PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!

OK FIRST OFF I BOUGHT THIS UNIT AND MY OLD COMP WAS TOO SLOW TO USE THE CUBASE LE AND MY SONAR! SO I PURCHASED A NEW COMP! NEW MOBO BIOSTAR T-FORCE 6100 939 CHIPSET, NEW CPU AMD ATHLON 64 3500+, 2 GB CORSAIR XMS (CAS LATENCY), AND I HAVE AN HD (MAXTOR 128Gb) WHICH IS LESS THEN 6 MONTHS OLD.

I WIRED THE COMP UP IN A NEW CUSTOM BAD ASS DIABLO-TEK DEMON CASE, WITH ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES!

I ALSO DID A FRESH INSTALL OF WINDOWS XP HOME W/SP 2

I RAN INTO THE SAME PROBLEMS DAZE DID AND JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE!

I TRIED THE MICROSOFT DOWNLOAD & REGEDIT, BUT TO NO AVAIL!

IT STILL WON'T LOAD THE DRIVERS, IT ONLY LOADS THE MULTIMIX AUDIO DRIVER!

I'M STILL MISSING MULTIMIX CHANNELS IN, MULTIMIX MAIN IN, AND ALSO MULTIMIX AUDIO OUT

I EVEN TRIED INSTALLING THE DRIVERS MYSELF, W/ADD NEW HARDWARE.

NOTHING WORKS!

PLEASE HELP, I RELLY WANTED TO TRY THIS RECORDING GEAR OUT! I'VE HAD THE MIXER 2 MONTHS AND STILL HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO USE IT CAUSE THE COMPUTER ISSUE!

PLEASE E-MAIL IS YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OR SOLUTIONS @ BRINGIT2THEPIT@VERIZON.NET

I'M SO CLOSE TO TAKING IT BACK TO THE STORE AND JUST PUTTING IT TOWARD MY NEW DRUMKIT (DAMN HEADACHE)!

ORIGINAL: randy

Hi Wayne, will try to help as much as I can. Not to sound like their tech support but just to find out where you are at.

If you haven't yet you need to go to the Alesis web site and get the latest driver update. There is a PDF that comes with the ZIP file that tells what you need to do and in what order. There is also a helpful PDF on FAQ etc. This was not the easiest install that I have done but when it was finished everything works well on my laptop as well as my desktop.

Post back when you get a chance.

randy

hi randy, thanks for answering..

yes, i did download the latest drivers and the firmware update and it still doesn't work.
this is so frustrating cause i've already spent so many hours trying to fix this...

i'll try the whole thing again, maybe i made a mistake or something.
knowing that you have fixed your problems really gives me some hope...

There is also a helpful PDF on FAQ etc.

=> which one do you mean? there is a pdf that comes with the zip file, but i can't find one on FAQ ???

Here is a link for the FAQ http://www.alesis.com/index.php?id=56,30,0,0,1,0
It is on their web site under Support, Downloads, Manuals - sorry about that.

No I did not use the the Windows update. My FireWire port is a 1394a port not a 1394b
SYMPTOMS
After you update your computer to Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), the performance of your 1394a or 1394b FireWire devices may be greatly decreased. A digital camera that uses S400 speed is an example of such a device.

CAUSE
This problem occurs if you connect a 1394a or 1394b FireWire device to a 1394b port. This problem occurs because Windows XP SP2 changes 1394b ports to S100 speed when you upgrade.

To uninstall the Multimix
1. With the MultiMix turned on and connected to your computer, go to the
Device Manager. To do so, press and hold the Windows button (the one with the
little Windows icon on it). While holding Windows, press the Pause/Break key.
Now, click the Hardware tab and then the Device Manager button.
(If your keyboard does not have a Windows key, located My Computer either on
your desktop or through the Start menu. Right-click My Computer, choose
Properties, and then click the Hardware tab. Now, click the Device Manager
button. )
2. Click the little plus sign (“+”) next to Sound, video and game controllers. The
MultiMix should be listed there. (If it’s not, leave your mixer on and reboot your
computer. It’s necessary that your mixer be listed here before you can proceed.)
It will probably have a yellow explanation point in its listing, indicating that there
is a problem with it.
3. Next, right-click on the MultiMix listing and choose Uninstall…. Accept the
warning that your are about to uninstall the device from your system by pressing
OK.
Now, the drivers have been uninstalled.

Next
a. From the “Start” menu, choose “Control Panel” and then “Add or Remove Programs.”
b. In the list of programs, find “MultiMix.” Click it and press “Remove.”
c. When prompted with “Are you sure you want to remove MultiMix from your
computer?” click Yes.
At this point I turned the computer off then re started it.

Before you install drivers again
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Please review the following information carefully. A few minutes spent now may save you an
hour or two of troubleshooting down the road.

1. Verify your Windows version
These updates require Windows XP or later. Both Windows Installer and Windows .NET 1.1 (or
later) must already be installed on your machine.
If you have not updated Windows in a while, we recommend that you go to
www.WindowsUpdate.com and install the available updates.

2. Verify that your version of Windows contains components required by the update
From the “Start” menu, choose “Control Panel” and then “Add or Remove Programs.”
Look for the following items in the list:
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 (or later)
Windows Installer 3.1 (or later)
If one or both of these items does not appear, you must go to www.WindowsUpdate.com and
download them before you can continue.

UPDATE YOUR WINDOWS DRIVERS
a. Copy the driver installation program (called 3—MultiMix_Windows_Driver_1_54_0.msi) from the zip
file to your desktop.
b. Double-click the .MSI file to run the update. Follow the prompts, and click “continue anyway”
if Windows pops up any “logo certification” warnings.
c. When the update has finished, you can delete the .MSI file.

UPDATE YOUR FIRMWARE
a. Copy the firmware update program (called 2--MultiMix_Windows_Firmware_Update_1_03.msi) from
the zip file to your desktop.
b. Double-click the firmware update program to run it. Follow the prompts to install the updater
program.
c. Once the updater has been run, check that your MultiMix is connected to your computer and
powered on.
d. Find the MultiMix Firmware Update 1.03 shortcut on your desktop. Double-click it to run the
firmware update program.
e. Once you’ve run the program, you can remove the Firmware Updater program from your
computer. To do so, choose START | CONTROL PANEL | ADD OR REMOVE PROGRAMS.
Click MultiMix Firmware Update and click REMOVE. When prompted, confirm that yes, you
do want to remove this program from your computer.

These instructions are with the PDF in the driver download zip file.
All except the part about uninstalling the drivers through the Device Manager, it is in the FAQ.
Download it from the link at the top.

Read all this again, print it out if you need to. Go through it a step at a time. The mixer works great, its just the driver install. You think they could do a little better than this.

hope that this works for you
post back

randy

If you don't have a lot of info already loaded on your computer you may want to format your hard drive and start over.

Hi Dave I have started using the Safely Remove Hardware icon before I shut the computer down. Haven't had a problem with the multimix not being seen by Sonar after I started doing this.

randy

Hi Wayne, is that the only FireWire port on the computer?
Do you have another FireWire device that you could check the port with to make sure that it works?
When you uninstall the multimix does the Device Manager show the FireWire port and that it is working, no Question mark or Red X etc. on the listing in the Device Manager?
Does the power show to be on on the MultiMix, have you checked the FireWire cable - it could be bad?

Just some things to look at, post back.

randy

Sadfish how long did it take to get the power supply, from the time you shipped it till the time it got back? Just curious.

How are things going for you Patrock and John, and any others?

randy

There are two FireWire ports on the back of the multimix, try both.

randy

I have a MultiMix16 FireWire going into the FireWire port on the back of an Audigy 2 ZS, which is a 1394a port. I am using Sonar 4 Producer edition with it. Running Win XP Pro, SP2, always updated with most current patches.

I’ve had this unit since January, and read all the posts here ~before~ I bought the unit, so the first thing I did was get the new drivers and firmware installed.

No problem getting the unit up and running with the ASIO drivers, and I’ve been using it non-stop since. Along the way I’ve had issues with the occasional dropouts in playback (interesting, it will still record without a hiccup even though the mix playback stops) and driver tweaking, but I’ve found a few things make a big difference on my system:

1) Before I start a session, I will shut the PC completely off and re-start it.
(This PC is shared, and I’ve noticed after a some FPS games have been played ~something~ changes in the system.)

2) Disable virus scanner.
The scanner hooks into the OS and slows it down, and if you are unfortunate enough to need the “On Access Scan” set (meaning those of us with teenager girls who live their lives on AIM and seem to click on every piece of crap that pops up on their screen) it will look at your files whenever they are touched. Sonar is constantly modifying audio files. (It has to.)

3) Shut down every program in the tray area,

4) <Ctrl><Alt><Del>, click on “Processes” and shut down all unneeded tasks.
For me, this is OpWare (for my scanner), iTunesHelper (I removed it from startup, but it returns every time there is an update from iTunes), McAfee updater service, and a few other programming tools I usually have running on my machine. It is good to know what is necessary, and what is fluff. Go to:
http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/ for information on all the processes you see listed on your PC.

5) Turn on the MultiMix and wait for the <DING!> from Windows telling me it has loaded the driver and is ready to go.

6) Start SONAR

So far, my system has been pretty stable. I do still occasionally get a minor dropout (on the order of a few milliseconds) on during playback, but recording (even during a dropout) is flawless, and mixdowns are flawless.

Hope this helps people just getting started with this!

Hi Dave,
Are you showing the drivers in the Device Manager and in the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel?

randy

Ps in the above I meant in case it wasnt clear. In controlpanel>add/remove program the mulitimix program is shown. I assume that means the multimix control panel utility.

ta dg.

Hi Fuzz, Thanks for the info still cant get it to work. I've got the control panel set to wdm audio already, tried turning it on and off etc, still no work. Can you let me know what drivers you have loaded in device manager, do you have more than me? Was this with the march update drivers or the earlier january ones?

Thanks dave.

Hi Digital fuzz, ta for the encouragement. The drivers I was on about are shown from device manager if you right click on the multimix device and hit properties, then hit the driver tabs, then the driver details button. Mine say it has just diceasio.dll and dice1394.sys. Ide be interested to hear if your one has any extra files?
Ta Dave

I've been using the 16 chanel Multimix on a Dell Inspiron 6000 without any issues until I installed the first set of driver/firmware updates. I reinstalled the CD drivers and all was well again. Recorded my 5 pc band off the floor into HS4 beautifully.

I did run into some issues getting it setup on my desktop - audio crackling - and was losing my mind until I read "jimarter"'s post about setting the DMA buffer sizes - and that solved that problem. Thanks jimarter!!

digitalfuzz: I did run into the problem where the menu would not display the list of inputs when highlighted. For me that was because the setting in Options --> Audio --> Advanced--> Driver Mode was set to WDM/KS when I had the mixer set to use ASIO.

I do find that I need to power off the Multimix before shutting down the PC and don't power back on until the computer has fully booted. I go into the Multimix control panel before launching Sonar HS just to make sure it is working.

Luckily I haven't had to call Alesis because this forum has answered all my questions.

What PCI card are you talking about Scott?
Have you tried using Windows Media Player instead?

randy

Ok, you do not have a firewire port on the motherboard itself. What brand of pci card is this and what chipset does it use. TI is the only chipset that I have seen reccomended by people here.
Do you have to load drivers for the card, or does the driver come with XP?

randy