Strangely Distorted Input... HELP!

[Gherkin]

I've recently built a new computer, and am using an Echo Audiofire12 as the interface, and Reaper as the software.

System specs are:
Core2Duo Quad 2.66
Asus P5Q
Nvidia GTS 250
4gig ram
Vista 64-bit

The Audiofire works perfectly for output, either by Windows, or Reaper, and I can happily use all 12 outputs to mix down a track...

BUT...

If I use the inputs, I get some horrible distortion. I've made sure that the sample rate is the same on the Audiofire and in software. I've tried both the 32 and 64 bit versions of Reaper. The drivers are the latest.

Any ideas as to why, or suggestions for fixing it?

The Audiofire works just fine if I use it with my laptop.

Peace,
Aidan

 

[Tuneful]

This is almost positively a driver issue.

I assume you went with vista 64 for the extra memory capacity? That may be the problem here.
Firewire drivers are notoriously difficult to code properly for 32 bit windows, and they're no better for 64. Look up any single firewire deck when it first comes out, and you'll find incompatibilities abound.
I have a Presonus Firestudio, and it was useless to me for nearly 10 months before Presonus finally got a proper beta driver released. And we're talking Presonus. These guys are far from amateurs.

If it was me, I would do some digging and find out if the 32 bit vista driver is anymore stable. If so, I would reinstall 32 bit windows, and call it a day.
The extra gig of memory usage isn't going to be all that useful anyway. Want to verify this? Open up every single program you have, simultaneously. Then look in task manager. You'll be surprised at how little memory usage actually is.
Ya, during heavy editing it could come in handy. But you'll hardly ever notice the difference of 1 gig.