Digirack 003+ lights on, doesn't react, fried firewire?

[kenny bones]

New user here! :)
So, I bought a Digirack 003+ used, from a studio nearby. And I have it plugged into a laptop, type Lenovo Thinkpad L520, with a firewire express card (of the type that was recommended), on Windows 7 and using ProTools 8 Lite.

Now, it's been working fine for about a year now. Allthough when I first got it, the 1418 light was blinking, when ProTools wasn't running. Never thought about it, it worked when ProTools was fired up though.

And the past few months it's begun acting up. ProTools won't recognize it, and the lights seem to have frozen. By some trial and error, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. And when it did, it would have this cracking sound from the monitors. Especially when adjusting the volume knob. At first, I got i "fixed" by unplugging both the digirack and the computer. And next day I'd turn them back on, and it worked. Until now..

Now the same thing is happening. But this time it doesn't help by turning the power off. Even starting the digirack up with the computer off, it doesn't seem to be working. The lights are either all lit up and the buttons not responding. Or no lights are lit and buttons not responding. And when I start ProTools and it starts looking for the soundcard, the digirack will make these relay click sounds, and the lights will do some flashing, and it'll just freeze. Before ProTools comes with this error, then saying it can't find the soundcard.

So, firewire fried or? Is it really likely that it's a faulty firewire cable? The LINK light on the back is on, and Windows seems to find the digirack just fine. It really looks like a hardware issue.

And I don't think I've got any guarantee anymore, I think these cards are getting pretty old now. So I'll need to send it to the repairs. Any idea what it might cost?

[albee1952]

If you ever "hot-patched" the FW, then it may well be fried. This refers to plugging or unplugging the FW cable(either end) when the 003 and/or computer are powered ON.

The fact that Windows "sees" it, makes me think it could be something else. Possible issues include:
incorrect driver(the driver for the rack version will NOT work with the console version, and vice versa)
Incorrect installation of the driver(you should right-click on the driver installer and select Run as Administrator)
Run as Admin should also be used when installing Pro Tools.
Right-click on the PT icon and select Properties. Find the tab with these 2 options and check both(Always Run as Admin, and Disable Desktop Composition)
Try another FW driver. On most Windows systems(from Device Manager) you can select from 3 drivers; Legacy, TI Compliant and a 3rd I can't remember. Legacy is recommended, but never worked for me on 3 computers(made all the 003 buttons act like midi note sends). The TI Compliant driver is what always worked for me(the one I don't remember, never worked at all)

[kenny bones]

I don't think it has been hot-patched, but there are other people using the rehearsal room, so I can't exclude that possibility.

But if it's a driver issue, one would think that the rack would behave correctly when it's not connected to the computer? Meaning, the lights and everything would behave normal?

I did notice that when the power has been unplugged for a few minutes, and I turned it on (without it being connected to the computer), it would start up seemingly normal. With only the Mute button activated. And only when starting the computer and ProTools, it would begin acting up again.

I tried turning it on while holding the Mute and Aux-7-8 button simultaneously, in order to get it into firmware update mode. But it doesn't react like it's supposed to (midi-lights is supposed to start blinking?).

I can try to reinstall everything though, making sure Admin mode is on. Although I've set Windows 7 to lowest UAC settings. The driver that's installed is the one that came from the CD.

[albee1952]

I would uninstall the driver and get the latest by following the link at the top of this page(Software Updates, Drivers, Manuals, Compatibility, Optimize, Troubleshoot, etc. (Links) )

[kenny bones]

I will try that tomorrow.

But, I thought I'd update on what happened today. When I got to the rehearsal room, both computer and digirack had been off for a few days. When I started the digirack, it worked! ProTools didn't complain, and I got sound from the monitors.

For a while atleast, until I turned on the mixing table that I've plugged all vocal mics into. After a little while, the monitors started making these crackling noises during playback. And then the mute-button (and all the buttons on that side) on the digirack wasn't responding. And then it was back to the way it was a few days ago.

That made me wonder if there might be an electric issue. Because the Digirack and the computer are both connected to an extension cord. And that is connected to another extension cord that the mixing table is also connected to. And that last extension cord is connected to a single socket in the wall. Could this be the culprit? Maybe there's an earthing issue?

[albee1952]

You need to test both for ground(earth) and voltage(maybe you have a voltage drop and some electronics don't handle that well).