Ready to give up: Pops and click still, after upgraded HW and FW card

[Bill0287]

So bought a new OWC FW drive (7200rpm) and an Avid qualified FW card from SIIG, and STILL i get pops and clicks while recording one track... if I play one open string, the recording generally clicks at an almost steady beat... I tried recording with the wireless router unplugged, the antivirus disabled, and with the network card disabled with no change... can you think of anything else which might be causing this?

SiSoftware Sandra

Computer
Model : Dell Inspiron 537
Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8200 @ 2.33GHz
Speed : 2.33GHz
Cores per Processor : 4 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Quad-Core
Integrated Data Cache : 4x 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 2MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 8-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing

Computer
Mainboard : Dell 0U880P
BIOS : Dell A03 07/23/2009
Bus(es) : X-Bus PCI PCIe IMB USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
Multi-Processor Advanced PIC (APIC) : Yes
Total Memory : 3GB DIMM DDR2

Chipset
Model : Dell G41 DRAM Controller
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 333MHz (1.33GHz)
Total Memory : 4GB DIMM DDR2
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 400MHz (800MHz)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Elpida EBE21UE8AFFA-8G-F 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-6-6-18 3-24-6-3)
Memory Module : Elpida EBE21UE8AFFA-8G-F 2GB DIMM DDR2 PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-6-6-18 3-24-6-3)

Video System
Video Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series (40 SP 600MHz, 512MB DDR3 2x400MHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
Adapter : ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series (40SP 2C 600MHz, 512MB 400MHz)

Storage Devices
SAMSUNG HD502IJ (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 466GB (C:)
Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 (500.1GB, FireWire/1394/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 14MB Cache) : 466GB (R:)
WDC WD10EAVS-32D7B1 (1TB, FireWire/1394/SATA300, 3.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache) : 932GB (K:) (M:) (P:)
TSSTcorp DVD+/-RW TS-H653G (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ SAMSUNG HD502IJ (500.1GB, SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache)
RECORDING (R:) : 466GB (NTFS) @ Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 (500.1GB, FireWire/1394/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm, NCQ, 14MB Cache)
DATA (K:) : 244GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD10EAVS-32D7B1 (1TB, FireWire/1394/SATA300, 3.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache)
MUSIC (M:) : 195GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD10EAVS-32D7B1 (1TB, FireWire/1394/SATA300, 3.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache)
PRO TOOLS (P:) : 195GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD10EAVS-32D7B1 (1TB, FireWire/1394/SATA300, 3.5", 5400rpm, NCQ, 8MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ TSSTcorp DVD+/-RW TS-H653G (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell 82801GB/GR (ICH7) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : ITE IT8718F
Audio Device : Dell 82801G (ICH7) High Definition Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semiconductor Realtek 662 High Definition Audio
Audio Device : Dell RV730XT Audio device [Radeon HD 4670]
Audio Codec : ATI (AMD) AA01h
Disk Controller : Dell 82801GB/GR/GH (ICH7) Serial ATA Storage Controller
USB Controller 1 : Dell 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Dell 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : Dell 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : Dell 82801G (ICH7) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : Dell 82801G (ICH7) USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Avlab Technology TSB43AB23 1394a-2000 OHCI PHY/link-layer Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel 801xx/63xx SMBus

Network Services
Network Adapter : Realtek RTL8102E/RTL8103E Family PCI-E Fast Ethernet NIC - Packet Scheduler Miniport (Ethernet, 100Mbps)

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 3)
Platform Compliance : x86

[BradLyons]

I can think of a problem...a DELL computer. Honestly, many Dells can be fine---but sometimes, they may not be. They don't always use set models of motherboards, depending upon what's on-sale from their suppliers. Dell computers are also not ideal for audio, they are general purpose mass-produced Windows boxes..... I'd try another computer and see if you have the same issue. While I strongly recommend Glyph drives, OWC drives are good drives.

Okay with all of this said what do you mean by "one open string"? Are you recording acoustic guitar and saying that the moment you start recording you're getting pops and clicks? It's possible your computer is just fine, but maybe your buffer settings are too high---what are those settings? Are you sure this is not a word clock issue?

[Bill0287]

Skipping the DELL issue for a moment (...I am not looking for maximum professional performance, 96 tracks, etc... just basic recording capabilities...it should be able to do that! )... I have had good success with Dells in the past, by the way.

Yes, the minute I start recording, I get clicks

I am using an M-Audio FW 410. I set the sample rate to 48k, the buffer to 512.
I create session , match the settings, create one mono audio track for guitar, no effects, not plugins, nothing. I arm for recording, then start the transport... I can just
pluck a string and let it ring and it will click...sometimes almost like a heart, but not reliably.

As for word clock - I don't know what to check for that - can you explain?

[shultzee13]

Bill, here are a few things to try:

Disable any wireless devices and turn off wireless "radio" down in the lower right hand side.

Dirty electricity as been known to show up in audio. You could run an extention cord to another outlet and see if it goes away.

Have you tried recording other things besides guitar?

I bought 3 dell computers before I actually built my own. I could not get Pro Tools to work on all 3 Dell's. Either the chipset wasn't qualified or the USB card or whatever...it was always something different. I built my computer from the ground up using only what Digi recommends.

In my case I couldn't get around it, some on here have. I wasn't so lucky.

[Bill0287]

I would like to add I don't think this is a pro tools problem entirely since I see the same thing with Reaper... maybe the interface is actually the problem.

[BelaDMedia]

Just completed recording 14 hours of a choir on a Dell/64-Bit/16 MB Ram. No clicks or other oddities whilst recording. Hit or miss I suppose?

[BradLyons]

Bill,

The computer doesn't care whether you're doing this professionally or for a hobby, nor does it care..... The issue with Windows computers is that anyone can build a computer and then load an operating system on it, but the choice of motherboard can make ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD. It wasn't long ago that many Dell computers were listed on the Digidesign website as NOT COMPATIBLE. IN the world of mass-produced PC boxes, Dell is one of the better ones---but their computers were design for the home, the office, and home office--NOT audio or video production. IN GENERAL---Dell will be fine, not ideal---but fine. HOWEVER you must understand that this also means there can (and are!) cases of them just not cutting it. So yes, it could be that computer----or no, it may not be. It could be the firewire card, it could be the hard-drive, it could be a bad interface, it could be a bad RAM chip (yes, a bad chip can cause problems with audio---or even a chip that doesn't work well at all, such as Viking Ram), etc....there could be any number of things here but you must be willing to rule NOTHING OUT. I can't tell you how many times I get phone calls of "I want a dedicated recorder because I'm tired of my computer fighting me". Well those are people on HP's, Dell's, etc...not on Mac's or PC's build for audio, so this is where I come from. I see this stuff all the time---- okay?

Okay, 512k for the buffers is not exactly great---so that won't be it. It could be the firewire card or the interface, but not exactly sure. Pull your hard-drives out of the chain and record to the internal drive, I have a feeling it's there in those drives. If that doesn't go away, then it's the interface or the firewire card....MAYBE. I am assuming that you have neither installed nor are you running any kind of antivirus or firewall software? If so, that is a HUGE no no. I am to assume there are no games or Microsoft Office loaded on here, and you do not browse the web with it? If so, those can be part of the problem as well with Windows machines.

DO THIS...yes, it's long....but you need to....

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/...xp+optimifalse

[Bill0287]

I tried a Fast Track Pro interface and - no more pops and clicks.

[BradLyons]

Sounds like you may have indeed found a bad interface, that happens too. Isn't trouble-shooting fun? LOL

[scenicrecords]

Bill - it could be dirty ground, I had issues with that on my FW410. I lifted the grounds on my monitors, and it went away. It sounded like you could hear what the hard drive was doing through the speakers - like a zipper or clicks.

Buy some ground lifts and lift your grounds. That may be all it is.