Ultralite- MIDI Output weird Malfunction

[moglev]

We are experiencing a very weird MIDI problem which hasn't been described anywhere yet on the Internet, and it is not latency-related or so we think. However, there is an article in your support section that describes issues somewhat related to our problem which we could qualify of "erratic or chopped MIDI playback; log jam; data overflow, MIDI clogging, etc".

Here is it. My friend and I installed the Ultralite on my old computer (P4 single CPU) a month ago and everything was working fine with MIDI recording and playback using Cubase and my Yamaha keyboard (local off). I bought a new computer last week (3.0 Mhz Dual-core 6Mb L2 cache; ASUS P5K motherboard; ASUS EAH3650 Silent Graphic card, Windows XP - SP2). We installed the Ultralite on the new PC and everything was working as expected (the configuration is the same on both computers) until we played MIDI.

Here is the problem in details. If I hit a note on my keyboard, the MIDI input and output work fine there is no latency. If I hit the same note repeatidly and very fast, it seems like the MIDI output cannot catch up and delivers the notes one by one very very slowly even a few seconds after I let go of the key. It is like a bottleneck. Also, the playback of a MIDI track is always erratic as if there were several big applications working in the background but it is obviously not the case. The MIDI-input is working perfectly fine but as soon there is a MIDI output activity, the Ultralite cannot deliver properly. We don't have to hear the notes, we can just watch the MIDI output activity meter, it speaks volume.
Everything is working fine with the VST instruments. The issue is only with the MIDI output of the audio interface. We replaced the Ultralite with a USB Audiophile M-Audio interface and there was no problem with the MIDI output! We tested and retested almost everything (reinstalled XP 3 times, updated the MOTU drivers over and over again, changed the settings in the BIOS so we only use one CPU instead of two, etc...) but the problem is likely coming from the MOTU audio interface. The strange thing about all this is that we didn't have the problem with the Ultralite on the old computer...nothing to make things easier.
We installed the Microsoft patch (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919484/en-us/) related to MIDI issues in relation with PC dual CPU, to no avail.

On top of this problem, we have another one. When we listen music from the Internet, the Ultralite sometimes goes crazy. It delivers a high pitched digital noise or crackle and all the meters on the inteface are going up and down, up and down. We let go of everything and it comes to normal after 15 seconds.
I read that other users had the same problem. Do we need to replace the card?
Can it be the video card? I know it sounds strange but it could be.
Should you be able to find the problem, you guys are heros!

[JWilliams]

I have the same problem with my ultralight, I am running Cubase Studio 4 on XP pro on a quad core with 4GB RAM. All audio works fine, as well as MIDI input and MIDI through VST instruments, but as soon as I patch anything to the MIDI output (even a MIDI clock) the whole time bar starts pausing and jumping around erratically. I have tried updating the ultralight firmware, the drivers, and cubase with no avail. does anyone know a fix for this?

[moglev]

We successfully solved our problem : we bought a Fireface 400 from RME. It is rock-solid.

Marc

[reeper]

funny i have the same config- assus p5k with dedicated TI fw card no problems at all. maybe the problem is behind the mouse

[JWilliams]

I am running off the integrated firewire of the motherboard, maybe thats the problem, but I don't seem to have any issues with audio I/O just the MIDI output. I would think if it were a chipset issue more functions wouldn't work.