No Sound With Working Soundcard

  • Thread starter Thread starter Doctor Varney
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Okay, I'm happy to question my chap about this build. I know he won't mind, as he has already admitted, he does not think in terms of the computer being used as a DAW when building his machines. These things were built mainly for gaming and so speed, stability and quality were his main aims. I've known the guy 20 years and he never buys any crap. He knows he is not a sound engineer (but he is a competent electronic engineer, nevertheless).

So we've got an Asus motherboard, AMD chipset, Kingston Memory, Seagate drives - all the top quality stuff. The PSU was chosen to cover consumption, so it's 750w (can't remember the exact make but not a cheap one). Plus my E-MU 0404 sound card, which seems to be an old favorite in the HR community. So I'm not really sure what part of this is done wrong. As far as I know, all of the parts in this machine would be considered more than adequate quality by all those who swear by building their machines, instead of buying 'off the shelf'.

The only thing I can suppose is that it's got some kind of virus or malware on it. But then, I had a dual core Hewllet Packard machine running before this one, which was kept off the internet - and that broke down as well. The one I built (the only one I've ever built all by myself) was out of cheap parts like a budget MSI board and a single core AMD chip with Maxtor hard drives - and that's still working. Slow as hell, but still chugging along.

So, as you can imagine... I'm not sure what to think any more.

Regards

Dr. V
 
Even though it sucks, I would start with a fresh install of your OS and programs. Seems you have wasted to much time already, trying to mess with things to get it to work. At this point, it may be something that you cannot figure out. A fresh start, will at least eliminate some possible issues.

I have been there, and I know how much it sucks to start over, but it sometimes just needs to be done.
 
I'll go with that, Jimmy. Thanks for the advice. Then this thing comes off the internet and I will use something else for that. I have a few more options than I did last week, when this all started, however...

Cheers

Dr. V
 
No, we decided to wait as the one needing the screen replacement is more powerful, yet cheaper.

It's not like she doesn't have the spare to spend on a new one but she is in the mind-set of "Buy cheap to see if you like it first..."
The VAIOs retail around £600, I believe.

I have explained that if you have identified your purpose, you're going to like it a whole lot more if it performs well and less if the equipment's not up to it - but times are hard at present and she is, at the best of times, a cautious buyer.

I wouldn't personally want to spend much on a laptop because similar specs come cheaper in desktops but she is looking primarily for a portable/ convenient main workhorse. In this case, a desktop would defeat it's purpose.

My fear is (as I think you once said, Jimmy) that when you buy second hand, you're already somewhere closer to failure. It would not be the seller's fault if something failed in 3 months, since it would be impossible to predict. He is not the first owner and laptops are more difficult and costly to fix.

Regards

Dr. V
 
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As for the DAW system, I am about to try the sound card back in a previous machine. A single core AMD rig I built myself, which performed well in the past but will need reformatting since it has slowed due to internet usage and a barrage of hideous Linux experiments. This quad core rig I am using now is still fast and has the heft for multi-tasking. It runs two large screens and will be ideal for graphics and regular internet usage.

For the DAW, I'm choosing to reduce the screen size, using two small LCDs to make more room and shift attention away from visuals, towards the sound and control surface. My mixes tend to average 3-4 tracks with only a small handful of plugins, leaving a lot of unused screen estate.

Cheers

Dr. V
 
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