'Disabled' in test utilitly

[Datasphere]

Another reason why my new studio is NOT coming on well ...

Ok. I suddenly got a new problem with my DSP factory cards. No sound from the main outs. If you run that test utility thing, it reports 2 cards as found with DISABLE written next to it (very similar to this post: http://www.ds2416.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=175. This all happened this weekend.

Here is what I have done:

- uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers.
- removed all other cards
- removed all the cards, and put just one DSPFactory card in, in a different slot
- went to a restore point when I knew everything was working
- COMPLETELY TRASHED THE HARD DISK, RE-INSTALLED XP WITH SP2, did nothing else other than install the drivers for the DSP card ...
- moved all the cards into different slots again
- swore at the cat

Only one of the above made me feel better. The cat ... not so much.

The cards are working, because I get the sine tone out of the AX44's ... it is just this DISABLE thing and the no audio from the mains thing.

I have never had a problem with this MOBO (a genuine Intel board) and the 2.8 Pentium processor sitting on it (with 1G RAM) before.

I turn to you guys for help. I'll try whatever you guys can think of - even if you think I have tried it already as sometimes someone else 'sees' something different in the order you do things (though please be patient because I have to wait until after work to try out any suggestions).

BTW: went into Device Manager and it reports no conflicts for the IRQ's on any of the three boards.

Hoping you can help,
DS

[Henry]

Hi, DS

Another user faced a similar problem with his DS cards reading "Disabled", and it could be useful to read his thread (http://www.ds2416.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31).

First, I need you to clarify a couple of things:
- Did the cards work with this very same computer before, or is it the first time you install them on this computer?
- Have you done any upgrades to the computer (hardware or software) prior to the malfunction?
- What OS and motherboard are you using?
- Do you have the correct drivers for your OS?

If the DS Check utility reports the cards to be "Disabled", most of the times it means that there's some kind of hardware conflict. The utility doesn't say what's wrong, though, and this is usually where the real ordeal starts. Some users have solved the problem by re-installing the cards in different slots, while others have resorted to building new systems.

If you can do a clean XP install again, with the cards removed, that would be the best starting point. (If not, make sure you remove the cards and uninstall everything that has to do with them from the system before you proceed.) When Windows is up and running, copy the downloaded DS drivers (If you haven't already, you can download the drivers here: http://www.xpi-software.net/downloads.html) to the computer's harddrive. Power down and place one DS card in an available PCI slot. Power up again, and Windows should detect the card, giving you the "Found new hardware" wizard dialogue. Make sure you choose what driver to install yourself (Don't let Windows search for drivers or install automatically!), and point the wizard to the file named ds2416.inf in the folder containing your drivers. Reboot when the wizard completes.

If the driver installed like it should (never mind the Windows Logo Certification warning), your next step would be to install the DS Check utility and Mixer .dll (the DS Check Setup.exe). Reboot when prompted, and then run the Check utility. If the card is now correctly recognized, power off and install the second card.

If the card reads "disabled" again, you'll have to start the procedure all over again with the card in a different PCI slot. When you're running out of slots to try, we're hitting a wall, but that doesn't mean we're lost!

Good luck, and please post back with your results!

- H -

[Datasphere]

SUCCESS!!!!

Sorry it took a while, first chance I got was over the previous two evenings.

In case others have the same here is the story:

- As Henry suggested, I took out all of the cards. Formatted the OS drive and re-installed XP (SP2 pre-applied).
- Powered down, installed the first 2416 card
- Powered up, XP 'found new hardware' so I manually searched for it where I had stored it
- Installed DS Check (or whatever it is called)
- Ran it. It reported found 1 card ... with the dreaded DISABLED statement
- Wept bitterly. Swore at cat, again. Did NOT make me feel better. Cat unbothered.
- Powered down, took that card out and put the other card in the slot below, thinking is it this card that is faulty.
- Powered up, XP 'found new hardware' ... again pointed manually pointed it to the DVD with the latest drivers on
- Ran Check utility

- ... HANG ON! What's this? 'Access okay'?
- Clicked the test tone button ... NO TONE!
- Turned on speakers. TONE!
- Okay ... looks like one of my cards has gone bad. Let's try it again anyway.
- Powered down, took the first card (now out) and put it in the slot BELOW the existing installed card (as opposed to the slot above where it always was)
- Powered up, found new hardware, manually point to DVD
- Run check utility ... 2 CARDS FOUND ACCESS OKAY!
- Tone out of both cards ... and AX44's
- Powered down, installed the SW1000XG, plus drivers, check utility STILL says 2 cards found, access okay.

The bottom line is essentially this. While I was messing about over the weekend trying to get the cards that had worked working again, I moved the slots they were in. But at no point did I ever 'swap' the slots on the cards - i.e. I had a no. 1 card and a no. 2 card, and the no. 1 card always went above the no. 2 card. What the exercise above actually did was (when all was said and done) effectivly swap the cards over.

Excellent! Studio almost back on line. Just have to re-build my DspCtrl template (which takes a couple of hours for me to get just right), then i am off installing all my plugins, and making music again.

Really appreciate the help so far. I have other questions, but - as always - they will get their own post.

Thanks again,
DS