disk too slow error -10004 using tascam 1884

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Level 1

25 points

disk too slow error -10004 using tascam 1884

I use a newly purchased macpro running OSX 10.4.10. with logic pro 7.2.3 . I installed the Tascam fw audiodowngrade patch (AppleFWAudio-2.0.1fc1-e8.pkg). When recording 1 channel of 96K 24 bit using the tascam 1884, quite frequently, Logic complains of "disk too slow error -10004" which is often accompanied with a very loud burst of white noise through my monitors, and the recording halts.

Also, one time when i switched on the 1884 after waking my macpro from sleep, the macpro froze and crashed. I was forced to restart the computer.

Previously I was using the macbook pro running OSX 10.4.9. I did not experience any problems at all under this system. All software and settings are identical between systems other than the Macpro uses OS version 10.4.10 with the Tascam FW audio downgrade patch.

Please advise on what measures i should take to rectify these problems.
- I have switched off OS energy saver options
- i reinstalled 1884 drivers
- Within logic, I reset defaults for 1884 control surface
- Within logic. I switched off larger disk buffer core audio option
- Within logiuc, i set audio io buffer to 1024

There are a couple of other threads on this topic, but not using the 1884 with the tascam FW audio downgrade patch so i thought it would be best to start another thread.

macpro dual 2 GHz, 3 GIG RAM,, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Oct 19, 2007 9:50 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 20, 2007 2:06 AM in response to damien lock

Use an external hard drive. Problem solved. (usually)

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Answer 2

damien lock Author

Level 1

25 points

Oct 20, 2007 2:12 AM in response to fuzzynormal

the Disk IO activity monitor within logic does not spike on or around when the error message occurs. I do not believe it has anything to do with disk IO.

A more likely candidate is the 10.4.10 update which included changes to the FW audio component.

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Answer 3

noeqplease

Level 4

3,589 points

Oct 22, 2007 1:39 PM in response to damien lock

damien lock wrote:
the Disk IO activity monitor within logic does not spike on or around when the error message occurs.

I do not believe it has anything to do with disk IO.

A more likely candidate is the 10.4.10 update which included changes to the FW audio component.

Your post title says:

disk too slow error -10004

As Plato would put it, belief and knowledge are two completely different ways of perceiving the universe around us.

Your belief that nothing is wrong with disk I/O, completely contradicts the error message the computer has given you.

Please, you must reconcile your beliefs with the facts. If a computer is tellling you there is a disk error, then there is a disk error. Not an operating system error, not a moon-misalignment error, but a disk error. Plain and simple.

So, my suggestion to you, is to do what all major DAW manufactureres have suggested for years, and buy yourself a dedicated hard drive for the audio. And please stop using your internal system drive for audio tasks, as you see, this does not work very well at all.

Cheers

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Answer 4

demariai

Level 1

0 points

Oct 23, 2007 4:29 PM in response to noeqplease

I had the same problem before and I solved it buying a external drive like they say. It works great

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Answer 5

sondod

Level 2

175 points

Oct 23, 2007 5:03 PM in response to damien lock

your post made me happy, my post will make you sad.

your disk slow error is the separate harddrive issue others mentioned, but that crash, I've been getting those for two months now, and am inclined to think its tascams fault. i've got to wait until leopard to prove it, but i'm not hopeful.

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Answer 6

sondod

Level 2

175 points

Oct 23, 2007 5:04 PM in response to sondod

oh and it made me happy because i couldn't find anyone else experiencing this behavior.

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Answer 7

damien lock Author

Level 1

25 points

Oct 25, 2007 8:43 AM in response to noeqplease

hi
i spoke with Apple pro application support staff who confirmed that the Tascam 1884 patch for 10.4.10 is the cause of the problem. The apple boot drive can reliably record 1 channel of audio under normal circumstances. Apple staff described the situation as "unfortunate" and recommended to wait for Tascam to release 10.4.10 compatible drivers.

For anyone interested in the technical background, the Tascam 10.4.10 patch DOWNGRADES the audioFW component (messing with kernel headers etc.). This compromises the OS's ability to correctly communicate with FW devices.

I had tried recording to a firewire 800 drive, but all FW IO is affected by the 10.4.10 Tascam patch: Logic simply didn't record anything to disk when I tried this, and the machine became unresponseive. I do not recommend anyone attempt recording to a FW drive with the Tascam drivers installed.

I have recorded circa 400 hours of single channel 96K 24bit audio to my internal Macbook Pro boot drive using the same software/configuration under 10.4.9 without a single glitch. I do recognise that when requiring heavy disk IO it is not advisable to record to the boot drive. However, 1 channel of audio can be reliably recorded if the system is well maintained.

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.

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Answer 8

damien lock Author

Level 1

25 points

Oct 25, 2007 11:42 PM in response to damien lock

hi.
FYI
I installed a SATA1 drive into the second macpro internal drive bay to record to. I am still experiencing 10004 "disk too slow" error messages on occasion (at about the same frequency as when recording to the boot drive).

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