Trouble using Mbox Mini 3 with Pro Tools 10

[ZackMCS]

Hi, to keep it short, I've had quite a few problems using the Mbox Mini 3 with both Pro Tools 9 and 10. I'm not sure what exactly is wrong but I've tried a lot of things which have worked sometimes then not worked othertimes so this is a last resort I guess.

Right now, the buffer size in Pro Tools 10 is stuck at 512 with no other buffer sizes, and the box to change it isn't highlighted in the Mbox Control Panel. I usually record at 128 buffer size but sometimes I'll get error messages down to processing, which I used to have on my old PC which I've upgraded since then, and with my PC spec I wouldn't really expect processing errors.
The reason I usually record in 128 is simply because it's the only buffer size I've gotten to work on this PC, which I think is a bit weird. On other buffer sizes (I did have 256, 512 and 1028, though other times I've had higher sizes available), the audio is just heavily distorted and you can really make out anything.

Another problem I get is also a processing issue, I'm assuming. Sometimes the audio will cut out quickly, then come back but it'll, again, be a distorted mess. Changing either the number of processors used or changing the buffer size to another one, then back to 128 usually fixes this temporarily. Another thing to note, when I'm actively recording this never happens, its only in between takes I get the problem.

If anyone could help that'd be great, I've tried quite a few things (re-installing drivers, messed around with settings in Reason 5 and Cubase 5) but nothing will fix the problem permanently. At the end of the day, all I want to do is be able to record without problems which I haven't been able to do yet, unfortunately!

Cheers to anyone in advance :)

[Darryl Ramm]

EDIT: (Thread has been moved...) You are in the wrong forum section if you have a current Mbox 3 family product. Maybe a moderator can move this over.

Start here "Help us Help You - READ THIS Before Posting!" especially the stuff about needing clear descriptions to help us help you.

Exactly what OS/version? Please post a Sandra report. What exact driver version are you installing? Did you try downloading from the Avid Web site? Did you follow he exact driver install instructions (e.g. start with the device disconnected, etc.). Power off and restart everything and try again. What are all the settings in the playback engine dialog screen? Post a screen shot would be great.

Darryl

[ZackMCS]

Ah right, sorry about that!

Yeah I read that, tried posting the Sanra report but I had a 'moderator must accept this post' or something message. I'll try it again now. Yeah, I followed the right instructions and downloaded the drivers from the Avid website. Currently on Pro Tools 10.3.4. Driver version for Mbox is 1.0.8, which is the most recent one. I've tried restarting many times, had this problem since getting the Mbox with Pro Tools 9 in December, many of them were down to a low spec PC though, I bought a new PC with a much higher spec recently and the problems still occur. Heres the Sandra report anyway,

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : SexyNinjaBoy-PC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : GigaByte
Serial Number : To be fille***********
Chassis : GigaByte Desktop
Mainboard : GigaByte H61M-DS2 DVI
Serial Number : To be fille***********
BIOS : AMI (OEM) F2 04/17/2013
Intel vPro : 8.01.30.1350
Total Memory : 15.9GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4C 8T 3.79GHz, 3.8GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC LGA1155

Chipset
Memory Controller : Gigabyte Core (Ivy Bridge) DRAM Controller 100MHz, 2x 8GB DIMM DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Crucial ST102464BA133916F 8GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Crucial ST102464BA133916F 8GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : ViewSonic VA2213w-2
(1920x1080, 21.5")
Video Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 (16 SM5.0 350MHz/1.15GHz, 64MB DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 (16SP 16C 350MHz, 1.6GB DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)
Compute Shader Processor : Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 (16SP 350MHz, 64MB DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Storage Devices
WDC WD20EZRX-00DC0B0 (2TB, SATA600, 3.5") : 2TB (C:) (P:)
Apple iPod (119.8GB, USB2) : 112GB (F:)
ATAPI iHAS120 X (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 512kB Cache) : N/A (D:)
QJKPMXE I3C16B81 (SCSI, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R) : N/A (G:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS)
Removable Drive (F:) : 112GB (FAT32) @ Apple iPod (119.8GB, USB2)
Hard Disk (C:) : 2TB (NTFS) @ WDC WD20EZRX-00DC0B0 (2TB, SATA600, 3.5")
New Volume (P:) : 195GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD20EZRX-00DC0B0 (2TB, SATA600, 3.5")
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ ATAPI iHAS120 X (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 512kB Cache)
Optical Drive (G:) : N/A @ QJKPMXE I3C16B81 (SCSI, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Gigabyte H61 LPC Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T2 87-28
Audio Device : Gigabyte Cougar Point High Definition Audio Controller
Serial Port(s) : 1
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Gigabyte Cougar Point 4 port SATA IDE Controller
Disk Controller : Gigabyte Cougar Point 2 port SATA IDE Controller
USB Controller 1 : Gigabyte Cougar Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #2
USB Controller 2 : Gigabyte Cougar Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Foxit Reader PDF Printer Driver (300x300, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Peripherals
Media Player : Apple iPod (111.55GB)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

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

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.9

[ZackMCS]

I can't seem to post the Sandra report because the moderator has to approve.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by ZackMCS

I can't seem to post the Sandra report because the moderator has to approve.

Grrr. That's an annoying/unfortunate anti-spam new user thing. Try to answer the other questions in the meantime.


Darryl

[Bruce Paine]

Approved, see the Sandra report farther up in the thread. Thanks guys!

[ZackMCS]

Thanks Bruce, the right one was posted too :) Nice one.

I answered everything I could in the post with Sandra report Darryl, thanks!

[Darryl Ramm]

OK I'm going to skip the actual issue you are having now 'coz I just cannot resist this when I see a WDC Caviar Green drive... and I'll give you some other bad news.

This PC does not meet the basic disk IO requirements for Pro Tools. Which are a dedicated 7200 rpm or faster (or SSD) disk drive for audio/sessions. You also really want to have a 7200 rpm or faster or SSD boot/system drive. That is a dedicated audio/session drive in addition to your boot/system drive. And does not mean a partition on the drive it means you need at least two separate physical drives.

And to make things worse (about as worse as they can get) you have a WDC Caviar Green drive. These drives are just toxic to Pro Tools, they spin closer to 5,400 than the required 7,200 rpm minimum but worse they have funky power management that just plays hell with Pro Tools. You are likely to experience all sorts of Pro Tools crashes and problems unless you fix this. I would take out that WDC Caviar Green drive and throw it as far as you can. WDC Caviar Blacks are excellent audio HDDs and I'd suggest a SSD drive for system/boot... especially a Samsung 840 Pro. The SSD will make everything start up faster and seem to run faster.

You are also running integrated graphics which is not recommenced with Pro Tools, and can cause CPU spike related issues.

It would have been good to make sure this PC meets the minimum systems requirements. There is lots of information on DUC about building PCs that work with Pro Tools. Just wanted to give you that bad news up front. The disks are a huge issue, if I was you I'd be ordering two new drives while you sort out what else is going on.


Darryl

[ZackMCS]

I thought that the disk SATA thing may be an issue when I looked it up before. Very unfortunate if this is the problem, since I can't replace anything anytime soon with student loans running low and such.

Ah well, I'll have to fiddle a bit more until I can get my 128 buffer rate set-up again, recording sometimes went very smooth for some sessions, I can live with those problems as they're pretty quick to fix, even if the fixes aren't permanent.

Cheers for the info though, in regards to the separate drives, would an external HDD be sufficient for recording to? I'll run a report on the one I use for hard-drive backups now.

[Darryl Ramm]

And back to the current problem. I'm a bit suspicious of this Mbox havign a problem, but go though carefully and try the following.

Make sure there are no other apps running (other DAWs/audio utilities etc.) that might have the device open. Reboot your computer fully between tests.

Post a screen shot of your Pro Tools playback engine dialog panel.

Remove all other USB devices possible, including the iPod. Make sure the Mbox Mini is connected directly to the PC, not via a hub, and use a known-good USB cable.

Disconnect the Mbox Mini from the PC, uninstall the drivers using the Windows device manager. Reboot the PC and following the standard driver install instructions (install the drivers before connecting the interface). And see if that works. Try a different USB port and cable.


Darryl