Laptop crashes while recording

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Soulman51

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My setup:
Qosmio X505, 4GB Memory, i5 processor, external hard drive
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Mixcraft DAW software
Line 6, UX-2 Digital Interface
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In the middle of recording, my computer will crash and reboot without warning. Somedays it will happen 4-5 times in an hour, other days not at all. I've replaced cables, disabled other audio devices, updated drivers & software in an attempt to stumble upon a solution. Problem is I don't know what to eliminate next. Is it the ux2 ? Should I try a different DAW ?

Line 6 admits to a problem along these lines but now says it has been fixed in the last driver update - which I loaded - and it crashed again.

I have also had it crash when playing music out of iTunes - less frequently but crashed all the same.

It kind of feels like there might be some internal conflict going on because its' so sudden - no warning at all.

Anyone else having this problem or what should I try next ? Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
Soulman51 said:
My setup:
Qosmio X505, 4GB Memory, i5 processor, external hard drive
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Mixcraft DAW software
Line 6, UX-2 Digital Interface
------------------------------------------------------
In the middle of recording, my computer will crash and reboot without warning. Somedays it will happen 4-5 times in an hour, other days not at all. I've replaced cables, disabled other audio devices, updated drivers & software in an attempt to stumble upon a solution. Problem is I don't know what to eliminate next. Is it the ux2 ? Should I try a different DAW ?

Line 6 admits to a problem along these lines but now says it has been fixed in the last driver update - which I loaded - and it crashed again.

I have also had it crash when playing music out of iTunes - less frequently but crashed all the same.

It kind of feels like there might be some internal conflict going on because its' so sudden - no warning at all.

Anyone else having this problem or what should I try next ? Thanks for any help you can provide.
Click to expand...

A quick search of the line6 forums makes it look like this is a driver issue with Win7/64bit. The quick fix is downloading the ASIO4ALL driver until they resolve the issue.

http://line6.com/community/message/181973;jsessionid=CE62727F72DFF78D6F3DEC178716C715
 
Thanks - will give it a try. I've been checking the line 6 forums but hadn't run across that particular post.
 
Some progress but not totally resolved

So I installed the Asio4all driver and recorded for several hours with no problems at all - I was soooo happy - I thought I was home free. The next day, after 30 minutes, down it went - I was sooo bummed. So I think the driver has resolved some of my problems but not all of them. Any other ideas ?
 
You don't need to pay twice as much for an Apple when you've already got a capable computer. That's for sure.

You might want to add a partition to your HD and install a fresh copy of Windows, use that for a while and see if it keeps happening. If it does keep happening then you've got a hardware problem.
 
If your interface is crashing with driver problems, you basically have 2 choices:

a) Wait until they fix the driver

b) Sell the interface and get one that works.

Sorry, but its that simple...
 
Update

Just checking back. Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. Line 6 has released 2 new driver sets in the last couple of weeks for the UX2. I can't say all the problems are gone but I had a decent recording session this weekend: 2-3 hours without a crash. So I'm hopeful but not totally convinced that the problems are fixed. Let's just say I still save after every change.

If I choose to change usb interfaces - which ones have the most stable drivers with windows 7 ?
 
Laptop crashing solution

Buried deep in the Line 6 support site is a list of things to try when your computer keeps crashiing. Among them is a suggestion to go into the BIOS of your computer and disable the power setting that sends variable power to your cpu in order to conserve energy. It''s called different things on different computers but the gist of it is that you want to keep a stable flow of power to your cpu. I can get the exact name if anyone's interested.

After disabling that setting and rebooting I have not experienced any kind of crash or freeze up yet and I've put several hours in on it. This may not sound like much but it has been an ongoing problem for me since February. I will keep my rabbit's foot handy and fingers crossed but for the moment this seem to be working.

Life is good !
 
Does it only happen when recording?

Could this be a over heat problem? Does your computer get really hot?
 
Kimosabi said:
Does it only happen when recording?

Could this be a over heat problem? Does your computer get really hot?
Click to expand...

My laptop was doing this and I assumed it was from the heat. So I dusted the fan, which was quite dirty, and that seemed to fix it. I still re-installed Windows for good measure.
 
It could happen during recording or even just playback. It never happened during regular computer use - emails, internet, etc. I think it had more to do with processing sound & effects files. It seemed to happen more often when I was using more than 8 tracks or was using a lot of effects on multiple tracks. (i.e heavy processing load). It kind of makes sense that if the bios setting was dialing back the processing power when it needed it most it just didn't know what to do and would shut down.

So I hope the problem is fixed - my intent was to record music not fix computers. I do too much of that at work already !

Thanks again for all your good suggestions.
 
Here's the Line 6 entry re: this problem.

"BIOS Performance Settings: In some BIOS, a setting called "SpeedStep" may be enabled. Similar settings to SpeedStep are "EIST Function" (or “Power Now” or “Cool’n’Quiet”). Speedstep is an Intel efficiency tool that enables the CPU to speed up and slow down according to the load put on it. However it also changes the voltages running through the CPU accordingly and may cause crackles when the CPU steps up and down.


Go into BIOS settings and disable the "SpeedStep" and C1E settings. C1E is the auto voltage setting that is usually enabled along with Speedstep. This should set the CPU to run at its fixed maximum speed with no voltage changes. "
 
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