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View Full Version : Phonic Helix 18 on PC with issues


TheO
12-26-2006, 05:52 PM
I use a Phonic Helix 18 Firewire mixer both live and for live-recording applications and am rather happy with it. I am running a 1.4 GHz Athlon PC with 512 MB RAM, on an ASUS motherboard with Via chipset and an ADS Pyro 64 Firewire PCI. However, the problem is that the audio in/out stream simply quits on me (the helix's driver crashes?) for no appearant reason and the only way to get back to work is restarting the computer. It even happenes with windows media player playback...
Any ideas? I have done all the driver re-installs etc...
Somebody on the Mac forum seemed to have the same problem: http://www.sweetwater.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12697&highlight=helix+18

Thanks for any and all input!
cloclo
02-15-2007, 04:23 AM
I have the same problem. It sounds as if the connection between computer and Helixboard was cut. I need to turn off the Helix and put back on. Or sometime shut down the driver and restart. I don't need to reboot the computer. Once I did it several times the system is running nicely for the rest of the recordings. I already recorded 12 tracks simultaneously without any problem. I use a Fujitsu Amilo Centrino Duo with 2 GB Ram.

Works fine, but those "connection breakdowns" are annoying.
tech1
02-15-2007, 10:13 AM
Without taking a deeper look at your system, my first guess would be some sort of incompatibility, or a loose firewire connection. try a different cable to start. Also, make sure you have XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2. You may want to give this a shot, too: http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/ts/detail.php?Index=30559&keyword=firewire%20communication
evan_ccs
02-15-2007, 11:59 AM
I used to have a similar problem while recording on a machine with low RAM.

I would suggest a RAM upgrade. My rule of thumb is 1 GB per 8 simultaneous channels. That might be excessive, but it's better to have more than less.

Also the use of your RAM could be wrong: if you're using a video connection directly off of your motherboard, then that also takes from the RAM. RAM is always a good thing to have extra of.