IF-FW/DM mkII DM3200, Driver Offline

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svenjamison

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Hello all, thanks in advance for taking time to read/respond. Have setup in title, using for a year trouble free in Window 7 64. Recently updated to Windows 8 Pro 64, in so doing have had "driver offline" issue in DM3200 since. Have unsuccessfully tried the following solutions:

1. Updated driver to current suggested for Windows 8
2. Attempted communication in Windows 7 environment (dual boot machine, was working before updating other partition to 8)
3. Replaced with several different firewire cards (PCI-E, VIA chipset)
4. Attempted communication with another pc running Windows 7 64.
5. Replaced with several firewire cables
6. Reset DM3200 to factory settings
7. Updated DM3200 and IF FW to latest firmware
8. Used backup bios jumper in IF FW
9. Removed/inspected/replaced IF FW

None of the computers/setups can see the DM3200, when removing the cable or shutting down computer the status changes from driver offline to no cable.
I am in the middle of a project and making great headway, unfortunately I have not got the budget to replace this card, am discouraged that it would fail so rapidly and am not hopeful in receiving a warranty replacment, though it was purchased new from authorized dealer. Any suggestions on how to resolve would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!
 
Not a pleasant situation....

did you change anything else in your PC?

did you take an image of your previous stable build to allow a full backout? (fwiw I'd be doing that)
 
Updated your computer OS while being in the middle of a project? OUCH! Now you know why this is a bad bad bad idea.

1. Updated driver to current suggested for Windows 8
Click to expand...
What driver? What version exactly? Suggested by who? Can't be any TASCAM driver. AFAIK TASCAM does not suggest any drivers for Win8.

Have you tried the IF-FW/DM beta driver? (can be found on a sticky topic on this forum)
 
It's not clear if you have successfully connected the firewire card using another PC with Windows 7 since you've experienced this problem in Windows 8.
 
Thanks for the replies!

I have attempted connections with two different PCs, one a partition of a dual boot machine that was working fine before upgrading the other partition of same machine to Windows 8. Also attempted connection with another physical PC running Windows 7. By Windows 8 driver, I mean the beta drivers I found on this forum while initially attempting to solve the problem. The other Windows 7 machines have the latest non-beta driver. None are connecting, making it 0 for 3. I thought I was safe upgrading since I only updated my non DAW partition to Windows 8. Have a dedicated operating system on other parition for DAW use, which has not been upgraded to Windows 8.
 
This sounds like a hardware failure to me and has nothing to do with upgrading. A software upgrade didn't break this unless during the process of upgrading, you connected the firewire cable while either the computer and/or the DM3200 was powered on. In that case, I suppose it's possible that you could have fried the board with some sort of static or electrical condition. If not that, then this failure happening exactly at the moment you upgraded is purely coincidental. I will ask the obvious question as a last resort before throwing in the towel...have you tried another firewire cable?
 
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Have attempted three different cables. Does anyone know if Tascam is ever willing to replace things like this at a reduced rate, or who might be a good contact for that? I understand things fail, however it was a fairly pricey bit (for me anyway), was purchased new, never abused and really is not terribly old (but I suspect is outside the warranty timeframe). Cannot justify replacement, and will probably be forced to sell the DM3200 to fund something else. Frustrating, as I really liked this setup more than anything else I have owned.

Thanks!
 
Did you connect the DM3200 to the firewire card while it was powered on?
Was the computer powered on as well?

You're assuming the failure is at the IF-FW/DM level. It's quite possible that the issue is before the card and the only way to test that theory is to try another known working card or test your card elsewhere. I suggest contacting Tascam and send them the card to test at their facility and work from there.

"Forced to sell the DM3200 to fund something else"

I don't see an alternate solution as being the way to go. You won't find anything close to the functionality of the DM3200 at whatever price you initially invested. I'd fix this issue because you'll end up losing more money trying to sell a used DM3200.....and for what? An alternate solution with less functionality? Purchasing or replacing the IF-FW/DM is totally justified. It was the most important expansion card next to the analog expansion card ever created for the DM series.
 
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Yeah, don't heave it because you haven't solved the problem. The thing to keep in mind is that it SHOULD work, and therefore can probably be made to work.
 
If you have a friend with a Mac you could try that connectivity as a test - this could verify if it is really a DM firewire card or a PC issue.

I recommend a backout to the last stable build and verify from that point. If you don't have a backout point then blow the new W8 partition away, reboot and see what that does - you've nothing to lose at this point in time.

BUT make sure your data and project file is backed up first.......

fwiw I have had situations where a dual boot upgrade of one partition thas impacted the other partition - in flavours of Win and in OS/2, so I don't discount that this is the cause - especially as it appears to be the only thing you have changed.
 
Windows 3.1 and OS/2? Seriously? :) how can you compare to today's OS'? The likelihood that the poster has 2 bad PCs with different OS's is highly improbable. He has also tried multiple FireWire chipsets. Sounds like he can't get it working on the original machine that had been using without issue for a year. It sounds like he tried connecting it to another machine with windows 8 and couldn't get it to work...then hooked it back to the original machine and it didn't work as it did prior. This really sounds like a hardware failure with either the DM or the card itself. If I were a betting man, I'd say the Mac results won't be any different. Also Mac drivers are hit or miss depending on what OS is being used.
 
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1/ I didn't say Win 3.1. I said "in flavours or Win AND in OS/2".

2/ The OP did not specify that any other of his PCs were functional with his DM.

3/ I have had exactly this situation with a number of Windows builds on a number of different hardware platforms (including a number of different supported f/w cards) and achieved full functionality with 2 different Macs running different versions of OSX.

My comments are based on practical experience, not speculation.
 
Drumstruck said:
2/ The OP did not specify that any other of his PCs were functional with his DM.
Click to expand...

He says it in thefirst sentence

Hello all, thanks in advance for taking time to read/respond. Have setup in title, using for a year trouble free in Window 7 64.

He also says later:

I have attempted connections with two different PCs, one a partition of a dual boot machine that was working fine before upgrading the other partition of same machine to Windows 8
 
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In 2/ I said "any OTHER of his PCs" - OP does not specify that any OTHER PCs ever worked with his DM.

The only one he affirms worked was the dual boot PC and that was prior to the upgrade.

Please read my posts accurately - I'm just trying to help the OP, not here for an argument.
 
Trying to help him as well buddy You're the only one arguing :)
My experience tells me it sounds like a hardware failure. He's swapped out enough parts and it should work on either machine

He also didn't answer the question. Did he inadvertently zap the card if he was disconnecting /reconnecting the FireWire cable while the DM and the PC was powered on?

This sounds like a very similar issue someone experienced that posted in the old forum and it turned out the card got fried, that's why I'm asking

It's ok...we could both be right or wrong.. Just trying to help.
 
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It is funny that you should mention attempting communications on a Mac, I plugged into my older Macbook (Intel based) and still things did not work. Unfortunately I am in agreement with cmaffia that a hardware failure has occured. I will contact Tascam tomorrow and update here if I am told any groundbreaking revelations. Otherwise perhaps you could all help me craft a sob story for tech support in a vain attempt to procure a warranty replacement (or something less expensive than the full retail solution). Since owning the DM3200 I have already had to replace fader section 1-8, and the screen is beginning to show the inevitable horizontal lines occasionally. My concern is one of reliability. If I thought I could pick up another DM and not expect it to fail in the same timeframe as the first I would be more reluctant to look at other options. I have also owned the FW1082 and FW1884, both of which also had various painful issues.

Thanks again so much for all the feedback!
James
 
Check in Windows Device Manager that your FW card is listed without any Red or Yellow icon next to it as that often indicates some kind driver install issue. If you right click on the FW device and check it's properties, ensure that is states It is working properly. If your FW card isn't working or has an issue within Windows, then it won't ever work with the IFFW card.

If you did indeed update the IFFW firmware and it was successful, that would indicate that your Windows FW card does communicate with the IFFW card. It would not hurt to try and apply the IFFW firmware update again as it could have some rare corruption during the update that would explain your issues.

Note that there were changes to the Windows 8 FW protocol from Windows 7 that makes some FW devices (audio & video) non functional or working in a crippled state. One of the main reasons why it has not been adopted by many pro audio developers. In addition, the Legacy FW driver from Windows 7 that was widely used and required for FW audio devices is not included in Windows 8 and it takes some hacking to get the Windows 7 legacy FW driver installed and working as Microsoft made a new FW driver tying to make it more efficient, but it isn't fully backward compatible and has hosed many FW devices from working or working well.
 
Not working on the Mac either huh? It is interesting though that the DM recognizes the card in the slot, can you confirm that it shows up in slot 2 and also tell us what's the firmware version of the IF/FW card now. What firmware version does the DM report?
 
If you bought the IFFW card new from an authorized dealer within the last year and you have an invoice to prove it, I would expect they would offer you an RMA replacement for only the price of shipping it to them. If not, then I would imagine that they would have some flat fee to repair or replace.

The "sob" story will likely work better it you are already a registered DM user before you call them.
 
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