Official Mackie Resource Guide Troubleshooting & Streamlining your PC for use with Digital Audio 1 ©2005 LOUD Technologies Inc. “Mackie.” and the “Running Man” are trademarks or registered trademarks of LOUD Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved. Thanks Scotty, now can you beam my clothes down? no .
Official Mackie Resource Guide Introduction See important note regarding PC laptops on page 4 In the world of computer hardware and software, most computer systems are not designed with professional audio recording in mind – and it’s nearly impossible to find a system identical to another. So in order to get the best performance possible out of your computer, it’s a good idea to properly allocate the resources on your machine for the task at hand.
Official Mackie Resource Guide 3. Disconnect any network and Internet connections by removing the cable from the network port (you may have to disable to them in your settings if you’re using a wireless network). 4. Disable any anti-virus software and software firewalls (in Windows XP this can be found in your Control Panel). 3.
Official Mackie Resource Guide IMPORTANT NOTE: One of the most critical issues regarding USB/FireWire performance is how your computer is assigning communication resources with its hardware. In some cases, the computers BIOS is unable to alter IRQ assignments - IRQs are directly responsible for hardware interfacing with software and the computer. Making matters worse, Windows XP will attempt to interpret these assignments and at times, inadvertently stack devices on a single IRQ number.
Official Mackie Resource Guide 5. Manually Reconfiguring IRQs Note: Before attempting to modify your computers BIOS – be sure to contact the manufacturer. Mackie cannot be held responsible for damage that might be caused when modifying your computers BIOS. If you are not a PC tech or very PC savvy – you should not attempt to make these modifications. This applies to desktop PCs only. With most desktop PCs, it is possible to force an IRQ number to a particular PCI slot on the motherboard.
Official Mackie Resource Guide Some audio applications have a function called “Release Driver” – use this if available. If you are moving between apps frequently, you might want to always choose Direct Sound (or None) before closing or minimizing – this will also avoid problems when starting an audio application in the event that Onyx, Spike or Link.USB is not connected to your computer.
Official Mackie Resource Guide 8. An Alternate Method for Removing a Device Driver Here is an alternate method for removing device drivers. Simply right-click on the device and choose Properties. From here choose the Driver tab and remove the driver. However, you will still need to reboot, then reinstall the driver using the Mackie/Tapco install wizard. With Onyx for example, be sure the device is present under the 61883 Device Class. Onyx should be visible here when connected and powered-up.
Official Mackie Resource Guide 9. Using Onyx or Digital X Bus with other FireWire Devices If you plan on using Onyx or Digital X Bus with other host-based FireWire devices such as a FireWire hard drive, it is very important that additional FireWire devices are connected to a second FireWire card and not connected to the FireWire card being used by Onyx or DXB. Be sure to check your Device Manager for IRQ conflicts when adding a second FireWire card.
Official Mackie Resource Guide 13. Enhanced USB There are currently two USB specifications, USB 1.1 and Enhanced USB 2.0. All USB 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with USB 1.1. Spike and Link.USB operate using the USB 1.1 spec. At this time there are no outstanding issues regarding USB 2.0 backwards compatibility and we are recommending the use of USB 2.0 cards. If given the choice, use Adaptec USB cards. 14.
Official Mackie Resource Guide 16. Using more than one Sound Card It is possible to use more than one sound card in your computer. A user may not be satisfied with a sound card that is built onto the motherboard for example, so she might install a second sound card. However, after installing a second card, resource issues related to sharing can arise. As always, be sure to check for IRQ conflicts i.e.
Official Mackie Resource Guide 21. Additional Resources Adjusting PCI Latency Settings to Fix Clicking and Popping Problems http://www.uaudio.com/webzine/2005/june/index5.html In the event that Mackie Support requests an image of your IRQ assignments: http://www.mackie.com/support/FAQ/pc_basics.html MSDN Library The MSDN Library is an essential resource for users working with Microsoft products and technologies. It contains documentation, technical articles, and reference guides. http://msdn.microsoft.
no .1 Official Mackie Resource Guide Yet another example of a laptop stacking devices on a single IRQ (11) affecting USB. By Tony G. Baird 12 ©2005 LOUD Technologies Inc. “Mackie.” and the “Running Man” are trademarks or registered trademarks of LOUD Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved.
