very strange distortion

[scottstine]

I just installed pro tools 8.0.5 onto a windows 7 professional 64 bit laptop(dell precision M4400).
I am running a digi rack 002 firwire system.
I am experiencing very strange distortion, it sounds like something coming
over a telephone line. Digital or harmonic distortion that is intermittent.
It also shows up in aux bus tracks that go out to an effects unit and back. If I
mute those faders I can continue to record a clean signal, but once the distortion appears in that track it is there for good and records into the signal.

I've never heard anything like it. Is my digi rack going out or is there some problem with the laptop or windows 64 bit?

[albee1952]

Hmmm....Tough to diagnose without a Sandra report. Give this link a read on that:
Help us Help You - READ THIS Before Posting!

Meanwhile, I have to ask HOW you did the install, because what seems to work for most, with LE8.x and Windows 7 is this; With the 002 connected but powered OFF, run the 8 installer and when the installer asks you to connect the interface, DON'T. Just click Okay, let it finish and reboot. Then run the 8.0.5 updater. When the updater asks for the interface, power up the 002(003), wait a few seconds, then click Okay, let it finish and reboot. Any popups regarding "New Hardware Found" are to be ignored(don't click on them at all and they will go away by themselves). If this is NOT how you did your install, I would turn the 002 OFF, run the uninstaller that comes with LE8, reboot and try again with these instructions.

Next thingwhy we need the Sandra report) Dell is notorious for using non-TI firewire controllers so you may need to buy an approved FW card. In any case, you also may need to experiment with the FW driver(and feel free to try this anyway). Go to Device Manager and double-click on the FW card and select Driver, then Update Driver. In the next window, choose "Browse My Computer...", then "Let me pick from a list". In the next window there will likely be 3 options: OHCI Compliant....-this one doesn't work for me
....(Legacy) -this one is recommended by Avid, but doesn't work for me
Texas Instruments...(or TI Compliant)-this is the one that works here

There could be other hardware problemsthat could cause what you describe, but the Sandra report is the only way to check that.

[scottstine]

OK Thanks, I'll get started on The Sandra report. I might try the re-install first with your method.
scott

[scottstine]

OK here's this. thanks for helping. I've done most all of the optimizations
for window 7, some that I hadn't done before posting yesterday. Haven't tested yet or re-installed. Just wanted to post the report.
scottstine

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : scooter-PC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : Dell Precision M4400
Serial Number : 3KZ****
Chassis : Dell Portable
Mainboard : Dell 0R906R
Serial Number : .3KZ2JL1.CN1************
BIOS : Dell A22 05/06/2010
Total Memory : 8GB DDR3 SO-DIMM

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9600 @ 2.80GHz (2C 2.93GHz, 6MB L2)
Socket/Slot : FC µPGA (Socket P)

Chipset
Memory Controller : Dell PM45 Mobile Controller Hub 4x 266MHz (1GHz), 2x 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM 798MHz 128-bit

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Hynix (Hyundai) HMP351S6AFR8C-S6 4GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-6-6-18 3-24-6-3)
Memory Module : Hynix (Hyundai) HMP351S6AFR8C-S6 4GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-6400U DDR2-800 (5-6-6-18 3-24-6-3)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Gateway FPD1510
(1600x1200, GATEWAY
, 15.2")
Monitor/Panel : LGD Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1200, HT009€154WU2
, 22.4")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M (4CU 32SP SM4.0 1.25GHz, 512MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)
Video Adapter : NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M (4CU 32SP SM4.0 1.25GHz, 512MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M (32SP 4C 1.25GHz, 512MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit)
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M (32SP 1.25GHz, 512MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit)
CUDA GP Processor : NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M (32SP 4C 1.25GHz, 512MB DDR3 1.6GHz 128-bit)

Storage Devices
WDC WD1600BJKT-75F4T0 (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache) : 149GB (C:)
Maxtor OneTouch III (300.1GB, USB2) : 279GB (F:)
Seagate ST3750330AS (750.2GB, USB2/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm) : 699GB (E:)
HL-DT-STDVD-ROM DU10N (SATA150, DVD+-R, CD-R, 2MB Cache) : N/A (D:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS)
maxtor (F:) : 279GB (NTFS) @ Maxtor OneTouch III (300.1GB, USB2)
OneTouch (E:) : 699GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST3750330AS (750.2GB, USB2/SATA300, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Hard Disk (C:) : 149GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD1600BJKT-75F4T0 (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 7200rpm, 16MB Cache)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ HL-DT-STDVD-ROM DU10N (SATA150, DVD+-R, CD-R, 2MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell (ICH9M-E) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T0 00-00
Audio Device : Dell (ICH9) HD Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Integrated Device Tech 76B2
Audio Codec : Conexant 2C06
Serial Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : Dell Mobile SATA RAID Controller
Disk Controller : Dell SD Bus Host Adapter
USB Controller 1 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 2 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 3 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : Dell (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller 5 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 6 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 7 : Dell (ICH9) USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller 8 : Dell (ICH9) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell R5C832 IEEE-1394 Controller
CardBus/PCMCIA Controller 1 : 65532 RL5c476 CardBus Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Printer : Adobe PDF Converter (4000x4000, Colour)

Network Services
Network Adapter : Intel(R) 82567LM Gigabit Network Connection (Ethernet, 100Mbps)
Wireless Adapter : Intel(R) WiFi Link 5300 AGN

Power Management
Battery No 1 : SMP DELL MP4929B 86.58Wh/6.92Ah

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7601 (Service Pack 1)
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.9

[albee1952]

You should also disable the wifi when running Pro Tools(at least until things work okay. Then you can leave it on and see what happens).

[scottstine]

Hi, I re-installed pro tools with your instructions and the distortion is still there.
I have discovered that it defiantly present when a track is being Bussed.

At first when in record mode and recording it monitors clean but when I play it back the distortion is there.
Also I heard a scratchy glitch noise and then the distortion came in.
If I close Pro Tools and then re-open the session the channels are clean until that scratchy glitch happens.

I put up a video so you can see and hear the distortion.

http://youtu.be/lCKKDXIz81E

Thanks for your help.
scottstine

[albee1952]

That's certainly an ugly noise. Can you spell out your routing(the video didn't show IO settings). This might be a tough one for a few reason, not the least of which is, Dell's can be a total crapshoot for Pro Tools(with the exception of the handful of approved, and expensive workstations). Thanks for the Sandra, but it doesn't give a clear indication about the FW controller, which may be incompatible. Buying an approved firewire card MIGHT help, but I hate to spend your money and this laptop may not have a card slot anyway(or does it?). Did you disable the wifi yet? What drive are your sessions on? Sadly, it might just be a poor choice of computer for Pro Tools use(maybe try the free Reaper demo to see if things work better). Does anybody else use this laptop with success(hoping somebody is reading this)?

[scottstine]

Hi, this Dell laptop is listed right on the pro tools approved list, that's why I went for it. It is a workstation.
I turned off wi-fi and made no difference.

I do have card slots.
Is this the FW controller you were asking about? It is listed on the Sandra report.
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell R5C832 IEEE-1394 Controller
CardBus/PCMCIA Controller 1 : 65532 RL5c476 CardBus Controller

I'm using the Maxtor OneTouch III.

thanks for your feedback
scottstine

[scottstine]

The input is just mic in 1, line in 3-4.

The FX paths are fed from channel sends and were sent line out 3-4 to an effects rack and returned through 7-8 to aux tracks shown, the FX returns are bussed to the aux Mix track which is summed along with the master fader.

The drums that are distorted were bussed to the stereo Aux Mix channel. The Aux Mix channel is output to Out 1-2. The drums recorded clean when they were sent directly to Out 1-2 instead of through a buss to the Mix channel.

Everything is being summed into the stereo Aux Mix channel, including the master Fader. Don't ask me how this works, it's a technique I picked up from another engineer. It has never been a problem before to use this mix-master fader configuration and makes it easy to print master files and stem mixes.

scottstine

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by scottstine

Hi, this Dell laptop is listed right on the pro tools approved list, that's why I went for it. It is a workstation.
I turned off wi-fi and made no difference.

I do have card slots.
Is this the FW controller you were asking about? It is listed on the Sandra report.
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell R5C832 IEEE-1394 Controller
CardBus/PCMCIA Controller 1 : 65532 RL5c476 CardBus Controller

I'm using the Maxtor OneTouch III.

thanks for your feedback
scottstine

Unfortunately, I can't tell from this report whether the FW controller is compatible(the usual reports show TI, which almost always works, and VIA, which rarely works(although the newest VIA stuff seems to be working). It may well be worth trying the other firewire drivers(which you can get to if you select Update Driver>Search Computer....>Let me Choose from a list). Avid recommends the Legacy driver, but that does not work right on either of my 2 rigs(with 003). The OHCI Compliant drive also doesn't work, and the TI Compliant driver, which works fine. Glad this laptop is approved as that gives you a fighting chance Can't say why the routing matters, but if changing your routing can make the rig work, I would change the routing. I can promise you, there are other ways to achieve whatever this routing does for you. Tell us why you need that routing and I bet somebody offers an alternative(and if you are only using it because somebody told you that you should........). Some engineers try to master within the session. Just my personal choice, but I much prefer to do that separately(I prefer to not do it at all and use a real mastering engineer, but budgets these days often prevent that).