Digi003 problems - how to troubleshoot?

[datacrime]

Hi,

I'm running a pretty old setup. A windows PC I built probably about 7 years ago running XP and PTLE 8. I use this with a Digi003.

I'm very comfortable with this set up. I don't feel like I need a lot of processing power or fancy features from the latest software as most of my work is done outside the box.

However, recently I've been having a lot of troubles. Basically sessions are just starting to crash all the time. Most often it will say Pro Tools can't find or connect with the 003. Or all the sound will stop and I'll have to toggle between the hardware buffer size settings to get it back. These have been happening for awhile infrequently, but it's gotten extremely frequent now.

My thinking has been along the lines that the Firewire port on my computer must be going. I'm amazed the computer has hung in there for so long really. The firewire port is directly on the motherboard... So it would be a pretty big job to replace it... Also I'd probably have to upgrade to the latest windows and latest Pro Tools version which I'm not terribly keen on doing.

It occurred to me that it could be a problem with the 003 itself... Which would actually be much easier to replace. But I've really got no idea how to find out if that's the case or not.

What would you guys recommend I do?
Really I just want to get my system up and running again in the most pain-free and quickest way possible.
I've got a lot of projects due at the moment.. So I'm not particularly interested in going through a long process of rebuilding my whole set up if you guys know what I mean.

Any help / suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks!
Dylan.

[albee1952]

First thing; GREAT BIG WARNING(which you might already be aware of) NEVER hot-patch the firewire(plug or unplug with everything powered ON).

Okay, now to the matter at hand, try a new FW cable(I have had them fail for no apparent reason). If that doesn't help, look inside the PC and see what kind of slots are open. Odds are, given the age of your rig, you likely have an open PCI slot. Just disable the onboard firewire(in Device Manager0 and add an approved PCI card with dual FW400 ports(the SIIG brand usually uses the required TI chipset).

Is your 003 the mixer version or rack version? To repair the mixer version's firewire port could cost between $300 and $500, depending on whether the service house replaces the entire board, or has the gear to do micro-soldering(mine cost $327 to repair, but that was about 4 years ago). If you have the rack version, you can buy a used 003r for between $250 and $350 so a simple replacement might be more cost-effective.

Last word; depending on the computer specs(which a Sandra Lite report would cover nicely), you might benefit by moving to Windows 7 64 bit, if the rig can handle more than 4GB of RAM. While LE8.0.5(the version you need for Win7) is a 32-bit app, in real-world usage, my old i7 quad(920 with 6GB of RAM) got a serious performance boost when I moved from XP to Win7 x64(if you remember the old "Dverb 2" test, my machine turned a 320 on XP but 500 Dverbs with Win7, with no hardware change at all) If you decide to give Win7 a try, I would simply remove the XP system drive and set it aside. Install a blank drive and install Win7, Quicktime, do all the system tweaks and then save a drive image(Acronis True Image or similar). Then install LE8(with the 003 connected but powered OFF, do NOT connect the 003 when the installer tells you to. Just click OK and let it finish and reboot. Then run the 8.0.5 updater and DO power ON the 003 when the updater tells you to connect the interface. After about 8 seconds, click OK, let the updater finish and reboot. Your current authorization code should work with the updater). Once that is tested good and solid, save another drive image and then install the rest of your stuff.

[datacrime]

Thanks so much for the info.

I tried a replacement FW cable with no luck.
Have just ordered a new FW PCIe card with the TI chipset.

If that doesn't work will that rule out the possibility that it's a problem with the PC entirely? As in, will it mean for certain that it's an issue with my 003 that needs to be repaired.
I would imagine not... Do you know of any way to troubleshoot my 003 (mixer version) so I can be certain the problem lies there before sending it away for repairs?

[datacrime]

This might not be the best place to ask... but I'm having some further PC troubles, perhaps someone here can help with.

I installed the new firewire PCIe card (TI chip), disabled the onboard firewire and ran the 003 into the new card. Everything was running fine for a few days. No Pro Tools crashes, no problems at all. After working with frequent crashes, sounds drops, etc for so long it was like a dream... And very relieving to know it was just the onboard firewire problem and not the 003.

Then all of a sudden my computer wouldn't boot the other day. It just hung on the Windows startup screen. I hard-restarted a few times and it eventually booted. I got back into PT worked all day no issues.
Today I tried to boot again and it hangs again on the startup screen again. Restarted a bunch of times with no luck. Booted into safe mode, everything starts up fine, go into the device manager and disable the new firewire card. Everything boots fine.
So it seems there's a problem with the card. It didn't come with drivers or anything and when checking on the company website it simply said there should be no need for drivers.

Does anyone have any idea what could be the cause of this?

[albee1952]

I would update the driver for the card(and yes, it requires a driver). Maybe the website meant you don't need to download a driver as windows will(usually) install it for you). You might also remove and reseat the card(maybe there is some dirt in the slot?) The fact that it worked for a while is promising, but troubleshooting can be a royal PITA

[datacrime]

Yeah, I just gave it the old unplug / replug. Unfortunately same issues. Boots fine when the firewire card is disabled, hangs on windows loading screen when it's enabled =(

Do you mean I need a specific driver for that card? The manufacturing website very clearly said there was no driver for it and you shouldn't need one (in fact it downloaded a driver zip that just had a readme file in it explaining that - ha!). I did a bit of a search online and it seemed that with xp sp3 firewire cards should just run plug and play style.

[datacrime]

Update:

Plugged it into the other free PCIe slot on my motherboard. It worked like a charm last night.
Today have gone to boot up again and back to the old issues.. Won't boot. Boot in safe mode and disable the card -> boots fine.

So I'm guess it's the card or a driver issue. Frustrating / confusing that plugging it into the other PCIe slot worked for a little while. I don't understand that part.
If anyone has more info on drivers that would be super helpful. Otherwise I think I'll just order a replacement card today.

[SpinningDisk]

Your not letting it sleep right? May not have anything to do with it but PT doesn't like sleep.

Disk

[datacrime]

You mean letting the computer go into sleep mode?
No I'm not.

[SpinningDisk]

Ok.