New MOTU firmware driver (2008 Mar) and my 828MKII

seemebreakthis · Post by **seemebreakthis** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:48 am

I have been using my 828MKII happily with the previous Vista driver for over a year. No problem, no crackling noise, no bluescreen.

Nightmare started after I installed the new firewire driver released in March.

The analog outputs were 'merged' into one in my audio settings. When I use the option in MOTU console to get the separate analog outputs back (the option that reads 'less efficient'), games on my machine started stuttering.

Strange crackling noise started creeping out from one of my speakers (or both, dont' really know) every once in a while.

Bluescreen!!!

I finally figured out a way to remove the new drivers and restore the old one. Life is peaceful once again.

Good thing I saved a local copy of the old MOTU firewire driver. I don't think it is availalble anymore on their website.

I will not try to install the new driver again. It doesn't work on my machine with my 828MKII.

pkircher · Post by **pkircher** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 12:21 pm

Is there anyway you can e-mail me a copy of that old driver. I can't get mine working at all with the new one.

paul@kircherent.com

z_ecoustics · Post by **z_ecoustics** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:15 am

I have the exact same problem. You are talking about the latest USB/Firewire drivers (not firmware). They merged into one output and now I can't use the 828 with iTunes or winamp. The ASIO driver still splits the outputs/inputs up properly but for DirectSound applications it's broken. Games use DirectSound. I called MOTU and they said the drivers must have failed to install correctly. Clearly they are oblivious and possibly idiots. They clearly broke the DirectSound driver in Vista and they probably don't care.

arth · Post by **arth** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:41 pm

One thing I've learned about MOTU is to never install new firmware unless you know it will fix a problem. New firmware doesn't tend to be more reliable than older -- for MOTU firmware, the opposite appears to often be the case. (For my Ultralite, for example, version 1.00 is the stablest firmware I can use.)

I wish MOTU would (A) make proper release notes for their firmware updates -- their update documentation is a joke, and (B) keep the older firmware available for download for all those who run into problems with newer versions.
Other hardware manufacturers manage to do both.

seemebreakthis · Post by **seemebreakthis** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:49 pm

Yes, I meant to say firewire driver, not firmware driver... fingers were working faster than my brain...

For those who want the previous driver, see my other post: http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27622

Good luck.

seemebreakthis · Post by **seemebreakthis** » Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:56 pm

One more thing - Vists seems to try remembering previously installed driver and that interfered with my attempt to restore the old driver back to the system.

I now have a way to totally remove the new MOTU firewire driver, so if you need more info just ask.

paudoauldstock · Post by **paudoauldstock** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:11 am

Same problem here with my 828 and Vista and the 3.6.8.1 drivers. No sample rates listed in the supported formats tab of the device properties for the MOTU Analog. SPDIF has 44.1 and 48 kHz listed as expected.

I've been arguing with tech support for over a month but I'm not getting anywhere. Matt claims the they can't reproduce it! Glad I found this thread, was beginning to suspect my trusty 828

Has anyone experienced this with an Ultralite or Traveler or 828 MkIII even?

z_ecoustics · Post by **z_ecoustics** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:49 pm

I've tried the drivers in the thread mentioned above and I still don't get individual outs. Can someone confirm a 64bit vista driver that has the individual outputs?

thanks

paudoauldstock · Post by **paudoauldstock** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:53 am

I haven't been able to get ANY driver working with Vista x64. Apparently, the Jan 07 driver works only if you have <4GB RAM. The newer driver fixed that problem but seems to have broken DirectSound

Let's hope we dont have to wait another year for yet another broken 64-bit driver.

BTW, DirectSound is broken with the March 08 drivers on Vista 32-bit AND 64-bit.

z_ecoustics · Post by **z_ecoustics** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:09 pm

My guess is that Service Pack 1 changed some things and MOTU tech team isn't good enough to keep up or be aware of it.

seemebreakthis · Post by **seemebreakthis** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:51 pm

Note: The driver I posted is for 32-bit vista only, not 64-bit.

rpw198 · Post by **rpw198** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:11 pm

I have had problems with my 828ii usb. The new release has been a god-send in terms of blue-screens and crackles for me, but my inputs no longer work with ASIO.

Anyway, I read somewhere: -

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic92927.html

that there is a problem with the driver installer on the March 08 release. Aparently it can revert back to older versions of the driver with no real reason.

Sure enough I checked mine after the install, and I had a mix of the versions for the various driver components (some march 08 and some Jan 07). It is easily fixed by checking the driver version in Control Panel (>Device Manager>Sound Cards>MOTUxxxxx>Properties>Driver and then the update driver. Search you computer and it will find the latest one there. Select it so it is consistent(i.e. March 2008) for all of the components (Wave, GSIF, ASIO etc) and things may improve.

p.s. I run on Vista 64

z_ecoustics · Post by **z_ecoustics** » Mon May 12, 2008 3:00 pm

Any news on this sorry situation?

Would have thought a solution would have surfaced by now either user created or from MOTU tech "support".

seemebreakthis · Post by **seemebreakthis** » Wed May 14, 2008 6:28 am

My ASIO drivers no longer worked properly after falling back to the old drivers. But here is a link with info that fixed my problem.

http://www.cubase.net/phpbb2/viewtopic. ... 554a43bb6b

Again, you have been warned, if you haven't tried out the new drivers yet, don't even bother.

eyeknow · Post by **eyeknow** » Mon May 19, 2008 4:03 pm

a. Allow me to confirm "seemebreakthis" post. In every possible way. You must find a way to roll back to 3.6.7.4 as the 8.1 drivers are trash. Not only do they not work very well (on any motu unit, and that includes the mk3 828 from my experience) but those drivers increase latency by quite a bit!

b. Motu will not help you. They have slammed the door shut on any drivers prior to 3.6.8.1 They have made it clear to me during the tech link conversations.

c. try this if you need the drivers

http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtop ... highlight=