UltraLite AVB gets no Computer audio, gives BSOD crashes

[ronausti]

Just checking ... is anyone experiencing this problem after recently updating their UltraLite AVB?

After updating my firmware last week, I noticed that I stopped getting an audio signal in the From Computer lines, and eventually any time I played audio -- or in the case of one audio program (TotalRecorder), just loaded that program -- I immediately got a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) crash. No specific software or category is ever mentioned in these blue screens. For days MOTU Support and I have tried everything we can think of, no solution.

I see other BSOD references here, and "USB" seems to be mentioned frequently. But if that's the source of this, I had no USB problem until now.

As noted below, I have confirmed that my BIOS is the most recent available (which is not recent at all), and I've tried a different USB port. What else we've gone through is too much to detail at this point (and would be too depressing), so I'll mostly just state that my current "kluge" (workaround) is to have another audio interface getting the computer's wave audio, routed line out from there to a UltraLite line in, which otherwise is performing "normally" (except as noted below*). I'm currently sing MOTU's most recent firmware (1.3.4+603), and last September's driver (Windows 4.0.7.3777).

* I use a audio utility program called TotalRecorder (very handy) which until now has been able to "hear" the MOTU output, so I can record phone interviews, processed audio, etc. It still hears software (audio and/or video) audio (which is a separate input setting), but no longer hears the MOTU output (aka "soundboard"), with or without my temporary workaround (at least not with configs I've tried so far).

Yes, we've tried reverting to last summer's firmware and September's driver (which was what I had been running, without problem, before last week), but that didn't fix it. The "other" interface is an antique E-Mu 1616m MicroDock (which I like for its presets and extra inputs), which has always coexisted with MOTU without problem. (The reason I switched from the E-Mu to MOTU was because the 1616 ASIO driver didn't work in Win 7 with Pro Tools, etc. Oddly, in the course of all these trials I see that the 1616 might be sending ASIO successfully to Reaper ... but I'm tabling that intriguing possibility for now).

Windows didn't like my recent restore points (sigh), but I did uninstall all Windows updates (except MS Security Essentials definitions) since last week's MOTU update, no improvement. Tried a different direct USB port, checked that BIOS is most recent available (albeit, that's 2012), etc.

Currently I'm running up-to-date Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit, latest MOTU firmware, last Sept's driver, and the E-Mu is set as default Player (both at 41.2K, 24 bit). Last I tried, if I set the default to MOTO, I'll get a crash at first audio. (Don't be the farm on that; I would not have otherwise have left things in that situation, but I grew weary of taking notes.)

My next step will be to revert to Factory Default (just uninstalling the MOTO from my system does not reset the firmware, nor does it remove a MOTU entry from my Registry), and then updating the firmware and drivers, one step at a time, in date order.

Motherboard (mobo): Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
(Still using this because of its PCI slot, used by the E-Mu MicroDock.)
Windows 7 Ultimate

Keywords: Total Recorder totalrecorder.com emu Creative Labs

[ronausti]

It's been almost two months, with no solution.

I've tried new and old drivers, new and old motherboards (two different computers), new and old firmware, new and old USB cards and multiple ports, previous restore points for Windows, ininstalled recent programs and updates, disabled Windows startups (countless variations), with and without my other audio hardware installed, installed hardwares in varying order, tried the hardware on two Windows computers at MOTU (apparently all they have), installed a beta driver, seen a shrink (well, had drinks with a psychotherapist friend), ... all with no success.

Am I the ONLY person using an UltraLite AVB with Windows 7 and an ASUS motherboard? NObody else is having this failure?

[Mos Eisleyan]

I had the same BSOD issue when connecting the card to a USB3 expansion card.
Resolved this by connecting the card to a motherboard USB2 port.

However I still have issues discussed in other threads:
- the sound is interrupted after a few (dozen) minutes, can be restored by disconnecting cable or restarting soundcard.
- Have no control over the mixer faders.

[ronausti]

Yipes. Your mobo is an even older vintage than mine. But also Asus. I'll stress, though, that I also had this incompatibility with a newer Asus mobo, both with up-to-date BIOSs. I suppose let's also note that older board was working fine with MOTU for a couple years before hitting this snag, and I hadn't done any recent BIOS updating (in fact, the most recent BIOS available is 2012).

And of course we should note that you have a different UltraLite model than mine.

Over the course of the first month, I tried several different USB ports (all off different parts of the mobo), without success. I also installed an Inateck 3.0 card approved by MOTU, with not change. I've also tried various USB cables, in case my original one had gone bad. Nope. The MOTU rep I've been working with has pretty much ruled out USB at this point.

I'll pass along your symptoms, although I assume you've already opened a ticket.


Was your system previously working well with the UltraLite?

[mesayre]

Any chance it's a bad stick of ram?

[ronausti]

Windows RAM test checked out okay. So has Windows' check of System files and C-drive chkdsk. (Also remember I got the BSOD on two computers, similar but not identical.) After reconfiguring and rebooting a zillion times over several weeks, Windows seemed to get confused and started giving me BSOD with an actual error cited, which (after checking online) could have been ANYthing (including bad memory), but I made a restore disk on the other computer, ran it and the system has been behaving just fine ever since.

Except when I install the UltraLite.

I may have to completely reinstall Windows and all my software. The ultimate testimonial of my satisfaction with the UltraLite AVB until this.

[mesayre]

Hmm, I'm at a loss. I haven't done this firmware update.

Did you end up going through the factory reset? That's all I can think of.

[ronausti]

Yes. I've reset it to the original firmware, tried various dates' drivers from the original to most recent (even a beta), updated again to current firmware, did the same, no noticeable change. Also sent the hardware to MOTU, where it worked fine for them. (Apparently they don't have but a couple personal Windows machines around and only one is Win 7.)

I've seen in an E-Mu forum that someone using the E-Mu MicroDock on Windows 10. That's startling, as it's an ancient interface with an ancient Windows 7 beta driver (before E-Mu folded). Then, they posted, suddenly Windows did something to 10 that made the MicroDock stop working. And a short time after, they posted that Microsoft had further updated Windows so that it did work. I suspect something like that happened with a Windows 7 update. Microsoft supposedly is no longer supporting Windows 7 except for security updates, but they issue "important" updates regularly, and there had been one just as this problem appeared.

However, I (supposedly) rolled back to a Restore Point before that date, without success. Which is why, at this point, I figure I'll have to reinstall Windows and see what happens. I'm not too confident, as I also got the BSOD on a similar home-brew Asus/AMD computer that has MUCH less software and had had (a second legal copy of) Windows 7 freshly installed just a few months before.

But I'm no expert.

[Mos Eisleyan]

Here is an answer I got from MOTU support regarding sound interruptions. This might be a good try as it is related to the way Windows manages USB hardware:

Please make sure your USB Root hubs are configured properly.

Open your Start menu and type in Device Manager. Once you're in the Device Manager, go to Universal Serial Bus Controllers. Find USB Root Hub and right click on it. Go to Properties > Power Management tab. UNCHECK the option for "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". Press Ok. If you have multiple USB Root Hubs in your Device Manager, make sure you repeat this process for each.

So far I did this only on the USB Root Hub where the device is attached. If the issue still occurs I will do it to all.

Good luck!

[ronausti]

Mos Eisleyan:

Thanks. For the record, I tried that, still got BSOD, as soon as I turned on the UltraLite and clicked Open Sound Settings.

[alex2035]

Hi there, I own an Ultralite AVB, make use of it in Mac (hackintosh) and Windows 8.1 at home.
Do you still got the BSOD screens, have you been able to make it work?.
I can quite understand your frustration, I have had lots of experiences with win7, Mac (I work with them at the studios as main machines) and last year with Win8.1
Have read your posts, have thought about what could be, tell me if you have yet the AVB or have busted it, perhaps we can troubleshoot a bit more, nothing to loose I guess.
Regards