XPS 410, Intel Core 2 Quad Core Processor Q6600
 

Hi All! I just bought a DELL XPS 410, Intel Core 2 Quad Core Processor Q6600 and the new Rack 003 (Windows XP SP2). I'm having problems with the FireWire SIIG 800 3-Port PCIexpress (NN-E38012-S2). When I launch ProTools 7.3.1 it tells me "Unable to locate digi design hardware. Make sure hardware is connected and turned on. Click ok when HW is ready."

I worked with Sean at DigiDesign support for 4 hours and he helped clean out registries, etc. He also said that I'm on an unsupported platform, which is true. I thought if I went with a Quad Core processor and 4 Gigs of RAM the machine would scream.

Has anyone gotten this latest and greatest platform combination to work? If so, are you using a different firewire card?

Here are the Dell specs.

Please advise.. Thanks! Mike
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Item Number Item Description Quantity Total Price

222-8094 XPS 410, Intel Core 2 Quad Core Processor Q6600 (2.4GHz,1066FSB) with 8MB cache 1 $1,769.00
311-6272 4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz 1
310-7963 Dell USB Keyboard 1
320-4278 Video ready option w/o monitor 1
320-4944 NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE 1
341-4109 160GB SATA II Hard Drive (10000 RPM) 1
341-3865 No Floppy Drive Requested 1
420-4938 Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition,Service Pack 2,English 1
420-4927 Windows Media Player 10 1
420-5924 Icon Consolidation Application 1
412-0688 Image Restore 1
420-6995 DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP 1
420-5769 Internet Search and Portal 1
310-8617 Thank you for choosing Dell 1
420-7244 Dell Support Center 1.0 1
310-7966 Dell Optical USB Mouse 1
313-3607 No modem requested for Dell Dimension 1
412-0914 Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 1
313-4424 48X Combo and 16X DVD+/-RW 1
420-5790 Roxio Creator Basic/MyDVD Basic 1
420-5780 Sonic Cineplayer 1
313-2758 Integrated Audio 1
313-4514 No Speaker Requested 1
461-8389 No Virus Protection Requested 1
461-3063 No ISP Requested 1
412-1397 No Productivity Software requested 1
950-3337 1 Year Limited Warranty 1
950-9797 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3 1
985-3668 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year 1
980-7990 Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year 1
960-8700 Warranty Support,Initial Year 1
310-8591 You have chosen a Windows XP System 1
464-9572 No Preinstalled Software 1
420-7091 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1
420-7094 DataSafe Online 10GB for Dim/Ins/XPS 1
987-7449 XPS,Datasafe 10GB,1YR(Incl w/price) 1
988-0099 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online 1

Re: XPS 410, Intel Core 2 Quad Core Processor Q6600
 

Looks like a nice setup. My first suspect is the Firewire card. You are using a PCIexpress model that may be too advanced (FireWire SIIG 800 3-Port PCIexpress (NN-E38012-S2). You might try a simple Digidesign approved PCI firewire card.

Secondly, I notice you have only one hard drive. If you are planning to use Protools, it is recommended to record to a physically separate hard drive (not a partition). I realize that the drive you're gettins is a fast 10,000 RPM SATA drive, but it still may not be able to handle the demands of both the operating system and streaming multitrack digital audio from the same drive. Make sure you get another hard drive for Protools audio.