Audio glitches during recording

  • Thread starter Thread starter subtlerage
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subtlerage

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Hello...

I've looked everywhere else and have had no luck finding an answer to this problem, so I'm hoping maybe somebody on here can help. :)

I'm getting audio glitches when recording simple 2 track audio to my computer. It started ever since I upgraded. I used to run with a 200mmx with 128MB ram and a 3.1GB Western Digital Drive using an awe64 in Windows 95. I've upgraded to a 500mhz K6-2 with 128MB ram and a 15GB 7200rpm Maxtor drive using a Lexicon Core2 in Windows 98.

The glitches are like a "skipping" effect. I've got a short 50k MP3 to demonstrate it, if anyone is interested:


So, what have I tried so far?

-I've set the virtual memory size to prevent resizing of the swap file. I've tried setting it anywhere from 16MB to 128MB, with no luck.

-Auto insert notification is switched off on both of my CD-ROMs.

-I've disabled write-behind caching for all drives.

-I've disabled double buffering

-I defrag regularly, and never record with more than 1% fragmentation.

-All virus software is shut down. In fact I ctrl-alt-del to see what's currently running and shut down everything except explorer before even loading Sound Forge.

-Finally, I've run scan disk and other disk diagnostics on the Maxtor, and all come out OK.

At this point, I'm out of ideas. I figure since these glitches didn't exist before building the new system, perhaps it's being cause by something new in the PC. The only new components that could cause audio glitching that I could see are the Maxtor and perhaps Windows 98 itself? Unfortunately I don't have another hard drive that I could use as a test, and I don't want to spend the money for another one unless I really have to.

SO...if any of you kind folks have any suggestions, I'm all ears. :)

Thanks!
-Andrew
 
firstly , your mp3 locked up winamp and crashed my computer to the point where control-alt-delete wasnt even functioning so i had to reset.. then i tried it again , and it locked again.. anyone else have that problem ?

secondly , make sure your running the latest drivers of your soundcard , since it seems like youve covered all your bases..

also , to avoid having to control-alt-delete all the time before a session , you can go to start/run/ then type in "msconfig" in the dialog box , click the start up tab and then uncheck all the programs that you dont need to load when windows boots up to run properly..

ps..your a brave man screwing with the virtual memory :)

- eddie-
 
Your mangled file played "fine" on my system.
What are you using for a multitracker?
Let Windows handle the virtual memory settings. Sounds like Win 98 is the problem, but I don't really know for sure.
 
Actually, messing with the virtual memory settings is the very first recommendation my multitrack program suggests. (I use SAW) On the old system I had it set to a fixed swap file size, because if I let Windows handle it I'd get glitches. And the sound card drivers are the most recent.

At this point I'm considering trying to borrow a drive from someone to test. If I don't get glitches recording to it, I can safely assume my problem is with my drive. If I still get glitches, at least I'll have eliminated one culprit...

BTW, thanks for the "msconfig" tip.
 
1) It has come to my attention recently that Win95/98 will not automatically detect DMA capable drives from Maxtor and other vendors. It did detect my Quantum just fine however. I am not sure of the specifics of how windows determines this...it must be a combination of the controller and the drive. hmmm...

Anyway, go into device manager and select your Maxtor drive. Click properties and select the DMA box. This has solved stuttering problems for several people around here. (thanks to either cmiller or cwillu...I always mix you two up)

DO NOT do this with your other drives unless you know FOR SURE that they are UDMA/33 or ATA/66 compliant. It'll screw things up big time.

2) If that doesn't work then you must reinstall Windows. I know it sounds horrible but it's really the easiest road to recovery in situations like this.

3) Is it too late to exchange your motherboard and CPU for a Slot 1 440BX board with a Celeron 500? You will have much more flexability with DX effects on a Celeron system than on a K6-2 system. I've been there.

4) All those nifty optimizations you ran are great...but they won't speed things up that much. In a case where you're only getting 1 or 2 tracks before stuttering...you know that something is NOT working correctly.

5) As suggested above...you need to check your soundcard drivers. What kind of soundcard do you have? I have used a couple ESS soundcards (ESS1868 and ESS1869 chips) and the drivers that shipped with them were horrible....couldn't play mp3's without stuttering, etc. In fact, if you have an ESS based soundcard then you need a new one. You really do.

6) Are you still using two drives? I figure I'd better ask if you have each drive on a seperate IDE port. I know that's basic stuff...just checking.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I noticed that Win98 didn't detect my Maxtor as a DMA device when I built this machine last fall, so I've already got that box checked. And I am indeed only using one drive.

I've triple checked the drivers for my Lexicon Core2, and I am using the most updated ones.

I really don't want to swap out the chip and mobo, as I just built this machine a few months ago and I hate tearing down the computer and building it back up again. If I knew for certain that it was the K6-2 that was causing the problems, then I'd consider swapping it out. Otherwise, I'd rather run with what I've got.

I haven't tried reinstalling windows yet, but I suppose I could give that a shot. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. (Though it would be the first time with 98... with 95, it was almost a monthly occurance...)

Thanks.
 
Well, if your soundcard drivers are fine and up to date...and your hard drive is operating at full speed. Then I would recommend:

1) Get into device manager and make sure there are no conflicts.

2) Download and install the latest MS DirectX media runtimes.

3) Rule out software misconfigurations. e.g. download another multitracking package and see if the problem persists.

4) Reinstall the latest drivers for ALL of your hardware.

5) Here's one you probably already checked: make sure nothing is running in the background. e.g. you should have nothing in your task list but Explorer and Systray before recording. Some applications like MS Findfast are HOGS.

6) Reinstall windows. You'd be suprised at how often this will solve problems (unfortunately). Is this a standalone DAW? Consider NT. Otherwise consider Win98Lite or 95 OSR/2.

I am absolutely not trying to say that the AMD processor is causing your problems. You will only notice the K6 choking out as you add DX effects. It was just a suggestion since it sounds like you upgraded recently.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Slack...Just out of curiosity, I looked at the settings for my Maxtor HD and didn't see a DMA box to check. Perhaps it has to do with the way I upgraded from Win 95 to 98 while trying to retain the Win 95 driver. In my quest to do everything as cheaply as possible, I didn't use the full Win 98 program. And the previous HD, an old Samsung, worked best that way, which is why I left it as it was. Then on the other hand it could be the guy I let work on the computer occasionally. I have 127 megs of ram. Not 128, but 127. 1 meg just disappeared last time he looked at it. Very strange.
 
I used cakewalk pro 8 with a weaker computer and had no problems like that but once in a while. USe cakewalk maybe. (pro audio 9 is nice)

By the way what was that music and what did you use to produce those sounds cuz it sounded "Real" my stuff isn't too real yet, I can't figure out why. Are you using some kind of nice synth or keyboard with nice sounds?
 
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