A few Issues I'm still having Static noise and 48khz sample rate

[Caatalyst]

Hey everyone,

I think I've been posting on these forums the same problems for over a year now, I just wondered if anybody else had recently overcome them.

Firstly, I cannot seem to run a Pro Tools session in 48khz without getting static noise. Say for example, my computer boots up fine everything sounds okay but as soon as I boot up Pro Tools and click "Create Session" with the 48khz sample rate static noise appears and won't go away untill I switch off my computer. This happened in both Pro Tools 8.0.4 and 9.0.2

The second issue results in the same static noise and basically happens as soon as windows loads up. This occurs if I restart my computer without switching off the power at the wall for at least 5 minutes. If I simply turn off the computer or reboot it the static noise appears.

Thirdly, I'm still getting buffer size error messages during sessions that result in pro tools crashing. Sometimes increasing the buffer size helps but having it set to 1024 isn't practical. (Surely I should be able to set it to the lower vaules without issue).

FINALLY, the last problem occurs in cubase. All audio played back in Cubase is horribly distorted and robotic unless I set the buffer size to 4k where it becomes audible but still poor. I presume this is a result of the Pro Tools drivers and I can't seem to figure it out.

I've tried -

- Following avid\digidesigns guide to optimising windows 7
- Updating all of the latest drivers
- Different USB ports
- Even replacing the motherboard from crosshair III to Crosshair IV

If anybody has any advice I would be extremely grateful because this has been going on for far too long.

My setup is

Windows 7 Premium 64bit
Pro Tools 9.0.2
Cubase 4

Asus Crosshair IV motherboard
AMD Phenom 2 Quad core 3.2ghz CPU
8GB Corsair DDR3 4x2GB
Geforce 470GTX
Corsair 850watt PSU
Samsung Spintpoint 500GB drive (Primary)
Seagate 1TB (Backup)

Usb Devices -

Seagate external 1TB (Backup)
M-Box 2 Sound card
Korg K-25 Midi Keyboard
Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
Microsoft Habu Mouse
Ilok USB KEY
Steinberg USB Key
Microsoft Webcam

[Caatalyst]

I also forgot to mention the amount of memory related crashes I encounter in Pro Tools despite the fact that I have 8gb.

heres my sandra report

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : System manufacturer System Product Name
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : JamesMazur-PC
User : James Mazur

Processor
Model : AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor
Speed : 3.21GHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 64kB, Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 4x 512kB, ECC, Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size
L3 On-board Cache : 6MB, ECC, Synchronous, Write-Back, 48-way, 64 byte line size, 4 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Asus Crosshair IV Formula
BIOS : AMI 1102 08/24/2010
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe USB FireWire/1394
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : No
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR3

Chipset
Model : ATI (AMD) RD890 single slot GFX Hydra
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 201MHz (201MHz)

Chipset
Model : AMD F10h Athlon 64/Opteron/Sempron HT Hub
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2GHz (4GHz)
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR3
Channels : 2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 804MHz (1.6GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : C0 CM3X2G1333C9 2GB DIMM PC6400U
Memory Module : C0 CM3X2G1333C9 2GB DIMM PC6400U
Memory Module : C0 CM3X2G1333C9 2GB DIMM PC6400U
Memory Module : C0 CM3X2G1333C9 2GB DIMM PC6400U

Video System
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (448 SM5.0 1.22GHz, 1.3GB, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (448 SM5.0 1.22GHz, 1.3GB, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (448SP 14C 1.22GHz, 1.2GB)
CUDA Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (448SP 14C 1.22GHz, 1.2GB)
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (448SP 1.22GHz, 1.2GB)

Storage Devices
SAMSUNG HD502HJ (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:)
Seagate ST31000520AS (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 5900rpm, NCQ) : 932GB (D:)
Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB) : N/A (G:)
Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB) : N/A (H:)
Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB) : N/A (I:)
Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB) : N/A (J:)
Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB) : N/A (K:)
Seagate Desktop 1TB (USB) : 932GB (F:)
LITE-ON DVDRW SH-16A7S (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (E:)
AJANM 6FC1AJOX (SCSI, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R) : N/A (L:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD502HJ (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
Storage (D:) : 932GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST31000520AS (1TB, SATA300, 3.5", 5900rpm, NCQ)
Backup (F:) : 932GB (NTFS) @ Seagate Desktop 1TB (USB)
Removable Drive (G:) : N/A @ Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB)
Removable Drive (H:) : N/A @ Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB)
Removable Drive (I:) : N/A @ Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB)
Removable Drive (J:) : N/A @ Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB)
Removable Drive (K:) : N/A @ Generic STORAGE DEVICE (USB)
Optical Drive (E:) : N/A @ LITE-ON DVDRW SH-16A7S (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Optical Drive (L:) : N/A @ AJANM 6FC1AJOX (SCSI, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD+-R-DL, CD-R)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ATI (AMD) IXP SB600 SMBUS Controller
LPC Hub Controller 2 : ATI (AMD) SB700 LPC host controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T2 87-21
Audio Device : ASUS IXP SB600 High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : VIA 0441h
Audio Device : nVidia GF100 High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : nVidia Mutara V08 [NV2]
Audio Codec : nVidia Mutara V08 [NV2]
Audio Codec : nVidia Mutara V08 [NV2]
Disk Controller : ATI (AMD) SB700 SATA Controller [IDE mode]
Disk Controller : ATI (AMD) SB700 IDE
Disk Controller : ASUS P5B [JMB363]
USB Controller 1 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 2 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB EHCI Controller
USB Controller 3 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 4 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB EHCI Controller
USB Controller 5 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI2 Controller
USB Controller 6 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 7 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB EHCI Controller
USB Controller 8 : ASUS uPD720200 USB 3.0 Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS VT6315 Series Firewire Controller

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

Peripherals
Media Player : ()
Media Player : ()
Media Player : ()
Media Player : ()
Media Player : ()

Network Services
Network Adapter : Marvell Yukon 88E8059 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

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

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

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.9

Performance Enhancing Tips
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

[jeam25]

Well...turn off or disable all those usb and test only with the ilok and disable the
onboard audio and make a test. Just for start ...

[Caatalyst]

Turn off which USB s ? These?

USB Controller 1 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 2 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB EHCI Controller
USB Controller 3 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 4 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB EHCI Controller
USB Controller 5 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI2 Controller
USB Controller 6 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB OHCI0 Controller
USB Controller 7 : ATI (AMD) SB700 USB EHCI Controller
USB Controller 8 : ASUS uPD720200 USB 3.0 Controller

I thought that they were been used? Onboard audio is disabled.

[Caatalyst]

bump

[jntracks]

un plug every USB device and try to run pro tools with just the mbox ilok, mouse and keyboard. make sure you are using the mbox as the interface for pro tools and not the onboard audio on the motherboard.

if you're still getting static try a different mouse, or a different keyboard.

[Caatalyst]

I'm actually using a different keyboard so theres just the mouse to check.

I've just replaced my hard drive and installed a fresh copy of Windows. I'll test out the usb ports and get back to you with the results.

[Caatalyst]

Unfortunately I'm still having the same problems on a brand spanking new hard drive with a fresh copy of windows and pro tools.

I tried running with just the M-Box, mouse and keyboard with no prevail.

I've noticed that in windows sound options, if I open the m-box properties and select the advanced tab a drop down menu appears.

Its currently set to 2 channel, 24bit 44k (studio quality)

There is no option for 48k despite the M-Box supports it? Could this be the reason why everytime I try create a session in pro tools at 48k all I get is white noise?

I can't believe the amount of HW buffer related issues that come up when I'm working on a session. Audio doesn't seem to be an issue but as soon as I roll out the midi tracks with superior drummer it gets choppy and I have to set the buffer size to 1024 (the maximum setting) + it sometimes just freezes and crashes for no reason or comes up with errors about the CPU peaking and that I need to remove Rtas.

Surely with a 3.2ghz Quad Core and 8GB of memory this should not be happening? Despite only playing back distorted audio at the minute cubase can take the midi tracks with ease.

[The Weed]

You might want to take a look at the General Troubleshooting thread and download the DPC latency checker and run it.

Cheers,

[Caatalyst]

I've downloaded the software, but what should I do to test my system?