Laptops that work with Onyx 1640i

[demodoc]

Ok, so let me approach it this way:

Who out there has a 003 serial number Onyx i series mixer that does work well with a laptop and which laptop do you have, which FW adapter and which version of Windows? Anyone?

[mr_es335]

demodoc,

Maybe it is time to consider another mixer - or just use SAC.

PS: You, however, have to be given a "pat-on-the-back" for your perseverance on this one.

[demodoc]

I love my Onyx mixers. I have two of them. They were $1600 each. I am not about to replace them. If I can't use them as FW mixers I will use Pro 40's fed from the DB 25 ports as I've said before. If and when I find out what laptops like the 003 version of the mixer, I will try and get one. Mackie changed the chipset at some point and those mixers, apparently, are better behaved, overall. I was one of the "lucky" ones to get two of the 003 versions. There must be something about the old Acer that is friendly towards the Onyx...they are about the same vintage!

It's frustrating. When I got the Startech FW adapter card, it really seemed to get better but, alas, it really wasn't. Something in the Dell machine likes to lose clock sync with the mixer.

At this point, buying another Pro 40 and a couple of DB 25 snakes is a pretty cost effective way of solving the problem. I needed to get another laptop anyway, with the Acer being so old. It is actually a dual-boot machine, XP pro and 7 pro!

And, did I say, I detest Windows 10?

[demodoc]

I'm thinking more and more, this is a laptop issue. It seems Dells and others are prone to this...high DPC latency issues. Latency Monitor says NVIDIA and another couple of drivers are causing this. Much of the cures is beyond me, going into the registry etc. I may have my tech look at all this. Funny thing is Latency Monitor also says the old Acer has issues like this and it works perfectly. H'mmmmmm.

[mr_es335]

Hello,

Is everything to do with Bluetooth disabled. This is sometime configured in the BIOS and other times , within the Windows OS itself.

If the laptop uses nVidia Optimus technology, that feature must be enabled in the BOIS.

Attachment 2672

The above image displays the various options available in the BIOS. The image is poor I know, but it is all I could find in a pinch.
Note: I am doing this all from memory, so please be aware of this as I continue.

System Configuration: Ensure that only what is needed is enabled. So disable parallel ports, serial ports, blue tooth, WWAN, and so on.
Video: There really should not be anything to change here unless, as noted, you have NVidia Optimus.
Security: All clear or disabled
Performance: Disable all, or just leave Multi Core Support enabled.
Power Management: Disable any thing here that can be disabled.
POST Behaviour: Ignore this one.
Virtualization Support: Disable any thing here that can be disabled.
Wireless: If you do not need it, disable everything that is here - or just enable WLAN.
Maintenance: Ignore this one.
System Logs: Ignore this one.

Exit and save the settings, reboot and "see wha' 'appens!"

Hope this is of help to you.

[demodoc]

Thanks for all this...but....

I have determined that the Dell is just not up to Firewire recording. I now have a second Focusrite Pro 40 and have linked them together for dual unit operation. You guessed it, this works perfectly with my old Acer and with the Dell the second unit refuses to lock to the master. I am giving up on the Dell. It's great for surfing the web and even production work and mixing in SAWstudio with my Focusrite 2i2, which it likes just fine. I am taking another approach here. I found an Acer 9410, the more deluxe version of the 9410z that I have, on Ebay in pretty good shape, which I bought. It has no OS installed at the moment so I will load Windows 7 Pro 32 bit just like the 9410 z. It only allows for 4 gb of ram so there is no use in going 64 bit here. The only program I am going to install is SAWStudio...period. This machine will be a "tape recorder" and that's all. Also, I am going to locate and order extra motherboards, chips and memory for these Acer machines and store them until the day one of the machines fails. These Acers just love to record with Firewire interfaces, via a Trendnet VIA chipset FW adapter or TI version. The Acer works flawlessly with both the Onyx Win 7 driver and the Focusrite Pro 40 driver, even though Latency Checker says the machine is not up to the task. That, apparently, is just BS because I can record all 16 tracks simultaneously with no glitches at all. So much for the accuracy of that utility.

I really thought that the Onyx driver was the problem but it is the Dell E 6510. I had hoped it would like the Pro 40 and it does work with just one but it won't allow the second one to lock so it's useless to me. And I don't know if it would work for long in that configuartion yet either! Oh well, I have learned a lot here. The main thing I learned is don't buy a Dell laptop and expect it to record multitrack with a FW interface. Maybe it would like a USB interface like one of the Behringer U-Phoria line, who knows? I may end up trying that down the line. It sure likes the 2i2 just fine.

Onward.