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Trouble with your Access Virus? Here you can get help when you have trouble or just don't know what to do.

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Old 23.03.2006, 12:21 PM
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Default FOR THOSE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THEIR TI (Please Read)!

This is a repost of something I wrote for the VirusTI.com forums:
-----------------------------

Ok, so it seems like there's people on this list who are still not able to get the Virus working properly with Virus Control. I wanted to sum up some possible things to try if you haven't yet. These are not official Access recomendations, just some things that have seemed to help others experiencing these types of issues. You may not choose to try these, but doing so will hopefully help us all narrow down what some of the problems are. Yes in a perfect world none of these would be neccesary, but it's not a perfect world, and thus I'm trying to help in any way that I can. So, here goes:

1. Reinstall XP after a fresh format of your hard drive. GASP, yes this can be a pain but it's the only way to rule out all other software or drivers that can be causing problems with the Virus Install or USB port conficts. After you reload XP, and whatever service packs you use, load ONLY the newest version of the Virus Software. IF you get it working, then slowly start reinstalling the rest of your software, testing the TI stability every so often to make sure it's still working.

A note on XP Service Packs: Access recommends SP2 as it included some general fixes for USB audio transfers on XP. This is not always required though, as some people have V-C working just fine with SP1 too. Still, if you have not tried SP2, it's worth a shot. I still recommend a fresh XP install before you load it though.

2. Make sure your motherboard BIOS is up to date, especially if you are using the USB ports built into it. Also make sure you have the latest chipset drivers for your PC too. If you're using an AMD system, these will most likely be the VIA 4 in 1 drivers, otherwise they will probably be Intel drivers. This is IMPORTANT as these drivers directly govern how USB transfers take place on your motherboard!

3. If you are using a PCI to USB card, then make sure that the firmware and drivers for the card are up to date. If you are using a USB port on your motherboard instead and are still having problems after trying #1 and #2 above, then it might be worth buying a PCI to USB 2.0 card. These are only about $10-15 and have solved issues for quite a few people. Sometimes the onboard USB ports get assigned IRQ's with critical processes (system timer, graphics, memory bussing, etc), and this might put your USB transfers on their own dedicatd IRQ. A benefit of these cards, is that you can swap them out to different free slots on the motherboard too, and this will usually force different IRQ's as well, Make sure you go to the manufacturer's website and get the latest drives for the card if you buy one though, don't assume the drivers on the CD that come with it are the latest.

I know, I know, no one wants to go out and buy MORE things to try and get their synth working. But if $15 means you can now use your $2500 TI fully, then isn't it worth it? I'd be willing to bet this fixes 90% of all user problems. I would recommend buying from a place with a good return policy anyway, like Newegg.com or CDW.com. At least that way, if the card doesn't help your situation, you can return it and not be out any additional cash.

4. Try a different USB cable with the TI. Yes, it's unlikely that this is the issue, but you never know and the point of all this is to narrow down the problems. Takes two seconds to test, so I would recommend swapping out the USB cable that came with the TI for the shortest one you have on hand, See if that helps.

5. One final note on IRQ sharing. While it may be ideal to have the USB port used for the TI on it's own IRQ, this is by no means absolutely required to get things working properly. My USB IRQ is shared with 3 other devices and works just fine. So if you're going to experiment with forcing your USB port to a certain IRQ via your BIOS, don't get discouraged if you can't get it assigned a unique IRQ. The best you can hope to do is try and get the USB port assigned to any OTHER IRQ's, and see if that works. If you are doing a fresh XP install, do not follow the years old advice to install XP in "Standard Mode" versus ACPI mode (the default). If you don't know what this means, then don't worry about it smile.gif


One incredibly beneficial thing about the internet, is that it provides places like this where people can go to get help from other users. Unfortunately it also provides a place where people can vent their frustrations to (sometimes) willing ears, even though this does NOTHING to speed up any troubleshooting or solve the issues at hand. If you are still having troubles after trying these tips, or just feel like venting in general, I ask that yo PLEASE use another thread to do so. I'm taking time to try and help people out, at no benefit to myself. I hope that people can keep this thread on topic and somewhat positive, or at the very least civil. If you really feel the need rail and moan at Access, I would appreciate it if you could do it in a new thread.

If any of the above fixes improve thing on your end, please post here and let others know!
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Old 23.03.2006, 01:22 PM
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Just some things to add to Tarekiths very useful post:


If you do choose to go down the Re-install the OS route - try out with miminal apps and utilities installed first.

I typically install as follows:

Base OS install (with SP2 and actvate)
Video/audio card drivers
Then goto windows update bring the machine completely upto date.
Disable any startup apps and servuces I know I definately wont need.
Check the basic ASIO, MIDI and minimal audio apps are working OK.
Configure windows update times to be non-instrusive, same with antivirus and anti-spware of you installed those as well.

Now I will image the machine. If you dont have a imaging tool (For eg Ghost), create a named system restore point. Leave system restore active - dont disable it - it can save your ass when everything goes horribly wrong after installing something

Now Ill install and check remaining audio/midi drivers for other devices, main audio apps etc ie bring the whole machine upto your normal DAW working set of applications and drivers etc.

Check it out, if happy, create another image or named restore point.

Finally I'll now start sticking all the other general working crap on that I need - Office 2003, Printer drivers, Visual Studio 2005 and tools etc etc, create restore point as I go along in case some part of it goes wrong/messes up the audio in some way and I need to roll back to the previous restore. As I am in complete control of creating the restore point up until this time, then I know exactly what I am restoring back to.


Also worth considering dual boot. My main DAW was installed as a dual boot - two hard disc partitions, Win XP+SP2 installed on each, and brought upto the first restore point above. My main boot is my general use PC. The secondary boot is very carefully controlled and is specifically for DAW use. In practise, I dont find much of a perf or reliability difference between my general setup and my optimised setup.
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Old 23.03.2006, 01:28 PM
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Not to disagree, but I think system startup and services should be left alone for this, especially services. Very easy to accidentally stop a service you think is not critical when it really is.

I used to get into trying to maximizing performance by turning off services, and to be honest it never made a lick of difference to performance or boot time in my tests. Now I just leave those service alone.

Startup items are certainly something to worry about once you start installing other apps, but my point in this post was to minimize any other program/driver interactions by only installing XP and SP2 and then testing the TI and Virus Control. Obviously if it all works well with only the minimum installed, then you know your issues are with other programs and drivers interferring with the TI and you can troubleshoot from there.
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Old 23.03.2006, 01:38 PM
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Re-installing the OS !!!!
Isn't that a bit like swatting a fly with a Buick ?
Instead, I suggest you all go out and buy a Mac, MUCH less problematic.
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Old 23.03.2006, 01:46 PM
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Actually, I daresay it's the Mac users with the most requests for help. PC user's running SX3.1 generally seem to have the least amount of problems. Notice I said 'generally', so we don't need SX users chiming in saying their systems don't work.

If the issues you are having are small enough that they seem "fly-like" to you, then it's not probably really an issue eh? Reinstalling the OS is NOT that hard, nor does it take that much time, provided of course you have all your important data backed up properly (which you should be doing anyway). If it makes your TI work perfectly, or a least noticeably better, than I can't help but think it's time well spent no?

Personally, I think all computer based musicians should be doing fresh installs regularly (3-6 months) to keep things running smoothly and bug free. If you use an imaging program like Norton's Ghost, this is VERY easy to do. Once you have XP and SP2 installed, tweak the OS the way you want, and then make an image file of that partition. Now, whenever you want to do a fresh install of your apps, it only takes like 5 minutes to reimage the drive with this ghost, and then you can reinstall your apps and drivers. Or you can wait until you have all the apps installed to make a ghost, to save even more time. I do both.
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Old 23.03.2006, 01:49 PM
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Also, this is my list of XP Tweaks that are safe for Music PC's running XP:

http://tarekith.com/assets/XPTweaks.htm
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Old 23.03.2006, 03:14 PM
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Let me clarify.
I have PC with XP SP2 and a Mac.
I would consider the idea of re-installing the OS that often as nothing less than crazy.
If you perceive a problem with your fuel pump, do you rip the whole engine out.
If you insist on this route, can I suggest you restore your partition to a plain vanilla state from a cheap external HD.
It'll save the ballache of driver installs for a start.
Also, if you have to do this that often, it suggests another more fundamental problem.
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Old 23.03.2006, 03:27 PM
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Ok, I'll clarify my view then

I never feel the need to HAVE to do this, my system is stable and pretty much never gives me an issues anymore. I do it to more as preventative maintenance, so that when I'm flowing and the music is happening, I don't ever have to worry about PC conflicts slowing me down. When I'm in a rut and having trouble writing music, I'll maintain the PC and do other boring studio chores. Obviously if I haven't installed any new drivers or software since the last install, then I don't need to worry about. With things like Ghost, this is a ten minute process for me, well worth the time for the piece of mind.

I think we're getting sidetracked anyway on this issue. This post really is less about routine maintenance, and more about troubleshooting immediate problems people are having with the integration of their TI's.

I'm not singling any people out here, but the people I've tried to help off the forum in private 'generally' seem to have neglected most PC related upkeeping.

- They have Bestbuy bought PC's with all the original software installed.
- They've never run a virus scan, ad-aware, spybot or the like.
- They've never checked for updated drivers or a new motherboard BIOS.
- They do not know what an IRQ is, or why it could be an issue.

I'm just trying to help people out who may or may not know about this stuff. Like I said in my first post, reinstalling the OS can seem drastic, but if it's been years since you did this, I truly believe it's worth spending the time investigating this. If it makes your system more stable and gets the TI working, then I believe it's well worth it.

The TI is not a bug ridden beast for everyone universally, so I'm trying to eliminate potential causes of bad interactions, and hopefully help people get things working as smoothly as they are for me.

I truly hope people will not bitch and bicker in this thread, I'm trying to HELP for god's sake. If people can't realize that and keep their negative comments to themselves, good luck and farewell, I've got better things to do that try and help the unappreciative.
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Old 23.03.2006, 03:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarekith
Not to disagree, but I think system startup and services should be left alone for this, especially services. Very easy to accidentally stop a service you think is not critical when it really is.
Yes - if I had to give my official customer and support friendly response - then I 100% agree with you
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Old 23.03.2006, 05:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Threlly
Re-installing the OS !!!!
Isn't that a bit like swatting a fly with a Buick ?
Instead, I suggest you all go out and buy a Mac, MUCH less problematic.
Yeah and have like 3 applications to choose from...
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