Experiences starting up with N-Track
Hello all. This is my first post as an official n-Track user and I wanted to relate my experiences thus far.
I have a new Acer 9410Z laptop running Vista Home Premium (ugh!!). I am using ASIO4ALL drivers. I cannot yet find workable WaveRT drivers. It has taken a few days to figure out a workable setup for n-Track, but I think I finally have it.
I had some issues with the sound card’s driver. Just playing back a few midi tracks through soft synths was causing stuttered (start/stop) playback. I downloaded the latest audio driver version from RealTek, who makes the 883 sound chip on my notebook and that seems to have helped. I can play back more than 6 channels of midi through various soft synths quite nicely…
Next I tried recording an audio track along with the midi tracks. I kept getting a recording of the mixed down midi tracks along with my microphone audio. ASIO4ALL allowed me to choose between 2 different audio pairs as inputs. The first pair is somehow looping the softsynths back to the audio record function. The second pair of inputs just record from the microphone without mixing in the softsynths. Selecting the second pair fixed that problem. I had tried several driver changes, re-installed ASIO 4ALL and several other things that had no effect before I found out using the second stereo inputs would fix the problem.
The laptop has a DVD R/W drive in it. I can even record using that as my selected drive and so far so good doing that.
I would like to see if eventually I can get WaveRT drivers to work with n-Track, but I can live with ASIO for now.
My success in Vista has been short lived. It appears that there is something random happening with the audio driver. I am using ASIO4ALL.
When playing soft synths and then trying to record an audio track with them, most of the time I am getting a mixed down version of the softsynths recorded to the new audio track with a very faint amount of the audio I am trying to record. There are no settings for the drivers that I can find anywhere that would cause this to happen. Occasionally it records the audio properly, but I see no rhyme nor reason as to what is different when it works properly.
I can save a project that was just working, re-load that project, then go back to record an additional channel and I get the softsynths recording. Frustrating.
Because of this I went over to my desktop machine which has win98 on it. I tried to install n-Track there and I get a response that a new downloader is needed, but when win98 tries to find the new downloader it cannot find it and the installation aborts. Is there a work around for that where I can find a compatible downloader?
I checked on the RealTek site over Thanksgiving to see if there was anything new. I found that they had released new drivers and I downloaded them. Now I can use WaveRT drivers with n-Track and it seems to be working! Cautiously optimistic at this time. ASIO4ALL does not work well at all with the new RealTek driver. ASIO4ALL was not reliable for me no matter what underlying audio driver I tried on my laptop. It kept wanting to record midi tracks played by soft synths to an audio channel.
I am still looking for an answer on how to get an installer for Win98 that will allow me to put n-Track on my desktop machine with Win98SE. Is that still possible?
I just ordered a Lexicon Omega and I am sure I will have a whole other set of battles to fight when that arrives.
You’ve stumbled on something that only Flavio can address.
While n-Tracks should run on Win98SE, the installation requires Windows Installer 3.0 or greater. Unfortunately, Windows Installer 3.0 has a Win2K or greater requirement. That means that the installer itself won’t install on Win98SE.
That’s a Catch-22.
Email Flavio. 
Hi Gents:
I found a third party SP2 application that makes '98SE think it’s an XP operating system.
After installing this application on '98SE
any XP Apps. install with no issues…
http://www_9Down_Com - Unofficial Windows 98 SE Service Pack 2_0_2 Final.htm
http://www.9down.com/
I am unable to find the right link but somewhere here you’ll find a 16+ meg. file that will install on '98SE that will have the installer that you need that will recognize XP rev 2 installers…
At the moment, there appears to be an issue with the site…
Down at the lower right-hand column you’ll find the archive…
The file may be in there…
I have the .exe installer that will install what you’re looking for on your '98SE boot drive.
It’s some 16+ meg. in size. I downloaded the file on 03/08/2005
Come back here on this thread… if you are unable to find it… I know we can find a way to get the file to you… I am on a dial-up and modem over here…
This appeard to be the only way I could get my '98SE to work with XP installers and apps.
I hope this might help… the issues you have…
Bill…
I found a mirror site…
Try this link…
http://www.softpedia.com/get…k.shtml
There may be more sites…
However, this Service pac 2 is v 2.1a
It may not be the final version…
?
Maybe, it’s even later that the one I have…
Could be…
The version I have is v2.0.2…
I think I’m gonna download it…
Bill…
Well… I’m back here again…
This mirror link deserves some detailed browsing… There may be some interesting applications to have on hand …
Bill…
Quote:
However, this Service pac 2 is v 2.1a
This Service pack contains MS Installer 2.0.
Not sure if that is going to help.
Hi sevenOfeleven:
I agree with your reply…
However, and…
after-the-fact…
AND…
I think what happens is…
After the Third Party SP2 installation, takes hold…
This allows for the up-dating of other applications and utilities to Window’s '98SE Operating System…
I stand corrected on this…
When I look at the Add/Remove List I see this utility on the List… In Fact I’m gonna Boot this '98SE Desk and confirm what all is on the list…Anyway, this file allows me to install applications that couldn’t normally be installed no a '98SE Desk…
I’ll take a look and re-post my observations…
Bill…
Hi Again sevenOfeleven:
My Studio '98SE operating system Desk is not really set-up to do Photo editing work…
Anyway, I got a print screen of the Add/Remove Software list in the Control Panel of that Desk…
It looks something like this…
There are many itmes on the list that wouldn’t install on
Windows '98SE…
But after the Third Party NET Framework 2 all that stuff installs on that Desk with no issues…
I’d like to know more about what is in that .exe file, but however, I’m not that far along/up-the-ladder to maybe understand all that stuff, anyway…
I haven’t run that studio '98SE system for so long now that I think I’ll need a “Crash Course” to use the Lexicon Audio Hardware that is installed on that drive…
I know. it took me a while just to boot into that drive…
It’s so bad that now there’s an issue just to get the '98SE Screen to produce the DESK…
There appears to be a corrupt/missing file in the .ini folder that keeps the desk from running…
?
I need to unstall something that the .ini folder contains…
But…
I don’t know what application that is…
Bill…
Hi woxnerw,
Oh boy, I’m confused ‘AGAIN’
First - I believe the original post has been hi-jacked. (sorry windeguy)
As far as the Win98SE install issue is concerned for n-Track ver 5.+ -
1. It requires MS Installer 3.0 - but 3.0 is unavailable for Win98SE
2. It requires Net Framework 2.0
You are saying, after installing the Win98SE SP 2.1a,
that all is well and n-track ver.5 installs and runs as
expected on Win98SE?
Since I can’t edit my previous post (for some reason),
OK evidently - all that’s required for Win98SE install
is MS Installer 2.0 and Net Framework 2.0. And the SP
contains both. Excellent.
BTW - How come I can’t edit a previous post?
Hi sevenOfeleven:
We are all having issues with editing our posts with this build of n-Track Board… You’re not alone…
For those of us who like to edit what we say…
including me…
However, it’s somewhat better then it originally was. Some of us think it’s in the config. of the Board’s build, or this version…
or something.
Anyway, we’ve all learned to live with it… I think we’re just happy that Flavio has set us up with a Board so we can “Rant-and-Rave”…
This weekend, I fired up the Studio P-4 machine and brought the XP Operating System up to Current and Date and all… Then I booted into the '98SE Desk…
I am now at build 2313 v5.1.1 and I completed some of the system’s maintenance and whatever…
There appears to be a few VST plugs that don’t behave with '98SE that I’d like to have working…
I think it has something to-do with the plugs themselves… with '98SE…
not n-Track, as the host… That’s O.K. with me as I use the '98SE desk for TRACKING…
not Editing…
The other thing is, I went over to that link/page that I posted in the earlier reply, and downloaded the '98SP v2.1a version of that file…
I’d like to install it on the P-4 '98SE Desk…
However, I’m not sure how much I want to “Fiddle” with a working version of '98SE…
I know that someday I’m going to…
I can’t keep my fingers outta messing it up…
I’m not sure if I should uninstall v2.0.2 and then install v2.1a…
OR…
Just install v2.1a over the top of what is already there… I do know that this '98SE Operating System allows the installer of the latest build of n-Track to do it’s install procedure very well…
and…
I believe it’s the third party 98SP v2.0.2 Service Pack that’s allowing that to take place…
By-the-Way…
the latest version of this Service Pack is somewhat larger is size…
It’s 17.022kbs. in size versus 16.022kbs. for the v2.0.2 version of this file…
if that makes any Never-Mind…
Bill…