7.3.1 - static noise after using for a while

[dcrann11]

mbp - mbox2- 7.3.1

love the new features BUT have had to shut down and restart several times
because of the onset of static sounds after a while of use - any ideas?

[Park Seward]

Did you see this from Digi?

Hi Folks,
This is Eric from Digidesign engineering. I'm posting to request information from Mbox / Mbox 2 users who are experiencing "noise bursts" or "white noise." This problem has been discussed extensively here on the DUC, and we at Digi take it very seriously. However, I ask that you read this post carefully and only respond if you're experiencing the problem as described, AND your hardware configuration matches the description as well.

HARDWARE:
Macintosh, running Mac OS X (any model, PowerPC- and Intel-based macs)
Mbox or Mbox 2: USB interfaces only (do NOT respond if you're using 002 or Mbox 2 Pro)

SYMPTOM:
Full-code or white noise which occurs seemingly at random during playback and/or recording. Sometimes just a small burst of noise or short sequence of bursts; can also occur as a long burst. Usually requires a restart of Pro Tools to recover. In the case of Mbox (the original, as opposed to Mbox 2), the problem can also occur when using the device via CoreAudio Manager.

REQUESTED INFORMATION:
If you're experiencing the problem described here, please respond to this thread with the following requested information. You can use System Profiler to collect a lot of this information:
/Applications/Utilities/System Profiler.app

- Machine model
- Number of CPUs
- CPU Speed
- Memory
- OS version
- Pro Tools LE version
- What kind of Mbox: original or Mbox 2?
- Which USB port is Mbox / Mbox 2 connected to?
- List all installed Hard Drives, along with their capacity and how they're connected
- List all installed expansion cards: includes PCI, PCI-X, PCIe, CardBus, and ExpressCard slots
- Concise description of your setup: which hard drive(s) do you use for playback/record? How many audio tracks (mono/stereo? sample rate?) do you typically have in your session(s)? Do you have video hardware in your system, and/or video tracks in your session? How frequently do you encounter the noise problem? Have you noticed any patterns or have ideas about something you're doing that triggers the problem? Any other relevant details? Again, please attempt to be as concise as possible.

Here are a couple examples of the kind of responses I hope to get:

- PowerBook G4
- 1 CPU
- 867 MHz
- 768MB RAM
- Mac OS X 10.4.7
- Pro Tools LE 7.1
- Mbox (original)
- connected to left USB port (if looking at the system from the back)
- Internal ATA HDD 60GB, firewire 400 HDD 80GB connected to CardBus firewire interface
- CardBus firewire 400 interface
- Noise bursts occur when recording about 10 or more 48KHz stereo tracks to firewire HDD. Also occurs when using Logic via CoreAudio Manager.

Another example:

- PowerMac G5 Quad
- 4 CPUs
- 2.5 GHz
- 2GB RAM
- Mac OS X 10.4.8
- Pro Tools LE 7.0
- Mbox 2
- connected to front panel USB port
- 2 x Internal SATA HDD 160GB, 2 x firewire 400 HDD 200GB connected to rear FW400 port
- PCI firewire adapter, no devices attached
- problem occurs infrequently, about once a day or so, while recording in Pro Tools using firewire record volumes. Does not occur when recording to internal SATA drive.

BONUS POINTS:
We've found that, in the cases where we've been able to reproduce this problem, it can be solved by installing a PCI USB adapter, and plugging the Mbox / Mbox 2 into the PCI USB adapter rather than using the built-in USB ports. PCI/CardBus/ExpressCard USB adapters can be had for less than $20 these days. If you'd like to try this out, we'd love to hear whether it solves the problem on your config. However, please be aware that we can give absolutely no guarantees that this will be a solution.

Thanks in advance to those who are able to help out with this. With your help, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this issue and put it to rest.

-EricM, DAE Software Engineer

[dcrann11]

Many thanks for this -I had not seen it. Great features but will go back to 7.1.
Thank you

[Park Seward]

They have a fix. If you email them, they can send it to you.

[dcrann11]

ok - now for the lamest question of all: where should I email them? Is there a specific address related to this or these type of problems? I appreciate your knowledge regarding this - thanks

[Park Seward]

Try this:

http://duc.digidesign.com/newreply.p...2&fpart=1&vc=1

http://tinyurl.com/2fcbx8

[bassntreble]

mbp - mbox2- 7.3.1

love the new features BUT have had to shut down and restart several times
because of the onset of static sounds after a while of use - any ideas?

AFAIK the fix only applies to the original Mbox. Have you tried trashing your prefs and databases. Also if you are using some 3rd party reverb plugs they can cause this. UA's Plate 140 is one of em'.