Dell Inspiron 6400 and Mbox2

[themindlab]

Anyone having trouble with Inspiron laptops ?

I have an Inspiron 6400 Dual core 1.66 Mhz and an Mbox 2 fresh out of the box and as soon as i installed pro tools 7 I got the following error:

"the operating system interrupts held off for too long" (-9094)

After formatting and installing Win xp SP2 the situation improved, but as soon as I open a project that requires more than 20% of CPU the error is there again. This thing is not letting me work !! Should I go back on a mbox, buy a mac or switch to another software like nuendo ??

I would appreciate some suggestions...even if I'm posting this to find out if there are other Inspiron users that share my problem. Digidesign might be able to solve it...Dell sells a lot of laptops !

[spkguitar]

"the operating system interrupts held off for too long" (-9094)

This is usually the result of hard drive mis-configuration. What hard drive are you using for your sessions? How do you have it connected to the Dell? Are you following all of the compatibility requirements?

There are also many recommendations in the General Troubleshooting thread that may help.

[themindlab]

Thanks for the interest !
Well, I've tried the general trouble shooting but nothing improved.
When I load a project the performance meter in protool is to about 25% while the windows task manager is stuck at 100%...
I disabled all the things recommended by the digidesign troubleshooting in the BIOS and I expecially disabled the speed-stepping. I also set pro tools to work with one processor...still, task manager indicates a processor stuck at 100%...
My hard drive is a Lacie 200GB connected via USB...

Hmm...really don't know what to do...it's definately protools sending Win Xp "crazy" but can't think were the problem is...

[spkguitar]

My hard drive is a Lacie 200GB connected via USB...

USB drives are not supported. Firewire drives with the Oxford 911 chipset are required for external drives with Pro Tools.

Also, not to be a jerk, but one of the suggestions in the General Troubleshooting thread is

Note: To enable other users to help you, please include all of your system details when posting an issue to the DUC; Pro Tools hardware, Pro Tools software version, CPU, OS version, Motherboard make/model, chipset, amount of RAM, type of hard drives used, etc.

- SiSoftware's Sandra Lite application can be used to post your full system profile:
www.sisoftware.net
Under SiSoftware Sandra, click on "Download & Buy" to download the free Sandra Lite version or purchase other versions.

Running a System Summary from Sandra will make easier for users here to make recommendations, as they will know exactly what you have.

[themindlab]

Hi, my thead took another direction as I initially I was hoping to find someone with my same computer (these are dell best sold laptops...) and with the same problem so to solve it quickly.
However, I've run the system analisys, this is the result:

Processor >
Model: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2300 @
1.66GHz
Speed: 1.66GHz
Cores per Processor: 1 Unit(s)
Threads per Core: 1 Unit(s)
Type: Mobile
Internal Data Cache: 32kB Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way set, 64
byte line size
L2 On-board Cache: 2MB ECC Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte
line size

< Mainboard >
Bus(es): ISA X-Bus PCI PCIe USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support: No
MP APIC: No
System BIOS: AT/AT COMPATIBLE DELL - 27d60309
Mainboard: Dell Inc. 0KD882
Total Memory: 503MB DDR2-SDRAM

< Chipset 1 >
Model: Dell Computer Corp Mobile Memory Controller
Hub
Front Side Bus Speed: 4x 277MHz (1108MHz data rate)
Total Memory: 512MB DDR2-SDRAM
Shared Memory: 8MB
Memory Bus Speed: 4x 221MHz (884MHz data rate)

< Video System >
Monitor/Panel: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor/Panel: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor/Panel: Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter: Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family
Adapter: Mobile Intel(R) 945GM Express Chipset Family

< Physical Storage Devices >
Hard Disk: FUJITSU MHV2100BH (92GB)
CD-ROM/DVD: SONY DVD+-RW DW-Q58A (CD 24X Rd, 24X Wr) (DVD
3X Rd, 3X Wr)

< Logical Storage Devices >
Hard Disk (C:): 49GB (14GB, 29% Free Space) (NTFS)
Pro Tools LE (D:): 479MB (CDFS)

< Peripherals >
USB Controller/Hub: Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal
Host Controller - 27C8
USB Controller/Hub: Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal
Host Controller - 27C9
USB Controller/Hub: Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal
Host Controller - 27CA
USB Controller/Hub: Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal
Host Controller - 27CB
USB Controller/Hub: Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB2 Enhanced
Host Controller - 27CC
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub: USB Root Hub
Keyboard: Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/
2 Keyboard
Mouse: Synaptics PS/2 Port Pointing Device

< Printers and Faxes >
Model: Microsoft Office Document Image Writer
Model: HP LaserJet 1020

< Power Management >
AC Line Status: Off-Line
Battery No 1: 33%

< Operating System(s) >
Windows System: Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional
5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)

< Network Services >
Adapter: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network
Connection

< Performance Tips >
Notice 5901: CD 1x= 150kB/s; Exercise caution when
comparing measured versus published ratings.
Notice 5902: DVD 1x= 11.08Mbps Exercise caution when
comparing measured versus published ratings.
Tip 2: Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip
is selected for more information about the
tip.

Processor Multi-Media >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

< Benchmark Results >
Integer x8 iSSE2: 7706 it/s
Float x4 iSSE2: 10454 it/s
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.

< Performance Test Status >
Run ID: DAN-2444B21250E on 03 June 2006 at 19:03:46
NUMA Support: No
SMP Test: No
Total Test Threads: 1
Multi-Core Test: No
SMT Test: No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance: No
Processor Affinity: P0C0T0
System Timer: 3.6MHz
Rendered Image Size: 640x480

< Processor >
Model: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2300 @
1.66GHz
Speed: 1.66GHz
Cores per Processor: 1 Unit(s)
Type: Mobile
L2 On-board Cache: 2MB ECC Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte
line size

< Features >
(W)MMX Technology: Yes
SSE Technology: Yes
SSE2 Technology: Yes
SSE3 Technology: Yes
SSE4 Technology: No
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology:No
3DNow! Technology: No
Extended 3DNow! Technology: No
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technolo:No

< Performance Tips >
Notice 5008: To change benchmarks, click Options.
Notice 5004: Synthetic benchmark. May not tally with 'real-
life' performance.
Notice 5006: Only compare the results with ones obtained
using the same version!
Warning 5009: Mobile processors yield lower indexes in
power management modes. Check power settings
if index is low.
Tip 2: Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip
is selected for more information about the
tip.


<<< File Systems >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<< Hard Disk (C:) >>
< Benchmark Results >
Drive Index: 28 MB/s
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Random Access Time: 10 ms
Results Interpretation: Lower index values are better.

< Performance Test Status >
Run ID: DAN-2444B21250E on 03 June 2006 at 19:17:27
Processor Affinity: No
System Timer: 3.6MHz
Operating System Disk Cache Us:No
Use Overlapped I/O: Yes
IO Queue Depth: 4 request(s)
Test File Size: 503MB
File Fragments: 1
Block Size: 1MB
File Server Optimised: No

< Benchmark Breakdown >
Buffered Read: 30 MB/s
Sequential Read: 37 MB/s
Random Read: 27 MB/s
Buffered Write: 9 MB/s
Sequential Write: 9 MB/s
Random Write: 9 MB/s
Random Access Time: 10 ms (estimated)

< Drive >
Drive Type: Hard Disk
Total Size: 49GB
Free Space: 14GB, 29%
Cluster Size: 4kB

< Performance Tips >
Notice 5008: To change benchmarks, click Options.
Notice 5004: Synthetic benchmark. May not tally with 'real-
life' performance.
Notice 5006: Only compare the results with ones obtained
using the same version!
Notice 5209: Consider using the Removable Storage/Flash
Benchmark for Flash devices.
Tip 5202: Use cache on to measure Windows performance.
Warning 5205: Low write index. Check write verify is off.
Tip 2: Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip
is selected for more information about the
tip.

<<< Physical Disks >>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<< FUJITSU MHV2100BH (ATA) >>
<< Read Performance >>
< Benchmark Results >
Drive Index: 37 MB/s
Results Interpretation: Higher index values are better.
Random Access Time: 19 ms
Results Interpretation: Lower index values are better.

< Performance Test Status >
Run ID: DAN-2444B21250E on 03 June 2006 at 19:18:09
Processor Affinity: No
System Timer: 3.6MHz
Use Overlapped I/O: Yes
IO Queue Depth: 4 request(s)
Block Size: 1MB

< Volume Information >
Capacity: 92GB

< Benchmark Breakdown >
Speed at position 0%: 37MB/s (100%)
Speed at position 3%: 36MB/s (99%)
Speed at position 6%: 35MB/s (95%)
Speed at position 10%: 36MB/s (97%)
Speed at position 13%: 34MB/s (92%)
Speed at position 16%: 34MB/s (91%)
Speed at position 20%: 34MB/s (92%)
Speed at position 23%: 34MB/s (92%)
Speed at position 26%: 33MB/s (90%)
Speed at position 30%: 34MB/s (91%)
Speed at position 33%: 33MB/s (89%)
Speed at position 36%: 31MB/s (85%)
Speed at position 40%: 33MB/s (89%)
Speed at position 43%: 32MB/s (87%)
Speed at position 46%: 30MB/s (82%)
Speed at position 50%: 32MB/s (87%)
Speed at position 53%: 29MB/s (78%)
Speed at position 56%: 29MB/s (79%)
Speed at position 60%: 29MB/s (80%)
Speed at position 63%: 26MB/s (70%)
Speed at position 66%: 22MB/s (60%)
Speed at position 70%: 25MB/s (68%)
Speed at position 73%: 26MB/s (70%)
Speed at position 76%: 22MB/s (60%)
Speed at position 80%: 25MB/s (69%)
Speed at position 83%: 23MB/s (63%)
Speed at position 86%: 23MB/s (63%)
Speed at position 90%: 23MB/s (63%)
Speed at position 93%: 21MB/s (57%)
Speed at position 96%: 20MB/s (55%)
Speed at position 100%: 19MB/s (51%)
Random Access Time: 19 ms (estimated)
Full Stroke Access Time: 17 ms (estimated)

< Performance Tips >
Notice 5008: To change benchmarks, click Options.
Notice 5004: Synthetic benchmark. May not tally with 'real-
life' performance.
Notice 5006: Only compare the results with ones obtained
using the same version!
Tip 2: Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip
is selected for more information about the
tip.

<< Write Performance >>
Error: Disk must be empty to be write benchmarked
for security.

this is the system summary, sorry for not having it posted as well. Hope you can help, hopefully we'll do a favour to other inspiron users as well.

I'm not sure if my hard drive is the problem...but I'm browsing for a firewire one supported by protools...

Thanks

[themindlab]

An addition, I've made a simple test...run protools with the Lacie USB drive disconnected and monitoring the CPU on the windows task manager. The CPU goes at 100% as soon as I start Pro Tools and as soon as I close Pro tools the CPU goes down to normal levels.
I modified the bios settings as digidesign recommends, but the situation did not improve...

[Problem]

I have also problems with my Inspirion 6400 and M-Box 2.
I have the same errors, buffersize errors. It works terrible, at this time nearly useless.

The problem is that the chipset is so new, that it is not supported by Pro Tools.
I regret that I did´t checked the compatibility before I bought this laptop.
I hope that it will be supported soon by Pro Tools.

Many people have problems with Intel Dual Core PC-s, the same errors : buffersize errors.

Let´s hope that Digidesign can make an update, so this new Laptop can work with Pro Tools.

Regards
Johnny

[themindlab]

I sort of managed to make it work "partially", as long as I use a few plugins pro tools seems to wark nearly ok with the occasional error. Good thing I'm not a Professional...but digidesign must solve this as computers and laptops will be increasingly using this type of CPU
Where did you find that the Dual core is not supported ? I checked the compato but it does not say that it's not compatible...

[Problem]

Hi

How did You get the 6400 to work better ?

It´s the chipset in 6400, that its supported at this time.

The Chipset in 6400 is Intel i945PM.

Johnny

[Problem]

Hi

How did You get the 6400 to work better ?

It´s the chipset in 6400, that it´s not supported at this time.

The Chipset in 6400 is Intel i945PM.

Johnny