"Problem with audio clock detected." error; Pro Tools won't start playback

[wintersdark]

The Problem:
I'm running Pro Tools LE 8.0.3, with an M-Box 2 Mini usb. As shown below, this is currently Windows Vista SP2 32bit, fully patched up but without IE8. The only other software installed on this system is Google Chrome. This is a dual boot setup - my primary OS is Windows 7 64 bit - which exists entirely for Pro Tools.

When I first install Pro Tools, it runs fine. My wife ran it, doing some session editing, for four hours until suffering a BSOD (Unfortunately, I wasn't there when it happened and am unaware of the details, though she said it was in mid-playback). From then on, any attempt at playback results in "Problem detected with audio clock." error, an no playback. Also, when Pro Tools is running and the "Mix" knob is turned fully clockwise some clicking and popping can be heard through the audio output on the MBox 2 Mini. This noise was not there prior. The noise stops when Pro Tools is closed, and restarts when it is reopened.

Pro Tools is installed to the system drive, and I am attempting playback through a second internal sata drive, a 640gb Caviar Black drive. The problem persists, however, with playback through an attached firewire drive or USB drive.

A wipe and reinstall of the operating system causes Pro Tools to function properly again - for a while. Eventually, the error message appears and Pro Tools will not work again.

The same problem happened on my prior dual boot setup - Windows XP Pro SP3 32 bit, on the same machine. I moved up to Vista because reinstalling XP over and over on a SATA system is a nightmare without a floppy drive.

I downloaded and ran the troubleshooting utility, used it to delete all the pro tools databases, catalogs, preferences etc. This did not correct the problem. Uninstalling pro tools and reinstalling it does not correct the problem either. As I noted before, though, a full OS reinstall does; but that's hardly practical per couple hours of use.

This ALSO happened on my wifes laptop - an entirely different system.

Interestingly, it does NOT happen on my Win7 64bit install. However, on that one I suffer from extremely bad artifacting in the sound playback using the supplied beta drivers (apparently, a known bug). Mind you, I've only used that install for a limited time, as the distortion renders it unusable.

This is my second Mbox 2 Mini, with exactly the same problem, so it's not a hardware issue with the particular Mbox - I exchanged the first in my earlier attempts to fix this.

Throughout my various attempts (and full OS installs) I've installed Pro Tools to each of the attached drives, and in each case attempted playback from each of the other drives, and none of that has helped, so I'm pretty sure it's not the fault of any of the particular drives.

I have searched and searched the digidesign.com/support section of the web site, but I've been completely unable to find the often referred to hardware compatibility charts (I've come to the conclusion that they are no longer accessible; I've spent hours looking for them). If someone can provide a link, I'd really appreciate it - if for nothing other than future reference.

This is a new computer - bought largely for my wife to run Pro Tools, as we had this same problem on her laptop (and it really wasn't powerful enough anyways). It was bought in pieces from several suppliers, and can't be returned/replaced, so overall I'm in it (and the mbox) for a pretty significant chunk of cash, which I can't afford to lose. Thus, I'm pretty damn desperate to get it running :)

Anyone can offer any suggestions or help, I'd very, very much appreciate it.

Current PC Info:
Note: Not in this list is an Avastor 320gb 7200rpm firewire drive supplied specifically for Pro Tools use from her school - Nimbus School of Recording Arts. In every case, I've attempted to use this drive for playback as well, both via firewire and USB.

Also, I've tried disabling firewire (and every other nonessential motherboard component) in bios, to check for any compatibility issues along those lines, with no success.

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : System manufacturer System Product Name
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Host Name : ProTools
User : Drea

Processor
Model : AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor
Speed : 3.41GHz
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 M4A89GTD-PRO/USB3
BIOS : AMI 1456 05/04/2010
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe USB
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : No
Total Memory : 3.25GB DIMM DDR3

Chipset
Model : AMD RS780 Host Bridge Alternate
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2GHz (4GHz)
Total Memory : 128MB
Shared Memory : 368MB
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 670MHz (1.34GHz)

Chipset
Model : AMD F10h Athlon 64/Opteron/Sempron HT Hub
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2GHz (4GHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR3
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 670MHz (1.34GHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : C0 CM3X2G1600C9DHX 2GB DIMM PC5300U
Memory Module : C0 CM3X2G1600C9DHX 2GB DIMM PC5300U

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 4290 (40 SM4.1 700MHz, 384MB 2x667MHz, Integrated Graphics)

Graphics Processor
Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 4290 (40SP 2C 700MHz, 368MB 2x667MHz, Integrated Graphics)

Storage Devices
WDC WD6401AALS-00J7B1 (640.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache) : 596GB (D:) (F:)
WDC WD15EADS-00P8B0 (1.5TB, SATA300, 3.5", NCQ, 32MB Cache) : 1TB (E:)
TOSHIBA MK8037GSX (80GB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, NCQ) : 75GB (C:) (G:)
SONY DVD RW DRU-510A (RAID, DVD+-RW, CD-RW) : 8GB (H:)

Logical Storage Devices
System (D:) : 100MB (NTFS) @ WDC WD6401AALS-00J7B1 (640.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache)
OS (F:) : 596GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD6401AALS-00J7B1 (640.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 32MB Cache)
Data (E:) : 1TB (NTFS) @ WDC WD15EADS-00P8B0 (1.5TB, SATA300, 3.5", NCQ, 32MB Cache)
Vista (C:) : 25GB (NTFS) @ TOSHIBA MK8037GSX (80GB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, NCQ)
Stuff (G:) : 49GB (NTFS) @ TOSHIBA MK8037GSX (80GB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, NCQ)
Pro Tools LE (H:) : 8GB (CDFS) @ SONY DVD RW DRU-510A (RAID, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)

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 : Realtek Semiconductor 0892h
Audio Device : ATI (AMD) RS880 Audio Device [Radeon HD 4200]
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) 791Ah
Disk Controller : ATI (AMD) SB700 SATA Controller [AHCI mode]
Disk Controller : ATI (AMD) SB700 IDE
Disk Controller : ASUS JMB361 AHCI/IDE
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

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

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

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows Vista Home 6.00.6002 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 1.0

Performance 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.

[TCM]

Sometimes I get the same message with my 002r. Rarely though.

I firstly would reinstall the driver for the Mbox in the device manager.

Second, run the DPC latency checker.

Maybe this could help, especially the diagnostic tool Xperf

http://www.snoopdos.com/blog/index.p...&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Hope that helps.

[klickyman]

I had the same message on my program, i tried reinstalling windows and protools , finally found out that it was the $3.00 battery in the computer that keeps the clock running ! Replaced it and it runs like a charm.....hope that helps...bill

[wintersdark]

Originally Posted by klickyman

I had the same message on my program, i tried reinstalling windows and protools , finally found out that it was the $3.00 battery in the computer that keeps the clock running ! Replaced it and it runs like a charm.....hope that helps...bill

Curious. It's brand new - the motherboard, that is. Still, may well have a sub par battery. I would think that wouldn't impact operation while the pc is plugged in and powered, but I'm willing to. Try anything at this point.

I ran the dpc checker, but it was fine, typically 30-60us with peaks of 128. There are very few drivers running anyways, it's a very bare install. Not even network drivers.