Saffire issue

[guitardude]

I'm having problems with the saffire. When i first installed it everything went pretty good. Now i get all these "lost connections please check firewire conn.) So when i go to try to reinstall the drivers this what i get: driver installation failed, timed out with connecting the Saffire

Anyone know how to resolve this?

thanks!

[Hard2Hear]

Did you do the install from the disk or the newer one from the website? There is a firmware update needed for the latest drivers. You should see an option under your Saffire program group to update firmware.

[guitardude]

Well i did the cd installation...and then i did the updates and firmware update from focusrite.com..

[Hard2Hear]

Did the firmware update take? Ive had it stall out before and it acts up.

Are the lights on the front of the unit showing green or yellow?

[guitardude]

Yeah so i tried it all tonight. Maybe i have a defective unit who knows!

all i get is:

"timed out waiting for saffire to be connected" Please relaunch and re-install".
I sent an email to Focusrite before i return it.

[Hard2Hear]

what color are the lights?

[guitardude]

ORANGE ORANGE AND GREEN

I believe. Nothing is responding though such as "mute button" or any other buttons. Just says that im timed out everytime that i connect the saffire into the firewire port....then wait for the driver to be installed.

[Hard2Hear]

ok, what has happened is the firmware update has stalled. You need to rerun the firmware update (not the driver install) and wait (it takes a bit) and watch the progress bar. If it doesn't reach 100% you need to unplug the unit and cycle it on and off then replug the firewire cable so it can complete the firmware update.

[guitardude]

I think it does reach 100%. Just can never install the first device . "installing #1"

[DeepFried]

I was having the same problem. You have to download a couple of fixes from Microsoft. Download these two and that should take care of it.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894480

Oh, by the way, it's not the firmware, it's definitely the MS firewire tweak.

[guitardude]

Thanks Deepfried.

Ummm...i actually returned the saffire last night and got the firebox. I havent tried it yet. If i have further issues then i know my firewire. I did download the first update. Didnt do the second one.

It's kinda of cool now cuz i can try the firebox...and see which is the better product between the saffire and the firebox.

Hey another question did yo have further issues after fixing your problems with the saffire?

[DeepFried]

Originally Posted by guitardude

Hey another question did yo have further issues after fixing your problems with the saffire?

I've got a hunch that Focusrite is getting a lot of product returned because of this particular issue. They're doing a completely crap job of letting people know the nature of the problem and how to fix it. I think the only reason I found out about it is that I read about it on a recording forum (I forget which one).

After I did those downloads, Ive had no problems at all. It's a great unit. Tracks well, sounds good and the DSP and mixing software are really helpful. It's too bad Focusrite doesn't keep their customers better informed.

[guitardude]

So i hooked up the firebox and i had no issues what so ever. I think i got a bogus saffire. I really like the saffire sound..i think it sounds better than the firebox, and the onboard dsp was def nice. I might try it again.