Mackie Spike Troubleshooting

Official Mackie Resource Guide

Troubleshooting & Streamlining your PC for use with Digital Audio

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Official Mackie Resource Guide

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Introduction

In the world of computer hardware and software, most computer systems are

not designed with professional audio recording in mind – and it’s nearly impossible to find a system identical

to another. So in order to get the best performance possible out of your computer, it’s a good idea to properly

allocate the resources on your machine for the task at hand. This guide offers a number of suggestions to best

accomplish this goal.

If you’re having issues getting your audio interface (such as Spike or Onyx FireWire) working, noise problems,

or poor performance from your interface, read on. If you’re NOT having any problems with your system and

you’re completely happy with its performance, just close this window and get back to mixing. As the saying

goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

See important note regarding PC laptops on page 4

1. Dealing with Latency

If your audio is “glitchy” and seems to break up every once in a while (especially when you increase the

number of tracks), you might have some issues with latency. Latency is the time it takes for sound to travel

from an input on an audio device to its output or the delay between the time you play a sound and the time it

takes for that sound come out of your speakers. The greater the latency, the longer the delay, and the harder

it is to record (overdub) along with your recording. Thus, you need the lowest latency possible. But with low

latency comes higher demands on your computers processor.

The ASIO buffer size is one factor in many when considering your total amount of latency. Try adjusting these

settings in your DAW or your ASIO driver. In Tracktion, this can be done under the Settings tab by clicking on

“Show ASIO Control Panel”. If you have a Spike or Onyx FireWire, this will launch their own control panel,

allowing you to adjust latency.

after making any changes.

2. Optimizing your Computer for Audio

To achieve the best results with your computer system, it is highly

recommended that you use your computer system solely for audio and nothing else. You need all the re-

sources you can get to ensure your recordings are not affected by other programs. That doesn’t necessarily

mean you can’t run other programs and connect to the net while recording audio; it just depends on your

computer hardware. If you’re having performance problems with your computer or if you’re building a new

machine, try the following:

1. If you can, start with a clean installation of the operating system. If you’re running the same operating

system for the past few years, it might be good to reformat and reinstall your system to eliminate hidden

“bugs” acquired from years of installing various programs.

2. With early versions of Windows XP, you will want to upgrade to Service Pack 2. You can get this directly

from Microsoft (www.microsoft.com). It’s also recommended that you run any patches associated with SP2.

NOTE: Be sure to hit “Restart Device”

After you install Windows XP Service Pack 2, some firewire devices may not perform as expected.

Be sure to update Windows XP SP2 with the firewire patch (KB885222) Also see page 11

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/

Official Mackie Resource Guide

3. Disconnect any network and Internet connections by removing the cable from the network port (you

may have to disable to them in your settings if you’re using a wireless network).

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4. Disable any anti-virus software and software firewalls (in Windows XP

this can be found in your Control Panel).

3. Resolving Resource Conficts

See important note regarding PC laptops on page 4

View - Resources by Type

Once you’ve installed the drivers, software and

hardware for your audio interface, you can go

further into your system settings to ensure

optimum performance. Resource conflicts can

cause you to hear clicks and pops in your audio,

as well as loud noises including “skipping”

sounds and buzzing.

Check your IRQ settings for conflicts: Go to

Control Panel -> System -> Hardware ->

Device Manager. Once open, go to View and

select “Resources by Type”. This will display all

the IRQ’s by number – you want to look for

multiple devices sharing the same

number. For example, you don’t want

USB sharing the same IRQ as your

video card. If you find a conflict, you

USB sharing with Video Disable USB Controllers using IRQ 16

Firewire Controller / Port

can resolve it by performing the

following:

1. The first and easiest thing to

USB sharing with ATA Disable USB Controller IRQ 18

USB Controller / Port

try is to disable any devices that

are either not being used, or that

Windows XP Device Manager Also see example on page 12

are sharing with audio devices

that you are concerned with. Do not disable a device you are unfamiliar with. To disable a device, right-

click on the IRQ and select “Disable”. USB can conflict with firewire for example, even if there is nothing

connected to the USB port. Disable any USB controller sharing with others or not being used.

2. Try moving your PCI USB/firewire card to different slots; particularly open ones. If you don’t have any

open PCI slots, you might want to move different cards around or remove one from your system.

3. If you’re using a firewire or USB port built into your motherboard, try purchasing a PCI FireWire or USB

card, install it in an empty slot and connect your interface to that port instead.

For more on this see page 8.

Official Mackie Resource Guide

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4. In a situation where your laptop is sharing an IRQ with video

card and USB/FireWire, there may be little you can do to resolve

this (due to the nature of your computer BIOS, Windows XP and

IRQ assignments; see Important Note). If you have an IRQ

conflict that cannot be resolved, it might be best to contact your laptop manufacturer for more options.

4. An Alternate Method for Viewing IRQ Conflicts

You can also use Window XP System Information to find more details

regarding hardware, software, conflicts and more. Go to Start->

Accesories-> SystemTools-> SysInfo. Remember, you can only disable

hardware from the Windows Device Manager.

System Information collects and displays configuration information

that includes both signed drivers and unsigned drivers.

System Information saves data files in a native (.nfo) format. You can

also open .cab and .xml files in System Information. When you open

.cab files, you can view the contents of those files by using the Tools

menu.

With older PC laptops (pre 2005), IRQ sharing is very common. Notice that some of these devices are critical to the computers operation. In most situations, this cannot be resolved.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

One of the most critical issues regarding USB/FireWire performance is how your computer is assigning communication resources with its hardware. In some cases, the computers BIOS is unable to alter IRQ assignments - IRQs are directly responsible for hardware interfacing with software and the computer. Making matters worse, Windows XP will attempt to interpret these assignments and at times, inadvertently stack devices on a single IRQ number. Beyond disabling devices in your computer - a laptop for example, may not be able to control IRQ assignments thus, leaving you with no solution

- where as a PC desktop computer will often allow you to force IRQs on particular PCI slots with respect to its motherboard. (See page 5)

Before Buying a New Computer -

(particularly a PC laptop), be sure to check its resource assignments regarding USB and/or FireWire as well as additional software that should not be present (See New Computers with Preloaded Operating Systems). If you already have a computer (laptop) with this adverse condition – check with the manufacturer for a BIOS upgrade that could possibly resolve hardware conflicts – otherwise your computer (laptop) may not be able to correctly stream USB/ FireWire audio.

To modify your computers BIOS please contact the manufacturer

All sharing IRQ 9

System Information from Pre 2005 Laptop Also see example on page 12

Video

Network Card

USB Device Audio Device

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