M-Audio Fast Track - Loud Bursts of Static

[thestrabusiness]

Hey everyone,

So I've been using an M-Audio Fast Track (V2.0) for some time now, and it seems that regardless of the software or task I'm using it for, I can't get rid of this problem of intermittent (and sometimes continuous) loud static. For example, when I'm recording and monitoring whichever input I'm using, I'll periodically get loud bursts of static. They don't show up in the recordings at all. I also have this issue when I'm using my Fast Track to listen to music with VLC. Occasionally the bursts don't stop, and I'll have to restart whatever software I'm using, or unplug the interface and plug it back in.

I've tried increasing the buffer size through the M-Audio Control Panel, but it doesn't seem to remedy the problem. Also, the noises seem to get worse (more frequently, longer lasting noises) the longer I go without resetting the device stream somehow (either by unplugging, resetting software, restarting computer, etc.)

Computer and Software Info

Intel Core i5 Processor @ 2.8Ghz
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
4GB RAM

Attached Peripherals
M-Audio Fast Track USB (v2.0) pluggined into USB port on motherboard with provided USB cable
250gb Seagate SATA HDD plugged into SATA port 0
1TB Seagate External HDD plugged into USB port on motherboard
USB Mouse and Keyboard plugged into USB port on motherboard
Creative X-fi Soundcard (drivers currently not installed, device disabled) PCI Card
AMD Radeon HD6950
Netgear WPN311 Wireless-G PCI Card

The built-in audio device on my motherboard and the HDMI audio device from my video card are not installed and disabled in the device manager.


I have another hard drive which I haven't attached yet until I make a good attempt to get this problem sorted. I'm currently on a fresh windows install, with all the current drivers for my chipset and the devices listed above. I have tried with the version of Pro-tools that came with the Fast Track, Reaper and Mackie Tracktion and I am still getting static. I've followed some of the Windows 7 optimization guides, disabling power saving settings for USB devices, hard drives and processor. Additionally, I've tried with the Fast Track as the only audio device installed and continue to have the problem. If there's any other information you'd like for me, just let me know. I've included the SiSoft Sandra below.

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : Anthony-PC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : GigaByte P55A-UD3
Chassis : GigaByte Desktop
Mainboard : GigaByte P55A-UD3
BIOS : Award (OEM) F11 08/10/2010
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 760 @ 2.80GHz (4C 2.4GHz/2.8GHz, 2.13GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC LGA1156

Chipset
Memory Controller : Gigabyte Core (Clarksfield/Lynnfield) DMI 2x 2.4GHz (4.79GHz)
Memory Controller : Gigabyte Core Desktop (Lynnfield) UnCore 2x 2.4GHz (4.79GHz), 2x 2GB DIMM DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-2GBRL 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-2GBRL 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Samsung SA300/350/360 (1920x1080, 30.2")
Monitor/Panel : Samsung SA300/350/360 (1920x1080, 30.2")
Monitor/Panel : Samsung SyncMaster
(1600x1200, 19.1")
Video Adapter : AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series (24CU 1408SP SM5.0 800MHz, 2GB DDR5 5GHz 256-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series (24CU 1408SP SM5.0 800MHz, 2GB DDR5 5GHz 256-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series (1536SP 24C 800MHz, 2GB DDR5 5GHz 256-bit)
Compute Shader Processor : AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series (1408SP 24C 800MHz, 2GB DDR5 5GHz 256-bit)

Storage Devices
Seagate ST3250620AS (250GB, SATA150, 3.5", 16MB Cache) : 233GB (C:)
SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro (4.1GB, USB2) : 4GB (F:)
Seagate ST31000333AS (1TB, USB2/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm) : 932GB (G:)
LITE-ON DVD SOHD-16P9S (ATA33, DVD+-R, CD-R, 254kB Cache) : N/A (D:)
SONY CD-RW CRX230ED (ATA33, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 233GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST3250620AS (250GB, SATA150, 3.5", 16MB Cache)
Removable Drive (F:) : 4GB (NTFS) @ SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro (4.1GB, USB2)
The Goods (G:) : 931GB (exFAT) @ Seagate ST31000333AS (1TB, USB2/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ LITE-ON DVD SOHD-16P9S (ATA33, DVD+-R, CD-R, 254kB Cache)
Optical Drive (E:) : N/A @ SONY CD-RW CRX230ED (ATA33, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Gigabyte P55 LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : ITE IT8720F
Audio Device : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Device : ATI (AMD) Cayman/Antilles HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 6900 Series]
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) HDMI Audio
Serial Port(s) : 1
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 6 port SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : Gigabyte 88SE91A3 SATA-600 Controller
Disk Controller : Gigabyte IT8213 IDE Controller
USB Controller 1 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB Controller
USB Controller 2 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB Controller
USB Controller 3 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB Controller
USB Controller 4 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB Controller
USB Controller 6 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB Controller
USB Controller 7 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB Controller
USB Controller 8 : Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Peripherals
Media Player : SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro (3.83GB)

Network Services
Wireless Adapter : NETGEAR WPN311 RangeMax(TM) Wireless PCI Adapter (802.11g (ERP), AES-CCMP, 54Mbps)

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x64


Thanks in advance!

-Stra

[Emcha_audio]

I had some problems like this back in the days, usually installing a fresh driver would relieve the problem for a couple of months...