Help! Errors 9092, 9093, 9094, 9129 persisting!

[doobaGeoff]

Is anyone able to give me a hand?
Just about every time I try and record or play during a Pro Tools session I get either error -9129, suggesting I reduce the H/W Buffer Size, but when I do that I get either error -9092, -9093, -9094 asking me to increase the H/W Buffer Size. I've gone through all the troubleshooting tips I found here: http://duc.digidesign.com/showflat.p...fpart=1#802377 , but nothing seems to help. Even when I load a Tools session and make all but one track inactive I still get the problem, sometimes it even asks me to increase the CPU allocation, although it's on 85 percent and the usage meter shows it's not taxing the computer at all.

I'm running Pro Tools LE 7.1 on the Mbox 2.

Computer details:
OS: Windows XP Pro, Service Pack 2

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 Processor, 2200 MHz (11 x 200) 3500+

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8U-939 (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, Lan) ULi/Ali M1689, AMD Hammer

System Memory: 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)

Storage: 2x ST320414A (20 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
1x ST3250823AS SCSI Disk Device (250 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA)


Any help at all would be *really* appreciated - I'm going nuts here..
Geoff

[spkguitar]

Please follow these instructions from that thread:

Note: To enable other users to help you, please include all of your system details when posting an issue to the DUC; Pro Tools hardware, Pro Tools software version, CPU, OS version, Motherboard make/model, chipset, amount of RAM, type of hard drives used, etc.

- SiSoftware's Sandra Lite application can be used to post your full system profile:
www.sisoftware.co.uk
Under SiSoftware Sandra, click on "Download & Buy" to download the free Sandra Lite version or purchase other versions.

I'm pretty sure the ULi/Ali chipset is your problem, but the details from the sandra report might point out other issues.

[doobaGeoff]

Yeah, I did get that report, but when it came out as 900-odd pages long I thought I'd just give the bare bones myself. This is the information under "Computer Overview", let me know if you need any more. Thank heaps for checking this out!
Geoff

<< Computer Overview >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

< System >
Host Name: GEOFFS
User: Geoff
Workgroup: WORKGROUP

< Processor >
Model: 1x AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+
Speed: 2.21GHz
Model Number: 3500 (estimated)
Cores per Processor: 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core: 1 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache: 64kB Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way set, 64
byte line size
L2 On-board Cache: 512kB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set,
64 byte line size

< Mainboard >
Bus(es): ISA X-Bus AGP PCI USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support: 2 Processor(s)
MP APIC: No
System BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. F3
Mainboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. M1689D
Total Memory: 1GB DDR-SDRAM

< Chipset 1 >
Model: Giga-Byte Technology ULi M1689 K8 Northbridge
with AGP and hypertransport
Front Side Bus Speed: 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)

< Chipset 2 >
Model: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 /
Opteron HyperTransport Technology
Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed: 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)
Total Memory: 1GB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed: 2x 201MHz (402MHz data rate)

< Video System >
Monitor/Panel: Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT

< Physical Storage Devices >
Removable Drive: Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk: ST320414A (19GB)
Hard Disk: ST320414A (19GB)
Hard Disk: ST3250823AS SCSI Disk Device (233GB)
CD-ROM/DVD: LITEON CD-ROM LTN526 (CD 52X Rd)
CD-ROM/DVD: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D (CD 32X Rd, 16X Wr)
(DVD 4X Rd, 2X Wr)
CD-ROM/DVD: SCSIVAX DVD/CD-ROM SCSI CdRom Device (CD 32X
Rd) (DVD 4X Rd)

< Logical Storage Devices >
System (C:): 19GB (4GB, 21% Free Space) (NTFS)
Video (D:): 19GB (1.9GB, 10% Free Space) (NTFS)
Audio&Games (E:): 233GB (51GB, 22% Free Space) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (F:): N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (G:): N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (H:): N/A
3.5" 1.44MB (A:): N/A

< Peripherals >
Serial/Parallel Port(s): 2 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub: ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub: ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub: ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub: Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Composite Device
USB Controller/Hub: USB Composite Device
USB Controller/Hub: Digidesign Mbox 2 Firmware Updater
Keyboard: HID Keyboard Device
Mouse: Microsoft USB Wheel Mouse Optical
Human Interface: HID-compliant device
Human Interface: HID-compliant consumer control device
Human Interface: Microsoft USB Wheel Mouse Optical
Human Interface: USB Human Interface Device
Human Interface: USB Human Interface Device

< MultiMedia Device(s) >
Device: Standard Game Port
Device: Realtek AC'97 Audio

< Printers and Faxes >
Model: Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
Model: Lexmark Optra E312 (MS)
Model: Canon Bubble-Jet BJ-200

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

< Operating System(s) >
Windows System: Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional
5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance: Win32 x86

< Network Services >
Adapter: Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC

< Performance Tips >
Warning 100: Large memory sizes should be made of
Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546: Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Notice 5901: CD 1x= 150kB/s; Exercise caution when
comparing measured versus published ratings.
Notice 5902: DVD 1x= 11.08Mbps Exercise caution when
comparing measured versus published ratings.
Tip 2: Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip
is selected for more information about the
tip.

[spkguitar]

"Computer Overview" is all that is needed. (Digi should make note of that in those instructions...)


As I said, the Uli/Ali chipset is not supported, and I think is really your main problem. Most "inexpensive" chipsets tend to cut corners in areas that Pro Tools requires.

There are a few other things that stand out as being potential problems:

1. The Alcohol 120% "virtual disk" that you are running (CD-ROM/DVD: SCSIVAX DVD/CD-ROM SCSI CdRom Device) could be causing all kinds of problems. You really shouldn't use those while Pro Tools is running.
2. Having both printers installed while you are using Pro Tools could also be affecting things
3. Disabling the NIC is one of the suggestions in the GT thread.
4. the label you have for the SATA drive indicates "Audio&Games" suggesting that you have game programs installed there? Are you doing the same for audio programs? That's definitely not recommended with Pro Tools and can and will cause all kinds of problems. Also, it has been determined that some games install services that interfere with normal Pro Tools operation. You might consider a dual boot system that has a clean install of Pro Tools and music software only in one, and games and general computing in the other.

[doobaGeoff]

Thanks, that's some good stuff to work with.
Alcohol showing up is my fault - I always ensure that's closed when running Tools, just must have rebooted when I ran the system report program. I did have a alternate boot for the computer to make sure that it was optimised for running Tools that eliminated things like alcohol, the printers, network card, etc. but it didn't seem to help.

So if the problem is just with the Uli/Ali chipset hopefully I can get it resolved sooner rather than later. Unfortunately there's a limit to my general computer knowledge, so are you able to explain the chipset situation further? If it's hardware, then can it be replaced without needing a new motherboard, cpu etc.? I assume the Digidesign page would have chipsets they recommended?

Thanks again for getting back to me,
G

[spkguitar]

The chipset is part of the motherboard. To replace the chipset, you would need to replace the motherboard (and possibly other components, depending on compatibility with whatever new motherboard you choose).

[PatrickJ]

Hi everyone,

I was going to post my own topic on the forum but this seems to be the same problem I have, so I'll post it here first.

I have a MusicXPC M4x Laptop (built specifically for programs like Pro Tools) equip with an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz processor along with 2.0GB of RAM. I have a dedicated graphics card and I've tried recording both to an external hard drive and to the internal one (both on a separate partition and on the local one). I am running Mbox 1 with Pro Tools 7.3.1.

I can't record anymore than 30 seconds of audio even with only 1 audio track, and using virtual instruments is out of the question. I get the same errors as the guy above, saying I need to either increase or decrease the H/W buffer size, but in Windows Task Manager my CPU usage isn't even at 15% and under Pro Tool's System Usage window, the CPU meter remains at a static low level, but here is the strange part... it randomly spikes and peaks in the red, even when nothing's going on in Pro Tools. What in the world is the cause of this? I'll try posting this question in the main forum if I don't get any answers here...

[spkguitar]

but this seems to be the same problem I have, so I'll post it here first.

You're wrong. While you may be getting similar error messages, your computer and his are totally different, so your problem is probably being caused by something totally different and the solution for it will be also be totally different.

You're also doing what we call "thread stealing" and it generally considered to be rude. It distracts from the original posters question, and the possible solution for his specific issue.

Please, read through the General Troubleshooting thread that is "stickied" at the top of this forum, and if none of the suggestions there help you, then post details about your system using the SiSoft Sandra software as recommended in that post, and specific details about the problem you are having in your own separate thread.

[PatrickJ]

Geez, excuse me for avoiding clutter on the main board. All other forums I post at you get blasted for creating a similar thread to one that's already existing. The errors were the same, so I thought I'd start here first.

[doobaGeoff]

Ok, thanks for all your help. I've looked over all the suggestions and tried everything, so it seems like it's definitely not a software issue. I've checked out a couple of threads here over which motherboard to buy but it also seems like I'll need to replace most other components of my computer to be compatible with a new motherboard. But it does seem to be a waste of a perfectly fine computer for anything other than Tools. I might just buy a mac.

Thanks again for all your help, it's been really appreciated,
G