Windows 10 audio driver issue - Motu 828Mkii USB - audio cuts out forcing restart

[Carystaal]

Hi,

Late last year I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Since upgrading I have been experiencing a crippling audio issue which I think is due to driver conflict but I'm confused and don't know how to resolve it.

When the system starts up the audio is fine but invariably the audio suddenly cuts out. If I'm in Studio One I'm unable to play the track I was working on. If I'm in Sony Vegas I'm unable to play the video I was editing. Windows Media player refuses to play. I'm forced to restart Windows to get the audio back again. This can happen an infinite amount of times - not a day goes by without the audio cutting out.

I'll explain what I did.

Before upgrading I contacted Motu (audio interface manufacturer), who sent me the latest driver, which they assured me worked with Windows 10. So I went ahead and upgraded. Note - the drivers had already been installed in Windows 7 since 2017 and I didn't uninstall the original Motu drivers prior to upgrading.

Once Windows 7 upgraded to Windows 10 I noted that the audio interface was actually working. During the upgrade process I saw that Windows 10 recognised the Motu interface and had 'installed the necessary drivers'.

'Great', I thought - 'I don't have to install the one Motu sent me'. Then the audio started dropping out.

So I went into Device Manager via the Control Panel, right clicked 'Motu Main Out', Properties, Driver and noticed the driver assigned was provided by Microsoft. When I then clicked on the 'Driver' details, a box popped up stating, 'No driver files are required or have been loaded for this device'.

I thought this was a bit strange.

In the bottom right hand of the task bar I hovered over the speaker icon. It states that the main output is 'Motu Main Out'. I right clicked on the speaker icon, clicked 'Troubleshoot sound problems', clicked 'Motu Main Out', opened 'Audio Enhancements', clicked 'Properties' in the controller info box, clicked 'Driver' and it states the driver is provided by Motu! If I click driver details (which happens to be the latest version provided by Motu) it points to the correct driver in the system32 folder.

I believe that this is the cause of my audio dropout issue. I don't understand why device manager is showing a default audio driver provided by Microsoft, but when I troubleshoot sound issues it shows the correct driver.

Incidentally I tried disconnecting my audio interface, uninstalling the driver via control panel, then reconnecting the interface again. Windows detects a new piece of hardware but keeps installing the default Windows driver. If I troubleshoot using the speaker icon in the system tray it shows me the Motu driver. If I try to update the driver in device manager and point it in the direction of the system32 folder it says 'the best driver for your device is already installed' and just shows me something called 'Audio Endpoint'.

Has anyone encountered this issue when upgrading from Windows 7 to 10? If so how did you resolve it? Is all the above normal to see and have I missed something altogether?

Any advice is greatly appreciated - cheers.

[mikehalloran]

Intel? AMD? Other? ASIO or other?

There have been reports that these can make a difference on Win10 machines.

[CharlzS]

The driver you're seeing by Microsoft in the Device Manager is correct - it's the Audio Endpoint connection. It is connected to the MOTU drivers somehow behind the scenes. My guess is that you have sample rate mismatch between the Windows Sound settings, your DAW setting and/or what the 828 shows on the front panel. No sound happens here every now and then and that is always the issue. Maybe you have something running in the background that is changing the sample rate. Easiest is to not use the 828 as your system audio. This probably also has something to do with the age of the drivers. Windows 10 audio is going through some changes and I don't think it's fully baked yet. You can tell how far along they are by comparing what's in Settings --> System --> Sound to what's in the Sound Control Panel.

[Carystaal]

Thanks for the replies.

I have an Intel i7 7700k which had been supporting my 828 since 2017 without any issues.

I noticed that someone else had mentioned SR mismatches in Windows 10 so I made some changes.

My 828 starts up by default at 48 kHz but Windows had the option of both 44.1 and 48 ticked in the 'Sound Troubleshooting' dialogue box info. So I disabled 44.1.

Sony Vegas defaults to 48, as does Windows media player. However Studio One was defaulting to 44.1 so I've updated the tracks I'm working on in the options to use 48. I'll keep an eye on it and post here to see if the changes resolve the issue.

Just as a side note, are there any motu interfaces that work quite happily under Windows 10? I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and buy a new one that will be more reliable?

[Carystaal]

I'm afraid to say that trying to limit the audio interface to 48 kHz to minimise SR switching didn't work - today I've had to restart the computer about 7 times. Are there any other suggestions as to what I may be able to do to rectify this, or do I bite the bullet and get a new interface?

[CharlzS]

My 828 starts up by default at 48 kHz but Windows had the option of both 44.1 and 48 ticked in the 'Sound Troubleshooting' dialogue box info. So I disabled 44.1.

If you're talking here about the 'Supported Formats' tab and unchecking 44.1k in the Sound Control Panel, that doesn't help. That tab is pretty much obsolete and I have everything unchecked there. You should set the sample rate in the 'Advanced' tab and uncheck the exclusive access options for all the device I/O. I only have the mains and S/PDIF I/O enabled for Windows audio - everything else is disabled. That doesn't effect the I/O availability of any app using ASIO drivers. You can also try a factory reset on the 828 just to make sure nothing squirrely with the unit.

As far as other MOTU options, there are a few Windows folks running the 828es (and other Pro Audio interfaces) that come here every now and then. Maybe try to engage them in a fresh thread looking for advice.

[Carystaal]

If you're talking here about the 'Supported Formats' tab and unchecking 44.1k in the Sound Control Panel, that doesn't help. That tab is pretty much obsolete and I have everything unchecked there. You should set the sample rate in the 'Advanced' tab and uncheck the exclusive access options for all the device I/O. I only have the mains and S/PDIF I/O enabled for Windows audio - everything else is disabled. That doesn't effect the I/O availability of any app using ASIO drivers. You can also try a factory reset on the 828 just to make sure nothing squirrely with the unit.

As far as other MOTU options, there are a few Windows folks running the 828es (and other Pro Audio interfaces) that come here every now and then. Maybe try to engage them in a fresh thread looking for advice.

Thanks for the advice - I'll be sure to follow it through !

[Carystaal]

*Update*

So I didn't realise that in device manager there were two places where the 828 was showing up:

1 - Audio inputs and outputs - where the assigned driver is from Microsoft;

2 - Sound, video and game controllers - where the assigned driver is from Motu

When the audio cut out on me just know I discovered that by disabling Motu Audio in the Sound, video and game controller category, then enabling it again brought the audio back.

So the question I guess is what is happening in the background that's causing Windows to disconnect the interface, requiring the above workaround to get it back?

I'm going to start a thread on the Microsoft forum to see if I can get any answers - at least I don't have to restart the system but it's still an annoyance as whatever program I'm working in hangs when it happens .

[Carystaal]

I now know the issue I've been facing is to do with the Motu driver and not my machine.

My son has a brand new Windows 10 machine running a Presonus Audiobox 96. Today I installed his interface on my machine and installed my 828mkii USB on his machine. No dropouts from the Audiobox on mine after 3hrs of use, whilst on his the Motu cut out after running for about an hour. This means I can now safely go ahead and purchase a new interface and lay my 828 to rest.

It's a real shame as I really enjoyed using it for over 10 years but it's clear that there's no longer any support for it as the last driver issued is dated 2016.

Thanks for all the advice given on this post .