"unable to locate m-audio hardware. Make sure device is connected and powered on"

[bfreshmoney]

Hey, I spent (hopefully not WASTED) $100 on this so I need an answer already. The phone support guys don't help thy tell me to go here. I am running windows vista home premium 32-bit. everytime i open pro tools the error message pops up "unable to locate m-audio hardware..blahblahblah"....please help me, i have uninstalled and reinstalled....i know the device is connected HELPP

[AMDK7]

This has been an issue with mine as well. I am using win7 64 bit, and sometimes have to un-plug and re-plug the usb cable to the device. Normally, with the first pop-up dialog that comes up, re-connect the device then click the "OK" button. Pro-tools should then recognize the device and load properly.

its kind of frustrating, but this is the first piece of hardware that I have been able to connect to a PC and actually be able to loop-record! So any small inconvenience can be easily overlooked at this point.

[DigiTechSupt]

There's a Pro Tools Essential FAQ at the top of this forum - you should take a look at it, as it addresses the vast majority of issues you could encounter with Essentials, including the 'unable to locate hardware' problem.

Here's a direct link to that portion of the FAQ:

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=...9743384fc12272

[bfreshmoney]

Yeah so I just did a clean factory reinstall of vista, upgraded to service pack 1, and installed pro tools. it works fine now. but im still a little upset that i cant save any mp3's =(