Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

I`m getting a sporatic crackle when in record mode. I don`t have the external firewire etc. hard drive and was wonder if this will fix my problem or if i can save the money.
Pretty sure computer is up to par in terms of RAM etc.

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

With Pro Tools, you really want to be positive, not just pretty sure. We can help you with the "being positive" thing, but you would need to post your system specs using the SiSoft Sandra program (as recommended in the general troubleshooting post. A separate physical hard drive that meets the Pro Tools requirements is an absolute MUST.

There could be many, many reasons for a "crackle" and recording to the system drive is definitely one of them.

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

I am also experiencing random crackles and pops in 8.0.4 when in record mode. This happens even when listening to track output with PT stopped
(ie track is armed) As far as I'm aware there is nothing being written to the HDD in this situation, so that eliminates the HDD as a cause. I am using a USB 2.0 7200rpm external drive that has always worked well in PT7.4 The problem only started with Windows 7 and 8.0.4 which I have installed on a
new laptop using all the Digi optimisations etc. Everything else is working
fine, and I can play back older sessions recorded on the previous laptop
with no noises whatsoever! Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated...
Basic specs:
Toshiba A500 laptop
Intel Core i5 520M CPU 2.53Ghz with Turbo Boost
4Gb RAM
Maxtor USB 2.0 120Gb 7200 rpm HDD (external)
nVidea GT330M 1Gb graphics

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

Not necessarily. Lookup "Open Ended Record Allocation" in the reference guide. ;)

In my personal opinion, you were extremely lucky with that.

What's your buffer setting when you get the errors? What hardware are you using?

I have been experiencing issues with buffer settings below 256 on my MBox Mini, but my 002r doesn't have the same issues on the same system. I'm still investigating (when I get time).

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

Thanks for the quick response Spkguitar...I will check my reference guide as you suggest. The same HDD has worked fine with two different laptops and my desktop, with PT 6 LE and PT7 LE, so I naturally assumed I would have no problems with PT8! I might add my sessions are not too demanding with track count/plugins etc (maybe ten tracks at most)
It's actually my daughters new laptop and I have'nt got it here right now, but
I'm pretty sure it was running the default buffer setting (512 samples from memory) I am using mBox2 and have substituted a brand new one (and USB lead) but no change. I might add that the crackles and pops only happen
to audio input fed to the mBox mic/line ports. All recording/playback of the
Xpand2 plugin for example is noise free. Thanks again...

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

Here is the sandra report

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : Lenovo 4444CTO
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : Ryan-THINK
User : Ryan

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz
Speed : 2.13GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 2 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 256kB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L3 On-board Cache : 3MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 12-way, Exclusive, 64 byte line size, 4 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Lenovo 4444CTO
BIOS : Lenovo 81ET28WW (1.04 ) 03/26/2010
Bus(es) : X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 1.87GB

Chipset
Model : Lenovo Auburndale/Havendale DRAM Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 133MHz (133MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Elpida EBJ21UE8BDS0-DJ-F 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-10700S DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module
Memory Module
Memory Module

Video System
Video Adapter : Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator HD (SM4.0, 64MB, PCI)

Graphics Processor

Storage Devices
HITACHI HTS725016A9A364 (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 15MB Cache) : 149GB (C:) (Q:)
HL-DT-STDVDRAM GT30N (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache) : 3GB (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
SYSTEM_DRV : 1GB (NTFS)
Ryan's (C:) : 138GB (NTFS) @ HITACHI HTS725016A9A364 (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 15MB Cache)
Recovery (Q:) : 10GB (NTFS) @ HITACHI HTS725016A9A364 (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 15MB Cache)
BUILD (D:) : 3GB (UDF) @ HL-DT-STDVDRAM GT30N (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 1MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Lenovo P55/PM55/3400 LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : Winbond W83687THF
Audio Device : Lenovo P55/PM55/3400 High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor High Definition Audio
Disk Controller : Lenovo P55/PM55/3400 4 port SATA AHCI Controller
USB Controller 1 : Lenovo P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Lenovo P55/PM55/3400 USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Wireless Adapter 1 : 11b/g/n Wireless LAN Mini-PCI Express Adapter II (802.11g (ERP), WEP n-bit, 36Mbps)


Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x86

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 4.0

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

Changing the USB port where the MBox Mini was plugged in completely solved this problem for me.

Those of you experiencing problems with Digidesign/Avid USB interfaces at lower buffer sizes, try changing the USB port.
You're treading new ground with the i3. I'm almost positive that it hasn't been tested with PT yet.


From what I have seen posted so far to this forum with those using it are having problems.
Again, A separate physical hard drive that meets the Pro Tools requirements is an absolute MUST.

This absolutely, positively MUST be disabled when using Pro Tools.

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

There's a whole lot of wrong going on here as well.

First off, 2GB of RAM is pretty bare minimum these days. 4GB is standard, really. It should be pretty easy and cheap to upgrade to 4, but that is the least of your issues here.

On-board graphics are not supported for use with Pro Tools. As you can see, your computer is only recognizing 1.87GB of the 2GB of RAM you have, because the on-board graphics hub is stealing memory. The fact that it is an extremely low 64MB hub doesn't help either.

Honestly, this laptop is really not something I would even attempt to use seriously with Pro Tools.

An i3 chipset, while new, is still considered the low end "economy" processor. Not a whole lot of grunt to it. Combined with barebones memory, on-board graphics, no FireWire controller or second hard drive... you might as well not even try to use Pro Tools on this laptop.

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

damn, oh well thanks for help

Re: Windows 7 mbox2 PTLE problem
 

Sadly, the i3 is the new Celeron and likely NOT a good choice for Pro Tools.