Firewire issue affecting all the Dell Core Duo notebooks

What happens, expactly when you try and run the Konnekt 24D?

I have a Konnekt 8 and a Dell Inspiron 1705 (Core2Duo)----connecting 6-pin to 4-pin works fine. I have used a Konnekt 24D as well. I havent' had problems with either.

 

<strike>It's really weird because the T.C. support guy said the same thing. I get drop outs every few seconds even while playing mp3s.</strike>

 

I assume you're replying to my TC Electronics post. When I'm at my computer (that particular computer/Dell with the TC) later this evening, I can give you more details about my configuation, if helpful

But, yea--it does work. Your TC driver is updated, right? Also, have you referred to the TC Konnekt forum at Harmony Central?

My big question is about the Expresscard and the 1705 Inspiron. I want to get a FW800 lacie drive, but I'll have to get an expresscard that supports FW800. Sounds like none of them work on Dell---but that is based on my ready of posts from several months ago. It's taking me ages to read through this very long (and helpful) thread.

To update me/recap---is the Expresscard FW800 isssue (where no card from no manufacturers will work) resolved?

Thanks,
Dt

 

i wanna buy a dell and i have a motu ultralite, now i know that is not a right choice, somebody can help me? I need to know what kind of notebook i can buy to make my motu work fine..or if the iusses with express card are just resolved like dtmodttl say, thanks

 

What sequencer are you running? I believe there is an issue with Sonar (I think it's Sonar) and the TC driver. I am running Cubase, so have not been following the issue closely.

 

As far as I know the expresscard issue hasn't been solved yet. There was a BIOS update released for M90 (and maybe other Dell laptops) back in december but hadn't a sound card to test it with and now that I have one, my expresscard is broken! Literally broken!

Thanks for your help. As I said above, I don't have an expresscard (1394a) anymore to use for a test, and I don't know if the issue is affecting FW800 (1394b) either.

I talked to T.C. support directly. I use Nuendo but I haven't got there yet, my goal so far has been to make it work with winamp or windows media player!

What is your laptop's graphics card? Have you installed the Ricoh drivers?

 

[/QUOTE]I talked to T.C. support directly. I use Nuendo but I haven't got there yet, my goal so far has been to make it work with winamp or windows media player!

What is your laptop's graphics card? Have you installed the Ricoh drivers?[/QUOTE]

It's an ATI Mobility Radeon x1400 graphics card, Core2Duo processor (2Ghz, whatever model that is).

Playing an mp3 via Windows Media Player works fine, using the TC WDM driver.

This is for a project studio at home, so I am going about this a bit more slowly than I would otherwise----therefore, there are some "no-no"s with my system-----namely that I am using XP Media Center Edition. However, I did modify the registry to get rid of the special Media Center services. I haven't bothered loading XP Pro, which I do own, because I frankly haven't had any problems with MCE.

That said, I don't know whether I'm using Ricoh drivers or not. I did check Device Manager, however. It merely says "Microsoft Driver 5.1.2535.0, OHCI Compliant IEEE Host Controller." Presumably, that means I'm not using the Ricoh driver, since it doesn't say "Ricoh"...?

Since my system is working, and since we have similar setups, feel free to PM me if I can provide more detail. You sound more knowledgable than I am, from an IT standpoint, so feel free to walk me through any aspect of my Dell setup, if it will help.

Dt

 

Well, surprisingly and sadly, it was a software conflict with I8KFanGUI fan speed control application. So T.C. Electronics sound card works, not with I8KFanGui running though. Thanks Dt.

 

I just spoke with Dell customer support. I was told that I have a newer model Inspiron, where the previous issues with on-board Firewire and Expresscard are now resolved. He said that both the SIIG and the Belkin FW800 expresscards have been tested and should work fine on my machine. There is a bios upgrade that I may or may not need to install, he said, but that would become evident once I actually set up the expresscard.

I've read in forums that the Belkins have had compatibility issues with the Oxford chipset that Lacie Triple Interface drives use, and that SIIG does not. Presumably, that has nothing to do with Dell.

Anyway, I guess the only way for me to really know is to buy the SIIG FW800 expresscard and give it try.

 

Hi all! interesting thread..quite long.. well, I also want a Dell (D820 or Inspiron 6400).... do they really solved this issue, so there would be no problem using those soundcards??

 

good lord! what a conversation and what a troublesome issue...I wanna put my story on the table to see if there's anything to contribute...

I have an HP dv2000 series laptop (specifically, a dv2116wm)...it's got a dualcore AMD 1.6mhz proc, 2 gigs o' RAM, NVIDIA video, 4pin onboard firewire, Ricoh chipsets for the card reader and, I think, for the expresscard/54 slot...

I have been working with digital recording for a number of years and am somewhat familiar with streamlining the windows OS...this XP pro setup is very cutback...lots of the unncessary stuff turned off...Bios is latest version...

I'm using an Alesis multimix firewire 16 as my card/converter/input...driver is also the latest version...

now, here's the story:
originally, I was running the Alesis output (6pin 1394) into the HP firewire input (4pin 1394)...everything worked fine!! I was recording live shows to Wavelab 4 and had no prob at all (the longest set recorded so far was 1hr 20minutes)!! I tested out recording in Sonar 4 with 8 channels armed and it recorded for 45 minutes with no problem....the thing is, the little 4pin input is a dinky little connector...after settin' up in bar scenes a handful of times, the little port was shook/pushed loose, to the point that if the even the wind caught it, the signal from the Alesis would disconnect from the laptop and crash the software, creating a need to reboot the whole shebangabang...like the card reader, I think the onboard firewire is Ricoh-based an' its driver is a generic 'OHCI compliant 1394' deal...well, I figured I could use the expresscard slot to add some 6pin 400mhz firewire inputs for their 'stronger/tighter' physical connection and bought an SIIG 2port 400mhz firewire expresscard/34 interface (I did this because, prior to finding this conversation, I found testimonies online stating that the SIIG device worked with HP laptops)...the SIIG expressecard has a Texas Instruments firewire driver and, thusly I assume, chipset(?)...

continuing:
the laptop has no problem recognizing the expresscard...it reads the connection as a 'PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge' and recognizes the Alesis, too...the problem is that, when I monitor or record, (either one!!), eventually, the signal between the laptop and the Alesis is disconnected...as such, the recording software crashes and the system needs to be rebooted...

in a way, I tested it once by letting it record and pulling out the expresscard manually and it did the same thing that occurs when they're left connected...this tells me there's a connectivity issue between the Alesis and the laptop involving the expresscard interface as the 'thru-put'...is it due to the TI/Ricoh miscommunication? Is it due to the expresscard being interrupted by another device (IRQ)? Recall, the onboard firewire worked just fine, although it's a small and sensitive physical connector...AND, the programs initially record just fine through the expresscard firewire port, (if I stop 'em quickly, I can even play them back with no probs/cracks/pops) but eventually the connection between the computer and the Alesis is broken and causes a system hang...(the broken connection can happen as soon as 30 seconds of monitoring/recording or as much as an hour later...normally it takes around 8-10 minutes)

soooooo, I read before that there may be a Firewire 800 expresscard, that includes a firewire 400 connector, and which does so NOT use Texas instruments drivers/chipsets...if the issue is a battle between TI and Ricoh, this may suffice...if it's a windows XP IRQ interrupt sharing issue, would I have to reinstall and force a HAL level in order to manually set an IRQ interrupt solely for the expresscard?

I dunno...I'm gettin' tired of bangin' my head against the wall, that's for dagg-on sure, 'specially since it's worked already!!!!...could it be something as simple as the friggin' 6pin to 6pin firewire cable? are there better brands than others? being that there are so many people with complaints/issues, I've assumed the problem was something internal to the expresscard...

any help would be greatly appreciated...I haven't heard back from SIIG, HP or Alesis yet...

thanks...

 

I'll repeat, all my problems dissappeared when I replaced the D820 with an HP NC8430.
Zero proeblems out of the box.
No need to turn anything off etc.

 

fyi, I just bought a new 6pin to 6pin cord...no change...it'll record for a while just fine, then eventually break connection between the Alesis and the laptop...grrrrrrr....

 

I think i'm gonna freeze myself for 5-10 years and wait for a better technology..
The man on the moon, night vision devices, videoconference and microwave ovens.....and we can't get a decent solution for this issue? there are some things I just can't understand.

 

i think the only solution is a usb 2.0 sound card for notebook without Texas instrument chipset, or a sony vaio, or a mac, however, USB 2.0 will works fine with usb soundcard (motu MKII) even if is present chipset RICOH?

 

USB 2.0 works but there's not that many decent USB 2.0 sound cards out there. So far I can confirm the T.C. Electronic Konnekt works though.

I thought that's an Intel 945 chipset issue, but it seems that your AMD laptop is affected too (read my first post in the thread). Anyways, the only solution that I can think of is that you get the built-in firewire fixed. I've been trying to make the stupid expresscard work with my laptop for more than 6 months now!

 

I just read through all 37 pages. I bought a Dell e1505 to use with my Focusrite Saffire, which had been working flawlessly on my rinky-dink eMachines with an old Athlon processor. I immediately got popping and clicking sounds from any audio device on playback - even itunes, and especially playing soft-synths. I tried creating a new hardware profile and disabling everything, as was suggested a while back, and so far it seems to be working. I'm able to get clean playback and clean soft-synth playback. I have yet to test recording, and will post back when I have some results.

Thanks for the tips and for the blood and sweat too.

 

Can I ask you for some more comments on your setup? I am at the moment deciding between the HP nx7400 and the HP nc8430.

With either of them, I would be getting Core 2 Duo T7200 2gHz/4M, an 80-120GB 5400rpm harddisk, and 1-2gig ram. I will be using a Konnekt 24D firewire interface.

The differences between them seem just to be extra security (fingerprinting thingy), smart card reader, and dedicated graphics card on the nc8430. Apart from that, the specs are identical in the quote I have - but the nx7400 is $450 cheaper. I actually can't confirm 100% that the nx7400 has a TI firewire chipset, but I am pretty sure it will have.

I am almost soley interested in optimum stability for recording 2-4 audio tracks simultaneously. Of course vst performance and all that is important, but secondary for me - the buck stops in the audio recording department - I need stable, glitch free performance.

Are you using your setup for audio recording as well as sequencing etc? Any tips?

Thanks,

Paul.

 

Yes, I use it with Pro-Tools mpowered and the M-Audio transit.
And with Nuendo and a Presonus Firebox.

 

Great, thanks for chiming in.

Do you find the 5400rpm drive to be enough for, say, recording 4-6 audio tracks simultaneously, and/or, playback of up to 16 audio tracks (with some eq, for instance)?

I will be using my Konnekt 24D, and mostly working with audio, as well as Kontakt 2.2 and a couple of other VSTi's.

Thanks again.

 

Good Lord...yep. Would be great to go to sleep and come back in 10 years!!

Where to start...

I find that peripherals tend to attach to laptops in a flimsy way. The connectors are tight at first, but after a lot of pluggin/unplugging they wear down too quickly. And, they're hard to repair. Replace a jack or pot on a mixer is easy and cheap enough to do----hard and expensive on a laptop!! If I were going to be mobile a lot, I would get a short Firewire extension cable with a 90 degree end that plugged into my laptop, and I would never remove it. I would plug/unplug devices into the extension cord only, to save the wear and tear on the laptop. It shouldn't have to be that way.

The Expresscard issue seems to be a pretty complicated one that can't be pinned down to any one computer or peripheral manufacturer. It sounds like there are dropouts in the data transfer which make Expresscard Firewire unasable in data intensive applications. IRQ issue? I don't know and am over my head on this one.

5400 drives---I have used them for recording once or twice (knowing that 5400 is far from ideal for a drive speed), and it does work. A few factors to consider, however: 1) SATA will perform better than IDE, 2) If you're running your OS and sequencer on the same drive that you're recording to...it will work, depending on your sample and bit settings (keep them low!). You will, however, be taxing the drive heavily---basically, pushing it to its limits (even if you're using seperate partitions). Don't expect the drive to last long. Heat may also become an issue. Recording to an external drive (even usb 2.0) is preferable.

 

Ok - I got my Dell 9400 e1705 to work. Here are my specs:

• Core Duo 2 GHz
• 2 GB 667 Ram
• Dell WLAN Mini adapter (internal)
• SIIG Expresscard SATA II Controller
• 2x Hitachi 250 GB 7200 8MB SATA I drives (Samples)
• Fantom 300 GB USB 2.0 7200 16MB HDD

​

FW Audio Units I tested:

• Mackie Onyx Satelite
• Focusrite Saffire
• TC Electronic 24D
• Presonus Firebox

​

**I Also tried the centrance driver.

The problem I was experiencing with my setup was what I would call a firewire signal hiccup. Basically, each of these FW audio devices work perfectly, except the Saffire which was DOA (more on that later). The cards would playback audio great with proper buffer settings for about 30-60 secs and then the audio would stutter, hiccup, and play again perfectly for another 30-60 secs.

Even with installing the centrance driver I wasn't able to reduce this. The worst performer was the TC 24D, it would stutter every 15-30 secs while just playing back an MP3. The Mackie did ok, but would still hiccup.

Through my frustration I returned the Mackie Onyx Satelite (it was the first one I bought) and upgraded to the Saffire. For some reason, it was DOA, I could install the driver, but loading up the control panel gave me a message that it lost connection with the hardware. I call all the GC's around my house, 4 of them, and they all had a surplus of returned Saffires. Not sure what's going on as I had only read good reviews.

I next tried the TC 24 D, and again hit the stupid signal hiccup. I returned that and got the Presonus Firebox. Before I installed this I had actually reinstalled XP Pro to try and fix the TC's performance. I decided when trying to install the Firebox the disable the "1394 network controller" under network connections. I then tested it by just playing an mp3 which gave my a single, subtle hiccup for a five minute song. I decided to disable my wireless connection, through the network connections screen, (Rt. Click Disable). I did this while the mp3 was playing and immediately heard a hiccup. I replayed the mp3 and the hiccups were now gone.

I started up Sonar 6.21, latency set to 8ms with the ASIO drivers and opened Kontakt 2 and began playing some VSL patches. No hiccups at all! I loaded up some VSTs and the same...the audio glitch was gone.

Just to clarify my train of thought, I had a Athlon XP motherboard that required me to turn off the network connection or else my MAudio 1010lt would pop and crack and stutter.

Also, in case this doesn't work for some of you, I've had really good use of the ASIO4ALL 2.7 drivers with the internal soundcard. I set the buffer to 256, the other setting I can't think of right now, to 4 (single slider middle right of control panel) I also disabled the input. With that I was working stable at 5-6 ms.

Finally, I am using the SIIG expresscard SATA II controller without any problems for streaming samples. Big ones too, EWQLSO Platinum and VSL Pro Orchestral Cube.

I'll keep testing my setup and post the results, but so far zero problems. I really think that the disabling of the network connections would have cleared the problems with the other FW audio cards, I just didn't think to do it before I returned them. I hope this helps

 

> Ok - I got my Dell 9400 e1705 to work. Here are my specs:

Cool. We have exactly the same laptop.

Strange about the Saffire, and it's not the first time I've heard a DOA story about them. I use the TC unit with my Dell laptop---no problems. It did not work at first, and I had to wait for an updated driver. Thankfully, the driver came out a couple of days after I bought the unit, so I kept it. I'm using Cubase SX3.

> I started up Sonar...

That explains it. TC dropped the ball. Their drivers aren't compatible with Sonar, and there are a lot of pissed off people on the Konnekt 24D Pro Review thread at Harmony Central. They are waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a driver update.

> I am using the SIIG expresscard SATA II controller...

Cool!!! Good to know it's working well. What BIOS version are you running on the Dell?

Are you running Vista?

Dt

 

I'm on Xp Pro right now...And I have the A07 bios. The TC issue I had wasn't just in Sonar...I actually had playback stutter problems with just using media player for an mp3...I also tried there latest drivers.

 

Try the Konnekt on a fresh copy of windows, you might be using a software that conflicts with Konnekt. In my case it was I8KFanGui.

 

I'm new here, I was thinking about getting an e1505 core duo. Is this problem specific to the core duo or is it present in the core2duo also. Also what about any of the other dual processor dell's from the outlet store.

 

All Dell dual cores and also some other brand's!

 

I don't even have the I8fangui as a process on my system...where is that located? Also, I did try the TC 24 D with a fresh install of windows with no luck...but, I think it would have worked if I had thought to disable my wireless and network connections. I think those are shared on the same chip as the firewire and were causing a conflict. I've done some more extensive testing with the Firebox and I'm completely happy. I need to get an updated centrance driver since my xp reinstall wiped the authorization. Once I do I post my performance test results with that and the firebox.

 

I8K is a 3rd party fan control software, so I assume that you haven't installed it. I tested a K24D last week and bought my own K8 yesterday. They both work perfectly with the wireless card enabled (I don't use LAN so I disabled it from the BIOS).

 

That's no problem at all.
I've mixed entire multi-track songs off of the drive.
But I do want to get a faster drive though.

 

great, I am ordering a HPnc8430 today with XP Pro (maybe I will ask about a free upgrade to vista as well, so I can dual boot to be future ready)! I will go with the 5400rpm drive, and maybe a bit later on get an external firwire drive, running through the PCI slot if it behaves well with my konnekt 24D.

 

http://fr.forums.audiofanzine.com/a...ndex%2Cidtopic,247474,page,1.html#3888854

if somebody know something about french here seems to be the dell solution, i can't understand anything about so maybe somebody could translate

bye

 

Here is the babel fish translation, and since my english is as good as your french, I really don't get it! ;-)

Hello hello, Our friend Psychovibes (that it is blessed) has just found the solution with the crackings and setbacks of the charts sounds firewire connected to laptop Dell: Engraver TSS Corp would do bad housework with the firewire, and by disconnecting the engraver physically (extinguish the portable, small screw with a lock at side, and zou!), I pass on the one hand from an adjustment of proc unsuited "low" to an adjustment adapted "medium", and 8 ms of latency to... 2 ms, the whole without setbacks!!! Marvellous!

 

Basically, Psychovibes says that his DVD burner (made by TSS Corp) conflicts with the firewire port; and, he noticed that if he physically removed the burner from his machine, then he could achieve latencies of 2ms.

Later on in the thread someone points out that TSS is actually Toshiba/Samung. Some people wonder whether it is a BIOS issue with Dell...

Mainly, the interesting bit is the DVD burner conflict

Also...take my translation at your own risk

Dt

 

Hi all,
Just wanted to let youknow that I went ahead wiht the M90 core2duo purchase in February and am NOT having any problems with dell's built in firewire and a video camera... good luck with your efforts, I hope they turn out well!
Cheers,
Jen

 

firewire on my 1505 works with Hdrives and cameras. no issues.

 

Hi everyone,

Been following this topic for quite a while now and I wanted to disclose my findings....

Bought a Dell M90, Core 2 Duo, 2GB ram, 100HD 7200rpm with quadro 512 card and was waiting to see what Sam Vafaei's findings where as we have the same machine.

Initially I went to Sound Control in London and tried an Edirol FA101 as i've heard from another M90 user that this works perfectly minus the noisy it picks up from the power supply which is remedeed by removing the earth from the plug. Trying this model in the shop and I had no problems - the shop was quite loud even though I had headphones on but no pops or cracks.

Go it home - plugged in - and bang - pops and cracks everywhere ??? I tried disabling the usual things in device manager and the bios but nothing - plus the edirol was not picking up noise whilst the laptop power supply was plugged in like other peoples FA101's.

So, called Sound Control and opted for my 2nd choice recommend by Sam Vafaei in this thread - the Konnekt 24d or 8.

Rushed back in to town - did a quick swap (actually refunded some money back as the Konnekt 8 was cheaper), got home - reinstalled xp SP2 and plugged in.

At this point I wanted to be safe - so I disabled everything I could in the BIOS and device manager again (network card, media card reader, modem etc) - installed the driver disc for the Konnekt 8 plus the version of cubase LE that came with the disc.

Now, recording went well except instead of pops and cracks the audio had 5-6 drop outs every 20-30 secs. This was also evident when playing an MP3 in windows media player.

Without picking up my laptop and throwing it out the window - I calmly went on the net and found a latency tool that someone recommend ( http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml). Basically this will analyse your and shows you whether or not your comp is able to handle real-time data streams. It was evident that something was stealing the latency every 20-30 seconds as the real-time bar graph was showing 5-6 spikes.

Next thing I did was revert back here and noticed the post about the CD/DVD drive on the Dell about how a guy rewired the drive or something - so I disabled mine in the Hardware devices and HEY PRESTO!!! no more spikes in the latency!!!!!

I installed Nuendo and gave that a try and recording seems to fine - except a random pop and crack which was corrected by upping the latency for the sound card.

 

Hi meanDaddy,

Sorry that I didn't reply earlier, quite busy these days ;-)

It's really weird that you experienced the drop outs and that disabling the DVD drive solved it! What brand is your DVD drive? (mine is NEC) I think I read in Dt's post that the issue is specific to Toshiba DVD drives. If that's the case, simply ask Dell to send you a replacement.

And just to make sure, you are not using I8kFanGui, right? (you've probably read my post on it)

 

Hey Sam,

Thanks for the reply.....

Yep - mine is a Toshiba TSST-corp - it also crashes my comp from time to time when putting blank media in the laptop!

What should I say to Dell? and is it easy to install myself?

Nope defo not using I8FanGui!

Cheers,

Brad

 

Hi there,

I wonder whether this is particular to the EU, Dell using TSS Corp, that is? I bought my laptop (Inspiron E1705) in States, and like Sam's, it has an NEC drive.

Brad--I would tell Dell what you wrote here. The drive is basically out of service, and whatever the reason for it is, Dell is obliged to provide you with a working drive. If they can't suggest a simple fix, tell them there are clearly 'issues' with the TSS drive and that you'd rather have an NEC, which is proven to work.

Cheers,
Dt

 

Yep bought my dell m90 in the UK.

Just on the phone to Dell now - and they are replacing my drive with an NEC drive - next day delivery!

 

That's good! and yes, it's very easy to install.

 

Yep just noticed it's a simple screw to undo and out the drive comes!

I'll post my results over the weekend - thanks for the help guys!

Brad

 

Hi. I own a Dell Inspiron 9400 and I want to use it with an m-audio 1814.
It has no problems to playback or using some VST Instruments but when I try to record anything the control pannel gets freeze and a constant hum noise enters the channels I´m using.
Is there anybody with the 1814 or the FW 410 with the same problem?
I´ve read the french post. Is it possible to unable the drive or you have to phisically disconnect from de laptop.

Hope anyone could help me with this.
Thanks. Sebastian.

Inspiron 9400 - DUal 2 Core 2.00 ghz - 2 gigs Ram 667 mhz - 100 Gigas 7200 RPM - M-Audio FW 1814

 

FW 1814 won't probably work. It's really hard to find a firewire sound card that works with the Dell's Ricoh firewire chipset. I had an M-Audio FW audiophile and had to sell it.

Try another brand like T.C. Electronics Konnekt series.

 

This has been an incredible experience of two hours or so, reading this entire tread ( from an Inspiron 6400 with a firewire Audiophile from M-audio attached to the on board firewire) given the post, say, just above me
I thought it is worth registering with the forum just to add this message:
DELL 6400 Inspiron with Ricoh chipset ( cheapset, rather) works great with Audiophile Firewire if one disables the TSS Corp DVD burner. This suggestion was given earlier in the forum and it solved sparse pops and cracks, allowing me to set this sound card to the minimum latency of the driver: 3+3 ms.
I run XP with SP2, T5200 , 2 Gb RAM, 7200 internal SATA 100 GB. I added the link to the french site below, for any of you people to use it and learn a bit of French at the same time. They are pretty nationalist fockers, but funny ones ( check out this excerpt from the same site: Faut tout de suite aller en parler sur le forum de Presonus pour nos amis américains qui galèrent comme des porcs) Anyway, give it a try if situation applies to you:
http://fr.forums.audiofanzine.com/a...ndex%2Cidtopic,247474,page,1.html#3888854

 

My M65 has an NEC dvd drive/burner and the firewire port still doesn't work with my m-audio audiophile. I will try disabling it when i get a chance and see what happens.

 

Try downloading the Latency checker i mentioned earlier at http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml (there is an english button top right)

This isnt an install just a small exe file which launches the checker.

Monitor the real-time check for red bars and try disabling items in your device manager until you don't get any reds anymore.

 

I tried the latency checker, it actually points to my DVD burner. Look at the graph: the drop in latency happens when I disable the DVD writer. I tried disabling other components, with no effect on the graph. It's clearly a DVD writer issue. It's great I can run ableton now. With the DVD burner enabled, what is weird is that the latency is nice on green for a long time, but then, after some minutes of running ableton, it starts increasing constantly and the only cure is to disable to the thing. With it disabled, it never happens.
B t w, when I say disabled, I mean software disabled. I didnt touch any drive phyiscally.

 

Weird! good to know though... but ... weird!

That latency checker is quite e nice tool! Disabling the DVD drive on my system didn't change anything and I had problems with pretty much any sound card other than Konnekt.