Focusrite Saffire PRO 40 freezing up computer

[jayjaystevens]

Hey peoples,

I'm having dramas with my Focusrite Saffire PRO 40.

- Whenever I turn it the Focusrite on, my computer freezes (mouse wont move, keyboard unresponsive) <-- When I restart, I have to turn off the Focusrite to be able to get into Windows 7, otherwise it does the whole "windows recovery or start windows normally" - if i chose "start windows normally", it just freezes on the windows logo, and if i chose the recovery, it just loops forever trying to find a problem.

- I tried moving the firewire card (It's a Siig, model number NN-E20112-S2) to a different PCI-e slot (one with lesser lanes), and this changed things. Yes, it stops freezing when I turn on the Focusrite, but audio won't play (got speakers plugged in as well as headphones plugged into both ports). The computer's sound settings still also seem to default to the internal soundcard rather than the Focusrite. Also, if I try to shut down the computer with the Focusrite turned on, it freezes at the "shutting down screen".

- When I ran a Sandra report, it freezes straight away unless I have the Focusrite turned off.

- Pro Tools 10 will start to open, but it will say that I don't have the device connected.

-I feel I should also mention - everything was working perfectly until I installed a new CPU fan and case fan (both Noctua brand). I did however have to take the motherboard out to install the CPU fan (back mounted screws) and wonder if I've stuffed something here. The computer works perfectly now (a lot quiter), but now I am weirdly having these problems with my Focusrite. I took it to a computer tech who said the fan was installed just fine and he couldn't see any problems with my computer, he did a full overview of the motherboard and ran tests (I didn't bring my Focusrite to the tech though).

- I should mention also - both "FW Active" and "Locked" lights light up in the same manner when I turn on the Focusrite, regardless of which PCI-e port I have it plugged into. Nothing different there.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to include as much information as possible.

<<< Computer Overview >>> (Sandra)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

< ID >
Host Name: JayJay-PC
Workgroup: WORKGROUP

< Computer >
Model: GigaByte P55-UD3R
Chassis: GigaByte Desktop
Mainboard: GigaByte P55-UD3R
BIOS: Award (OEM) F2 08/01/2009
Total Memory: 8GB DIMM DDR3

< Processors >
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 860 @
2.80GHz (4C 8T 3GHz/3.46GHz, 2.4GHz 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 4GB DIMM DDR3 1.33GHz
128-bit

< Memory Module(s) >
Memory Module: Kingston KHX1600C9D34GX 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module: Kingston KHX1600C9D34GX 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module: Kingston KHX1600C9D34GX 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module: Kingston KHX1600C9D34GX 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-
12800U DDR3-1600 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

< Video System >
Monitor/Panel: BNQ BenQ GL2240
(1920x1080, 21.7")
Monitor/Panel: Samsung SyncMaster
(1600x1200, 19.9")
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (2CU 384SP SM5.0
1.11GHz, 256kB L2, 1GB 5GHz 128-bit, PCIe
2.00 x16)
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (2CU 384SP SM5.0
1.11GHz, 256kB L2, 1GB 5GHz 128-bit, PCIe
2.00 x16)

< Graphics Processor >
OpenCL GP Processor: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (384SP 2C 1.11GHz,
256kB L2, 1GB 5GHz 128-bit)
Compute Shader Processor: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (384SP 2C 1.11GHz,
256kB L2, 1GB 5GHz 128-bit)
CUDA GP Processor: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (384SP 2C 1.11GHz,
256kB L2, 1GB 5GHz 128-bit)

< Storage Devices >
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 (1TB, SA:932GB (C:)
WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 (2TB, SA:2TB (D:)
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223C (664.:634MB (E:)

< Logical Storage Devices >
Windows (C:): 932GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 (1TB,
SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Audio (D:): 2TB (NTFS) @ WDC WD2002FAEX-007BA0 (2TB,
SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)
(HED) (E:): 634MB (CDFS) @ TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223C
(664.9MB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, 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: Gigabyte GK107 HDMI Audio Controller
Audio Codec: nVidia GeForce 6800 LE [NV40.2]
Serial Port(s): 1
Parallel Port(s): 1
Disk Controller: Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA IDE
Controller
Disk Controller: Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 2 port SATA IDE
Controller
Disk Controller: Gigabyte JMB36X PCIE-to-SATAII/IDE RAID
Controller
Disk Controller: Gigabyte JMB36X PCIE-to-SATAII/IDE RAID
Controller
USB Controller 1: Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host
Controller
USB Controller 2: Gigabyte P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host
Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1: Avlab Technology XIO2200(A) IEEE-1394a-2000
Controller (PHY/Link)
SMBus/i2c Controller 1: Intel ICH SMBus

< Network Services >
Network Adapter: Realtek RTL8168D/8111D Family PCI-E Gigabit
Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.20) (Ethernet, 1Gbps)

< Operating System >
Windows System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601
(Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance: x64

[cwsand]

Hi, I would try the Pro 40 on a different computer and see if you have any similar issues. Try a different firewire cable too. Since you worked inside your computer, try reseating all cables and RAM sticks - if they aren't making good connections, you could get freezups and errors. If the Pro 40 works fine on another computer, then it could be an issue with the firewire card or motherboard. Also, always make sure to turn off the Pro 40 when disconnecting the firewire cable.

[Christian.Focusrite]

Hi JayJayStevens,

We can run some further test if you would like. Just PM me