Hello guys.
Can anyone help me please. I have installed a new siig 2 port pcie TI firewire card to work with my focusrite saffire pro 24 dsp to try and iron out some sound issued with my onboard firewire. I cannot get any sound out of the saffire when plugged into the new card. The lights come on and it says it's connected but no sound and the mix control software says no device connected. External sources i.e. guitar show on the input gain leds but no sound. Tried disabling realtek sound drivers and onboard firewire but no joy. I have powered down and plugged back into the onboard firewire and everything works so no hardware issues with saffire or firewire cable.
Can anyone help me to determine if the new card is at fault or my pc settings.
 
Cheers

We assume that you have loaded the latest (correct) driver for the new card.  Make sure in your Sonar audio preferences that the card is selected and choose your inputs/outputs in the preference menu.  I don't know that card but in mine, I had to make some changes to the audio path in WDM matrix.  I only use the ASIO option with my firewire setup.

Thanks for the reply BretB
The answer is sort of. The card comes with the driver onboard. The Siig website says that the card has the latest driver, no download available.

The saffire is not working with anything on the new firewire card so I can't make any changes in sonar

It would be useful to know which version of Windows you are running, and whether 32 or 64 bit. Also the part number/name of the card.
 
Cards generally do not come "with the driver onboard". Siig's website says (for the couple of random cards I looked at) that they use the driver that comes as part of Windows, so assuming that's the case for yours Windows should have spotted the card has been installed. searched the Windows driver repository on your PC and loaded the (hopefully) correct driver. This may or may not have happened.
 
If you go into Windows control panel/device manager does the card show up in the list of devices? If so does it have an exclamation mark next to it? If you right click on the card and call up its properties does Windows tell you a driver is loaded and he card is working properly?
 
If the card is absent from the devices list try right-clicking on the name of your PC (at the top of the list) then "scan for hardware changes" and see if Windows now finds the card and loads a driver. You may need to have the PC on-line doe this as Windows may need to check the Microsoft website for a driver as well as the local files.
 
Be aware that getting firewire cards to work, especially with audio, can be a nightmare in Windows.
 
If the firewire card is reported as working correctly in device manager, is the saffire shown as present as well? If so, is that shown as working?

Are all three lights illuminated on the Saffire?  You need to have Power, FW and LKD (locked) lit. If LKD is not lit, then you have to either set to INTERNAL sync in MixControl or ADAT, etc. If FW is not lit, then the firewire physical connection or drivers are not communicating to the Saffire.
 
Also, what Siig card did you buy?  Model number?

Hi tlw and 2:43 AM.
here are some specs you mentioned.
Intel Core i7 2700K  Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3   32Gb Corsair Vengeance RAM   Windows 7 64bit  Sonar X2a Producer   Focusrite Saffire PRO 24 DSP   NVIDIA MSN GeForce GTX 650 Ti.
 
The card is a SIIG DP FireWire 2-Port PCie part number NN-E20012-S2. In device manager the card is present and is working. I have tried legacy driver and that just made windows media player not even try to play songs ( this has been the most convenient way to do a quick check, with ti driver WMP attempts to play tracks but no sound i.e song progress bar, no sound).
 
The saffire has all 3 lights lit.
Thanks for the replies.
 
 

Quick question for 2:43 AM
 
The issue with Hot Plugging. Do I have to power down the whole system to avoid hot plugging or can I just use the power switch on the back of the saffire and switch plugs then.
 
Cheers
SkyMonkey

SkyMonkey
The card is a SIIG DP FireWire 2-Port PCie part number NN-E20012-S2. In device manager the card is present and is working. I have tried legacy driver and that just made windows media player not even try to play songs ( this has been the most convenient way to do a quick check, with ti driver WMP attempts to play tracks but no sound i.e song progress bar, no sound).
 
The saffire has all 3 lights lit.

 
OK, this is the exact same card that I am looking to buy! It is in my vested interest to ensure this card works for you, and in turn works for me in the future (have not bought yet)!
 
Three lights lit means that the Saffire should be connected and operable. I have the Pro 24 (non-DSP), but I would assume they both operate the same.
 
Per Focusrite, the legacy Firewire drivers were not required with MixControl 3.0 and later updates. We're now on v3.2, I believe. If drivers are available from Siig's website for the NN20012 card, and Win7 doesn't auto-find and load the correct ones, I would assume the Texas Instruments 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (as displayed in the Device Manager) is the correct one.
 
Speaking of MixControl, make sure everything is still adjusted and OK in there too, i.e. main volume knob to 0dB, no mutes enabled, applicable monitors turned on (the 6 square buttons on the right--mine are all blue), monitor outputs configured correctly (DAW1, DAW2 to Monitor Outputs 1, 2, etc.). Also, make sure both the Saffire's sample rate and Windows sample rate are the same. I use 48kHz because of ADAT-sync, so I must configure Windows the same way to play audio outside of Sonar. Therefore, go to Playback Devices (right-click Windows volume icon) and go to the Advanced tab. Set the Default Format to 44.1kHz, 48kHz, or 96kHz depending on your setup. Click the test button. Hopefully you hear the chimes. Do the same for recording devices.
 
*** I don't fully understand how this works, because even high sample rates will play back (interpolated?), but I seem to have less issues if the Windows sample rate is set up to be the "native" sample rate of the Saffire. Otherwise, when opening up various audio applications outside of Sonar, e.g. Sound Forge, the Saffire will temporarily lose its connection until the time I click the record button in said application. ***
 

SkyMonkey
The issue with Hot Plugging. Do I have to power down the whole system to avoid hot plugging or can I just use the power switch on the back of the saffire and switch plugs then.

I don't know if I believe in the whole hot-plugging-causes-damage thing. I'm sure older equipment and cards were that way, but newer cards adhering to the IEEE spec should be OK. With the camcorders I've used in the past, and even the Saffire to this day, I've never had a problem. However, err on the side of caution. The switch on the back should work, but upon subsequent reconnect and power up, just ensure all three lights are ON. If so, that should mean it's connected and operating. To be doubly-sure, however, I would just restart the computer after a connection to ensure it's OK and working properly.
 
You may want to download an application called DPC Latency Checker to see if somehow, some way this new card isn't causing a crippling latency that is not allowing audio to pass through.  When running DPC Latency Checker, the bars in the graph should be small and green.  Try it when idle and when playing audio (iTunes, WMP, etc).

Hi 2:43 AM
Thanks for getting back to me.
OK. I am running mix control 3.2 but I cannot get into it as the program just says no hardware connected. So no joy in changing any settings.
I am using the Texas Instruments 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller driver but it isn't working for me. I live in England so I called focusrite direct for tech support. We went through all the basic stuff and the guy is still scratching his head. I uninstalled mix control and saffire drivers and reinstalled mix control 2.4, still nothing. Back to mix control 3.2 reinstall, still nothing. He is going to email me with the procedure for uninstalling the TI driver and reinstalling. Will let you know how I get on.
On the down side now the onboard firewire is playing up!
Hot plugging issues still apply if you just turn off the saffire at the back. I asked. You should power down the whole PC to swap any firewire connections.
I also have a tech question logged with SIIG and am still awaiting a reply. I really hope drivers can sort out the problem as it took 3 weeks for the card to arrive so a replacement will be the same probably.
I already have the DPC latency checker and all is in the green, though technically the firewire may not be slowing things down because it isn't working! 
I will keep posting until solved or FAIL.
Skymonkey