Can't get my recording system going

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Scott
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Bob Scott

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I have a Dell Dimension 4300, Pentium 4. 1.6 Ghz, 128 MB SDRAM
computer that was an upgrade from my old Gateway 2000. I
tried installing my old Voyetra Recording software on it that worked fine on my old Gateway but it wouldn't record digital audio
no matter how I set the levels and buffers without digital distortion. I concluded that it was probably the low grade integrated sound card so I purchased an Audigy Patinum Pro 2
EX sound card including a new upgrade on my Voyetra recording
software to the Record Producer Deluxe. The results after installation is that it still will not record digital audio without distortions but also locks up after so long of playing digital audio or midi. I tried everything I could think of to correct this with no success. I even carried it to a computer specialist called "Hanks Computer Plus" and they deleted/re-formated my hard drive and re-installed my operating system (ME), recording software and sound card/drivers only with the same results. They also communicated with Voyetra and the Audigy sound card techs and tried everything they suggested with no success. I'm kind of at the end of my rope on this even though I still go back and try some new stuff from time to time with no good results. I have gone into all the devices in search of any hardware conflicts but I don't find any. The diognostic sofeware for the soundcard indicates it's working correctly!!!?? This is my last ditch effort to salvage my investment before going back to my old Gateway system that worked. I would appreciate any help and recomendations on how to get this system going. Bob
 
what are you trying to record with? a mic going into the mic input (utilizing the audigy mic preamp)?
 
First of all I've been recording digital audio for years so I'm well
informed on a critical it is to have your recording levels set correctly. On the Audigy I have an external hub that has 1/4"
preamped input, 1/4' non-preamped input and rca left/right
non-preamped input. I've tried recording cassette audio through
the RCA's, guitar through the pre-amped and non-preamped
1/4" inputs. You can set the recording level down so low that there isn't hardly any level at all and still get pops. I can increase
the recording buffers to their highest level without any change.
I've also tried to record vocals through the preamped input
only to get continuous pops throughout the recording regardles
of the levels. Thanks, Bob
 
First off, Windows ME blows. Get rid of it. Secondly, it could be the chipset on your motherboard. There were some VIA chipsets that would do just what you described. No amount of tweaking, driver patches, etc would help. 3rd, get rid of ME
 
what operating system are you using?

Make sure the audigy isn't sharing an IRQ with anything...this will most definitely result in pops&clicks. Also, disable USB as this can cause major problems (as USB is 'hot-swappable' - the computer is constantly checking the port to see if anything new has been plugged in - this 'checking' can interrupt the audio stream running through your MOBO and casue pops&clicks).

There are many other 'tuning' tips that can help you resolve problems like yours. Here's a good page for windows98. Do a google search and you'll find many more:

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/techinfo/lola.htm


here's another that I just got wind of - and having taken a quick peek it looks fairly comprehensive:

http://pcaudiolabs.com/
 
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Wow HangDawg!!

Dump ME. That would mean another investment and the only
other operating system I have on hand is windows 95. Don't
know if I'm willing to invest that much??? If I can't correct this problem with fine tuning I think I might dump the whole system
before doing that. As far the bad chip, how would you know if
you had it???Thanks, Bob

Hay pratt

I'm not a computer whiz so that may be part of my problem!! Har!
So I'm not sure where to go to disable the USB and discover
IRQ conflicts(device manager?) but I have a general idea. I can seek and find by trial and error. I have copied the pages you
referenced and put in hard copy folder so next session I have on
my home commuter, I can give it a try. I'm posting from my work
computer. I love recording on my computer due to the un-limited
tracks that lets me get really detailed putting individual parts on
their own individual tracks that gives you lots of control in the mix down. This new system will allow me to burn CD's of my music if
I can get the distortion out where on the Gateway all I could do
is record cassetts off the sound card out. Thanks, Bob
 
Hang is right.

Get rid of ME. It's very unstable, and it's memory allocation to programs is horrid. That's why you're locking up in programs.

Get yourself a "used" copy of Win2K, it's very stable. Yes it's a memory hog, and it loads slower than crap, but it's stable. Been running it for the last 6 months and not had a single problem with any of my audio programs.

I'm pretty certain, that your OS is causing all your problems.
 
OK!!! Change of Poets!!! I'm meditating on it!! My My!! I'd never
considered that. Wouldn't have any idea on getting a used copy of Windows2K. E-bay?? I guess this means I would have to delete my hard drive and start over again??? Bob
 
Bob Scott said:
OK!!! Change of Poets!!! I'm meditating on it!! My My!! I'd never
considered that. Wouldn't have any idea on getting a used copy of Windows2K. E-bay?? I guess this means I would have to delete my hard drive and start over again??? Bob
Click to expand...

No, you don't have to delete your Hard Drive.

Get a copy of Windows 2000, and install it over your current windows ME, by clicking the "Upgrade Windows" button upon running the .exe file.

What I mean by "used", is free. I'm not an advocate of piracy, but when I was in your position, I did what I had to do to obtain a stable platform.

Try Kazaa, or BitTorrent to find Windows 2000. Or Buy a copy of Windows XP.

Unless.... what were you running on the Gateway you had? 95 right? You could technically set that PC back up, and use a file transfer program and tranfer the .exe and install files for Win95 to your new PC if you wanted. I wouldn't recomend it, but... do what you gotta do you know..lol..
 
If you do upgrade to 2000 or XP, make sure you add more memory. 128MB isn't enough memory to run simple stuff let alone trying to use a computer as a DAW. 512+ MB will be enough for most stuff. I honestly dunoo why Dell even lets people buy a P4 with 128 MB memory on their web site. I guess they do it so they can advertise a super cheap price.
So even if you are gonna rip 2000 or XP you're still gonna have to shell out ~$100 for a 512 memory module. That will give you 640 MB of memory though. An early P4 Dell probably still uses regular old SDRAM but you might wanna make sure before you buy...

Then look for rescource conflicts. Might have to swap cards around and test it or check out the recourses in device manager. Never use the PCI slot right next to the AGP, or the top one in an integreated mainboard. This slot generally shares the IRQ with the AGP bus. In the bios, disable any serial ports since these are obsolete, and change your printer mode to EPP so it doesn't use a DMA. (may cause DMA conflicts with the sound card) I'd personally keep the USBs enable since they come in handy and don't hog any relevant CPU time.
 
When upgrading from one OS to another you should always start from fresh meaning yes reformat your hard drive. If you do an upgrade install from WinME you could have some left over crap on your system. Win2k and Winxp both use ntfs by default although you can choose to use fat32 (the win98 and ME default). Not sure of any audio benefits from using ntfs, but that's what I'm using.

Also having a seperate drive for your audio files and running a defrag every now and then can help. As DAFFY said you need more RAM !
 
vestast said:
When upgrading from one OS to another you should always start from fresh meaning yes reformat your hard drive....
Click to expand...

I definately agree with this too.. Always a good idea to start from scratch when upgrading to another OS since you never know what kinda leftover junk will still be in the reg after an upgrade.
 
I went in last night and fine tuned ME with a lot of recomendations from the link on the eairlier post by pratt but it
didn't help, she's still locking up. When it locks it playes
a sustained midi note like a pig squealing!! Har! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-----At that point
alr/cont/delt will NOT work to open task manager. The only way
I can get out is hold the power buttond down until it cuts off.
Plate
 
Bob Scott said:
I went in last night and fine tuned ME with a lot of recomendations from the link on the eairlier post by pratt but it
didn't help, she's still locking up. When it locks it playes
a sustained midi note like a pig squealing!! Har! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-----At that point
alr/cont/delt will NOT work to open task manager. The only way
I can get out is hold the power buttond down until it cuts off.
Plate
Click to expand...

sounds like you're having issues far beyond those that performance tweaks can solve....if I were you I would try a fresh install of the operating system on a newly formatted drive and go from there.
 
Check for rescource conflicts. Go into the bios, dump the regular serial ports change the printer port to epp mode. If you have disabled both serial ports (not to be confused with USB) you might be able to go into device manager and set your audigy midi port to IRQ 3 or 4 if something else doesn't take one of those IRQs. Now that I think about it, if the computer has any onboard audio/midi that might be conflicting with the Audigy. Disable any onboard audio while in the bios as well. It's possible getting rid of the serial ports might switch something else and get rid of any rescource conflicts on its own but you should check. Could be lots of things, but an IRQ conflict could do excatly what you describe. You also might wanna try new drivers. I know the original audigy had a squeal of death prob that was supposedly fixed by new drivers. Perhaps the Audigy 2 has a similar issue...
 
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