Any supported Win7 configuration or tips?

[MartenLehmann]

Hi,

I was looking regarding Win7 support in the dedicated forums, but since they're all just talking about LE stuff there, I'm trying my luck here.

In short:

I have a brand new HP Z800 64 Bit Workstation, because it is the only Pro Tools certified PC for Windows. I have a HD Core card and an 96 I/O. The installation of Pro Tools 8 works fine, there update to 8.0.3 including Win7 beta as well. The Core card is detected, but the attached 96 I/O is not. It is connected, using the only port at HD Core card and the primary host port at the 96 I/O. When the PC is turned off, the power LED at the 96 I/O turns orange. When I start up the PC it turns to green and the unit starts up.

But Pro Tools doesn't start, because it cannot find the interface and DigiTest cannot find it too. But it detects the Core card fine and all tests are passing without problems.

So, what can I do? If the Win7 beta for HD doesn't even run on a brand new Win7 installation on the certified HP Z800 Workstation, then where else is it expected to run?

A bit of history: I used to have a Digi 002 Rack with Command|8 on a Dell Optiplex 755 with Vista 32 Bit for several years. Besides the known latencies of the LE system it worked fine. Then in December 2009 I decided to use the exchange program to trade in my Digi 002 Rack and get a HD Core with 96 I/O. Unfortunately, the HD Core card didn't fit into the chassis. I looked for external PCIe extension chassis, but they are so expensive, that I could buy a new PC as well.

So, I was looking for a new PC, but they are all shipped with Win7, and Win7 is not yet fully supported (only beta) for Pro Tools. Also, the sales of Digidesign asked me to buy a certified PC only, which was Z800 at this time. So I couldn't use my old LE hardware any longer and I couldn't use the HD system. Then, 3 months after the Win7 beta, I met a Digidesign guy at the CeBIT in Germany, assuring me, that the Win7 beta would be quite stable, he'd be using it as well with HD Core and ElevenRack, so that gave me trust and I decided to buy a Z800.

But as explained above, it does not work. So now I spend about $4000 for the LE to HD trade in program, I spent another $4000 for a new HP Z800 Workstation, and all I got is, that I still cannot record any new songs, neither work with songs that I already recorded. And all that the Digidesign guys are saying is, that there still is no release date for full Win7 support.

This is so frustrating, disappointing and everything else than customer friendly! I lost a lot of confidence in Digidesign due to this situation.

I really hope that some Digidesign guys will help now. Win7 is out for more than a year now and regarding the audio framework, it is even almost the same as Vista.

Kind regards
Marten

[snork7]

Hey Marten
I understand that each component must be turned on in a specific sequence. I start with the outboard stuff, then the i/o (with the volume turned down), then the computer last. Just a thought. Viel Gluck.
Snork7

[snork7]

Hi Marten
I just installed PT8 on W7 and it went well. One thing I noticed is that while you are loading the software, the I/O has to be turned off and on according to the dialog boxes during install. So, for instance, the i/o has to be disconnected (I powered it off) while installing and then turned on when it says to. After that it's the power on sequence that must be adhered to. I wait 5 seconds between powering on the i/o and the computer.
I have a post from a couple days ago that showed what I did when I upgraded. I'm not sure if any of it applies, but maybe there's something there for you.
Good luck
Charlie

[GtrDude]

That's interesting.
I have exactly the same computer Z800 Win7 64 and PT 8.0.3 is running perfectly. If anything maybe even better than on XP.
I did install it in xp sp3 and admin mode though.

GD

[BrentonMusic]

Hey guys, Yes I have this computer too. Pro tools download was going well till I got to the digitest part. Every time i try to run digitest absolutely no cards are found. Can you guys give me any advice please I really need help with this.
Thanks for anything.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by BrentonMusic

Hey guys, Yes I have this computer too. Pro tools download was going well till I got to the digitest part. Every time i try to run digitest absolutely no cards are found. Can you guys give me any advice please I really need help with this.
Thanks for anything.

Could you give less information? How about starting at the "Help us Help You - READ THIS Before Posting!" link up top of this page and providing more information about your setup.

What version of Pro Tools? (It needs to be Pro Tools HD 10 or lower).

Post a Sandra report and description of your HD/TDM card config to start with. What exact cards in what PCIe slots, and connected to what Digilink interfaces? etc.. Is this hardware known to work in another computer? Are multiple cards connected with jumper cables etc.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by BrentonMusic

Hey guys, Yes I have this computer too. Pro tools download was going well till I got to the digitest part. Every time i try to run digitest absolutely no cards are found. Can you guys give me any advice please I really need help with this.
Thanks for anything.

In addition to Darryl's advice, what exact OS and version of Pro Tools? For Windows 7 and PT8, you need the 8.0.5 update as well. If Windows 8, I'm not sure it will work at all with PT8 HD(might need 9 or 10).