Crisis Situation..Please Help!

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moelar2

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The Worst thing that could possibly happen to you while recording a band happened to me - my F (*$*(&#'in setup stopped working!!

Setup (relevant stuff):

Mackie 32*8
Layla 2496
Cubase VST 5.1
AMD Athlon 1400
Windows 2000 Pro
512RAM @ 266mghz

Basically, I'm recording a Cumbia band. I tracked 7 drum tracks + 1 scratch track, which means I have all 8 ins operating, @ 24 bit/88.2k. this was the first session. We finished 5 songs.

Next day, I'm trying to overdubb keyboards using three inputs, on tracks 10, 11, and 12, using Ins 1L, 1R, and 2L. Everything is the same as the previous night (all inputs still active). When I go to record, however, I get an error message that says "Audio: Recording Error!" Then, I press "OK" and it says "recording too short to use."

(when i started using cubase i encountered the error "too short to use" - but fixed that by adjusting the Left and Right locators. This is not the problem this time, as the locators are set correctly.)

What I've done to troubleshoot (each about 10 times):

Tried recording onto other songs in other files: WORKED (i.e., F:/Recorded Bands/other band/song 1)
Tried recording onto other songs in same directory: FAILED (i.e., F:/Recorded Bands/This band/Song2) *** worked for three songs, but not for the last two songs!!
Tried "Reset Devices:" FAILED
Tried Restarting Computer: FAILED
Tried Restarting Layla: FAILED
Tried shutting down computer: FAILED
Looked in Troubleshooting section in manual: couldn't find relevant topics
Lit a candle next to computer: made the room smell better (but didn't fix the audio error)

I'm at a total loss! I have no clue what it is. My computer has been acting weird anyway. Sometimes it just restarts automatically, but this only happens within the first 10-15 minutes of booting my computer. I can work around that problem!

I've only recorded two bands using this new setup. With the first band, I had audio pops/clicks problems. But this was easily fixed by upping the buffer size. I've also done my personal recordings but have only utilized 4-6 tracks simultenously. The recordings are very clean.

WHAT COULD THIS BE????????

PLEASE HELP!!
 
Upgrade to Cubase SX.....

I used to have Cubase 5.1 fail like that on me in the beginning too.... most of it was user error (and 5.1 is hard to work with initially until you get used to it)

The wierd thing that never cleared up was that my computer would spontaneously shutdown within minutes of stopping a Cubase session..... I lived with this (since it never did it DURING a session) until I upgraded to SX when it came out - and it's been flawless ever since!
 
Go up to your "Windows" drop-down in Cubase. Are you trying to record with an editor open that might be confounding the process?

Chris
 
I typically launch external wave editors to edit waves from Cubase.

Its a very random error; I've been using Cubase since about the summer and haven't had much trouble with it outside of the typical learning curve stuff.

This one here though is particularly puzzling because I don't know if its my card, my software, or my computer. What would you say is the chance that this error is related to my processor? See, I've always been having the problem bluebear described. I re-formatted my computer and installed a new OS (2000 instead of XP Home). Hypothetically, i'm starting from scratch at this point, so anything related with corrupt windows files etc., would be fixed - well, the problem is still there.... Hence, could it be my motherboard?

Has anyone else received that error (Audio: Recording error!)???

***Most importantly, what can I do by Saturday to insure that I have a system thats up and running???? Where can I look for info on on this Cubase error message???

Thanks guys (and gals, when applicable)!!
 
I had this problem too, but on a win 98 installation.

setting doublebuffering to 0 and fixing the vcache in the win.ini file fixed it.

What you can try: If latency is not an issue during hte recording (since you dont have to move faders or play soft- sybths) is:

1) raising buffer size in your system audio setup

2) drastic: change card driver in audio detup to plain mme drivers.

3) also look for the pre- roll, it should be higher than your latency setting.


cheers
 
Jazzmaster...

setting doublebuffering to 0 and fixing the vcache in the win.ini file fixed it.
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate on this? I'm not sure what that entails or how to do that...

1) raising buffer size in your system audio setup
Click to expand...

Would I do this from the ASIO Control panel in Cubase or from the Layla control panel??? What are desirable buffer zones?? Does increasing buffer zone come at the expense of something else i.e., processing speed?

3) also look for the pre- roll, it should be higher than your latency setting.
Click to expand...

The preroll in the metronome window??

THANK you very much for your input!!
 
Hi,

For a lyla card you should of course use the dedicated asio drivers (I overloocked that).

The driver settings are in the layla asio control panel.

Smaller buffer size means shorter latency, but also more processor strain. Higher means more latency, less processor strain and more safety.

Cubase does not warn you when a hikkup occurs at playback, you just get crackles and stuttering. When recording however recording can just stop.

For more tips on tuning windows you can visit this link and follow the instructions.

http://www.studio201.com/cwu/support/vst/win95.html

One thing! This is for the win 9X family, I do not know if it is for win 2000. Some files or entrys will even not be in win 2000.

IMPORTANT:

I know that for win XP (and 2000 / NT) it is important to set: processor usage optimised for background tasks! (and re-!)

You should go to control panel>system>performance (I think, because I got a dutch windows :-).

Hope this helps a liitle.
 
Jazzmaster...

Thanks for your input. I'm going to try that as well..

I was fiddling with my setup today because the band was scheduled to come in. Nothing had worked the previous night so I was already giving up. Basically, since I own a Roland VS840EX, I was going to sync them both up, slave the roland, and record the the remaining tracks onto the roland. I set the midi configurations for Cubase to sync with my roland. Then, just for kicks, i tried recording (turned sync off) the keyboards straight to cubase (as i'd been trying for days now!) and it worked!! I EXTREMELY doubt it had anything to do with my midi deal, but i'm just grateful it worked.

This issue is still very unsettling becuase i don't know what the hell it is, what causes it, and when it will come back!
 
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