Saffire Pro 40 Audio Dropout ASUS Rampage III

What is the chip set maker of your firewire card?

Alex : there are  some VIA firewire cards that are known to work, I no longer have the list ...as for the mother board ..im sure the user will figure it out !

Thanks, I've gotten as far as the last step but can't finish now. I'll get back after some sleep.  Again much thanks for the help.
(Reply to AlexS' first post, sorry)

Wookiee
What is the chip set maker of your firewire card?

As stated the OHCI test (linked to by Focusrite) gave these results.
 
Vendor : (1106) VIA Technologies
Chipset: (3403) VT6315/VT6330   Revision: 01  
 
I had assumed that was the chipset maker.  It's not a card, it's on-board. Other than that, from the Device Manager, "IEEE 1394 Bus host controllers" lists only one, "VIA 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller". At this point that is all the data I have other than the Microsoft Driver number. Sorry I wasn't adequately clear.
 
Bob
 
 

Using a shorter cable did not help. (The cable that came with the Saffire could not be used. I had only glanced at it as I had one already in place. But I had a short one on hand and used that.) In preparing to (read up on how to) flash the bios I came across the  Motherboard designation, "Rampage III Formula" in the boot app. So the next step is the flashy-flashy thing. It's supposedly "EZ", I'll let you all know.
 
Again thanks.  I don't think I could do this without the help given here. It would certainly feel hopeless. 

I spoke too soon.  Can't record for more than 30 sec. without dropout. 
 
Current:
SONAR X3 Producer (X3e build 352) - x64
ASUS Rampage III Formula Bios version 0903
 
I've put the project files on an SSD and when recording I show a disk load ranging from .08 to .12
 
I've twiddled buffers and latency till I don't know which end is up. 
Out of ideas.  Send it back and try RME?

+1 Scook.
 
Well you are handling everything in the right order...
You might also want to try renaming your AUD.INI file in Sonar (google for details) to see if it makes a difference.
 
Also please let us know what you have set in mixcontrol under Settings-> Firewire driver latency and ASIO buffer size, and tell us how you have set up buffers in Sonar.
 
Also check this (it probably won't do any hard to do a VST reset, and then a rescan).
And if you haven't run Windows update recently, it's time you did it, and check the optional updates. It may improve stability.
 
Ta.

Selected  “Show hidden files, ...”
Found the AUD.INI for SONAR 8
Uninstalled SONAR 8
Still looking for the AUD.INI associated with SONAR X3 ????
Ran the VST Plugin scan : No help.
 
On the MixControl under “Settings...”
Firewire Driver Latency : Medium
ASIO Buffer Size : 512
 
SONAR X3, Edit, Preferences, Sync and Caching
     File System
          FALSE : Enable Read Caching                 FALSE : Enable Write Caching
          Playback I/O Buffer Size (KB)  : 256       Record I/O Buffer Size (KB) 256

robert_e_bone
Some background process?  Some antivirus software interferes with Sonar - some folks change settings in antivirus to exclude Sonar paths/pieces, and some temporarily suspend antivirus when running Sonar.  Also, possible problems from Wi-Fi adapters, if present.  (If W-Fi adapter is present, try turning it off or going into Windows Device Manager and disabling it, just prior to launching Sonar, and enabling it after completing the Sonar session).
 
Bob Bone
 

Thanks, I disabled the LAN (then ran a full scan) and disabled all malware detection.  But no change. I will continue the disabling as I try other solutions in case there are multiple causes.

bobanon
 
I've put the project files on an SSD and when recording I show a disk load ranging from .08 to .12
 

I have an older SSD and is the only "flaky" part of my system for complex writes (e.g. unzipping X3's installation files on it is a guaranteed BSOD for me). SSDs excel at reading, but not writing, so I have deliberately taken mine "out of the loop" for project work and never had issues. I am not sure if this applies to your specific situation, but wanted to throw it out as an "honorable mention."
 
Another thing you may want to check quickly is the I/O cache in SONAR (Preferences->Audio->(Advance mode at the bottom checked) Sync and Caching). I have found that 512KB (for both Playback and Record I/O Buffer Size) has been the happy medium for most work I have done for my system (too excessive either end can cause pops/clicks or audio engine crashes).

LunaTech
Hello,
 
Please check out this forum link it could be of great help.

 
Also check to see if you have any of ASUS utilities running and test by disengaging them (Asus AI) comes to mind.
Finally, look for any bluetooth services or applications that may be running and also disable/uninstall.  IHTH

Thanks, had already disabled RealTec but will disable ASUS AI.

bobanon
Thanks again, uninstalling the AI suit removed most the problems shown by LatencyMon.

Glad to hear this.  I was searching the net earlier this morning and came across this exact recommendation.
Was just about to post it to this thread.
 

Excellent news... Time to make a backup! :)
 
cheers...