Cannot Recognize M-box

[peytontodd]

I typically use Pro Tools intensively for a while, then go many months without using it. Then often, as now, when I want to use it again I'm told that it can't recognize my M-box, even though it's plugged into the PC, its blue light is on, and audio piped into it from an external sound source plays perfectly on a speaker plugged into it.

This is now happening on three different PCs all at once: two with Win 7 (and the M-box that came with Pro Tools 8) and one Win XP (with the M-box that came with version 6), even though it was running fine on all three of them last time I tried it.

As I said, this happens often: see e.g. my posts "Pro Tools no longer recognizes M-box" (7-7-2011) and "Unable to locate hardware despite suggested fixes" (12-4-2011). The memory issue that occurred with the latter post has long been fixed, with memory increased from 2GB to 8GB.

Leery of re-installing because of earlier problems with that (see for example my post entitled "Can neither install nor uninstall Pro Tools" (5-31-2011)), I first tried repairing it, and got all the way past where it said to turn on the M-box 9which it must have succeeded in doing since bombed only later, when trying to launch the PACE System FILES installer.

Then I un-installed it and tried with a new install, and it hung on "Installing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for four hours before I killed it. This is not the same as when happens when a program cannot be accessed per the Windows Task Manager since the Task Manager reported it as 'running' the whole time.

What do to?

Sandra says it can't connect to my computer at the present time. While I try to fix that, here's the report from 12-3-2011:

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : Si G41M-P33
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : Peytons-SYX-2
User : Peyton

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU E3400 @ 2.60GHz
Speed : 2.6GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 Cache : 1MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 4-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : MSI G41M-P33 (MS-7592)
BIOS : AMI (OEM) V7.7 01/05/2010
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR2 DDR3

Chipset
Model : MSI G41 DRAM Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 200MHz (800MHz)
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR2 DDR3
Shared Memory : 32MB
Channels : 2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 400MHz (800MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Micron 512M6416V69AD2J15E 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (10-10-10-27 5-37-11-6)
Memory Module : Micron 512M6416V69AD2J15E 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (10-10-10-27 5-37-11-6)

Video System
Video Adapter : Intel(R) G41 Express Chipset (8 SM4.0 400MHz, 32MB DDR3 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor

Storage Devices
Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 14MB Cache) : 466GB (C:)
Seagate ST31000528AS (1TB, USB2/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm) : 932GB (E:)
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NS50 (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS)
Iomega HDD (E:) : 932GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST31000528AS (1TB, USB2/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Hard Disk (C:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 14MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NS50 (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : MSI 82801GB/GR (ICH7) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T0 07-23
Audio Device : MSI 82801G (ICH7) High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Serial Port(s) : 1
Parallel Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : MSI 82801G (ICH7) Ultra ATA Storage Controller
Disk Controller : MSI 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7) Serial ATA Storage Controller
USB Controller 1 : MSI 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : MSI 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : MSI 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : MSI 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : MSI 82801G (ICH7) USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 6 : VIA VIA VT6214L USB UHCI Controller
USB Controller 7 : VIA VIA VT6214L USB UHCI Controller
USB Controller 8 : VIA VT6202 USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : HP Officejet 4300 Series (1200x1200, USB, Colour)
Printer : HP LaserJet 2200 Series PCL 5 (600x600)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Fax : EPSON PC-FAX driver (203x203, USB)
Printer : EPSON Artisan 830 Series (360x360, USB, Colour)
Printer : DYMO DiscPainter (600x600, USB, Colour)
Printer : Adobe PDF Converter (4000x4000, Colour)
Printer : EPSON Artisan 830 Series (360x360, USB, Colour)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek RTL8168D/8111D Family PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC (NDIS 6.20) (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

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

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

[albee1952]

This is the original Mbox(light blue with Focusrite preamps)?? For use with Windows 7, you need LE8.0.5 and the old Mbox does NOT work past LE8.0.1 so I don't see a happy ending here. Either downgrade the OS to XP, or get a newer interface. You have lots of catching up to do on this and some of the news is really good. Starting in PT9, you can use almost ANY interface, including the onboard audio ports if you can find a working ASIO driver(and, ASIO4ALL is a freeware driver that works for many).

Beyond that, there is some bad news as well regarding the Sandra report:
Celeron-not supported
Integrated graphics-often a show stopper
try disabling wifi when running Pro Tools

[peytontodd]

1. Yes, one of the M-boxes is the light blue one I use with my WinXP - the M-box that came with the Pro Tools 6.4 that's installed on that PC. The one I switch between my two Win7 PCs is the black and gray one that came with the Pro Tools 8.0.4 that's installed on those PCs - or was, until my recent failed attempt to reinstall it.

2. The PC on which Sandra does not run is indeed a Celeron. Do you know any substitute for Sandra I could run on it?

3. Fortunately the other Win7 PC (the one I tried and failed to re-install Pro Tools on) is not a Celeron, and I have placed its Sandra info after the '===' line below. As you can see, it does have integrated graphics.

4. However that PC has only 4GB RAM (unlike the Celeron, which has 8GB), so I will try to upgrade that.

5. If by 'wifi' you mean what I have learned to call 'wireless', I don't have that anywhere in my house. All my computers are on hard-wired ethernet cables.

6. Are you saying that if I buy PT 9 I'll be through with this continually recurring problem forever? Even with my integrated graphics? (If this matters, I'm not processing video, only audio.)
==================================================
SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : Peytons-SYX
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : OEM
Serial Number : 1072*****
Chassis : Desktop
Mainboard : Pegatron IPMIP-GS
Serial Number : To be fille***********
BIOS : AMI (OEM) IPMIP-GS-Si-0102 05/06/2010
Total Memory : 3.68GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU 550 @ 3.20GHz (2C 4T 3.19GHz, 2.13GHz IMC, 2x 256kB L2, 4MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC LGA1156

Chipset
Memory Controller : 6922 Core (Arrandale) DRAM Controller 133MHz, 2x 2GB DIMM DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : SpecTek 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-24 4-33-10-5)
Memory Module : SpecTek 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-24 4-33-10-5)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : LG E2350
(1920x1080, 23.1")
Video Adapter : Intel(R) HD Graphics (12 SM4.0 733MHz, 258MB DDR3 1.33GHz 128-bit, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor

Storage Devices
SAMSUNG HD256GJ (250GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 233GB (C:) (D:)
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NS50 (7.7GB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 7GB (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
SYSTEM : 500MB (NTFS)
ImageBackup (D:) : 40GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD256GJ (250GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Local Disk (C:) : 192GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD256GJ (250GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Pro Tools LE (E:) : 7GB (CDFS) @ HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NS50 (7.7GB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : 6922 H55 LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T0 B3-53
Audio Device : 6922 P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi Realtek 662 High Definition Audio
Serial Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : 6922 P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA IDE Controller
Disk Controller : 6922 P55/PM55/3400 2 port SATA IDE Controller
USB Controller 1 : 6922 P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : 6922 P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : 1761 uPD720101 USB OpenHCI Controller
USB Controller 4 : 1761 uPD720101 USB OpenHCI Controller
USB Controller 5 : 1761 uPD720101 USB 2.0 EHCI Controller (Version 1.0)
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ADS Technologies TSB43AB23 1394a-2000 OHCI PHY/link-layer Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Amyuni Document Converter 400 (2400x2400, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Fax : EPSON PC-FAX driver (203x203, USB)
Printer : EPSON Artisan 830 Series (360x360, USB, Colour)
Printer : Brother HL-5470DW series (1200x1200)
Printer : Adobe PDF Converter (4000x4000, Colour)
Printer : DYMO DiscPainter (600x600, USB, Colour)
Printer : EPSON Artisan 830 Series (360x360, USB, Colour)
Fax : EPSON PC-FAX driver (203x203, USB)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Intel(R) 82578DC Gigabit Network Connection (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

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

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 4.8

[peytontodd]

As mentioned as I started this thread, I use ProTools intermittently, and now I'm back. Once again, I find that Protools doesn't recognize my M-box, even though it's plugged in to USB, the little blue light is on, and my Win7 computer shows it as "Avid Mbox Mini" in "Devices and Printers".

A respondent to my earlier post says ProTools doesn't run on a computer with a Celeron chip, which is what this one is. Could that really be true? It seems odd that in would run on another Win7 computer I have (more about that in another post) but not this one...

If I upgrade to a higher version of ProTools, would this problem still occur?

[sw rec]

Did you disable USB power management? It shuts off USB ports when it thinks they're not in use.

Storage Devices
SAMSUNG HD256GJ (250GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 233GB (C:) (D:)
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NS50 (7.7GB, SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 7GB (E:)

Where's your separate dedicated recording drive? Recording to the system drive is a no-no. Partitions on the system drive don't count.

[Darryl Ramm]

But as Dave already pointed out, this is an original Mbox. Its a museum piece/paperweight by now.

The Sandra report for the i3 is not good either. i3 processor is not recommended, and that PC also has integrated graphics. And none of these Sandra reports show a separate dedicated audio/session hard drive (as mentioned above). Integrated graphics is not recommended because of the glitching and similar problem it can cause--nothing do to with whether you are editing video or not, it is likely nothing to do with your current problem. But it seems you have several PCs here, none of which meets minimal systems requirements, and that's just asking for problems.

You can try basic USB troubleshooting (start with the troubleshooting link above on this web page), e.g. check all optimizations are done, including the USB power management step mentioned above, reboot the PC (frequently while doing other tests), remove as many other USB peripherals as possible, try different USB cables, try different interface power supplies (if they are external powered), try all the USB ports on your PC, unisntall and reinstall Pro Tools, wipe the boot drive and reinstall Windows. But I question how much this is worth doing on systems that are likely to have other problems. So maybe time to start over. Work out what interface you want/need to use, get a PC that at least meets the systems requirements for that interface and Pro Tools version and is all compatible and (even if you buy or build a new PC) do a clean install of Windows and Pro Tools and any drivers on that computer. Don't install anything else, get the system fully stable first.
You can also consider other DAWs like Reaper that are less demanding on the system and often easier to just set up and get running, but again pay attention to their systems requirements.

[sw rec]

But as Dave already pointed out, this is an original Mbox. Its a museum piece/paperweight by now.
All too true! (I gave away a couple of them last year.) BUT. A brand new model plugged into a USB port with power management not disabled is still going to disappear when you least expect it. Checking this costs nothing.