MBox LE 6.4 instant buffer error (-9129-9093) empty session

[kelstock]

G'day community!

I have been a happy user of my ProTools MBox for about 4 years now, on both desktops and laptop systems, never had any problems I wasn't able to solve through reading these forums, asking experienced friends, and applying common sense. So thanks for using these forums so actively.

BACKGROUND
Recently my ACER Aspire 5670 laptop, XP Pro SP2, purchased 2006, (specs from Sandra below) had some hardware issues I tracked down to the built in webcam. PTLE 6.4 (updated) had been running completely fine for my purposes (2-8 audio tracks, some midi, a few effects) on this system after successfully installing first time, last year, with no remarkable problems whatsoever.

Eventually the webcam issue (in general, not necessarily while running PTLE) dictated that a format and reinstall of XP was needed.

The 'factory reset' on the laptop was a 'restore disc' which wipes the HD completely. So I used another XP installation disc I had to install a fresh version of XP SP2 just to one of my partitions, keeping the other data (such as my audio) intact.

I am aware that my system is by no means ideal (given: no ext drive, dual core etc). However, the fact that I was running perfectly acceptably on exactly this hardware, until my recent reinstall of XP then Pro Tools, convinces me that it is certainly possible to run without changing my hardware setup.

THE PROBLEM
Even in a completely new, empty session (no recording whatsoever) I get buffer errors 9129 and 9093. Running very simple (2 audio track, no effects) sessions *that I had previously recorded on this exact laptop* have the same issue. Literally as soon as I press play I now get the buffer error.

I am able to hear an instant of the midi 'click' or some pre-recorded audio to play back out through the MBox, but every time there is an immediate buffer error.

SOLUTIONS ATTEMPTED
Disabling all hardware (including wireless adapter) and processes not necessary for PT
Formatting partition and installing XP again, followed by PTLE from CD's then updates cs6 cs9, quicktime, ilok PACE updates (done this a few times)
Turning disk indexing off and setting PF to 1024-1024 MB
Changing PT HW buffer and CPU usage to every combination.
Completely deleting all DigiDesign files from computer and trying again (reformat)
Disabling the "Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery" in the device manager
DEP fix
Diagnostic startup
No other software whatsoever installed or running
Windows Performance - Adjusted for background services and best performance

-None has made ANY noticeable difference whatsoever.

MY THOUGHTS
The only difference between my system when it worked and now is
New XP installed (didn't have pre-installed drivers etc)
XP Operating System is installed on 'D' drive disk label*
Possible ongoing hardware problems due to webcam issue
No longer using battery (causes conflict with keypad/touchpad now)

*This happened after reinstalling XP once I had installed Fedora (linux) on another partition, XP decided to re-label the partitions...

I shouldn't need to fundamentally change the system since PT used to work on this hardware.

OTHER NOTES
I was unable to achieve playback with the MBox (XP was not recognising it as a soundcard) until I installed legacy standalone PT drivers Asio611 and WaveDriver611. PT LE 6.4 still opens sessions fine and attempts to run using these drivers (later drivers resulted in other problems).


LAPTOP SPECS
SiSoftware Sandra

System
Host Name : KELSTOCK
User : kel
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Processor
Model : Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2300 @ 1.66GHz
Speed : 1.67GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 1x 2MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

System
System : Acer, inc. Aspire 5670
Platform Compliance : Intel Centrino Mobile Technology
Mainboard : Acer, Inc. Bodensee
Bus(es) : ISA PCI PCIe IMB PCMCIA CardBus USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : 1 Processor(s)
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
System BIOS : Acer 255.255
Total Memory : 2GB DDR2-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Acer Inc 955XM/945GM/PM/GMS/940GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 167MHz (668MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 2GB DDR2-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 4x 133MHz (532MHz data rate)

Video System

Physical Storage Devices
ST9120821AS (ATA) : 112GB (C:) (D:)
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K06RS (ATAPI) : 367MB (E:)

Logical Storage Devices
STOREROOM (C:) : 54GB (2.5GB, 5% Free Space) (FAT32) @ ST9120821AS (ATA)
Hard Disk (D:) : 27GB (23GB, 83% Free Space) (FAT32) @ ST9120821AS (ATA)
Pro Tools LE (E:) : 366MB (CDFS) @ PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K06RS (ATAPI)

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 1 COM / 0 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Universal PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
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
FireWire/1394 Controller/Hub : Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
PCMCIA/CardBus Controller : Generic CardBus Controller
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : PS/2 Compatible Mouse

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

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP (2002) Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : Win32 x86

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



I suspect there is a subtle software tweak necessary somewhere in PT to avoid instantaneous buffer errors, rather than hardware problems.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate your help.

Best regards,

Kel

[mandal]

5% Free Space ??

[kelstock]

Yeah that has nothing to do with the problem, but thanks.
(I have tested with all of those files on the other partitions ~33% free on both 'C' and 'D'. Just moved my data onto 'C' as I was reformatting partition 'D' and reinstalling XP. You will notice 'C' is NOT my primary OS 'windows' partition too, so even IF I needed to be writing to it, it would not be the cause of PT buffer errors showing up in my simple playback test session).

Cheers, Kel

[timebandit]

perhaps you need the dual-core hotfix again since you wiped the drive? Are the drives 'dynamic' or 'basic' formatted?


Tom

[kelstock]

Hi Tom,

Thank you very much for the great suggestion and link. I tried the hotfix, unfortunately still seeing the same buffer errors. The partitions are all formatted "Basic" type.

Regards, Kel

[timebandit]

hmmm ok (insert 'scratching my head' emoticon here)

So there are two things I am focused on now:

1. the discrepency with the drive letters. When everything worked your system drive was C: and PT was installed there and you wrote to sesssions that were on D: - same drive different partition - is that right? Now your system drive is called D: and the audio/data drive is called C:? And when you open a session now what does it tell you the path is (where does it come from). Since (as you know) writing to the internal drive is already shaky - if there is confusion about what is coming from where that may be a contributing factor. Just a thought. Can you rectify the drive letter problem?

2. The old Digi driver issue. you said you couldn't get playback from ASIO/Wave drivers newer than 6.1.1. Is that playback in PT or in other programs using the Mbox? What kind of problems do you have with the newer drivers. Were you able to use the correct drivers 'pre-crash' (so to speak)? You could try to install the version of PT that matches the newest drivers you can use and see if that helps.

Still thinking about it...

Tom

[kelstock]

G'day Tom,

Thanks for your reply.

"When everything worked your system drive was C: and PT was installed there and you wrote to sesssions that were on D:"
- This is correct. However I also wrote to sessions on C: as well. There was no problem using either partition as a destination, just my personal file system setup to use D:.

"Can you rectify the drive letter problem?"
- Not easily, unfortunately without wiping the drive again. Windows doesn't allow re-designation of system drive letters/partitions.

"The old Digi driver issue. you said you couldn't get playback from ASIO/Wave drivers newer than 6.1.1. Is that playback in PT or in other programs using the Mbox"
- Playback was for PT as well as other programs using Mbox.

"What kind of problems do you have with the newer drivers."
- Audio was not playing back in PT through the Mbox headphone jack (or anything else). Also, Windows XP SP2 would not recognise Mbox as an audio playback device (in Sounds and Audio Devices) using only the default ASIO/Wave drivers that are installed with the LE 6.4 CD my Mbox came with.
Installing the 7.x version of the ASIO/Wave drivers resulted in compatibility errors (cannot find DAE.dll etc) when PT LE 6.4 was started, although external programs were fine.
The 6.1 drivers were the next logical step, as Windows recognised Mbox as an Audio Device and external software was happy using Mbox for playback. Also the updated PT LE 6.4 was happy to use these drivers, and can achieve instantaneous playback of audio (in PT) before buffer errors kick in.

"Were you able to use the correct drivers 'pre-crash' (so to speak)?"
- Yes everything worked completely fine before the reinstallation, with everything out-of-box functional. I only needed to apply the standard updates (PACE cs9 etc).

"You could try to install the version of PT that matches the newest drivers you can use and see if that helps."
- I haven't given this a try yet. I take it you are suggesting getting hold of PT LE 6.1 and trying to run that??

I have a sinking feeling my best bet will end up being to buy an external hard drive, back up my 100GB of data, then use the 'factory restore' hidden HD partition which will reset my entire internal hard drive to the out-of-box original XP SP2 OS and factory drivers. Not that I have time for that right now

Thanks again for your help mate, I really appreciate your feedback and ideas.

Cheers,

Kel