Vista - need I say more?

sphelan · #1 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 07:59 PM

Can anyone tell me why turning on my PC is like a lottery sometimes?

I turn it on and open a plugin or my DAW and I have no sound. Or I could open iTunes and nothing. I have to restart the PC and the second time it usually works. Why is this, does anyone know?

Is this connected to the fact that I can't run both Sonar and Reason or YouTube or any other sound program at the same time?

JAYDMF · #2 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphelan

Can anyone tell me why turning on my PC is like a lottery sometimes?

I turn it on and open a plugin or my DAW and I have no sound. Or I could open iTunes and nothing. I have to restart the PC and the second time it usually works. Why is this, does anyone know?

Is this connected to the fact that I can't run both Sonar and Reason or YouTube or any other sound program at the same time?

Vista has some weird new audio driver setup that unlike XP (which will switch according to which program is active) doesnt dynamically switch and assigns itself to one program and one program only. I think there is a fix for this but as i dont use it myself im not 100% sure if that is for all versions. Atlhough i have been told that things work on ultimate much better. SP1 can also be problematic for this.

Stagesound · #3 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 09:11 PM

sphelan - what is your system spec. Don't want to insult your intelligence, but I have to ask - have you done a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan? Even if you have, I'd suggest using an online scanner from a second source, because I've seen many systems which have been declared "clean" by one scanner, only to find that another found and cleared infections.

sphelan · #4 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stagesound

sphelan - what is your system spec. Don't want to insult your intelligence, but I have to ask - have you done a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan? Even if you have, I'd suggest using an online scanner from a second source, because I've seen many systems which have been declared "clean" by one scanner, only to find that another found and cleared infections.

It's a HP PC with Intel Core2 Quad Q6600, 2,40GHz, 4GB RAM, Vista Home with SP1 recently installed.

I use Grisoft AVG Free 8.0 antivirus which I believe is good and tells me my system is clean.

BTW - where are you in NI - I'm originally from Limerick!

sphelan · #5 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAYDMF

Vista has some weird new audio driver setup that unlike XP (which will switch according to which program is active) doesnt dynamically switch and assigns itself to one program and one program only. I think there is a fix for this but as i dont use it myself im not 100% sure if that is for all versions. Atlhough i have been told that things work on ultimate much better. SP1 can also be problematic for this.

I'll check some Vista forums and see what I can find...'cos it annoying to say the least!

sphelan · #6 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 09:47 PM

I also have a problem with Native Instruments Akoustic Piano and don't know if it's related to this...I open Akoustic and play and I hear a couple of notes. Then the sound disappears to return a few seconds later. Could this be a Vista problem...or NI?

RedDavid · #7 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 10:35 PM

What's your audio interface, and what driver mode are you using? ASIO or just WDM?

I'm not sure if it's related at all, but a bug I've noticed with Vista and Server 2008 causes apps that use sound not to register as using sound. This means that when you click the little speaker icon in the system tray that brings up the audio mixer, the newly loaded app doesn't appear in it, and no sound comes out of it. Restart the app and it usually works, though.

Systme-wide loss of audio happens to me as well, and it seems to be caused by Vista randomly mis-routing audio output. Off the top of my head, if you right-click the speaker icon, one of the menu options takes you to the Output Device menu. You might see SPDIF enabled and speakers disabled, as I sometimes do.

And, yeah - as my man Jay says, it's all down to the new way in which Vista 'empowers' the user by completely changing the audio subsystem. To be fair, it's not all bad - it makes it possible to individually set app's volume levels and do all sorts of fun things with outputs - but it cancause no end of bother.

sphelan · #8 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedDavid

What's your audio interface, and what driver mode are you using? ASIO or just WDM?

I'm not sure if it's related at all, but a bug I've noticed with Vista and Server 2008 causes apps that use sound not to register as using sound. This means that when you click the little speaker icon in the system tray that brings up the audio mixer, the newly loaded app doesn't appear in it, and no sound comes out of it. Restart the app and it usually works, though.

Systme-wide loss of audio happens to me as well, and it seems to be caused by Vista randomly mis-routing audio output. Off the top of my head, if you right-click the speaker icon, one of the menu options takes you to the Output Device menu. You might see SPDIF enabled and speakers disabled, as I sometimes do.

And, yeah - as my man Jay says, it's all down to the new way in which Vista 'empowers' the user by completely changing the audio subsystem. To be fair, it's not all bad - it makes it possible to individually set app's volume levels and do all sorts of fun things with outputs - but it cancause no end of bother.

Focusrite saffire and I'm using its ASIO driver.

Stagesound · #9 (**permalink**) 3rd September 2008 , 11:14 PM

sphelan - I'm smack in the middle of Co.Antrim - a long walk from Limerick!

AVG is usually very good, though I've seen it miss a few things. If your machine is fairly new - which I'm guessing from the spec it is - and you've been reasonably careful of your surfing, the spyware notion is a bit of a long shot, but still worth following up. I've seen machines which performed like snails, apparently "clean", and then after clearing with a second AV/AS app, they run like clockwork.

sphelan · #10 (**permalink**) 4th September 2008 , 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stagesound

sphelan - I'm smack in the middle of Co.Antrim - a long walk from Limerick!

AVG is usually very good, though I've seen it miss a few things. If your machine is fairly new - which I'm guessing from the spec it is - and you've been reasonably careful of your surfing, the spyware notion is a bit of a long shot, but still worth following up. I've seen machines which performed like snails, apparently "clean", and then after clearing with a second AV/AS app, they run like clockwork.

Ah, shur 'tis only a stones throw away for a strapping lad like yourself!!

Would your recommend another free AV or am I better off paying for something. Norton Internet Security (trial) has come on the PC but I've never installed it. Do you think I should, or would I be causing more problems down the line?

BTW - I switched on a few minutes ago, and guess what...no sound!! This is so frustrating!

Khazul · #11 (**permalink**) 4th September 2008 , 08:32 AM

I have not had such problems with the vista machines we use here, however I would suggest that you contact support for the audio interface you use. My experience with vista doing odd things like loosing user settings have usually been traced to a driver or device issue.

My guess is there is obviously a vista bug related to this in there somewhere (an imperfect drivers shouldnt prevent vista from saving user settings), however it only seem to impact devices with imperfect drivers - which in our pro-audio world unfortunately seems to be quite regular.

sphelan · #12 (**permalink**) 4th September 2008 , 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khazul

I have not had such problems with the vista machines we use here, however I would suggest that you contact support for the audio interface you use. My experience with vista doing odd things like loosing user settings have usually been traced to a driver or device issue.

My guess is there is obviously a vista bug related to this in there somewhere (an imperfect drivers shouldnt prevent vista from saving user settings), however it only seem to impact devices with imperfect drivers - which in our pro-audio world unfortunately seems to be quite regular.

I'll run Focusrite Saffire driver update in a bit and see if it makes a difference.

BoogieBear · #13 (**permalink**) 4th September 2008 , 10:29 AM

I think it very unlikely to be a virus issue here, it sounds much more like a driver problem between Saffire and Vista

Try the new drivers and try un-installing the interface and re-installing it with the new drivers rather than just updating the driver

Vista may 'see' the device differently this way!

Cheers
Anton

sphelan · #14 (**permalink**) 4th September 2008 , 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoogieBear

I think it very unlikely to be a virus issue here, it sounds much more like a driver problem between Saffire and Vista

Try the new drivers and try un-installing the interface and re-installing it with the new drivers rather than just updating the driver

Vista may 'see' the device differently this way!

Cheers
Anton

Will try that. I am still virus and spyware scanning at the moment!
Maybe I should uninstall DAW etc.
Is it enough to just uninstall or should I also do something to clean up the registry? And how do I do that? This could turn out to be a nightmare!

sphelan · #15 (**permalink**) 4th September 2008 , 12:40 PM

Well my virus scan has only shown up some cookies which I have deleted.

And I've updated the Saffire driver...and now all I get when I try to open any file in Sonar is Audio Dropout!!!

It looks like I will have to start uninstalling and reinstalling programs...time that could be better spent doing more constructive things!!!

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#1 (permalink) 3rd September 2008 , 07:59 PM
sphelan Costa Del Cool Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spain Posts: 3,120	Vista - need I say more? Can anyone tell me why turning on my PC is like a lottery sometimes? I turn it on and open a plugin or my DAW and I have no sound. Or I could open iTunes and nothing. I have to restart the PC and the second time it usually works. Why is this, does anyone know? Is this connected to the fact that I can't run both Sonar and Reason or YouTube or any other sound program at the same time?
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#3 (permalink) 3rd September 2008 , 09:11 PM
Stagesound Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 181	sphelan - what is your system spec. Don't want to insult your intelligence, but I have to ask - have you done a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan? Even if you have, I'd suggest using an online scanner from a second source, because I've seen many systems which have been declared "clean" by one scanner, only to find that another found and cleared infections.
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#6 (permalink) 3rd September 2008 , 09:47 PM
sphelan Costa Del Cool Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spain Posts: 3,120	I also have a problem with Native Instruments Akoustic Piano and don't know if it's related to this...I open Akoustic and play and I hear a couple of notes. Then the sound disappears to return a few seconds later. Could this be a Vista problem...or NI?
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#7 (permalink) 3rd September 2008 , 10:35 PM
RedDavid Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 110	What's your audio interface, and what driver mode are you using? ASIO or just WDM? I'm not sure if it's related at all, but a bug I've noticed with Vista and Server 2008 causes apps that use sound not to register as using sound. This means that when you click the little speaker icon in the system tray that brings up the audio mixer, the newly loaded app doesn't appear in it, and no sound comes out of it. Restart the app and it usually works, though. Systme-wide loss of audio happens to me as well, and it seems to be caused by Vista randomly mis-routing audio output. Off the top of my head, if you right-click the speaker icon, one of the menu options takes you to the Output Device menu. You might see SPDIF enabled and speakers disabled, as I sometimes do. And, yeah - as my man Jay says, it's all down to the new way in which Vista 'empowers' the user by completely changing the audio subsystem. To be fair, it's not all bad - it makes it possible to individually set app's volume levels and do all sorts of fun things with outputs - but it cancause no end of bother.
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#9 (permalink) 3rd September 2008 , 11:14 PM
Stagesound Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 181	sphelan - I'm smack in the middle of Co.Antrim - a long walk from Limerick! AVG is usually very good, though I've seen it miss a few things. If your machine is fairly new - which I'm guessing from the spec it is - and you've been reasonably careful of your surfing, the spyware notion is a bit of a long shot, but still worth following up. I've seen machines which performed like snails, apparently "clean", and then after clearing with a second AV/AS app, they run like clockwork.
Offline

#11 (permalink) 4th September 2008 , 08:32 AM
Khazul Furry Filter Phreak Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Reading, UK Posts: 987	I have not had such problems with the vista machines we use here, however I would suggest that you contact support for the audio interface you use. My experience with vista doing odd things like loosing user settings have usually been traced to a driver or device issue. My guess is there is obviously a vista bug related to this in there somewhere (an imperfect drivers shouldnt prevent vista from saving user settings), however it only seem to impact devices with imperfect drivers - which in our pro-audio world unfortunately seems to be quite regular.
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#13 (permalink) 4th September 2008 , 10:29 AM
BoogieBear Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 14	I think it very unlikely to be a virus issue here, it sounds much more like a driver problem between Saffire and Vista Try the new drivers and try un-installing the interface and re-installing it with the new drivers rather than just updating the driver Vista may 'see' the device differently this way! Cheers Anton
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#15 (permalink) 4th September 2008 , 12:40 PM
sphelan Costa Del Cool Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Spain Posts: 3,120	Well my virus scan has only shown up some cookies which I have deleted. And I've updated the Saffire driver...and now all I get when I try to open any file in Sonar is Audio Dropout!!! It looks like I will have to start uninstalling and reinstalling programs...time that could be better spent doing more constructive things!!!
Offline