Dell -- Digi001 Unexpected Reboot Problem

[Sargam]

Hi,

I am a brand new ProTools LE user. I just intalled Digi001 on my Dell. Within a week, I am experiencing a strange problem: the PC suddenly reboots. It happens even when I am not using ProTools. Seems to happen most when I am surfing. It happens at least once an hour.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

My Dell is:
PIV 1.7 GHz
256 MB RAM
60 GB HD 7200rpm
NEC CD-R/RW
Windows ME, ProTools LE 5.1
AGP, Soundblaster, Modem, Ethernet, Firewire

Haven't used PTLe much. It loads and plays the demo files allright.

Thanks.

Ashok

PS: I read here about DaveC tests. What are they? Where can I get them?

[Mark_Knecht]

Sargam,
Hi. There are a number of us that experience this reboot problem. I, for one, don't think it's totally a PTLE problem. I've seen it using Acid and even Microsoft Media Player if I hit it with enough wave files quickly.

I understand that your machine may have been stable before you started with PTLE, but you now are probably running up against some Microsoft bug. At least that's my take on the problem.

Mark

[zboy2854]

Are both of you running Pentium 4 machines with RDRAM? If so, I'll bet I know the problem. You see, I built a P4 machine with RDRAM and it turned out that the motherboard wasn't equipped to supply the proper voltage to the RDRAM, which requires more power than standard SDRAM. The result? Spontaneous system reboot whenever anything came even close to taxing the RAM. I ended up getting rid of the RDRAM and getting a different P4 motherboard that supports standard SDRAM, and it worked fine with no reboots whatsoever. If you want to keep the RDRAM you might check if you can raise your motherboard's RAM voltage in the BIOS, otherwise you may be better served getting an SDRAM P4 motherboard. Hope this helps.

[platinumx99]

I've also had the reboot problem, also a shutdown problem. My computer would restart during shutdown. While surfing the net the reboots would happen after about 10 min of surfing. I solved the problem temp by disabling the digi 001 controller in the device manager when I am going to be on the internet, then I enable it before I shutdown. Just my experiance. Platinumx99

[zboy2854]

It could also be a problem with insufficient power to the whole system. What wattage power supply do you have in your computer? Because the Digi001 card feeds the breakout box power, including 48V phantom power, it draws a lot more power than your standard PCI card. I would say you must have at least a 300W case power supply. 250W won't cut it. Just another thought.

[Mark_Knecht]

[zboy,
Not P4. I'm running Athlon on an Asus A7V133, which has proven to be one of the more reliable motherboards around here, at least on the Athlon side.

I'm using a 400W power supply in a Cooler Master case. (All of this is covered in the dave_c test results somewhere, I'm sure) ;-)

In another thread I mentioned to someone that I was having a lot of problems with this issue, and while studying it I ran across an after market cache memory manager that sort of replaces the Win ME memory manager. My problems were significantly reduced when I started usign that. Down from 2-3 per week to 1 per month. Not perfect, but better.

Regards,
Mark

[Rabidium]

I had the same problem, and called tech support about it.
They suggested it's an IRQ conflict.
Under the system control panel you can check which IRQ your ... hold on, I was going to type this all when I remembered I kept the email, so give me a few minutes to find it...

Thanks, I'm back!
Here was the response from digi:


A resource conflict is often the cause for this type of behavior:
-Open the Control Panels>System>Device Manager tab and go through each device list and disable all third party drivers and disable all ports not being used (network card, modem, third party mouse, USB controllers, SCSI card, etc) restart the computer. Once the computer reboots, check your resources. You can get a list of which resources are currently being used from the Control Panel>System>Device Manager window. Highlight the Computer icon and click "Properties." If the Digi001 is sharing with a Com port or anther device (like a network card), move the card to another PCI slot to force Windows to assign it a new number.
-PLEASE NOTE: It is normal (and desired) that a "Holder For PCI Steering" to share the same resource as the Digi001 card.

-Once you get a unique resource assigned to the Digi001, see how the system performs when running Pro Tools. If all is well, add each device back into the current hardware profile, one-by-one, until the culprit is found.

If problems persist:
What chipset are you using?

-The AMD Athlon Thunderbird CPU with KT133A chipset is the only supported AMD configuration.

-For all Digi001 / Windows compatibility** info: http://www.digidesign.com/compato/maindigi001win.html

**You can assume that anything not listed on our compatibility documents is not supported.

Best regards,
Digidesign Technical Support
http://www.digidesign.com/support/techsupport.html


BTW, I run just fine on a K7s5a (not supported) so that compatibility thing isn't set in stone.

Hope that helps!
-Olaf

[Sargam]

>Thanks, I'm back!
>Here was the response from digi:

Thanks, Rabidium. IRQ conflict seems
to be the right diagnosis for the reboot
problems.

Ashok

I hate windows. But I can't stand Mac
either.