AM3, no Protools, XP wave driver problems!

[Ben Simko]

Firstly, thanks to all the posters on this forum - I've gotten pretty far on my own based on their suggestions, and I really appreciate it.

My problem is this: I use my AM3 card as my main soundcard and I do not have or use Protools (I bought the AM3 as part of the "toolbox", which did not come with protools). I can only seem to install drivers in SAFE mode of XP (Windows XP Professional with SP2, running on a P4 with a brand new, completely empty 80GB HD), but they will install. However, if I'm using the 5.3.1 driver, Windows XP will not recognize it as an audio I/O device (it will not let me select a default playback or record device in Control Panel / Sounds, Audio, and Multimedia / "Audio" tab). If I use version 6.1.1 of the XP wavedriver, there is a wonderful little utility called "digi MME helper" available on the Digidesign website that overcomes this problem by somehow adding programs to an "opt-in" list. However, the problem with the 6.1.1 driver is that it apparently is PLAYBACK ONLY (it will show as the default playback device in the Control Panel / Sounds, Audio, and Multimedia / "Audio" tab, but there will be no default record device - and programs still need the MEE helper to be able to "see" the sound card)! I want to record, too! If anyone (Rail Jon Rogut, are you out there?) knows an equivalent of the "digi MME helper" for the older full-duplex wave driver, please help me out.

To sum up: I can get the 5.3.1 driver installed, but I can't get any of my programs to notice. And I can get the 6.1.1 driver installed, but it will not record audio. My goal is to playback and record with my AM3 on Windows XP SP2.


Thank You,
BEN SIMKO ([email protected])

[spkguitar]

The 6.1.1 wavedriver is playback only, it will not record.

[Ben Simko]

Thanks for the response! Unfortunately, I realize that the 6.1.1 driver will only play back - I only mentioned it because I wanted to give complete information about my situation.

The most realistic way to address my problem would seem to be getting the old, full duplex driver to work, which is version 5.3.1. My system will let me install it (as long as I do it in, and it seems to be working from the "properties" window under "device manager" (which is in Control Panel / System). It's just that none of my programs recognize it, and the "Sounds, Audio, and Multimedia" settings in Control Panel will not let me select a default playback or record device. It's like the Audiomedia III is installed, but the system doesn't know how to treat it...

Which is why I mentioned the 6.1.1 driver, because the same thing happens with 6.1.1 EXCEPT:

a) Windows recognizes it as the default playback device (although individual programs still do not recognize it)

b) there is that great little "MME Helper" program that forces the individual audio programs to recognize the the AM3, hence it works, at least as a playback device.

Is there even a way to make the 5.3.1 driver work on Windows XP, Service Pack 2? Is SP2 the problem? Or is there another way to record with a wave driver in Windows XP that I'm maybe not thinking of? All my software requires a wave driver, none of it is ASIO compatible. Will I be stuck using Windows 98?

PS: A question for Digidesign Tech Support, if you're out there: is there any possibility of the wavedriver being updated beyond 6.1.1 in the near future to be full duplex? Or even just capable of recording?

Thanks for helping out!

-Ben Simko ([email protected])