Installing PT L.E. 6.8.1 and MBox2 on new Windows 7 system - 8.0.5 upgrade?

[Badfish00]

Hello everyone,

I have an old MBox 2 with PT LE 6.8.1 that I had previously on my old computer. I've recently upgraded to a new PC and am trying to get my mbox up and running on it again. I have read through some posts on here, and I realize this is not as easy as I would have hoped. It is my understanding that originally Windows 7 was not compatible, however there has recently been a patch to correct this? Or is it necessary to upgrade to at least 8.0? I've read the Sticky regarding the free upgrade to 8.0.5, is this all I need to get myself up and running? Sorry for the "noob" question, it's just been awhile for me! I have posted a Sandra report of my new system.

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!


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SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : ASUS N61Jq
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : Kevin-PC
User : Kevin

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 740 @ 1.73GHz
Speed : 931MHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L2 Cache : 4x 256kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L3 Cache : 6MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 12-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size, 16 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : ASUS N61Jq
BIOS : AMI (OEM) N61Jq.212 08/17/2010
Bus(es) : PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Chipset
Model : ASUS Core (Clarksfield/Lynnfield) DMI
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2.4GHz (4.79GHz)

Chipset
Model : Intel Core Mobile (Clarksfield) UnCore
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2.13GHz (4.26GHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM
Channels : 2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 665MHz (1.33GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : A-Data AD73I1B1672EG 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 (400 SM5.0, 1GB DDR3 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
Compute Shader Processor : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 (400SP, 1GB DDR3 128-bit)
STREAM GP Processor : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 (400SP)

Storage Devices
Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:) (D:)
TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633C (332.2MB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 317MB (E:)
ELBY CLONEDRIVE (SCSI, SCSI-2, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD-R, CD-R, 256kB Cache) : N/A (F:)

Logical Storage Devices
OS (C:) : 116GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
DATA (D:) : 330GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9500420AS (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Pro Tools LE (E:) : 316MB (CDFS) @ TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633C (332.2MB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Optical Drive (F:) : N/A @ ELBY CLONEDRIVE (SCSI, SCSI-2, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD-R, CD-R, 256kB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS HM55 LPC Interface Controller
Audio Device : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Audio Device : ASUS Redwood HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 5600 Series]
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) HDMI Audio
Disk Controller : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA AHCI Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : ASUS P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : ASUS Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

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

Network Services
Network Adapter : Atheros AR8131 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (802.11g (ERP), WEP n-bit, 54Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line
Battery No 1 : 86%

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Home 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.9

[Dism]

8.0.5 is a free upgrade for those who already have Pro Tools 8.

For compatibility on Windows 7, you need at least 8.0.4. You would need to buy Pro Tools 8 for that. Generally found for about $150.

However, your MBox 2 gives you the LE crossgrade price to PT9 for $250. A much more worthwhile investment, IMO.

[zedhed]

You may want to invest in some more RAM too. 2GB isn't going to give great performance. IMHO 4GB minimum.

[SKI]

Also pop over to the PT9 forum and check out the mBox2 performance and issues with PT9 to see what you would need to do to get the best results from it.

[albee1952]

In addition to all that has been said, you also need a separate recording drive. A partition of a single drive will give worse performance than simply recording to Cwhich is frowned upon, but may be okay for small projects; like 4-8 tracks).

[Badfish00]

Ok guys, thanks for the great responses. I realize the need to upgrade, and yes probably upgrade my RAM as well, although I'm really only using it to record myself inorder to remember pieces I come up with while jamming these days.

However I have a new question:
I've noticed the MBox won't even activate when I plug it in to my Win7 system, I assume because of a driver issue and not being compatible. As my bass amp at home doesn't have a headphone jack, I was wanting to plug in to my Mbox and use the headphone jack from there, without recording or going through my cpu at all, just more or less a headphone jack. Is there any way to do this? Some way (driver?) that would allow my MBox to receive power from my USB (right now no lights or anything go on when I'm plugged in) without having software installed? I'm just trying to find a use for my new mbox paper weight that cost me hundreds of dollars! Untill I upgrade, that is.

Hope this makes sense, thanks for the great help!

**Edit: I should clarify, I'm referring to a Gallien Krueger bass amp that I use to practice playing bass, that does not have a headphone amp. Therefore I am trying to practice using headphones, and using my mbox simply as a patch cord input to headphone output, without going through the cpu at all. Is this even possible?