Hi guys, I've had a copy of pro tools 8 LE for a while, but it's only been recently that I bought myself a decent laptop for it and set myself up a little home studio.
I'm incredibly frustrated though, pro tools seems to be running incredibly poorly on my laptop, I can't really pinpoint it down to one thing.
Occasionally I will open up pro tools and the playback will be tinny/distorted. This is usually solved by opening the playback engine window and changing a few things, then changing it back to normal again (eg: I might change the host processors from 2 to 1, then back to 2 again).
This isn't so much a dealbreaker until I start recording. I can never record for even a minute or two without the sound chopping up and going distorted.
My other issue is that whenever I get about an hour into any session, I always get error messages telling me that "the audio device buffer underflowed" (-6085). Now the peculiar thing about this error is that it rarely happens at random places. In each session I've worked on, there is a particular part of the track where this message comes up. For example I have this one track where at the two minute and 13 second mark exactly, the error message will show up. It plays fine up until then, and it plays fine after then. It's as if one tiny sample or millisecond of audio is buggering up my system.
The more I turn up the buffer size, the less this seems to happen. For example if the buffer is set at 1024 samples, it will have about a 60% chance of delivering the error message when I pass that 2 min 13 second mark. at 2048 samples, it might have a 40% chance.
Also, it seems that the more I turn up the buffer and avoid error 6085, the more likely I am to get the error message which tells me I'm running out of CPU power and to remove some plugins, even if my session has virtually none!
I have gone through every optimization process and just about everything in general troubleshooting.
I have tried using both the computer drive and an external hard drive (USB 2.0 connection) as my audio drive. It doesn't seem to make a difference which I use (and according to the computer fix it guy at my uni, this laptop shouldn't even need an external drive to run pro tools 8).
specs:
Dell XPS M1330 with windows Vista
Processor: Intel(R) core(TM)2 duo CPU T9500 @ 2.60 Ghz
Interface: Mbox 2 Connected via USB 2.0
RAM: 4.0gb
Sandra report:
ID
Host Name : DellXPS-PC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Computer
Model : Dell XPS M1330
Serial Number : GX8****
Chassis : Dell Portable
Mainboard : Dell
Serial Number : .GX88******
BIOS : Dell A15 12/26/2008
Total Memory : 3.5GB DDR2 SO-DIMM
Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9500 @ 2.60GHz (2C 2.79GHz, 6MB L2)
Socket/Slot : FC µPGA (Socket P)
Chipset
Memory Controller : Dell Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Express Processor to DRAM Controller 4x 199MHz (796MHz), 2x 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM 664MHz 128-bit
Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Netlist NL825642120HF-D53M 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)
Memory Module : Netlist NL825642120HF-D53M 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)
Video System
Monitor/Panel : LCD Generic PnP Monitor (1600x1200, (PØ
, 13.4")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (16SP SM4.0 800MHz, 128MB DDR3 1.2GHz 64-bit, PCIe 1.00 x16)
Graphics Processor
Storage Devices
TOSHIBA MK1665GSX (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache) : 149GB (C:)
MAT[bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep]A DVD+/-RW UJ-857G (7.6GB, ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 7GB (D:)
Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 149GB (NTFS) @ TOSHIBA MK1665GSX (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache)
SIMPSONS_SEASON5_D3 (D:) : 7GB (UDF) @ MAT[bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep]A DVD+/-RW UJ-857G (7.6GB, ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Hard Disk (Q:) : N/A
Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell ICH8M-E (ICH8) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : SMSC ECE5021-NU
Audio Device : Dell 82801H (ICH8) HD Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Sigmatel 7616
Disk Controller : Dell 82801H (ICH8) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
Disk Controller : Dell Mobile SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : Dell SD Bus Host Adapter
USB Controller 1 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #4
USB Controller 2 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #5
USB Controller 3 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB2 EHCI #2
USB Controller 4 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #1
USB Controller 5 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #2
USB Controller 6 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #3
USB Controller 7 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB2 EHCI #1
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell R5C832 IEEE-1394 Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus
Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Network Services
Network Adapter : Broadcom NetLink (TM) Fast Ethernet (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11g (ERP), AES-CCMP, 29Mbps)
Power Management
Battery No 1 : Sanyo DELL UM2307 410.74Wh/33.93Ah
Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows Vista Professional 6.00.6002 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86
I'm incredibly frustrated though, pro tools seems to be running incredibly poorly on my laptop, I can't really pinpoint it down to one thing.
Occasionally I will open up pro tools and the playback will be tinny/distorted. This is usually solved by opening the playback engine window and changing a few things, then changing it back to normal again (eg: I might change the host processors from 2 to 1, then back to 2 again).
This isn't so much a dealbreaker until I start recording. I can never record for even a minute or two without the sound chopping up and going distorted.
My other issue is that whenever I get about an hour into any session, I always get error messages telling me that "the audio device buffer underflowed" (-6085). Now the peculiar thing about this error is that it rarely happens at random places. In each session I've worked on, there is a particular part of the track where this message comes up. For example I have this one track where at the two minute and 13 second mark exactly, the error message will show up. It plays fine up until then, and it plays fine after then. It's as if one tiny sample or millisecond of audio is buggering up my system.
The more I turn up the buffer size, the less this seems to happen. For example if the buffer is set at 1024 samples, it will have about a 60% chance of delivering the error message when I pass that 2 min 13 second mark. at 2048 samples, it might have a 40% chance.
Also, it seems that the more I turn up the buffer and avoid error 6085, the more likely I am to get the error message which tells me I'm running out of CPU power and to remove some plugins, even if my session has virtually none!
I have gone through every optimization process and just about everything in general troubleshooting.
I have tried using both the computer drive and an external hard drive (USB 2.0 connection) as my audio drive. It doesn't seem to make a difference which I use (and according to the computer fix it guy at my uni, this laptop shouldn't even need an external drive to run pro tools 8).
specs:
Dell XPS M1330 with windows Vista
Processor: Intel(R) core(TM)2 duo CPU T9500 @ 2.60 Ghz
Interface: Mbox 2 Connected via USB 2.0
RAM: 4.0gb
Sandra report:
ID
Host Name : DellXPS-PC
Workgroup : WORKGROUP
Computer
Model : Dell XPS M1330
Serial Number : GX8****
Chassis : Dell Portable
Mainboard : Dell
Serial Number : .GX88******
BIOS : Dell A15 12/26/2008
Total Memory : 3.5GB DDR2 SO-DIMM
Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9500 @ 2.60GHz (2C 2.79GHz, 6MB L2)
Socket/Slot : FC µPGA (Socket P)
Chipset
Memory Controller : Dell Mobile PM965/GM965/GL960 Express Processor to DRAM Controller 4x 199MHz (796MHz), 2x 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM 664MHz 128-bit
Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Netlist NL825642120HF-D53M 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)
Memory Module : Netlist NL825642120HF-D53M 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-5300U DDR2-666 (5-5-5-15 3-20-5-3)
Video System
Monitor/Panel : LCD Generic PnP Monitor (1600x1200, (PØ
, 13.4")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (16SP SM4.0 800MHz, 128MB DDR3 1.2GHz 64-bit, PCIe 1.00 x16)
Graphics Processor
Storage Devices
TOSHIBA MK1665GSX (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache) : 149GB (C:)
MAT[bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep]A DVD+/-RW UJ-857G (7.6GB, ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : 7GB (D:)
Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 149GB (NTFS) @ TOSHIBA MK1665GSX (160GB, SATA300, 2.5", 5400rpm, 8MB Cache)
SIMPSONS_SEASON5_D3 (D:) : 7GB (UDF) @ MAT[bleep][bleep][bleep][bleep]A DVD+/-RW UJ-857G (7.6GB, ATA33, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Hard Disk (Q:) : N/A
Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : Dell ICH8M-E (ICH8) LPC Interface Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : SMSC ECE5021-NU
Audio Device : Dell 82801H (ICH8) HD Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Sigmatel 7616
Disk Controller : Dell 82801H (ICH8) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
Disk Controller : Dell Mobile SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : Dell SD Bus Host Adapter
USB Controller 1 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #4
USB Controller 2 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #5
USB Controller 3 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB2 EHCI #2
USB Controller 4 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #1
USB Controller 5 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #2
USB Controller 6 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB UHCI #3
USB Controller 7 : Dell 82801H (ICH8) USB2 EHCI #1
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : Dell R5C832 IEEE-1394 Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus
Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Network Services
Network Adapter : Broadcom NetLink (TM) Fast Ethernet (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11g (ERP), AES-CCMP, 29Mbps)
Power Management
Battery No 1 : Sanyo DELL UM2307 410.74Wh/33.93Ah
Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows Vista Professional 6.00.6002 (Service Pack 2)
Platform Compliance : x86