Drop-outs, Glitches, And General Awfulness While Recording With Win7.

[allochthon]

I have used the PodXT for years to record audio via USB into Audition and Fruity Loops on a Windows 7. After a break of a few months, I loaded up a work-inprogress into Audition and fired up my PodXT to do some overdubs. It was instant headache, with drop-outs and random added pops / glitch freak-outs. I went through every conceavable combination of latency settings and reinstalled all line 6 software with updated drivers. Next I went through every single step of the optimization in the Line 6 videos. Read through the troubleshooting for Windows and short of reformatting, which is not an option, tried everything... 

 

The problem has not changed at all.

 

This is something that occurred in the last five months, as I used the Pod in december with no problem at all. The only change I have made since then was to install an old version of Reason. I have uninstalled it and nothing changed. In all the reading about this issue, I get the jist that it's a USB / Windows issue, but how on earth would the problem just arise out of nowhere?? Something changed, so it's reversible... right?

 

Please, please, please... it's 2013.. we have the technology and know-how to solve this problem.  :(

[TheRealZap]

perhaps windows update changed some system drivers, or some old drivers got reinstalled?

 

do a google search for slimdrivers, it's pretty good at updating drivers that are easily neglected.

[allochthon]

Gave slimdriver a spin.. no dice. 

[Triryche]

+1 to Zap.

 

Also, have you tried the DPC Latency checker mentioned in this thread?

 

http://line6.com/support/topic/217-usb-audio-troubleshooting/

[allochthon]

I have tried the latency checker - when it peaks, the sound drops out. What is causing it, however, is still a mystery. It's not a Line 6 problem, and I've learned that this is a common occurrence with Win7 and there is no surefire solution, and possibly no solution. I have tried dozens of tricks and not one has made the slightest difference. Huge bummer to happen on a really powerful laptop.. 

[TheRealZap]

i had the same issue on a different computer, the only fix was an external usb card.... 

but it was worth the 15$ to stop fighting that battle

look for an NEC or TI chipset if you go that route

[allochthon]

Just to clarify, you mean an external usb sound card? Can you give me a link to the hardware that you picked up?

 

I have tried my Steinberg UR22, and M-Audio Mobilepre and they are both affected. From what I gather, it's a USB issue. 

[TheRealZap]

No i mean an Internal PCI USB card.

for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007531&IsNodeId=1&Description=usb%20card&name=Add-On%20Cards&Order=BESTMATCH

honestly can't recall the specific one i picked up, but it may not apply to you anyway because the one you need might depend on what ports are available internally on your machine.

 

Just to clarify, you mean an external usb sound card? Can you give me a link to the hardware that you picked up?

 

I have tried my Steinberg UR22, and M-Audio Mobilepre and they are both affected. From what I gather, it's a USB issue. 

[allochthon]

Yes, internal... this is a laptop with four usb ports.. kinda sounds like a nightmare, but it already is a nightmare. Going to try rolling back every driver i can - something happened, and it must be reversible. 

[TheRealZap]

sorry it being a laptop severely limits your options.

if your laptop has a PCMCIA slot, you might be able to do something like this...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839158032

 

 

Yes, internal... this is a laptop with four usb ports.. kinda sounds like a nightmare, but it already is a nightmare. Going to try rolling back every driver i can - something happened, and it must be reversible. 

[squay]

Hi- I just wanted to chime in because I was able to resolve a similar issue on my Windows 8 machine recently.  I went though all the steps to reduce DPC latency, run LatencyMonitor, use slimdrivers to update all drivers, turn off unneeded processes, etc. with little gain.

 I noticed in my application log that I had several "ESENT" alerts that corresponded with the Audio crashes.  Most were associated with Windows update , even though I had auto updates turned off.

I disabled the "Windows Update" service in my Computer Management/Services console.  I also paused the Windows Indexer under Control panel/Indexing options ( it was another ESENT error culprit ).

I stopped getting the ESENT alerts.  It seems that even with AutoUpdate off, Windows update keeps checking in & crashing, causing large pagefaults.  

I went 3 hours with no ESENT alerts or corresponding audio drop offs last night.

Only downside is you must enable service & reboot when you want to run Window updates.

Have a look at your App log for ESENT alerts-  If you see them, try this.

Hope it helps!