Win 7x64 + ultralite mk3 + ableton - stutters, pops, squeals

[gavin kicks ass]

first time posting on the board. thanks for your interest!

purchased my ultralite mk3 in january 2013. upgraded from an m-audio fasttrack pro. instantly had problems when using my laptop.

here are the machine specs paired with the ultralite via USB:

dell xps m1210
core 2 duo 1.83ghz
4g ddr2 667mhz
intel 320 series ssd (80gb) system
wd caviar black (500gb) storage
win 7 64 bit
ableton live 8.3.4


posted a video of the anomaly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV1YOVnW ... e=youtu.be


other weird things:

- phantom signals on other outputs and inputs, little spikes here and there
- cuemix fx registers signals that don't show up on the lcd
- cuemix fx seems to lag
- noticed the same kind of distortion/noise appearing in foobar player (until i plugged the motu into a different USB port?! problem persists in ableton)

completely unworkable.
here's what i've tried:

- made sure it was not bus powered, using the power adapter along with the USB (obvious)
- forced an update within windows to the latest intel usb drivers (2.0 of course)
- tried using all 4 of the usb ports
- latest motu drivers and cuemix fx software, latest firmware on the ultralite as well
- disabled/enabled all possible channels and combinations within ableton and windows playback devices to reduce load (who knows)
- turned on/off intel speedstep technology in bios (heard grumblings about this)
- uninstalled every other piece of audio software and all audio device drivers
- ableton sample rate, motu audio console sample rate and windows playback device sample rate set to the same 44.1
- checked the pc minimum requirements for the ultralite mk3, and even this dated laptop blows them out of the water

can't even get ableton to play an mp3 straight-up (unwarped) without this issue, let alone my ideal setup of multiple stereo pairs out to my mixer with a slew of effects running. had some sound distortions and system noise when using my old m-audio (usually solved by ingenious usb hub routing, arranging my powerbars, etc.), which is one reason i dropped a bunch of cash on the ultralite!


for a reference, my desktop is an i7-3770k @ 3.9ghz, 32gb ddr3 1000mhz, intel 520 series ssd (120gb). no issues at all, works like a charm.


any feedback is welcome, and i will gladly answer any questions! going to direct motu tech support to this thread as well.


thank you!

[torrentg]

Recommend to install any cheap firewire card (Motu recommends the Texas Instruments chipset but I use any and all, they're all fine). You'd need a firewire 400 cable too. Then install the Legacy driver already on the system, for the new card. Forget USB with the MOTU.

If you don't want to forget USB, I recommend to ensure you are using a 2.0 port. Do not use 3.0. If you only have 3.0, uninstall the USB 3.0 driver until MOTU and/or chipset maker fixes stuff.

Always good to have latest motherboard bios and USB 3.0 firmware installed. Same goes for latest firmware for your MOTU unit.

Best of luck.

One other thing: If you still can't seem to get things to play well, then completely uninstall (do not just disable) your antivirus, to test the situation out without it.

And yet still, learning about DPC Latency checker and how to use it, can be your friend. (It's not hard.) --- http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

[gavin kicks ass]

hi torrentg, thanks for the reply

tried with my laptop since your post:

- installed the 7483 drivers, repaired the driver installation and reset the device to factory, as instructed by tech support
- bought a 6/4 firewire cable and tried the device for the first time via firewire, no joy (but the new drivers + factory defaults DID allow windows to recognize the device when it hadn't previously, its still just operating abnormally)

i've been using the device via usb on my desktop since i purchased it. usb2 or usb3 ports, i've had no problems at all. its my laptop that's the issue, usb and firewire, so i have not been able to use the ultralite in a live setting.

tried the latency checker, did notice the occasional spike, and took the opportunity to pretty much disable everything unessential, right down to the specific usb port being used by the motu. no spikes, but the device is still not operating properly.

cuemix chuggs, and while in the interface all the channels light up like an xmas tree, including the ones not in use.

i keep my machines at a minimum, so no antivirus on the laptop, strictly a performance machine (who wants a damn popup or system scan during a set!?).


gah!

[gavin kicks ass]

...and i installed Legacy drivers for the Ricoh firewire port. back to windows not detecting the device, let alone operating properly.

This business about Texas Instruments ports being essential is disconcerting. Not in the official system requirements. Does not work via USB or Firewire on this laptop, but works fine via usb 2 or 3 on my desktop (?).

[torrentg]

I literally just woke up, so if I seem like an imbecile at the moment, at least you know why. (Maybe I didn't read well or something lol...)

Anyway...

I don't want to get hopes up, so please keep them low. That being said, I'll probably fix it for you.

Off the top of my head - have you ever had any M-Audio or other similar gear connected to the laptop, with drivers installed?

What you can do on your end for now is to type this in the Start menu then press enter: msinfo32

On the screen that opens, click File | Save. Zip the saved file and upload it to any host. Give me a link when done.