ASIO Problem.. weird_anyone seen this before?

[Perry]

Not quite sure how I got into this mess but I sure need a solution fast. Under driver setup in SAWStudio for ASIO it says {unrecognized format}. It was working fine... then BOOM! Nothing.. no audio... No assignments available in SS audio setup.
And of course I'm in the middle of stuff with deadlines looming. I'm just about to roll back the computer several days and see if that fixes things. I'll loose some other updates though and would rather not if I could figure out what to do. OTOH, the problem might be in there somehow but it seems unrelated? Guess I could completely uninstall and then reinstall my SSL Soundsacpe card and see if that fixes it. Gee whiz..
Any help appreciated. I'm just hoping someone has seen this before and maybe could point me in the right direction. I've been wrestling with it a couple of days now already. Should add.. Win 7, running in XP service pack 2 mode... with all of Bob's suggestions done.

[Trackzilla]

If you click on the "unrecongnized format" it should give you a drop down menu to allow you to select your card. If it does so, select it & you're good to go unless the problem recurs (which mine did for a while on restarts, eventually it got over it & I never did figure out why). My MOTU cards have done that on occasion...SAC or Windows just 'forgot' I guess.

It also happened when my card got slightly unseated in transit, but the 'tell' there was that the card didn't appear in the drop down menu. If that happens, try reseating the card. Still no luck, see if the card works in other apps, if not, First reinstall the driver, then try the card in another slot, then another machine as the card itself could be hosed. If it works in other apps but not SAC/SAW maybe a fresh install of SAW, or ask Bob 'cuz it's outside of my disaster recovery experience.

[MMP]

Which SSL card are you using?

I have a few Mixpanders if the card itself is hosed.

I'd be happy to send one down.

Regards,

MM

[Richard Rupert]

What Ramsey said (in his first sentence). I've had this happen fairly often, actually. Hopefully, re-selecting your card from the drop-down window will get you up and running.

[RBIngraham]

I have had that happen in SAC with my MOTU cards as well. Not while I'm working, just when I first start up SAC. Of course, SAC doesn't keep releasing the driver every time the transport stops like SAW does.

What I have had to do, is actually select a different driver type. I usually just go with MME, select the built in sound card or whatever. Then I go back into the Driver type and select ASIO and select the MOTU card and it usually figures itself out. Then resave default preferences.

[mr_es335]

Hello,

What I have had to do, is actually select a different driver type. I usually just go with MME, select the built in sound card or whatever. Then I go back into the Driver type and select ASIO and select the MOTU card and it usually figures itself out. Then resave default preferences.

What Richard says is very true! However, if I may offer another suggestion...if this occurs frequently, then to perform a "clean" install - or use disk imaging. This problem occurs with XP, more so with 7 and is a big problem in 8. It is called a "driver cache".

...I never did figure out why). My MOTU cards have done that on occasion...[SAC...No, but] Windows just 'forgot' I guess.

This, I have found, often occurs as Windows will often keep copies of certain components of the device drivers even after they have been supposedly removed. I find this to be a be a real problem with video cards - due to how big the install is and often with shared dll's . It seems that the more common the device - the more problems there are - like video. This has led me to contact every external component hardware manufacturer and find out what gets installed and where. Then I perform a manual install of the device. Obscure devices like RME, MOTU, etc., are less prone to this anomaly - but they are not impervious to it.

Note: RME is very helpful in this department and the information that I have received from them is just great. You can locate the names of some of the devices and their locations from "Driver File Details" dialog in Device Manager. Locate the device, right-click>Properties>Driver>Driver Details. There is also a registry entry for every driver listed. As a side note, Atari would create a separate folder for each and every external hardware device that was installed. I thought that this was a great feature!

On my production systems, I silicone the hardware devices in place to lessen the likelihood of the mis-seating of devices. Be careful where you apply the silicone - only a drop or two in the right place will suffice.

Hope this helps - especially in resolving future issues.

[bcorkery]

With my RME card, I check the card's software to be sure nothing has changed there as a first step.

G'Luck. I hate when this happens.

[RBIngraham]

Yep, it usually happens to me when I've changed the configuration on the MOTU system.

[Perry]

WOW... thank each of you for your suggestions! Very much appreciated! I'm tied up with other stuff for another hour or so then I'm going to dive back into this and try some things.

I have tried reseating the sound card a couple of times and, especially after any sort of move with the computer, I have had instances where the soundcard itself didn't show up. But back then I was using the DWave driver, not ASIO.

DWave always seemed nice and stable to me. Since moving to Win7 though and installing the newest updates for the SSL card the DWave driver hasn't worked so I changed to ASIO. Also, possibly SSL doesn't include the DWave driver anymore?

Michael, it's a Mixpander 9. If you are suggesting a loaner the thought is very much appreciated! Right now I'm not sure what to do. I think the problem is software/driver related... something has gotten scrambled, as suggested, and I have to somehow get it unscrambled.

The SSL Mixer actually opens and looks fine. But SAW doesn't seem to see it.

OK... back at it in a short while and I'll see where I get with it.

Thanks again everyone! : )

[MMP]

Yes, Perry. I have two Mixpander 9s and a Mixpander 5. I could make any of them available to you for troubleshooting or beyond. I have a MX4 in my main computer and will soon have a secondary system with one of the 9s. The other two are not really needed 'round here anymore.

Sounds like a driver issue to me however.

Standing by...