Annoying, Consistent, Out of Nowhere Ableton 2 Second Freeze

[Check1-2]

I finally got my new interface all setup. All excited to use it. Out of nowhere comes this consistent 2 second freeze... Probably happens like every 45 seconds or something. Super annoying. Audio, even open tabs or changing screens in Ableton will just freeze for like a second or two.

I assume it must be something to do with being connected to the interface but I really don't know that for sure. The thing is CPU usage meter is low as can be. It's not like I'm overloading my computer or something as far as I can tell.

What the hell? Do I have some settings tweaked around incorrectly or something?

[gromgrom]

Is your interface conected via FW or USB? Check if your controller is compatible with the interface, i had similar issues. Which interface are you using?

[Angstrom]

what interface is it,
what computer,
what OS ?

There are many things that cause issues like that, I can only speak for PC issues where it is usually some sort of terrible 3rd party software that wants to update itself online, or make a connection to the network.
However it could be anything : with a firewire card it can be a bad chipset, with USB it can be low buss power from an under-rated PSU. Hard to say really.

[Check1-2]

It's a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24, connection is via firewire. Dell Studio laptop running Windows Vista ( ).

Anyway I can narrow down on what the issue is? It's extremely distracting, there is no hope of working "through" this issue.

[Angstrom]

sometimes people have issues with firewire chipsets, TexasInstruments are known to be the best and pretty much always works.
I've never had a different chipset myself, so I cant speak on what happens if you happen to be using some other chipset.

However, I would suspect that it's more likely to be a bit of 3rd party software doing terrible things. I'd call up your task manager (processes tab) and look at what processes are running. I've had all sorts of terrible software come with (for instance) a bluetooth dongle, my bank online software, sony-erickson phone drivers. All of those used to sit there malevolently chewing CPU at regular intervals.

I find this is a handy application to examine what is running, using resources, etc.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi ... s/bb896653

Also, take a look and see if something has dropped a Scheduled Task into the Task Scheduler.

Open Task Scheduler by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Task Scheduler.? Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

some software sticks a pile of shit up there and it runs regularly trying to call homebase.

[Check1-2]

Wow thanks man, great response.

I had my computer into the repair shop fairly recently and I noticed a bunch of BS starting up now that normally didn't before. Typically I go in and end those processes but I actually haven't done that for a while. I believe I did that after I was experiencing the issues and it didn't help the situation BUT there's a chance I missed one or two that might have been doing it. Seems likely.

Only thing is, shouldn't my CPU usage meter be showing high levels if this were the cause of the drop out/freeze up?

[Angstrom]

well, Live's CPU meter only registers what Live is doing, not whatever a bluetooth driver written in visualbasic might be trying to achieve. Or that keylogger which was installed by your unscrupulous repair-dude

[Check1-2]

Haha that bastard!

Thanks though man, I'll use that program you linked to and try to get this running more smoothly.

[gromgrom]

I had exactly the same problems with my saffire 24

The problem is the FW chipset!
Here's a list of compatible FW cards.
Just get one of the suggested laptop cards and it should work!

[Check1-2]

Damn... How much did that cost you to have installed?

[gromgrom]

there are external cards for laptops that you just plug into the pcmia slot (your laptop should have one)

[Check1-2]

Not trying to beat a dead horse in this thread here but I'd like to make sure before I buy something else again...

Just want to clarify that this ONLY happens in Ableton. All of my audio (windows media player, iTunes, Youtube videos, etc) is all running through the interface with no issues. Are you still confident that it's what you said? Just seems like if it's a firewire connection or compatibility issue of some sort it would do it with all the audio going through it. Or no?

[gromgrom]

It was the same thing for me, youtube, etc. was working fine for me.
I am still waiting for my FW card to arrive, should be next week.
I will tell you if that fixed the problem. But i'm pretty sure thats what is causing the problem.
Why don't you try ringing customer service? I rang them up here in germany and they were very friendly and helpful

[gromgrom]

Ok so i've checked again and it turns out the problem is an interrupt conflict (google IRQ for more info ) between my graphics card and the FW card....
This problem persists with all the PCI slots on my mainboard and it is not possible to manually assign IRQs in Win7

Does anyone have a fix for this? I'm saving up for a new PC anyway, but i still want to be able to use my interface till then!

@check1-2: the new card didnt solve my problems, once you've got informed about IRQs, go to the device manager and go to "View by resource" and see which devices have the same IRQ as your FW card. Try deactivating the other devices and seeing if the problem goes away

[Check1-2]

Thanks man, I likely never would've figured that out. I'm going to give that a shot tomorrow as I've got the day off.

Got my fingers crossed, thanks again bro.