Switching on external CD/DVD crashes Scope

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:18 pm

I recently put a NEC 3500AG DVD/CD RW drive in a USB2 external enclosure so I can access it while the PC sits quietly in a cupboard. Problem is if I switch it on after Scope has started Scope crashes. I can work around it by switching it on before starting Scope but wonder if anyone else has the same thing.

I prefer to leave it off when not in use. I disconnected the fan in the enclosure to keep it quiet but don't want it to overheat.

siriusbliss · Post by **siriusbliss** » Thu Dec 30, 2004 1:51 pm

This happens to me too (external DVD R/W, Maxtor HD).

I think it's an IRQ allocation issue (maybe).

Usually I leave the external stuff off while recording, etc. and only use them for archiving purposes.

Also, rebooting with the external on does not crash the system.

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 5:52 pm

Sorry I'm late

On 2004-12-30 13:51, siriusbliss wrote:
I think it's an IRQ allocation issue (maybe).

Maybe. Or maybe the software isn't expecting to see new drives appear while it's running.

I wish it would handle it with a little grace.

rob604 · Post by **rob604** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:20 am

It's more likely a fault of the operating system and its built-in hardware support. The crashes are probably due to your USB2 controller sharing an IRQ with your Scope soundcard. You can verify this in Device Manager under View -> Resources by Type. Try moving your Scope card to a different PCI slot so that it has a dedicated IRQ all to itself - this is the only way a truly professional piece of gear can be happy inside the confines of Windows.

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:36 am

Thanks rob604

I thought you were onto something for a moment but I'm not so sure now. I've got Creamware on 18 and various USB controllers from 19-23.

As long as the external DVD is already switched on Scope starts and runs fine so no conflicts. The problem is starting Scope when the DVD is switched off. It runs OK naturally, but then if the DVD is switched on Scope just vanishes without a trace.

If I start Scope with the DVD on I can later switch it on and off without affecting Scope.

dbmac · Post by **dbmac** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:37 am

It's not an IRQ issue - like doodyrh says, Scope doesn't like the explorer to gain or lose a drive letter. It happens with SCSI drives as well.

(edit)..our posts arrived at the same time
On my system, turning external drives on OR off while Scope is running will kill it.

/dave

[ This Message was edited by: dbmac on 2005-01-26 08:40 ]

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:50 am

On 2005-01-26 08:37, dbmac wrote:
Scope doesn't like the explorer to gain or lose a drive letter. It happens with SCSI drives as well.

Bug!

No problem.
I'm sure they'll sort it out within the next two or three years.

[ This Message was edited by: doodyrh on 2005-01-26 08:51 ]

alfonso · Post by **alfonso** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:06 am

Sorry, but I continously connect-disconnect an USB flash drive when Scope is running and never had a single crash related to it.

It's true that I use USB1.1 and not USB2, but anyway the gain or loss of a drive letter doesn't make anything here. So it's not a Scope bug as hypothized above.

[ This Message was edited by: alfonso on 2005-01-26 10:07 ]

dbmac · Post by **dbmac** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:21 am

Interesting. I concluded the drive letter idea because Scope4 crashed once when I was changing drive letters in Windows drive management.

/dave

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:25 pm

Yup that is strange. I tried it with a flash card reader which adds a drive letter but doesn't crash Scope.

I said above that Scope vanishes completely but I see now that that isn't quite right. there's an error message and apology for inconvenience(!).

AppName: sfp.exe AppVer: 1.0.0.1 ModName: cdxp.dll
ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 000011bf

Is there anyone who has no problems starting an external DVD/CD drive with Scope running?
Is it USB 1.1/USB2/Firewire/SCSI? How about harddrives?

[ This Message was edited by: doodyrh on 2005-01-26 12:28 ]

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 1:08 pm

Getting warmer: maybe it's a Windows thing.

Cubase error
A serious problem has occurred: Please try to save your song under another name and the restart Cubasesx.exe. If this problem persists please contact blah, blah, blah...

Cubasesx.log

Code: Select all

===================================================================
Cubasesx.exe Version Version 2.2.0 Build 35 - 26.1.2005 18:01
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Timestamp is 40b33f83 (Tue May 25 13:43:47 2004)
C:Program FilesSteinbergCubase SX2Cubasesx.exe
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Exception code: C0000005 ACCESS_VIOLATION
Fault address:  030D11BF 01:000001BF C:SFPAppBinCDAccessCDXP.dll

Registers:
EAX=00000000 ECX=00000001 EDX=0035c6e4 EBX=00000008 ESI=0035b560 EDI=  0012f3cc
EBP=00000000 EIP=030d11bf ESP=0012eb68 CS= 0000001b SS= 00000023 Flags=00010246 
DS= 00000023 ES= 00000023 FS= 00000038 GS= 00000000

Float Save:
Control Word=  ffff027f Status Word=   ffff4020 Tag Word=ffffffff
Error Offset=  00c0f387 Error Selector=00f67656
Data Offset=   00000148 Data Selector= ffff6847
Cr0NpxState=   00000000

Bytes at CS:EIP:
8b 85 08 05 00 00 85 c0 74 22 8b bc 24 54 03 00
00 8d 75 04 b9 41 01 00 00 b8 01 00 00 00 f3 a5

Call stack:
Address   Frame

[ This Message was edited by: doodyrh on 2005-01-26 13:10 ]

rob604 · Post by **rob604** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:08 am

Here are two more things to try:
1) Disable "Shell Hardware Detection" service in Windows 2000/XP (this is the thing that makes Windows Autorun) - Start, Run, "services.msc", dbl-click the service in the list, Stop, set Startup Type to Disabled
2) Install ASPI from Adaptec <a href="http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/suppor ... >available here</a>

Also, make sure that Windows does not have to assign a new drive letter to the device every time you use it; in other words, manually set it to have a certain letter so that it might not incidentally change because some card reader is also plugged in (rt-click on My Computer, Manage, Disk Management, find your drive, rt-click on volume, Change Drive Letter) - I would go for one a bit further down the alphabet so as to avoid potential conflicts. Always using the same physical USB plug/bus designation for one particular drive could help.

Lastly, in my experience USB is less compatible than Firewire. You could get a Firewire enclosure and move the drive over. In general I would recommend not using USB2.0 at all (USB1.1 is ok) in your DAW and instead opting for Firewire for these types of connections.

Cheers!

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:34 pm

Thanks rob604

I tried disabling Shell Hardware Detection to no avail. And the drive always comes up as the same letter.
As for ASPI, isn't that for SCSI only?

I'll just try to remember to switch the DVD on before starting everything up.