Pro Tools is unable to communicate with M-Audio Keyboard

[mstreacy]

Pro Tools 9.03 will not receive MIDI signals from my M-Audio Axiom 49 (1st gen) keyboard via USB. Pro Tools does recognize the keyboard in the peripherals and MIDI input devices menus, but will not receive any MIDI signal from it.

When I open up an instrument track, I can click on the piano GUI with my mouse and hear the sounds that way, but when I try to play the keys on the Axiom, nothing happens- no input meter, and no sound. Sometimes I get an error message stating:

"Pro Tools is unable to communicate with M-Audio Keyboard. Power-Cycle M-Audio Keyboard and check its connections. Note, if M-Audio Keyboard is not in use, update the Peripherals dialog to prevent further warnings."

Of course I've tried power-cycling, changing USB ports, and updating drivers, many times to no avail. The odd thing is that the keyboard works 100% fine with my other programs (Kontakt 3, Ableton Live, Sibelius 6, etc).

Has anyone else seen this issue? I'd appreciate any suggestions for resolution.

FYI- I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 on a Dell Studio 17 Laptop (model 1737) with an Avid M-Box (3g), an M-Audio Axiom 49 (1st gen) and Pro Tools 9.0.3. See Sandra Report below for more details.

I have gone through all of the standard Pro Tools menu options (MIDI through is on, track is armed to record, etc.)

In addition I searched the DUC and the AVID Knowledge base and could find no solutions for my issue.

I have configured every single applicable setting in the Windows 7 Optimization and Troubleshooting Guide:(see below)

• Required Optimizations - I have done all of these:
  • Run as Administrator
  • Disable Desktop Composition
  • Disable System Startup Items
  • Hard Disk Optimizations
  • Turn Off User Account Control
  • Adjust Power Options
  • Install Latest Device Drivers (Pro Tools 9 only)
    

• Optional Optimizations I have done all of these:
  • Adjust Processor Scheduling
  • Disable Screen Saver
  • Display Performance
  • Disable USB Power Management (USB interfaces only)
    

• Troubleshooting I have done all of these:

• Delete Digidesign Databases and Preferences
• Disable Network Adapters
• Install iLok / PACE drivers
• Create a New User Account
• Enable DEP

Sandra Report:

Computer
Model : Dell Studio 1737

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T6500 @ 2.10GHz
Speed : 2GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Dual-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 Cache : 2MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Dell 0F237N
BIOS : Dell A07 08/06/2009
Bus(es) : X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Chipset
Model : Dell PM45 Mobile Controller Hub
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 200MHz (800MHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM
Channels : 2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 400MHz (800MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Samsung M4 70T5663EH3-CF7 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-6-6-18 3-24-6-3)
Memory Module : Samsung M4 70T5663EH3-CF7 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-6-6-18 3-24-6-3)

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 (120 SM4.1 450MHz, 512MB DDR2 1GHz 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 (120 SM4.1 450MHz, 512MB DDR2 1GHz 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
STREAM Processor : ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 (120SP 450MHz)

Storage Devices
Seagate ST9500420ASG (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:) (D:)
TSSTcorp DVD+/-RW TS-T633A (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (Z:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS)
RECOVERY (D:) : 15GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9500420ASG (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Hard Disk (C:) : 451GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST9500420ASG (500.1GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Hard Disk (Q:) : N/A
Optical Drive (Z:) : N/A @ TSSTcorp DVD+/-RW TS-T633A (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell (ICH9M) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : Winbond W83687THF
Audio Device : Dell (ICH9) HD Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Integrated Device Tech 7675h
Audio Device : Dell RV635 Audio device [Radeon HD 3600 Series]
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) HDMI Audio
Disk Controller : Dell (ICH9) Mobile SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : Dell SD Bus Host Adapter
USB Controller 1 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : Dell (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 6 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 7 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 8 : Dell (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell R5C832 IEEE-1394 Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Send To Microsoft OneNote 2010 Driver (1200x1200, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : hp psc 1300 series (1200x1200, USB, Colour)
Printer : HP Officejet 5600 series fax (200x200, USB, Colour)
Printer : HP Officejet 5600 series (1200x1200, USB, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)

Sensors
Sensor : Orion ver 0.2.2 (Location, Look-Up)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-Card (802.11g (ERP), TKIP, 54Mbps)

Power Management
Mains (AC) Line Status : Off-Line
Battery No 1 : 24%

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

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.1

[Ludia]

Hi mstreacy,

Welcom to the DUC and first of all my compliments for the details you've put into your thread. This is most helpfull indeed.
The only thing I can think of at this time is, however you've done the settings in the power management, it is still causing issues for you because I noticed you are running on the battery and is at only 24%. Have you tried also with the mains connected ? It is quite possible the laptop behaves differently running on batteries compared to running on mains no matter you've got correct Windows Power Settings, it could be a Bios thing.

cheers

[mstreacy]

Thanks for the welcome and advice Ludia!
I tried again with the power plugged in and battery at 100% and unfortunatelythere was no change in outcome.

I also got another error message stating:
"The original MIDI device associated with the MIDI controller "M-Audio Keyboard" could not be located. Please choose an existing MIDI device in the MIDI controller section of the peripherals dialog."

Of course no amount re-configuring the peripherals dialog makes a difference. (I've tried)

Can you elaborate on the Bios idea? I"m not familiar with Bios errors or how to correct them.

Thanks again for your help!

[albee1952]

2 things to check; always disable the wifi when running Pro Tools, and make sure that power managememt is turned off on all USB ports (Hardware>Device Manager>USB Root Hub(double-click and hit Power management tab))

[LightWing]

I've run into this myself quite often and I use Win 7 Pro 64-bit.

It will happen intermittantly during sessions and my only recourse is to save my work and do a cold boot.

Never did figure it out despite doing every tweek recommended and it only started happening with 9.0.

Go Figya'

Patrick

[mstreacy]

albee1952, thanks for the suggestions.
I tried again with wifi disabled and there was no change in the issue.
As far as USB root hubs, I had already disabled power management on those to no effect.

LightWing thanks for the feedback- it's good to know I'm not the only one with this issue. It sounds like it's less persistent for you, though. Unfortunately my issue is constant- I have never been able to get a MIDI signal into Pro Tools.

I've been dealing with this issue (and several others) since I purchased PT9. I've spent over 12 hours on the phone with Avid support and twice that on Avid forums and web resources and no one has been able to resolve the issue for me. At this point I'm looking for a reason not to return the product and try Reaper. I'd love to run PT9, but if it doesn't work for me I'll have no choice.

Thanks,
Michael

[spenner]

"Pro Tools is unable to communicate with M-Audio Keyboard. Power-Cycle M-Audio Keyboard and check its connections. Note, if M-Audio Keyboard is not in use, update the Peripherals dialog to prevent further warnings."

This message looks like you have the Axiom selected and setup improperly under the MIDI Controllers tab in Peripherals. If that is case, change to None and see what happens.

If PT is seeing the driver then, at the top of the instrument track, you should see the Axiom listed under ALL in the predefined list of controllers.


Try a different USB Port


Also, has it work with a prior version of PT (before you upgraded to 9.0.3)? If yes, and it is working with your other DAWs, then the PT9.0.3 update could have messed things up with it working with PT. A clean install of PT9 may be in order. Also make sure to download the updates via the Download Manager. Inconsistency or glitches in the normal browser download has messed up a few PT installs for some.

[douglasroviano]

olá sou do Brasil e também estou com o mesmo problema
(I have the same problem to) eu também estou com o mesmo problema aparece
pro tools is unable to communicate with m-audio keyboard power-cycle

notebook
Acer Aspire 4750 i5 2410M 4 Gb ddr3, Win 7 64 sp1, Mobile Pre 1gen Axiom 61 1 gen PT MP9 (comprei (buy) o 8 e fui elegível para update, agora i ilok só tem a licença do 9)
todos os drivers atualizados , every drivers are the most recent.

in the Cubase 5 works perfectly, in the Forte too, this problem happens only with pro tools m-powered, i didn't do the test before upgrading to PT 9

[douglasroviano]

Douglas from Brasil
i don't know ho i can ask help, plese help me because i need to use the virtual instruments to work, i iam desesperated,

how can i contact the avid. thanks

[yeahimsteve]

Originally Posted by mstreacy

The odd thing is that the keyboard works 100% fine with my other programs (Kontakt 3, Ableton Live, Sibelius 6, etc).

Key sentence here.


I'm so sorry to tell you this mstreacy, but you will have to use your other software to make your midi tracks, export them to wav files when you are done creating, and then come back to Pro Tools when it's time to edit and mix your song (if you can stand it).

I am in the same boat as you are, and learned to stop fighting it just recently. It's a lost cause. I had an Axiom Pro that I sold before they got around to releasing the 9.03 update which apparently would have fixed my issue. I'll never know. Even the controllers I have now will work, then they won't, then they work, then they won't. It's hit and miss, so I just said da heck with it and gave up.

The fact that your keyboard works perfectly in all the other software you've tried is proof in the pudding that your computer and keyboard are perfectly fine, and that it's this particular software that is not fine.