original 828 MK1 problems with absolutely no answers, uncool

[bryantewell]

So I just bought a used MOTU 828 MK1 on ebay. I went to motu's website, downloaded the latest drivers, and yet the 828 still fails to respond to my macbook or even show up in system profiler as being plugged in. I've tried everything, turning the unit off and switching the voltage back and forth, setting it back, and turning it back on. I heard of a reset function within the unit, so I went and bought an obscure small star shaped drill bit to take apart the unit, and nothing even resembling a reset device of any kind was evident. I e-mailed MOTU about it 2 days ago when I got the unit, and they still havent responded. I'm going crazy. I know the unit isnt straight up broken. My hypothesis is that MOTU's update jacked with the firmware inside of the unit, and now without their help I'm screwed, and they've failed to help me thus far. What is a guy like me supposed to do? There are many other people with the same or similar problems, and they all say MOTU isnt doing anything.

[emulatorloo]

What is a guy like me supposed to do?

There's always a big risk buying old hardware on ebay.

That is a pretty old piece in computer years. As near as I can tell that was released in 2001.

Nobody even knew what a mac book pro was and there was no such thing as OS X when that unit was new.

In addition you don't know how it has been treated by the previous owner -- or even multiple owners.

So I don't think I would be too hard on MOTU. Who knows, they may write you back . . . my experience w them is that they are good people. They are a small company and it takes them a while to answer emails. OTOH, the 828 is really distant in their past.

Are there other computer products you have from that period that you receive active support on? Does Apple jump when you call about hardware problems w your PowerMac G4/466?

Sometimes ebay risks pay off. Other times they don't. Maybe you can return it to the seller since you just got it. Tell him/her it isn't working with your computer.

Good luck -- hope it gets worked out.

[Jidis]

A few points to make however (not meant as an argument):

First and foremost-

Bryan, sorry about your trouble. Many of us have been in situations with used stuff, where we get it installed and it immediately doesn't work, leaving us to wonder whether the seller knew this, if it's just our particular system, or if it stopped working somehow after it left the seller. In the first case, you always feel anxious, like if you don't sort it out quickly, you'll have been had. -I hope it works out somehow.

Additionally:

From what I've read here over time, I don't feel there's as high of a "premature death" rate with some of their older stuff. I'm not sure if an 828 falls into that category, or if it is old enough, but I'd be more wary of a "used" deal on a six month old MOTU product from last year, than I would a six year old MOTU. With an older one, you're still at the mercy of their software support, but it probably isn't being unloaded because it's on its way out or is screwing up somehow.

In my opinion, if a piece of hardware properly conforms to whatever specs it was intended for (when designed), if the connection protocol is still current (or backward compatible), and the company still claims to provide a driver for a current line of machines & OS's, it should still be a usable piece of hardware. Now if it's broken or malfunctioning, that's obviously a different matter, but I've owned lots of other cards and devices, which traveled from host to host, through several generations, using whatever driver had been available. I think if the initial design, testing and software development stages were more thorough, they would be free to move to the next product without looking back (which they tend to do anyway). I think when you avoid resolving many incompatibilities during development or while a product is still current, and just limit your "officially supported" hardware list, you're almost guaranteed problems with the "yet to be released" host hardware.

Lastly- Many people will mention MOTU's size as a reason for their often horrid support. I don't feel that's a good excuse for it. Any company who can afford to hold a monthly lock on what is likely the most expensive advertising slot across all popular recording and electronic music magazines has got some funds somewhere. When you consider that there are "smaller" companies out there with only a handful of people on the design/driver staff, who's products are less troublesome to people across just as many of the same host variables, MOTU's support should be proportionally better. Like Emulatorloo, I've seen some people from MOTU who actually seemed interested in resolving some of the conflicts and helping, but not all. Furthermore, even the ones who can or would help won't be able to do so if they're being rushed into some other upcoming product by their boss(es).

Sorry for the gripes but I guess this is the place for it.

George

[magicd]

If the system profiler doesn't see the interface, the most likely problem is that the Firewire port on the interface is fried. The most common cause of this is that someone plugged the Firewire cable in upside down.

MOTU will repair the interface for $79.00 and then it will work properly with your computer.

Magic Dave

[bryantewell]

yeah I think I am just going to send it to motu to get repaired, its just a huge downer because i got really excited when it came in on monday and here I am today, not recording anything. Not motu's fault, not my fault, probably not the seller's fault. I'll just figure it out.


Sorry to MOTU if i was rippin you guys up or anything. I'm sure this unit is amazing when it works.

[emulatorloo]

So I don't think I would be too hard on MOTU. Who knows, they may write you back . . . my experience w them is that they are good people.

--------------------

If the system profiler doesn't see the interface, the most likely problem is that the Firewire port on the interface is fried. The most common cause of this is that someone plugged the Firewire cable in upside down.

MOTU will repair the interface for $79.00 and then it will work properly with your computer.

Magic Dave

----------

hey bryantewell -- see what I mean?

Best regards and get that thing fixed -- that seems like a deal.

--

[kassonica]

Hi

sorry to hear about ur problem. Have you tried useing another firewire cable and firewire port on your computer and try it with another computer altogether. A friend owns 828m1 and he was experiencing problems like yours and it turned out it was the firewire port on his imac.

just some thoughts.

cheers

kassonica