MOTU 2408 mkII Serious Newbie

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:13 pm

Ok, this may be the stupidest post ever, but I like to believe there's no such thing as a stupid question, so here goes.

I just picked up a 2408 mkII and PCI324 card. I installed the card per instructions and got it "working" - ie: not locking up the computer during the installation of the drivers, and the computer sees it. It's in the middle of three PCI slots on the motherboard.

Took me a LOT of playing and fiddling, but I finally got the PCI Console program to recognize the 2408 mkII. I finally realized that I have to run the Console, THEN turn on the 2408, and it will show up.

Here's the problem. I can neither record nor play back sound through the 324. I finally ended up installing a SB card for playback, which works for simple programs. But Wavelab won't play back a wave (error is something like the sound card won't support the attributes of the wave, even though the wave is only 44.1 and 16bit). Also, Wavelab only seems to see the SB card for recording as well, even though I set the Windows settings for Recording to the PCI324.

What am I missing? I don't have the manual for the mkII (bought it used) and no answer from MOTU regarding buying a new one.

I'm beginning to think that I've got it all connected wrong, but I have the audiowire from the mkII to the 324, I have a single line into the mkII analog ins and a line out from the main-outs. When I yak into the mic, the sound shows up on the meter on the front of the mkII, but nothing reaches the computer.

I have the latest drivers from MOTU, so it shouldn't be that. Are there drivers for the 2408? I haven't found any if there are.

Any help on this would be appreciated. I was hoping this would be the answer to my prayers for a multi-track recording system. Now my band is beginning to look at me funny and I'm wondering if they're planning on hanging me in my own studio.

prash · Post by **prash** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:52 pm

Hi,First check out in the device manager about the drivers that is 1)motu audio driver 2)motu wave driver 3)motu GSIF driver.
If not then remove motu audio software from add-remove programmes& also uninstall the drivers of motu and install all again.
After installation of motu audio softwares restart your Pc and you will find "found new hardware '. Then install all 3 drivers.
Then open motu setting pannel. Select buffer size ,say 1024. Sampling rate 44100Hz. CLOCK SET TO PCI INTERNAL.Enable Mono routing.At the most left chart,select all the 8 inputs and in the output window select 'From Computer'.Then press REFRESH & OK.
On the motu interface connect a mic to input 1 and connect output cables to out 1 & 2 OR you can connect headphone on the front panel.
Then open PCI Cuemix console. On the right side select output pairs 1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8.Hard pan input pan pot to left & right alternately. Select input 1 and on the same input select output 1& 2.Then put on the main ON button.
Now you must hear the sound whatever is through the mic.

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Sun Nov 25, 2007 4:32 pm

Prash, thanks for the super fast reply. Unfortunately, it still doesn't seem to be working. All 3 drivers were installed. (That was a seperate nightmare.)

I must be missing something fundamental, because my system SHOULD work, based on everything I've read and your instructions.

Here's what happens:

When I bring up the MOTU Console, it shows the inputs and outputs. I set everything as you said to, then hit refresh. At which point the entire set of ins and outs disappeared and it no longer even recognized that the mkII existed. IF, at that point, I turn off the mkII and turn it back on again, the ins and outs come back. But even with the Console "seeing" the mkII, I get nothing from the headphone connection. The meter lights DO indicate that the mkII is getting a signal from the microphone when I talk into it. I just get nothing out of it.

Should I get rid of the SB card that I'm using for playback?

Is there some order that things need to be turned on? I feel like I'm trying to power up the LEM on Apollo 13.

Thanks for your help. Apparently I need more.

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:14 pm

Alright, quick update:

I tried every conceivable order of booting the computer, mkII, etc, and nothing changed. I tried the "March" drivers and ended up getting the "Error 10" that they were supposed to fix. So I put the original drivers back on.

Could it be a bad cable? I didn't think so, since the computer does "see" the mkII ins and outs when using MOTU Audio Console.

Please help. I'm outta ideas.

prash · Post by **prash** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:41 am

Hi Woken,
Dont worry we will solve your problem. We will go step by step though it take some time because of communication through internet.
which OS are you using? If you are using XP you must have the latest PCI324 SOFTWARE AND DRIVERS.because original PCI324 software only goes with windows 98.
If this thing is alright ,then we will first only check for Audio output. For that we will use media player.
1)You first disable or uninstall your other sound cards or onboard sound cards 2)Open control panel-sound and see in the audio and voice tab whether it is showing the PCI321 Analog 1-8 Then, option a)If it is there then select in both and hit OK. Then open your media player,go to TOOLS-OPTIONS ,hit the DEVICES tab,select SPEAKERS,select PROPERTIES and select the option DEFAULT DIRECT SOUND DEVICE and also check the whether there is PCI ANALOG 1-8 is there or not? NOW option b) After checking through 2), if PCI Analog 1-8 is not there then there is some mistake in installation.
OK First check these all ,then we will further discuss.
Ok ,where are you from? I am from INDIA. I am a musician, music arranger & programmer and sound engineer.

prash · Post by **prash** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:58 am

Hi,one thing I forgot to tell that is IF OUTPUT IS COMING WHEN PLAY A SONG IN MEDIA PLAYER, IT WILL COME ONLY THROUGH OUT 1 & 2 WHICH IS DEFAULT MASTER OUT OR HEADPHONE OUT. IT IS BETTER THAT YOU CHECK THROUGH HEADPHONE OUT.
PLEASE ALSO CHECH THE FIREWARE CABLE CONNECTING MOTU INTERFACE AND YOUR PCI 324 CARD FIXED IN YOUR PCI SLOT. Ther are 3 posions on the card to connect the cable. please connect to the port which is nearer to the circular port. It actually doesn't make much difference, but it is reffered by MOTU , so you must try that also.

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:44 am

Thanks for your help. In fact, I found that the cable needs to be in the port nearest the round port - it seems to be more "stable" there.

Here's what I did this morning:

Verified that all other soundcards and onboard sound are uninstalled. The Device Manager still shows Legacy Audio Drivers, but it's automatically installed with Windows and I haven't been able to find a way to take it off the system.

Completed uninstalled and reinstalled the MOTU drivers - the system kept "finding" new hardware and installing a second copy of the drivers. This seemed to fix that glitch, and all three were showing up in Device Manager.

When I started the mkII, it didn't get picked up by the computer and the bottom light on the mkII blinked continuously.

Rebooted the computer, restarted 2408. Now seen by computer and ins/outs show up in Console.

NO options at all in Sounds and Audio Devices under Playback or Recording (the entire thing is grayed out) or Voice.

(I remember that this window DID once show the PCI-324 as an option - no clue how or why.)

I re-enabled the onboard driver, but still nothing showing up under Playback or Recording.

YET: the PCI-324 showed up in Media Player. When I select "analog 1-2" under Media Player, then that option appears under Playback and Recording in the Sounds and Audio Devices. Media Player played the song (no error of unrecognized or missing soundcard) but nothing came out of the 2408 (checked headphone out, main out and analog 1 out and nothing from any of them).

Note: Under Volume tab of Sounds and Audio Devices, it shows "No Audio Device", even when the PCI-324 showed up in Playback and Recording.

I rebooted the computer. The 2408 was still connecting and showing up under Audio Console. Ran Media Player and got an error "No sound device..." and PCI-324 no longer shows up in Playback or Recording or in Media Player speaker properties.

I checked the Device Manager for the drivers and only the Audio Driver was showing up, so I reinstalled the other two drivers through Add New Hardware.

Now 2408 won't connect, even after numerous times turning it off and on, so I rebooted the computer. 2408 connected, but I now have TWO copies of the GSIF and Wave driver in Device Manager.

Under Media Player, PCI-324 no longer shows up.

I hit refresh in the Audio Console and the 2408 no longer connects and no ins/outs show up, even after numerous times turning it off and on.

I closed the Audio Console, disabled the 2nd version of GSIF and Wave driver (the first version stayed there and appeared ok).

Restarted Audio Console, restarted the 2408. Now connects and shows up under Ins/Outs of Console.

Still not showing up under Media Player and NOTHING shows in Playback or Recording in the Sounds and Audio Devices.

Forgot to mention that somewhere in there I disabled the on-board audio again, so only the MOTU is installed.

I then rebooted the PC, restarted the 2408 - took 3 restarts for it to connect and show up in Audio Console.

Checked Device Manager: only ONE copy of each driver, but Wave driver was disabled. I enabled it.

Now Media Player sees PCI-324 again and it shows up under Playback and Recording, but still No Audio Device in Volume tab of Sounds and Audio Properties.

Clicked Play on Media Player and system rebooted itself.

When up and running, I rechecked Device Manager. Now, TWO copies of Wave and GSIF drivers are present (again) and the one I enabled previously is still enabled but not working (exclamation point over icon). I disabled it again.

Ran the Audio Console, restarted 2408. It connected ok. I ran Media Player again. Now PCI-324 NOT showing up in Media Player, only "Default DirectSound Device" - though the onboard audio is disabled.

I ran Cuemix again the same as you originally said to, then restarted Media Player - no change.

Restarted 2408 - no connect.

Turned off Cuemix and closed it, restarted 2408 - no connect.

Checked Device Manager: only ONE copy of each driver present and (again) Wave driver disabled, so I enabled it, restarted the 2408, still no connect.

Closed and reopened Audio Console, restarted 2408 - connected.

Restarted Media Player - no PCI-324.

Checked Device Manager: all three drivers present and "working".

Wow, I'm truly baffled. I have a degree in computers and I'm used to playing with Windows to get it working right, and I like to think I'm pretty intelligent and good at problem solving. But this is just tying my brain into a giant Gordian Knot. It seemed to almost work, but no actual sound came out. Then it went back to being silly and has been residing in Silly-Ville ever since.

If I had to guess I'd say the computer doesn't like something about the drivers (or vice versa). My system is an AMD 3200+ 2.2 GHz with 1 GB RAM. Pretty sure it's VIA, but not sure which version - do you know how I find that out? The only codes I've been able to find on the chip is VT8370 (I think), if that helps. I'm running XP Home SP2. The drivers I have are the ones from the MOTU website, which says they're for XP. I tried the "32bit" Vista drivers (that are supposed to work with XP as well) and they locked the computer up nicely, so I went back to the ones I got from MOTU originally.

I even considered going back to my old slow computer, since it seems that the 324 doesn't like faster computers, but I need the speed to run Nuendo 2.0 well (which I already have) and the slower computer had a latency of about 350 ms.

Thanks again for your help in this matter. I only hope there's a way of making this thing work - and stably.

Oh, and by the way, I'm in Canada - clear around the planet from you. Dontcha just love modern communications?

robstudio · Post by **robstudio** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 12:42 pm

Hello,
http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technot ... earchterm=

What kind of motherboard do you have???? Unless it's an older one, you'll likely need the UPDATED 424 card. See motu's site for more detail, or call them if your unsure.
Regards, Rob

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 1:27 pm

This is about what I expected, based on what I've read. However, the system I originally tried it in is a Pentium system and it didn't work at all. It's now in the AMD system and installed fine. What kinds of bugs show up with an "incompatible" motherboard? I mean, it installed and the Console and Cuemix run and pick up the 2408 (sometimes). On a system that isn't compatible, will it even install and run?

robstudio · Post by **robstudio** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:36 pm

What kinds of bugs show up with an "incompatible" motherboard?

The first gen 424 card I tried in my newest pc caused reboots, and wouldn't work... you need a newer card unless you're running an older machine with the specs as posted.....
Regards, Rob

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 2:40 pm

Thanks, robstudio. I'll get the specs of my motherboard and post them tonight to see if it's compatible.

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:45 pm

Ok, here's another possibly stupid question: If the cable were buggy, would that cause these problems? I just found out that the cable I got was not the original cable, but is a firewire cable. I think I'll try getting a new one to see if that makes any difference.

prash · Post by **prash** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 7:29 am

Hi Woken,
Yes ,you should try with a new fireware good cable.
Though it is true that PCI 324 is having some problems with new PCs , but it should not behave like this.
I also have AMD 3200 with 1 GB RAM and Nuendo 3 and XP Professional Service Pack 2.
The problems you are telling may be because of your PC and not because of MOTU.
You may try by formatting your C Drive and installing XP Professional SP 2. And then install freshly MOTU and PCI 324 Drivers and software.
Good Luck

Woken · Post by **Woken** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:53 am

Will Windows XP Professional x64 Edition work as well? I'll try it and see. And I'll get a new cable this afternoon and try that. At this point, these are about the only options I have. Thanks for all the help.

robstudio · Post by **robstudio** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:41 am

I'm asking myself why I posted to this thread.... oh yeah, to try to save you hours of futzing with something that isn't going to work because you're dealing with a HARDWARE INCOMPATIBILITY.... Motu didn't create the 424 card for the sake of charging you an upgrade... it's because the old card WON'T WORK with the new hardware. CALL MOTU, they'll give you an upgrade price for a card that will work with your new computer. You send them your old card and they give you a new one... that works ... a cable will not fix it, a new os will not fix it, a different os will not fix it...