i've been using n-track since 2.0, almost ten years, so i know my way around. i have the new v6.2 and, am having major issues with lag, latency or whatever you want to call it. the first 30 seconds are ok, but as the song progresses...it gets further and further behind. it's not an issue if i record all tracks at once, only if i want to add tracks. it was working fine until i updated, then the computer crashed, and it's never been the same. my computer is fairly new, XP, pentium D cpu processer 2.80 ghz, 1 gig of ram, lots of hard drive space... I've tried everthing, still an issue...any ideas? my sound card is an alesis 16 channel mixer, and i have the correct firewire card for it. but that's another story!
Update? Then Crash? Can you explain what you updated? Was it Windows update? This helps me understand how you system now lags. I might be able to help you but need more information related to your update and when it crashed.
both… i updated n-track to 6.0, i used the same computer for about 6 months (new) with n-track 4, i had 5 but never installed it. at that time, it worked fine, no lag or latency. then i up dated to 6.0, it was working fine until i was recording drums, ten tracks. after recording the song, i would hit the space bar to stop, and the screen would go blank, and the computer would re-boot. none of the files were in the folder… after a few times of this happening. we decided to check the disc for errors (i de frag often, so i didn’t do that) after a while, perhaps 40 minutes, the computer locked up…when i re-booted…nothing! no operating system was recognized. i reinstalled the os, and all of the software eg alesis, ntrack… and for awhile it worked fine (didn’t do any drum tracks) but every time i use n track something else would malfunction… I don’t have a xp disc, and mircosoft doesn’t sell it anymore (of course!) but i’d like to re install xp, i still feel that is thge major issue… hope that helps
That sounds very much like one of two things. Either a power problem with the PSU or a hard drive failure. This would certainly explain the lag in recording as the hard drive can no longer keep up due to bad sectors or there’s not enough power to keep the disk spinning at proper speed. In any case, I suspect a hardware issue of some kind. How old is the system?
Things to do, There should be a disk checking utility for the hard drive at manufactures website. Run and test the drive.
Check the PSU for heat. Grab Everest or some other application that is similar and report back to me what your 12v is reading.
Put hard drive power supply on a different rail. By itself if possible. Make sure CPU fan is turning along with PSU fan. Clean out any dust.
Disconnect any power supplies to any hardware no longer using IE: floppy drive Remove any hardware no longer using, IE: 2nd CD-rom drive or TV card
See if reducing power consumption pickups the hard drive performance. If the drive is bad reducing power will make no difference. Then you know it’s the drive. If things work out after reducing power consumption then you’ll need to update your PSU.
the unit is less than a year old, not that that matters anymore…probably made in China with melamine (sp?) i will check those things, it makes more sense, since nothing else explains the rapid decline in performance.
you said that your soundcard is a “alesis 16 channel mixer” is this firewire ? if so there is a fault in early XP that permanently sets the firewire speed to low no matter what you do - there is a bugfix for this - your original setup may have had this bugfix added but your re-install may not have it -
If you are still running SP1 or have SP3, you should be okay already.
Usually if this is the culprit though, excessive latency is not the primary symptom. You’ll get a lot of drop outs and ‘pops’ because the Firewire port is running at low speed and can’t shove enough data at the driver and the driver to n-Track. It can’t keep the buffers full and data is lost which means drop outs. Now if you keep raising the buffers to try to get rid of the drop outs, latency WILL increase because you told it to.
If you can record and playback a couple of tracks fine but the issue arises when you need to shove a bunch of channels into the PC, like recording a multi-mic’d drum kit, you get drop outs, your FW port may be running at low speed.
You should also check out this UTILITY that may help isolate the problem.
Hey free, I was looking at my settings, audio devices, advanced, and I found the selection for ‘keeping audio devices open’, checked on my machine. Where bubba says to uncheck that? It makes things drag immensely on my machine with that uncheked. It got close to freezing up a couple times. I’m using M-Audio drivers. Maybe you should try checking that option. Couldn’t hurt to test that.
Sorry I can’t help you much with your problem, but I would do a whole lot of research before running out and going over to a Mac. Not as simple as they are marketed to be…
Hope you get your problem worked out…maybe faulty drive or messed up drivers…
i have done that, i have several friends that used to use a pc, and now have a Mac, (a couple of them that do recording for a living) and all of them tell me that same thing. they don’t have any of these issues, installing new software is painless, and "once you go Mac, you never go back!" I will continue to try to solve these pc issues, until i have the $$$$ to get a Mac. I want to record music, not be a computer tech/programmer.
Doesn’t really matter to me, but, my son (who works at a major N’ville studio) has the latest greatest Mac Pro ($4000 w/all accessories) and it took him two months to get the latest PT upgrade to work. Mac software is very proprietary, sometimes it hoses its relative software. For example, his PT upgrade needed an OSX upgrade to work. Then needed an upgrade for the Digi003 rack to be recognized…then nothing wanted to rewire to his Reason software, plugins were gone or wouldn’t work…it was crash, crash, crash for about 7 weeks. He finally hooked up with someone from one of the PT forums who had gone through the same issues and finally got everything sorted out. So, when you hear how stable Mac’s are, take it with a grain of salt. They have problems too and the user base is not nearly as big as the PC user base so the help is much harder to find…
Doesn't really matter to me, but, my son (who works at a major N'ville studio) has the latest greatest Mac Pro ($4000 w/all accessories) and it took him two months to get the latest PT upgrade to work. Mac software is very proprietary, sometimes it hoses its relative software. For example, his PT upgrade needed an OSX upgrade to work. Then needed an upgrade for the Digi003 rack to be recognized....then nothing wanted to rewire to his Reason software, plugins were gone or wouldn't work.....it was crash, crash, crash for about 7 weeks. He finally hooked up with someone from one of the PT forums who had gone through the same issues and finally got everything sorted out. So, when you hear how stable Mac's are, take it with a grain of salt. They have problems too and the user base is not nearly as big as the PC user base so the help is much harder to find....
For whatever thats worth....
cliff
EXACTLY why I am still in the PC camp. Some of my friends have Mac's. They have just as many problems and fewer resources to help them out. Also, I have at least 25 years experience with PC's soooo... No Mac here.
I wouldn't mind getting my feet wet with one someday. There are some things I like about OSX and all but Mac hardware is still way over-priced IMO.
I want to record music, not be a computer tech/programmer.
I think that's the way all of us feel about the subject. However, the reality of the situation is quite different.
I sometimes miss the old "Arm a track(s), press the REAL red button and go" days... until I start editing and piling effects on. Then I don't miss it at all. Also, there's the MIDI side of things... MIDI without a computer based DAW? Gotta have those virtual instruments and point and click editing capabilities.
It's like my daddy used to say: "Son, if it's got tits, tires or an operating system - it's gonna give you trouble."
Wise, wise man your dad...
I personally call my cars, computer gear, etc feminine names. It just fits...
My car is 'Bessie' or 'Big Bessie' cause it's HUGE, costs a fortune to operate and is so temperamental enough to have a special permanent PMS license. Every tank fill-up I drop a bottle of Midol in... just for good measure.
'Gertrude' is my DAW PC. She's an oldie but a sweetie... only occasionally does 'Gert' give me any grief.
