being discussed in another thread. But mine hasn't been as severe as other people.

For me, there have been times where I would press the space bar to start playback or recording and would have to do it about 7 or 8 times before it would do it successfully. By that I mean, that the audio files and the V.I. and click track would play back in sync. A few times I've had it happen where the audio plays fine but the midi doesn't start right away (EZ Drummer/Superior Drummer 2.0/Click Track) and after a second or two it "catches up" with the audio files.

One other thing I've noticed that I think could be firewire related... When I'm not doing anything, just sitting there with an audio track that's armed to record my guitar, using one of the 4 pre-amp inputs on the digirack 003, occasionally I'll notice that the "sound drops out." What I mean is, you can hear the "buzz" of the amp coming through the monitors, and every now and then, the "buzz" drops out completely, just for a split second, not very long, but long enough to notice it.

Really, those are the 2 issues that I've had on an even remotely consistent basis with PT 7.4.