Completely Frustrated!

[mwing]

Well here we go again, i've had it with this piece of junk. After upgrading RAM to 16GB, installing a 2nd SSD dedicated to Pro Tools 12.5.1, with OSX 10.10.5, completely clean install. I've optimized my system according to the Avid recommendations. I was able to record a couple sessions and do some light mixing. However tonight out of nowhere I am getting buffer overflow and underflow errors. This thing doesn't know which end is up. I'm using a 002R, which i'm starting to think could be the problem. I really enjoy using Pro Tools when it works but it is the most unstable program i have every used. I've been a user for over 10 years and ask myself why I continue to punish myself.

[Obsidian Dragon]

I'm not sure if this is your issue or not but since you are using and suspecting the Digi002, this might be of interest to you. This is something I posted on this forum years ago.
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We haven't heard about this in a while but you may have the power harness issue that is common to Digi002's.

The power harness issue on Digi002’s and Digi002R’s. This is a known problem and is easily fixed. The interface sometimes doesn’t connect and the red mute light stay’s on while soft clicking is heard inside. It is caused by oxidization on the connection points on the wire harness. Simply open up the unit by removing the many small screws (be careful not to break any wires to the firewire port) and locate the bunch of wires (the power harness). Wiggle the connectors or even disconnect them and reinsert them a few times to scratch the metal contacts to remove the oxidation build up. Some have even used a contact cleaner like DeOxit. Be careful to reconnect everything and test before closing the unit. I had to do this about once a year for my two units.

[mwing]

Yeah i've taken the cover off and all looks well as far as the power supply.. It hasn't exhibited any of the behaviors described related to the power supply. It seems like an issue related to firewire possibly? I have seen mention of potential issues with having integrated graphics, which is pretty much any laptop. It's strange though because seems lots of people use MBP's for pro tools without issues.

[Obsidian Dragon]

Another possibility is a damaged firewire port on the Digi 002/003. These have been known to get damaged by hot plugging or hot unplugging while the power is on. I have not had this problem as I am pretty careful to power down before disconnecting the device but have read about others that have blown their firewire port. It requires repair by a qualified technician. I don't know if the part is available from Avid anymore since it had been out of production for about a decade. This might be an opportunity to get an updated and better spec'd audio interface. It will be more compatible with other software too.

[Intini]

My question may be absolutely simple, but since this once saved me after chasing basically the same problem, may I ask: did you try different firewire cables? It sounds stupid, but believe me, I was sticking to the one that came with my Avid FW interface - that looked rugged and strong - but ended up using a flimsy cable that was lying around - the one that worked.

[Bob Olhsson]

I had to return three brand new firewire cables in order to find one that worked.

[cwsand]

Try bypassing the 002/firewire completely and test using the internal sound card as your interface - do you still have the same issues? If not, then it would point to your firewire port/cable/002.

[mwing]

So i did buy another, shorter firewire cable, and it appears that the connection is loose. I put some electrical tape on the cable side that goes into the computer to tighten things up. The FW 800 port is really a piece of junk, it can come loose very easily. It's strange because i can bring up a session and it will run and record for a good amount of time. Then suddenly things will crash out of nowhere. I think all signs point to the FW interface.

[mwing]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

I had to return three brand new firewire cables in order to find one that worked.

Any particular brand? What length? I'm using a 3 ft cable right now

[Bob Olhsson]

My problems were with short Belkins. I had a five foot that worked and finally bought some premium Granite ones. http://www.granitedigital.com/firewi...ticcables.aspx