brianzebra

Problem solved . . . I just had a problem with Helix not appearing on my computer as an audio device I can choose, and after a ridiculous number of hours researching it and trying different things, I finally got my computer to recognize Helix as an audio device. I may have different hardware/software, but hopefully the concept of how I resolved the problem could help others. (I am using the Helix floor model with Windows 7.) Note that although my Helix wasn't working as an audio device (that is, I couldn't use it as an audio interface to record with, and I couldn't stream audio from the computer to the Helix), I was able to use HX Edit with my Helix - the computer did recognize the Helix as being connected through the USB cable. Helix had worked as an audio device prior to the Helix firmware 3.60 and 3.70 firmware updates. One of those updates must have stopped the Helix from being recognized as an audio device, due to a newer driver automatically being installed as part of the process of installing the new firmware and corresponding new version of HX Edit. Therefore, I decided to try installing an earlier version of the driver, which hopefully would be the driver that was working prior to the Helix firmware updates being installed. I had previously downloaded and saved driver 1.96 (released 3/16/21) (“Line 6 Helix Driver2") (you can also download it or any other older applicable driver you need for your own system from the Line 6 web site), and I thought that must be the driver being used when Helix previously was working OK as an audio device. Therefore I installed it by clicking on it to start the installation process, and the installation process successfully completed. However, that didn't help. But when I looked in Window's "Device Manager" at the driver, it wasn't version 1.96 that was installed; instead, v.1.97.0.2 had been installed. What I then figured out is that the Windows installation process apparently searched the web for the latest driver and instead installed v.1.97.0.2 instead of v.1.96 which I had "told" Windows to install. (In Device Manager, under “Sound, video and game controllers”, the driver for “Line 6 Helix” is listed, and you can click on that to expand/see the information about that driver, that is where it shows the version.) Also, I should point out that it was weird that Windows was able to find a version 1.97.0.2 available on the web somewhere, because when I look on the downloads page on the Line 6 web site for drivers available for Helix on a Windows 7 system, there is no v.1.97.0.2 listed. Also, when I looked at the v.1.97.0.2 driver in Device Manager, there was a message saying "Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source." That message is ambiguous - it is not clear whether that means the driver was installed, but Windows just can't verify the authenticity of the driver, or whether that means the driver was not successfully installed. The way I was able to resolve the problem - how I was able to actually install v.1.96 - was by going to where the driver was listed in Device Manager and doing the following. I chose “Update Driver”, and then “Browse my computer for driver software”, and then I chose “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer”. It listed several drivers of different versions from different dates (I assume each of those listed I once had as the operative driver on my computer), and I chose to install version 1.96.0.0, dated 3/1/21. That successfully allowed me to have v.1.96 installed as the operative driver on my computer. And, more importantly, after I did that, the Helix then finally appeared as an audio device as a “Digital Audio Interface” named “Line 6 Helix”. (I didn’t have to reboot the computer; and the Helix was attached by USB cable during the installation of v.1.96.0.0.) Also, in Device Manager, the warning about the driver not being verified was gone, and it now said the driver is working properly. So, bottom line, a current driver installed, even if the newest one, may not be working properly, so try an earlier driver. And don't rely on the normal default installation process, because the version of the driver you think you are installing may not actually be the version you want installed; you may have to rely upon a different installation process to ensure the version you want installed actually gets installed.

The Helix 3.60 update release notes (attached for reference) state: "IMPORTANT! The 3.60 update process may take 30 MINUTES OR MORE TO COMPLETE. This is totally normal, as it includes thousands of additional IR files." I'm confused by the part of that statement referencing "thousands of additional IR files". After installing v.3.60, and using HX Edit to view what IRs are loaded, there are no IRs loaded after the installation of v.3.60 (and only 128, and not "thousands", could be installed at one time). And I'm not aware of any folder created by the v.3.60 upgrade installation that contains IR files, from which I can choose which ones to load. Does anyone know if the reference to "thousands of additional IR files" was incorrect? If not, exactly what did Line 6 mean by that? Am I missing something - are there factory-supplied IR files somewhere? And if so, where? Thanks. Helix Firmware 3.60-instructions.pdf

This is a follow-up to my 3/28/15 post. Line 6 was nice enough to accept my JTV-69 guitar, VDI cables, and POD HD500X back for warranty service, to troubleshoot exactly why I having trouble with the sound transmission from the guitar through the cables to the POD. It turns out one of the VDI inputs on either the guitar or the POD had a soldering problem on it, and some more soldering fixed the problem. So, it turns out the Line 6 25-foot VDI cables I was using were OK. Line 6 never told me whether it was the guitar or the POD which had the solderig problem on the VDI input - it could have been either one.

This discussion thread was one of the only places I could find that raised the issue of whether the length of the cable would cause a deterioration of the signal. Therefore, I'd love your feedback regarding my own experience. I have a POD HD500X and the Variax JTV-69 guitar. The shorter cable which came with the guitar works fine. I then bought the Line 6 25' cable, and haven't used one yet which has worked properly (I have tried 3 of the more recent, flexible Line 6 25' VDI cables [Variax digital interface cables] sold by Sweetwater). Two of them resulted in intermittent sound/signal, and a lot of crackling. The 3rd one had an interesting difference - it allowed more sound/signal to pass through most of the time, but I noticed a delay; I'd pick a string, and there would be perhaps a 1 second delay before the sound was produced . . . but once I started picking/strumming, the sound was flowing OK (unless I just didn't notice the delay continuing to occur). I tried a regular 6' CAT 5 network cable, and that worked fine. I then bought a Belkin 25' CAT 6 network cable (if anything, CAT 6 should work better than CAT 5, as far as I know), but that didn't work - that caused the intermittent sound again. I'm of the opinion that the length is the critical factor, based on my own experience. However, I nevertheless see posts like yours which reflect people using a 25' cable length, apparently without any problem. Any thoughts as to why the Line 6 25' cable hasn't been working for me? [One other thing, to confuse matters . . . I noticed each of the Line 6 25' cables I tested worked OK when connecting my Variax guitar to my older Line 6 PODxt Live. I can't figure out why the cables would have worked with the PODxt Live, and not the POD HD500X.]