Problems by using m-audio fw audiophile interface-what can I do guys?!

Dump the M-Audio gear - Their drivers are trouble.

Get a new interface. Digi 003.

David, when you start up your Apple Mac, have you setup a user login screen or do you let it open freely into the default user? The reason I ask is because I used to use M-Audio stuff and I found I had exactly the same problem as you describe. But I solved it when I set up a user account with a password. The M-Audio drivers are very bad and they only work properly when you have a secure account to login to.

In the longer term, save up lots of money and buy an RME Fireface 800 or 400. You will not regret the investment, believe me.

dear lord....

apart from rik, this is hardly useful advice guys!!

i use m-audio delta 1010 and its fantastic - very solid. same converters as the 003. its PCI though and i have heard that m-audio firewire drivers can be trouble, but i'll bet anything its not as bad as that.

even apogee ensemble has to be powered up AFTER the computer. try this and see if it helps.

also, do you have any other firewire devices at all? remember there is only one firewire bus in the macs (that's all of them) and you can get conflicts. a solution might be a PCIe firewire card if it is a macpro that you have.

the other thing to try would be sending an email to m-audio technical assitance.

soundwise though, a fireface will be superior to your interface, but still easily good enough to do some great stuff. and if you are mixing in the box it won't matter anyway - unless you were doing lots of live recording.

I think your suggestion conflicts with the m-audio specific instructions to have your interface connected and powered up before you start your Mac. In fact, as others have said, the m-audio drivers are really and truly awful. If I forget to connect my FireWire Solo before starting up my Mac, this is what I have to do to get the Mac to even see the FireWire Solo ever again: Shut down, disconnect everything. Re-install my M-Audio Driver. Shut down. Re-connect and power up the FireWire Solo, then re-start the Mac. Nothing else works. If I remember to shut down my Mac, connect the FireWire Solo, power it up, then re-start my Mac (which is a drag because its a portable and almost always already on), then I don't have a problem.

I think your suggestion conflicts with the m-audio
specific instructions to have your interface
connected and powered up before you start
your Mac. In fact, as others have said, the m-audio
drivers are really and truly awful. If I forget to
connect my FireWire Solo before starting up my Mac,
this is what I have to do to get the Mac to even see
the FireWire Solo ever again: Shut down, disconnect
everything. Re-install my M-Audio Driver. Shut down.
Re-connect and power up the FireWire Solo, then
re-start the Mac. Nothing else works. If I remember
to shut down my Mac, connect the FireWire Solo, power
it up, then re-start my Mac (which is a drag because
its a portable and almost always already on), then I
don't have a problem.

ah sorry - you're probably right - got it wrong way round. i think it will be the ensemble to be powered up before the computer as well then. fortunately i know which side of the road to drive on; left on the way there and right on the way back.

Sorry,no.


Please get rid of offending "Migraine-Audio" device.

I had three systems I inherited when I started my job,and until I replaced them with other brands,they would not work.I had this Audiophile P.O.S. as one of the three.The other two were FW410.Same problem.BAD DRIVERS.NO FIXES FROM COMPANY.

Cheers

apart from rik, this is hardly useful advice guys!!

Sorry to argue, but yes it is.

I've had a 4-10, 10-10 and a 9624 all not work on my system. When dealing with very helpful support at the point of purchase, I was told to "install the drivers 3 times". After that the advice was "Get something else - these just don't work on OS X".

Got to disagree here. While fundamentally it is obvious that the quality of the M-Audio products pales in comparison to the other stuff that is available out there, I've used M-Audio interfaces in the past and had zero problems with them (other than the less than stellar quality of sound). Always kept my drivers updated to the latest versions, never hot-swapped the firewire port and had several drives daisy-chained off the interface. Never, ever had an issue.

So, while there is no doubt that people have had their issues and it can take some finagling to work for some, the gear does work if you need it to. And it seems that is the situation that the OP here is in. He needs the M-Audio gear to work and that is his only option.

Here's what I did when I had issues with my M-Audio interface:

1. Shut down computer.

2. Unplug interface.

3. Turn on computer and remove/install latest drivers from M-Audio.

4. Shutdown.

5. Attach interface.

6. Turn on computer.

PITA? Yes. But it worked.

Yeah seriously. . . who the heck wants to do that all the time? M-Audio's GREAT! When you restart your computer and jump through hoops and call the Geek Squad and defeat the level 59 dragon guarding the gate to great sound. After all that, M-Audio is from Jesus. Who wants to do that?? I'm sure you all remember my string of posts that all got deleted - M-Audio is garbage. I was trying to warn all those looking to waste their money on it. Then I got assaulted by all these M-audio fanboys who were like "M-Audio is great! It's the digital Neve!" Yeah right. . .

Like I've always said - the problem is not Logic, the problem is M-Audio and YOU. (not YOU brent. . . but YOU collectively.)

It's alright you got the right idea - for the M-Audio Ozonic there's a special firewire rule that M-Audio has one way and I do slightly different.

M-Audio says the controller Ozonic has to be plugged in before startup to the Mac (from which it draws power via firewire).

However, all that really matters is that the system isn't booted so at log out, then I can plug in (if I do it when the systems booted then it's a panic attack)
[the computer, not me].

Cheers! Hopefully for you Rohan buddy, don't bear the blame when you don't have to! Maybe you'll make it over here soon, California's as ripe as symphonic music.


PMacG5 2.Ghz iBookg4 1.42 Macbook Pro 2.0 Mac OS X (10.4.9) 2.5mem Singin'ShureLynx16x M-AOzonicProKeys88Motu896ARTubesGolden FCS-Lp 7.2.☮

muzak!

great to have you back big fella.... we missed you!

to those m-audio naysayers.....

i think logicalanalysis might be a rather ironic misnomer - since it appears not to have happened in this case. so lets logically analyse what has happened here:

1. OP was having trouble with a bit of kit.
2. was advised to ditch the kit.
3. i regarded that as not actually helping him to solve the current problem. offered advice.
4. i was then told that ditching the kit was helpful.
5. the OP came back saying that after taking the actual advice (not the one involving ditching the interface) he got everything working.
6. somehow at the end i (and anyone else who argued that m-audio stuff can be made to work alright) became an m-audio worshipping fanboy.

i don't know about anyone else, but if someone comes here for help with something, bagging their setup doesn't strike me as particularly helpful or polite. as brent pointed out, m-audio stuff can work fine but is known to be troublesome at times. and its not the only company that has problems with some of their stuff....

- ensemble uses class compliant drivers (i think they have their own driver now) which meant a similar procedure was required to make it work reliably. gonna bag apogee?
- digidesign has terrible reputation with its coreaudio drivers.


and i am sure there others that have their own quirks, but we work round them. there is, i am sure, better quality gear than m-audio stuff, but that wasn't question. the question was, how to get what he did have going. logically, shouldn't that be the question to answer?

as for myself, i have a delta 1010, which has been and continues to be as solid as a rock. in fact i have just had it modified by black lion audio. sounds great! same converters as are used in lots of interfaces including 002/003. i have a keystation pro 88, which is a piece of....well, not that bad but not great.