Thunderbolt Weirdness

[DukeOfURL]

Just when everything is working like a well-oiled machine in Windows 7-64, I felt the urge to upgrade to Windows 10. To my amazement things seemed to work!

The PC booted. Thunderbolt reported the Apple converter. The DM3200 was there. Cubase worked. The VSTs worked. I played a project and the faders responded. I did the dance of joy.

Day 2 I fire up the PC (Asus X99 MB) and the DM3200 can't be found. I install the 1394 Legacy driver and reboot. The DM3200 can't be found. I install the 1394 DCH driver and the DM3200 is found and functions perfectly.

I reboot and the DM3200 can't be found. Then, just for giggles I pull the Thunderbolt cable, wait a few seconds and plug it back in. DM3200 found!

I have to pull the cable and re-seat it every time I turn on the PC which is a small price to pay I guess. If anyone knows how to avoid this I'd like to know. But maybe with everything else working, I shouldn't temp fate.

One last thing, I was using Thunderbolt and the Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire converter under Windows 7-64 and it never hiccuped once - ever. My Firewire was pretty stable too, but every so often a gremlin would appear.

Food for thought.

 

[Arjan P]

So, to be clear, you have a PC with Thunderbolt port that connects with an Apple converter to FireWire which is then connected to the DM3200? Maybe a separate FW card which can directly connect to the DM would give no issues.

Also, for some people it works best to first start the PC and then the DM. For others (like yours truly) it works best to first start the DM and then the PC.

 

[DukeOfURL]

I never thought about changing the order of what gets fired up. Thanks. I usually start with the the outboard gear, then the DM3200, then the PC, finally the power amp (old school: JBL passive monitors).

I was using pure Firewire cards until last year. They were 95% or so okay; the occasional - What the f*ck was that? Did you hear that or is it flashback from the 70s? The Thunderbolt card cured that 5% and was completely stable under Win7-64. It's still stable now under Win10 but it drives me up the friggin' wall that I didn't have to reseat the cable before!

I'll power the DM3200 after the PC tonight and hopefully that will work. Thanks again.

 

[Peter Batah]

Just my two cents. When using my Macbook Pro with my 4800 I will always power up the laptop first followed by the DM. Always works like a charm.

 

[DukeOfURL]

Well, I gave it a shot and fired up the DM3200 last. It still wasn't seen by Windows until I yanked the cable from the Thunderbolt card and re-seated it. I figure this is a small price to pay for all the things that could have gone wrong after the upgrade. I've read some horror stories.

Note that using a standard Firewire card doesn't have this issue; anything can be powered in any order and the DM3200 is always seen. I feel that the Thunderbolt provides better performance. Personal preference I guess.

Thanks for chiming in.