I've been researching online for possible causes why I still suffer from occasional audio/stutter dropouts on my Windows 10 laptop running the 512 Build (I see Build 513 is now out). The more technical savvy Forumites might want to take a read at the following post which I found on the MSDN Forum (Microsoft Developer's Network).
Seems that a software developer may have uncovered a "bug" in the way Microsoft is handling buffers and paging in the current release of Windows 10 (Build 1709, Fall Creator, Release 3) with respect to real-time audio streams. I don't understand all of the discussion, but the essence is that the way memory is being managed tends to result in occasional, random dropouts in the audio stream. This is what I continue to experience, with less than 1 second long dropouts occurring randomly, sometimes no more than once or twice per hour, sometimes after 20 minutes of operation, etc.
I've tried all the "tricks" and "tweaks" mentioned already on the Forum (e.g., buffer size adjustments, high priority setting in the Task Manager for BIAB, DPC Latency checking, power management settings, etc.). I'm using a Steinberg UR22MKii audio interface with the latest Steinberg ASIO driver for this hardware, and I am using an external hardware synth (Roland SC-88) fed thru the MIDI interface on the Steinberg, so if the audio stream starts lagging behind the SC-88 MIDI output, its really noticeable. Surprisingly, however, with the ASIO buffer set at 1024 samples, the combined audio output is OK. It's the occasional dropouts that continues to be a problem. The only other potential cause could be a data loss down the USB interface, which has to carry both the audio and MIDI data down the same link. I'm more inclined to think its a Windows 10 problem, however.
There's good news/bad news here. The MSDN discussion thread indicated that this "problem" may be mitigated or eliminated in the next Windows 10 upgrade (Release 4). Internal Beta tests of R4 suggest this might be the case. The bad news is that Release 4 will probably "break" 100 other things! It was a nightmare for me to get even some of the Microsoft software applications working properly after my Windows 10 systems (a laptop and a desktop) were upgraded to Release 3 a while ago. The MSDN thread mentions that Release 4 will start to be distributed in April (I can't wait!).
I've forward the MSDN discussion thread to PG Support and asked for it to be forwarded to development to see if they think this might be having an impact on the operation of BIAB 2018. I've also sent this info to Steinberg to have their developers see what they think as well.
Meanwhile, I'm heading back to my old XP system hooked to a Roland SD-50 Mobile Studio interface running BIAB 2011.....been working like a champ for the last several years.
P.S. Microsoft told the software developer that he may have found a "bug" in the Windows 10 O/S with respect to the operation of pro audio/DAW applications. They suggested the developer try some additional tests. The developer got pretty irate at that suggestion, replying Microsoft should de-bug their software, not ask the customer to do that.
I posted about this, on various forums, Steinberg, RME and here .....
Had to find out myself that my windows 10 64bit system which ran fine for about a year, all of a sudden developed this occasional stuttering and pulsating audio behavior.
The Fix was first removing all my AMD Radeon graphics drivers and in stalling a basic one windows 10 chose itself, probably older one.
Done all sorts of sometimes expensive experiments first (f.i. bought an USB PCIe Freslogic card with four onboard controllers and a new SSD because someone mentioned 5 years old one could be the cause). With 'standard MS' drivers: no problems any more, but then Microsuck, THEY REALLY DESERVE THIS HONORABLE TITTLE BY NOW, I AM ANGRY, decided to 'update' some driver, and i had to get the latest AMD drivers to fix the occasional lockup hanging of Windows 10, this mostly on closing a program or folder. Spent an awful lot of time first, like removing and reinstalling VC+++, SFC and harddisk checks, running loose spyware and antivirus programs, removing hardware drivers, registry checks, listening to 'experts' blaming certain plugins and jBridge even.
Wavelab 9.5 has graphics issues from DirectX 12, so i still run it in Windows 7 compatibility mode, so that it chooses an older DiriectX; maybe a thing you could try fist.
Both AMD an NVDIA seemed to have put out new drivers about a week ago for this Microsuck originated (MS thank you) bug. TW fall creators i steer and still stay away from, and windows update is (again) switched off in my services.
And now the occasional stutters are back LoL. BTW Going back to Windows XP might cause problems with recent software and drivers, unless you decide to stick with older stuff, as a friend of mine does. Might be that Windows 7 is a better choice today. Or 8.1 ??
I am testing now with a device manager disabled AMD HD audio device chip on my graphics card, doubt if that helps. (One should also disable any audio chip on your mainboards' BIOS IMO).
PS, you mention buffersizes, i WAS able to run USB audio (RME UFX) with 94 samples (before WAS was? LoL), now i don't dare to go below 256 .... counting all the time i spent on fixing windows problems from even Windows 98 on they ow me a healthy pension addon bonus. -F
The audio stutter/stumble problem is subtle. It only shows up once every 20-30 minutes or so. It lasts for a second or less. You can miss hearing it if you're distracted at the moment it happens. It definitely will ruin things if you're doing any rendering when it occurs. I ran the Jukebox player in BIAB for around 90 minutes, and the system stuttered around 3 times within that period.
Both my Windows 10 systems are the Fall Creator Build 1709 (Release 3). It may or may not be a problem in the earlier versions of Windows 10 (e.g., Build 1704 or earlier). I can't say, since I only installed BIAB 2018 after the Fall Creator version was installed on my PC's.
As I pointed out in my initial post, I think the software development programmer may have identified the problem as one of Windows 10 memory management within Release 3 as discussed in the MSDN thread. I'm hoping that the folks at Steinberg/Yamaha can shed some light on this. They forwarded my inquiry to their developers in Germany for review. Microsoft implied that this problem may be "fixed" in Release 4 for Windows 10.
This problems sounds like it might have the potential to be related to an unregistered plugin.
For example, if Amplitube is unregistered (even though it's a free plugin), there are regular, periodic bursts of noise that will be produced when a song that contains the plugin plays. Have you checked this?
I know you said you looked at your drivers but the only time that I get audio dropouts/stutter is when my buffers are too low to handle the load. Have you tried going to higher buffer settings like 2048? What are the Steinberg MIDI buffers settings? Can they be increased? If so do it.
Have you tried using MME or WAS drivers? If you are not recording these might help.
Do you have your external MIDI devices plugged into an USB 3 port? If your external MIDI devices are USB 2 the sometimes plugging them into an USB 3 port can cause problems. Are you using an USB hub? This can be another source of problems, especially if it is a non-powered external powered hub.
Good luck.
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
The audio stutter/stumble problem is subtle. It only shows up once every 20-30 minutes or so. It lasts for a second or less. You can miss hearing it if you're distracted at the moment it happens. It definitely will ruin things if you're doing any rendering when it occurs. I ran the Jukebox player in BIAB for around 90 minutes, and the system stuttered around 3 times within that period.
My stutters are different; they start, most of the time when using a browser addressing streamed audio like Soundcloud, or Youtube .... When it starts it's like you mentioned, but then it increases: effect after a while is half a second of sound, then half a second silence, pulsating audio as from a dark star far out in space. And NO NOISE THUS as with unregistered plugins. And with all audio programs started or active from then on, any program. Salvation is a reboot. Since i disabled HD audio on my AMD Radeon card, i haven't had any stutters sofar, fingers crossed.
Maybe you (Dave) can install a pre-fallcreators Windows 10? The reason i did not revert to windows 7 yet is that Windows 10 (x64) on my system runs smoothly and boots very fast.
Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
Didn’t we just have this same problem? I thought that one was an unregistered plugin, as Noel suggests.
Oh, and that HD audio on the graphics card? Don’t just disable it; go into Device Manager and uninstall it.
In my case it wasn't an unregistered plugin, extensively sussed that out. And uninstalling it in device manager doesn't work, it pops right back in after booting, active and all. What's the reason? If necessary guess i must remove all the drivers manually, or edit the registry ... F
Just did some more tests to see if the occasional stutter (once every 20-30 minutes on the laptop) changes any:
1 - Moved the Steinberg UR22MKii from a 3.0 USB port to a 2.0 USB port (I'm not using any USB hubs at all).............still stutters the same. 2 - Changed the audio/MIDI setup to use onboard ForteDXI soft synth for both audio and MIDI thru internal Realtek HD Audio board via ASIOFORALL Driver.........still stutters the same. This configuration is actually worse because of the extra processing load the soft synth puts on the laptop (more noise and pops in addition to the stutter).
The normal laptop configuration is the UR22MKii (with latest firmware upgrade) into a USB 3.0 port, using Steinberg's latest ASIO driver for the UR22MKii, with a Roland SC88 hardware synth connected to the MIDI out of UR22MKii, with SC88 mixing UR22MKii audio output with SC88's built-in line mixer, combined output going to powered speakers. Works great except for stutter once every 20-30 minutes.
I also have a Windows 10 Fall Creator desktop loaded with Build 512 of BIAB. That is set up using the ForteDXI soft synth with the ASIOFORALL Driver, routing both audio and MIDI from the synth directly to the onboard Realtek HD Audio board in the desktop. Works perfectly, no audio stutters after at least 1 hour of running the Jukebox player. FYI, I couldn't get the WAS driver to work properly on the desktop after loading Build 512 (tremendous latency problems....I reported this to PG). On this machine, 512 works OK with MME or the ASIOFORALL Driver however.
I still think the laptop is suffering from some sort of Windows 10 related memory management issues, or possibly data loss via the USB interface. Hard to figure out what's going on. Maybe I should put a set of wheels on the desktop system and use that for the portable system!
Did you have any other programs open when you got the stuttering on the laptop?
I have a monster of a Win10 machine at home (hex-core i7, 16gb of ram, MOTU interface), and I get the occasional hiccup in my music programs (including Ableton, which is very stable) if I have a web browser open. I find Facebook is the worst offender, causes pops and clicks and I have no idea why. My CPU and memory usage never go above 5% when this happens.
I already had Dave check this on his machine so I know it's not his issue, but I'd check out your power settings in Win10, there's a setting that seems to be the default now on a lot of machines, which slows down the processor to save electricity. It made my new machine almost unusable for music production until I found it.
Did you have any other programs open when you got the stuttering on the laptop?
I have a monster of a Win10 machine at home (hex-core i7, 16gb of ram, MOTU interface), and I get the occasional hiccup in my music programs (including Ableton, which is very stable) if I have a web browser open. I find Facebook is the worst offender, causes pops and clicks and I have no idea why. My CPU and memory usage never go above 5% when this happens.
Thanks Kent PG Music
Kent,
I have no other programs open when the stutter occurs. I have monitored the Task Manager performance graphs and stats and have not observed any connection between the stutter occurrence and such things as a CPU utilization spike, disk access spike, etc. I have even kept the WiFi connection open while running BIAB, and have seen a spike in data transmission associated with incoming email (MS Mail program running) and that spike in activity DID NOT result in a stutter. I have also increased the ASIO buffer size to 1538 in order to eliminate buffer size as a possible cause of the stutter.
I suspect that there is a memory management problem or the USB bus hiccups when there is a stutter, but there is no easy way that I know of to monitor this in real time. I have also increased the ASIO buffer size to 1538 in order to eliminate buffer size as a possible cause of the stutter.
About ASIO buffer size, and I'm sure you know this, bigger is sometimes better but much bigger can be much worse. There is always a sweet spot for ASIO. In fact, there can be a sweet spot for buffer size during playback, but a larger one for mixing or recording. 1538 sounds well too high, but I don't know your soundcard's performance.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
I couldn't get the WAS driver to work properly on the desktop after loading Build 512 (tremendous latency problems....I reported this to PG).
To me this is the major clue. You write like you understand this stuff but someway, somehow you're missing something simple. WAS works absolutely perfect with the vast majority of users. It's a huge improvement in Windows sound. What did Support have to say about using WAS?
On your laptop, I would switch to WAS and if that doesn't work then I would say it's with the laptop itself. FWIW, another user spent weeks (seriously, weeks) messing around with stuff like this and wound up reinstalling Windows and voila everything's perfect. That tells me that somehow he messed up his system with something.
On a clean system, Biab runs perfectly, simple as that. Sure, it's possible now that a recent Win10 update may require a tweak but I haven't seen that yet and I'm on automatic updates.
There actually is a confirmed bug with WAS support in build 512. This isn't related to Dave's issue, we'll be fixing it from our end with a patch.
Dave,
Do you still have the glitches with MME? I'd try with the UR22's MME driver, as well as the driver for your computer's built-in soundcard (this last bit isn't a suggested solution, just a test to see what happens). MME tends to be more stable and easier on system resources.
Did you have any other programs open when you got the stuttering on the laptop?
I have a monster of a Win10 machine at home (hex-core i7, 16gb of ram, MOTU interface), and I get the occasional hiccup in my music programs (including Ableton, which is very stable) if I have a web browser open. I find Facebook is the worst offender, causes pops and clicks and I have no idea why. My CPU and memory usage never go above 5% when this happens.
Thanks Kent PG Music
Have a similar system, and occasionally Firefox is loaded in the background, or Palemoon, a stripped version there of. Never noticed that it makes a difference, but it might be related to a loaded browser plugin? I'd rather suspect Edge maybe, and Cortana to be more influential, IMO they behave like spyware, and are always active. Why i take 'em down. OOSU10 and W10Privacy ary a great help, and just discovered one that kills Win10 spying: 'Destroy Windows 10 Spying_2.2.2': download F
Hi Fiddler, I already had Dave check this on his machine so I know it's not his issue, but I'd check out your power settings in Win10, there's a setting that seems to be the default now on a lot of machines, which slows down the processor to save electricity. It made my new machine almost unusable for music production until I found it. This article explains where to look: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/prevent-drops-cpu-speed-70828.html
This has been the culprit for a lot of customers' performance issues lately, so worth checking out if you haven't.
Thanks Kent PG Music
PS posted this a while back here on the forum (i think), and system cooling is active: It's a must do indeed .... if you let Windows handle it when installing an 'update' or refresh it, it's set back to 0% for minimal ...
I couldn't get the WAS driver to work properly on the desktop after loading Build 512 (tremendous latency problems....I reported this to PG).
To me this is the major clue. You write like you understand this stuff but someway, somehow you're missing something simple. WAS works absolutely perfect with the vast majority of users. It's a huge improvement in Windows sound. What did Support have to say about using WAS?
On your laptop, I would switch to WAS and if that doesn't work then I would say it's with the laptop itself. FWIW, another user spent weeks (seriously, weeks) messing around with stuff like this and wound up reinstalling Windows and voila everything's perfect. That tells me that somehow he messed up his system with something.
On a clean system, Biab runs perfectly, simple as that. Sure, it's possible now that a recent Win10 update may require a tweak but I haven't seen that yet and I'm on automatic updates.
Bob
See prior thread regarding Build 512 and WAS driver:
Microsoft is going to start pushing out Release 4 for Windows 10 in April. If you re-load Windows now, it will be overwritten by Release 4 at some point, unless you turn off Updates, in which case you stop getting the monthly Updates, which is not a good idea in this day and age. Microsoft's got the system rigged. I might as well wait and see what happens after Release 4 is installed.
Also, remember that my HP i3 desktop is not stuttering, but my HP i5 laptop is. Both systems have 8 GB RAM. Running the Steinberg AIO buffer up to 1538 samples was a test, which didn't eliminate the stutter, so I can crank it back down to 512 samples or so. The laptop is communicating to the Steinberg via the USB interface, so there is the possibility that something's going on with the laptop hardware configuration that may be problematical. I'm waiting to see if Steinberg has anything to say about this.
One advantage of Windows 7 was that you could pick and choose the Windows Updates, only installing those you wanted. They then killed that ability for users when they started issuing only monthly cumulative rollups for Windows 7 about a year ago.
The graphic shown by Fiddletr2007, and the article posted by Kent, refer to power settings. There are the obvious ones for CPU percentage at minimum 100%, and not turning off the monitor or hard drive after a set time.
But the one fewer people seem to know about that can really fool you is the USB Settings, USB Selective Suspend. This should be set to DISABLE.
A similar one is PCI Express, Link State Power Management. That should be set to OFF.
In general, don't let Microsoft do any 'management' of your power.
And check these settings after each operating system update. They can get flipped.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
I saw that thread Dave. The weird thing at least for me is I've never had these various issues concerning Win10 updates. The first thing I did was test Biab 512 and I'm on 513 now. It played perfectly using WAS, I had no delay before I heard sound. All I can say is I keep my systems rock stock, no registry hacks, no unknown programs get installed for kicks, none of that.
There are some good articles around the net about WAS including a nice one by Craig Anderton and one by a Cakewalk software engineer using it with Sonar. They say it's pretty good, no issues. There's no doubt everybody's systems are different with all kinds of outboard stuff and different drivers and all that. It's definitely hard to say what could be the problem.
That's a good idea, Bob. I tried WAS driver in the initial stages of beta testing and had all kinds of trouble, but I haven't tried it since. I should.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
[quote=jazzmammal] ..... One advantage of Windows 7 was that you could pick and choose the Windows Updates, only installing those you wanted. They then killed that ability for users when they started issuing only monthly cumulative rollups for Windows 7 about a year ago.
Mentioned this several times before: I have windows update disabled in services, and got an (even paid) version now of (also free) 360 Total Security; it has a for me perfect ability of selecting only the necessary (security related) windows updates for win10. You'll find this under 'Tool Box', called 'patch up'. Generally 360TS makes occasional mistakes on heuristics, and these are easily reverted and marked as safe. No more than say (paid for) Bitdefender and Webroot, the ones i bought earlier. 'Patch Up' is the reason i moved to 360TS since a year ago.
Tip: Don't use 360's meager GlassWire embedded firewall BTW. If you want a Firewall (i disabled Windows Firewall too) i can recommend Privacyfirewall, free and very adaptable as Comodo's free firewall and Zonealarm free used to be about 3 years and more ago.
Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
... A similar one is PCI Express, Link State Power Management. That should be set to OFF .... In general, don't let Microsoft do any 'management' of your power. And check these settings after each operating system update. They can get flipped.
Didn't know about PCI Express, thanks for the tip, as my USB for audio runs via a PCIe Freslogic USB bus ... -F
Yep, disabling and removing those i did. I get the feel that MS reactivates those unwanted items after each update etc. Why i keep checking up. I frigging PAID for 3 Windows licenses, and why do they throw all this sh*t at me again and again. I want a basic Windows 10, just like Windows XP Lite was, i used in the past, no unnecessary frills there. Besides MS Office 2016 i bought recently and officially; kept crashing after a while with all of sorts of errors, including license numbers. Tried to call MS to suss it out on their end, and you get some (Indian?) rep telling you he wants full access to my PC via Team Viewer. My foot; threw the lot off, installed free Apache Staroffice now, does the job without any problems so far.
I don't need all this extra work, but one cannot do without it .... if you want to take the time instead of the earlier mentioned tools (OOSU10 and W10Privacy and one that kills Win10 spying: 'Destroy Windows 10 Spying_2.2.2):
The graphic shown by Fiddletr2007, and the article posted by Kent, refer to power settings. There are the obvious ones for CPU percentage at minimum 100%, and not turning off the monitor or hard drive after a set time.
But the one fewer people seem to know about that can really fool you is the USB Settings, USB Selective Suspend. This should be set to DISABLE.
A similar one is PCI Express, Link State Power Management. That should be set to OFF.
In general, don't let Microsoft do any 'management' of your power.
And check these settings after each operating system update. They can get flipped.
Matt,
I'll try changing these two Power Management settings on the laptop as you suggested, and see what happens. Inasmuch as I am not getting the audio stutter problem on my Windows 10 (R3) desktop system with Build 512 using the internal Realtek audio hardware on the internal CPU bus, I'm thinking that there might still be a problem with the laptop-to-UR22MKii interface via the USB port. Steinberg did release a Firmware update in December to "fix" a data loss problem when a lot of MIDI data is being transmitted. Even though I have installed this update, maybe there is still a problem with their USB link.
I don't think that issue the firmware update addressed is relevant, as you're not transmitting MIDI to the UR22. Your MIDI signal is going to the Coyote WT, which sends audio to Band-in-a-Box's mixer, which routes that audio to your interface. Unless you're unchecking "Use VST/DXi Synth" and using the UR22's MIDI Output port to send MIDI to a hardware synth, it's not being used for MIDI at all.
Do you have stuttering when you use your internal soundcard on that same machine? If so, I'd say this likely has nothing to do with USB or the UR22.
Please try the UR22's MME driver, and also try using the internal soundcard with both MME and with ASIO (using ASIO4ALL). Let's see what happens in each case, that'll narrow things down.
Just did some more testing. I am using the UR22MKii as a MIDI Out interface to the Roland SC88 external hardware synth in addition to using the UR22MKii as an audio interface. I tried sending MIDI only songs thru the USB to the UR22MKii (i.e., no Realdrums or Realtracks being outputted), and after 30 minutes, there was audio stutter in the audio coming out of the SC88 synth. I did previously post that I also do get the audio stutter when using the internal Realtek sound hardware fed from the Forte Dxi software synth as well. So I am now suspecting something in the laptop itself.
After I heard the MIDI-only data stream audio stutter, I went into the Windows Event Viewer to see what messages might have been logged. At the exact time of the stutter, I found event messages saying the laptop wanted to go into sleep mode, and other messages saying the HP Comm Recovery Framework software has successfully stopped the PowerEvent. I do have the laptop power setting for the display to turn off when plugged in after 30 minutes. However, when the laptop is running and BIAB is streaming output, the laptop display doesn't look like it is turning off, but there may be some back-and-forth software going on in the laptop, which may be causing the hiccup.
I guess the next step to do is run the BIAB program again and specifically take note of the exact time when a stutter occurs, and then comb thru the Event Viewer to look for event records that may explain what is happening. If this due to one of the display or sleep timers expiring, I guess I'll have to crank up those settings and/or set them to "Never". Normally, the display will not turn off if there is activity on the system, but I'm thinking that activity might need to be actual input such as mouse movement or key entry, and if BIAB is running when the display timer expires, there is something in the HP software that overrides the display turnoff command, but this behind-the-scenes activity might cause the brief stutter that I'm experiencing every 25-30 minutes or so.
It sounds like the laptop wanting to go into sleep mode and being stopped the another program was likely related. Have you tried changing your power saver settings to have the monitor not turn off for two hours, to see what happens?
It's interesting that you got a stutter on the output of the SC88 as well. Am I correct in assuming that its audio output was routed through the UR22 before going to your speakers?
So I changed the display timeout to 2 hours and the sleep setting to NEVER, when the laptop is plugged in to AC power. I also changed the HDD setting to not turn off for 120 minutes, and made sure the USB power settings are disabled per Matt's suggestions. I had previously changed the CPU power settings to 100% for both min and max states.
I ran the Jukebox for around 2 hours, and did not appear to hear any stutters, so at least for this test, the system behaved OK. I did not find any power-related system events logged into the Event Viewer during this 2 hour period that might be suspect.
It doesn't mean the issue is totally fixed (this is Windows remember), but I will continue to monitor the laptop's operation.
I found a good Windows 10 tweaking article online:
Great. Glad to hear it, and thanks for the follow-up. It sounds like this was likely the issue the whole time, but let us know if the problem comes back.
It would be fun, once you know for certain that it works, to change back one setting at a time and try to find out which one fixed it. But who has time?
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
I think this comes from AVID talking about Protools.
This was a post I made on the Cubase forum regarding using the above Sweetwater link. Worked like a charm!
"I did the step by step for Win 10. I did everything except Disable User Account Control.
All dropouts disappeared & my vst performance was improved by over 50%. Very happy camper now!"
Mike
Focusrite 2i2 2nd Gen Windows 10 pro 1709 16299.125 Intel core i7 6700k CPU @ 4.00GHz 4.01 GHz 16 gig memory BIAB UltraPak version is 2023 (Latest) Cubase pro 9
thanks for posting, most i already did, except the USB hub settings. F
a PS, it seems most USB audio interface makers are facing the current Windows 10 Polka, key of T-for Trouble BTW, dancing hand in hand with the Graphics Ladies ... found RME just put out new drivers too, as Steinberg-Yamaha did. Pity all of you now forced to be a wallflower with older non supported stuff.
Great. Glad to hear it, and thanks for the follow-up. It sounds like this was likely the issue the whole time, but let us know if the problem comes back.
Cheers Kent PG Music
OK. Ran another 2 hour test. Output did stutter once or twice during that 2 hour period. First stutter was around 45 minutes after starting the Jukebox, which was playing a MIDI with RealDrums song at the time (i.e., mixed output stream consisting of both MIDI and audio). I also got a small stutter about 30 minutes after that first one, while playing a MIDI-only song with heavy data output. At the instant of both stutters, I found absolutely no events logged in the Windows Event Viewer. So, I guess I've been able to reduce the problem but not entirely eliminate it.
My hardware configuration is as follows:
Laptop USB 3.0 port >>>>> UR22MKii MIDI OUT >>>>> SC88 MIDI IN
UR22MKii Audio Out >>>>> Line Mixer (inside SC88) >>>>> Speakers
So I use the Steinberg UR22MKii as both an audio and MIDI interface. I've got the very latest Steinberg 10.0 ASIO driver installed as well as the latest firmware update 1.04 for the UR22MKii. This firmware update was supposed to "fix" a known problem of data loss when a lot of data is sent down the USB interface to the UR22MKii. Maybe they still have a problem there!
The fact that I hear an audio glitch with a MIDI-only data stream suggests this might be the case. I could try driving the SC88 from a MIO 1 in/1 out MIDI interface that I have (as a test), but this will use up my one free USB port, as well as creating a jumble of cables coming out of the laptop. All this testing is getting tiresome. I guess I'll have to keep after Steinberg, since I think that is where the problem lies.
Wild shot: a thing you could try: I removed all Adobe Reader stuff, in favor of Foxit reader. Also editet mi host file so that all adobe traffic refers to my internal IP 127.0.0.1 address. Adobe seems to hamper firefox, and might be that with a (loaded?) browser some adobe plugin like flash etc interferes with your audio. I have flash still running, but if i watch some youtubes, some buffer gets filled up and a video won't start immediately, and i have to refresh the firefox page. This also takes some time to behave like that (video not loading). F
PS done some searching: You could PM Ed Doll at Steinberg through the forum, He posted recently on the U22 mk, settings and drivers, and with some types there were also hardware issues: Steinberg forum link. PM him directly if you need help, he's a nice guy, busy though, but through the help desk it takes ages ....
I have no idea if this is relevant or not but...I said earlier I keep my systems completely stock, no mods. I'm using Avast Premier for my AV. I've used Adobe like forever with zero issues.
Everybody (well, almost everybody) who have various audio DAW related problems seem to have lots of things going on with their PC's, they change things, mess with things. I don't do that. I'll install well known programs using the defaults and that's pretty much it. No mods, no changes.
The reason MS pushes the updates is because of security. Yes, people can get all paranoid and talk about MS spying and all that. Fine, whatever. I'm very involved in internet security at the office. It's mandatory all updates be done immediately. MS is trying to get as many users as possible running the current version so it cuts down on the propagation of all the bad crap floating around.
If a person is really concerned about all that then keep the music computer off the internet. Lots of people do that. Use two separate systems one for music, one for everything else. Then if these problems come up it's isolated without all these distractions about updates, Adobe, flash, Youtube and whatever else.
Just to give one example of how I do things, I use YT all the time, like daily. Anything I like I download using Firefox's Easy YouTube Downloader and watch them on Media Player Classic or VLC. Almost all of it is music related and there are constant audio/video sync issues playing them from YT itself but MPC has the ability to correct for that. Therefore I don't care about buffering issues. I'll listen long enough to determine if I like it then DL it.
Previously, you still got dropouts when using the Coyote Forte for your MIDI sounds, and ASIO4ALL with your onboard soundcard for audio, which would suggest that the issue may not have to do with the Steinberg interface.
I'd recommend trying that test again now that you've changed your power settings and see if that's still the case, and also try with the onboard soundcard's MME driver.
This'll tell us if the UR22 is the culprit or not (I suspect that it isn't). Either way, the issue that the firmware update was supposed to fix doesn't sound much like the one you're running into.
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
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