High Pitch Whine After Pro Tools 7.0 Loads

[concretecowboy71]

I am using Windows XP
An Athlon Dual Core
Pro Tools 7.0
MBox2

When pro tools loads and during the time when it scans for plug ins it is silent, but after the splash screen says DAE loaded, a high pitch noise is generated through my monitors and continues until pro tools is shut down. At no other time is this noise present on my computer system. I am relatively new to Pro Tools and cannot think of wht the issue might be. Any Ideas?

Thanks for your time
Clint

[DigiTechSupt]

This problem has been found to have several possible causes:

1. Bad/nonexistent power ground. Check your outlets and make sure they have a proper ground.
2. Ground loops, usually caused by having gear plugged into two different circuits. You can try to connect all gear to one circuit to see if that helps.
3. Using balanced cables from the output of the Mbox 2 to your amp/speakers can also help.
4. Bad computer design - the computer is putting noise down the USB bus, which is being picked up by the Mbox 2. Some customers have reported success by using a Monster Ultimate Performance USB cable.

[Elton Hyland]

My 2 cents. I tend to agree with the "ground Loop" idea. Might want to consider getting a ground loop isolator / eliminator as I did that and the problem went away. However, it wasn't a whine I was getting but a buzz / crackle. Worth a shot. Do you have florescent (SP) bulbs?

[chuckm]

Concrete, I would love to hear if this got solved. I have the exact same problem, and I am going out of my mind.

Windows XP, M-Box 2, Athlon Dual Core, and I get the high-pitched noise when Pro Tools loads.

Chuck M.

[Jamtime]

Sure you dont have the onboard soundcard connected to the same monitor/mixer as the Mbox2? If you do, try to disconnect it. Worked for me.

/Micke

[rimlord]

i have the same problem though i'm not on a dual core machine. i am using an athlon 64 processor and this whine only happens when PT is up and running through the mbox. when i route cubase or any other app. through it, it does the same thing. it is not a ground issue, nor is it likely to be a usb issue as it's a tone not hiss, hum, fuzz or general noise. that also rules out cables. it's clearly an athlon and PT problem. the digi website has solutions for dual core. what about single processor? if there's a solution, point me to it 'cause this just gives me more reason to stick with other apps. that don't cause me any problems like this.


Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+
Speed : 2.21GHz
Model Number : 3500 (estimated)
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache : 64kB Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set, 64 byte line size

Mainboard
Bus(es) : AGP PCI IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
MP Support : 1 Processor(s)
MP APIC : Yes
System BIOS : Award Software International, Inc. F5
Mainboard : Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. nForce
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Nvidia Corp nforce3 CPU to PCI Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)

Chipset 2
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 201MHz (402MHz data rate)

Video System
Desktop Monitors/Panels : 2
Monitor/Panel : ViewSonic VA912-4 SERIES
Monitor/Panel : Default Monitor
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 (Microsoft Corporation)

Physical Storage Devices
Hard Disk : WDC WD1600JD-00GBB0
Hard Disk : WDC WD800JB-00JJC0
Hard Disk : PNY USB 2.0 FD USB Device
CD-ROM/DVD : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3520A (CD 48X Rd, 48X Wr) (DVD 6X Rd, 6X Wr)

Logical Storage Devices
system_drive (C:) : 73GB (39GB, 54% Free Space) (NTFS)
audio_drive (E:) : 149GB (78GB, 52% Free Space) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A
Removable Drive (H:) : 962MB (210MB, 22% Free Space) (FAT)

Peripherals
USB Controller/Hub : Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : General Purpose USB Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Composite Device
USB Controller/Hub : Digidesign Mbox 2 Firmware Updater
USB Controller/Hub : USB Mass Storage Device
FireWire/1394 Controller/Hub : Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
Keyboard : HID Keyboard Device
Mouse : HID-compliant mouse
Mouse : HID-compliant mouse
Human Interface : USB Human Interface Device
Human Interface : USB Human Interface Device
Human Interface : USB Human Interface Device

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : RME HDSP 9632

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Home 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : Win32 x86

Network Services
Network Drivers Enabled : No

[rimlord]

i have the same problem though i'm not on a dual core machine. i am using an athlon 64 processor and this whine only happens when PT is up and running through the mbox. when i route cubase or any other app. through it, it does the same thing. it is not a ground issue, nor is it likely to be a usb issue as it's a tone not hiss, hum, fuzz or general noise. that also rules out cables. it's clearly an athlon and PT problem. the digi website has solutions for dual core. what about single processor? if there's a solution, point me to it 'cause this just gives me more reason to stick with other apps. that don't cause me any problems like this.


Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+
Speed : 2.21GHz
Model Number : 3500 (estimated)
Cores per Processor : 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache : 64kB Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set, 64 byte line size

Mainboard
Bus(es) : AGP PCI IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
MP Support : 1 Processor(s)
MP APIC : Yes
System BIOS : Award Software International, Inc. F5
Mainboard : Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. nForce
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Nvidia Corp nforce3 CPU to PCI Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)

Chipset 2
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 201MHz (402MHz data rate)

[ladewd]

it is not a ground issue, nor is it likely to be a usb issue as it's a tone not hiss, hum, fuzz or general noise. that also rules out cables. it's clearly an athlon and PT problem. the digi website has solutions for dual core. what about single processor? if there's a solution, point me to it 'cause this just gives me more reason to stick with other apps. that don't cause me any problems like this.

You can say what you want, but the high frequency noise I had in my MBox was a grounding issue. Not all grounding problems result in a 60Hz hum. I plugged all audio gear connected to the computer into the same outlet. The I used balanced cables. I had a similar situation with my 002 as well, and the same thing cured it.

[rimlord]

then maybe you or someone else could tell me why the whine doesn't happen until PT is launched. when no app. is launched and running through the box, no whine occurs. the box is on plugged in etc.. i'm just trying to learn something here 'cause if it's a ground issue it seems to never happen until an app. is running through the box. doesn't make sense to me....

[concretecowboy71]

Thanks for all of the great ideas with my problem. Right now I am leaning towards the ground problem because I had the chance to take my box to a "real" studio last week to polish some mixes on a better monitor system and the problem was not there. Did not hear one peep after ProTools booted and I turned the volume up to check...

My house where I have my studio space is over 100 years old and although the electrical is current (no pun intended) you never know what is going on inside those walls.

Right now my computer and monitors and amp are plugged into the same source but the problem is still there. Can a power strip goof up your ground?

Thanks again.