I've read a lot about audio stuttering on here...hopefully you guys can help on this one...
First, the setup: the MOTU 2408mk3 is the master clock...Tascam DM4800 digital console slaves to it via word clock, audio into console via MOTU's firewire from the MOTU PCI card, running Nuendo 3.2.1154. Checked all settings in console, MOTU, and DAW and see nothing obvious wrong.
When a video file is in the DAW window, audio stutters bad coming out of the MOTU. Delete the video file and audio returns to normal. Undo delete and put video back in window and back to stuttering. Ran a latency test and shows bad pipeline. Went thru Windows XP device mgr and individually disabled everything possible looking for a bad driver..no luck...messed with every setting of buffers/latency, etc. on Nuendo and MOTU..no luck...digital console seems set up correctly with correct sample rates, etc...same frame rates in DAW...does it on every video project...running XP with Dual Core processor and 6 gigs of RAM! Disabled several background programs possible in XP and even tried some of the XP performance tweaks found on the web. CPU never really gets above 55% on performance meter.
Even had troubles with stuttering when trying to preview CD cuts with Nuendos Import from Audio CD function..dont knowe if that helps.
Running 24 chanels into DM4800 via TDIF. In the PCI Audio console, if I disable every onne of the inputs and outputs except for Bank A, Channels 1-2. The stuttering and gurgling goes away. As I slowly add in the Bank A, then Bank B and Bank C i/o the stuttering comes back worse and worse.
Can't find anything specifically like this on the forum...Running out of ideas...
Thanks!
Another 2408mk3 Stuttering? Tried Everything I Know
Moderator: James Steele
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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. with Windows
Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. with Windows
no 64bit XP...and checked the IRQ...no conflicts with video card...also disabled any USB controller on same IRQ just to see...didn't fix the problem...in the past, I ws originally using the digital console with it's firewire capabilities into a firewrire pci card...and console would never lock...tried a zillion things...including irq resets, different 1394 cards/chipsets and everything...I'm wondering if this isn't something that has to do with my motherboard and the fact that these 1394 pci cards (motu card included) just aren't happy in this machine.
Didn't realize that...had only been running with 4GB..threw in the extra two as one of my troubleshooting attempts.
I recognized your name from a post you had with your 828...you mentioned the hard drive and nonACPI re-install. I am running two fairly new Seagate hard drives 7800 rpm (one for XP, and all productions on the other) so I figured they were fast enough.
Going from your experience of fighting this issue...Which do you think I might try first...the re-install of XP or a new drive. I've never installed XP using the non-ACPI. Which do you think had the biggest impact on your solution.
Thanks!
I recognized your name from a post you had with your 828...you mentioned the hard drive and nonACPI re-install. I am running two fairly new Seagate hard drives 7800 rpm (one for XP, and all productions on the other) so I figured they were fast enough.
Going from your experience of fighting this issue...Which do you think I might try first...the re-install of XP or a new drive. I've never installed XP using the non-ACPI. Which do you think had the biggest impact on your solution.
Thanks!
I would say that they were of equal importance to my solution. I had IRQ conflicts and a hard drive problem...
A quick way to determine if you have a hard drive problem is to go to Device Manager -> IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and examine your Primary and Secondary IDE controllers. Look at the Advanced Settings and check that none of your Hard Drives are in "PIO Mode". IF any of them are, then that's one issue that needs to be corrected. Might be worth performing Windows ChkDsk on your drives as well. Your drives are certainly up to the spec. needed, though.
I personally would advise performing a non-ACPI install as a matter of course. It almost shares the analogy of having 15 cars going down 15 separate streets, or having 15 cars going down 1 street and having a policeman controlling the traffic flow. ACPI and Windows' IRQ Steering is the latter. I believe it is better cut out the middleman - hence non-ACPI.
It's pretty painless to perform - I think my other posts have links to instructions, but in a nutshell, when booting from the XP CD, when it asks for "F6 for other drivers", just press F5. After a few seconds you will be prompted to choose your PC type - it only shows one at a time! You want the "MPS Multiprocessor PC" as you have more than one CPU core. The rest is standard installation.
A quick way to determine if you have a hard drive problem is to go to Device Manager -> IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and examine your Primary and Secondary IDE controllers. Look at the Advanced Settings and check that none of your Hard Drives are in "PIO Mode". IF any of them are, then that's one issue that needs to be corrected. Might be worth performing Windows ChkDsk on your drives as well. Your drives are certainly up to the spec. needed, though.
I personally would advise performing a non-ACPI install as a matter of course. It almost shares the analogy of having 15 cars going down 15 separate streets, or having 15 cars going down 1 street and having a policeman controlling the traffic flow. ACPI and Windows' IRQ Steering is the latter. I believe it is better cut out the middleman - hence non-ACPI.
It's pretty painless to perform - I think my other posts have links to instructions, but in a nutshell, when booting from the XP CD, when it asks for "F6 for other drivers", just press F5. After a few seconds you will be prompted to choose your PC type - it only shows one at a time! You want the "MPS Multiprocessor PC" as you have more than one CPU core. The rest is standard installation.
One thing - diagnosis is everything!
I can't recommend highly enough having SysInternals Process Explorer running whilst everything is working OK, then when everything goes tits-up. If you are having problems related to hardware and configuration then when it all goes bad, your "Hardware Interrupts" and Deferred Procedure Calls will start spiking.
I can't recommend highly enough having SysInternals Process Explorer running whilst everything is working OK, then when everything goes tits-up. If you are having problems related to hardware and configuration then when it all goes bad, your "Hardware Interrupts" and Deferred Procedure Calls will start spiking.
OK...it think I'm getting somewhere...installed Process Explorer and am seeing some hardware interrupts popping up every five seconds or so (.78)...also...under device mgr...three primary IDE channels all are DMA...and out of the three secondary IDE channels...the first two are IDE and the third is PIO.
Does that sound like I'm heading in the right direction?
Does that sound like I'm heading in the right direction?
It kind of depends which Drive is connected to the controller that is running on PIO. For a (very) old HDD, or an old CD/DVD ROM then it could be a valid representation of the Drive. I think that this is unlikely, though. Drives have been UDMA Level 2 and above for a while, now.
If it is one of your drives that would definitely be accessed by your DAW when the problem is occurring (if it is the Windows disk, or your DAW disk (VSTs, VSTis) then you are heading in the right direction.
Try to determine which of your disk drives is running on this controller, then, if it is one of your HDDs, perform a ChkDsk to see what is happening with it (right-click it in Explorer and go to Tools - then schedule a Disk Scan the next time your computer restarts)
If it is one of your drives that would definitely be accessed by your DAW when the problem is occurring (if it is the Windows disk, or your DAW disk (VSTs, VSTis) then you are heading in the right direction.
Try to determine which of your disk drives is running on this controller, then, if it is one of your HDDs, perform a ChkDsk to see what is happening with it (right-click it in Explorer and go to Tools - then schedule a Disk Scan the next time your computer restarts)