Ableton Forum

Live 8 recently stopped recognizing my APC-40. I run Live 8.2.1 on a Win 7 quad core PC. I also run a MOTU micro lite and a Korg Pad control. My standard startup procedure is to start the computer, let it "settle", start the APC-40, wait for the ba-doink sound, start Live, and get to work. For some reason, Live quit automapping the APC-40's controls. The little light in the upper right hand corner blinks when I move a control, but nothing moves. I can get into midi map mode and manually assign controllers, but nothing maps automatically. As far as i can tell, I have all the usb audio drivers installed, and they're all working properly. I contacted Akai...they were very nice, but clueless. Can anyone help with this? I've been making music on the computer since the late 1980's and have configured many computers over the years but this one has me stumped. Thanks.

In your preferences under MIDI Sync do you have the APC40 selected in all three columns? (Control Surface, Input & Output).

Do you get the red box around the tracks in session view? Also, to troubleshoot any possible conflicts with your other MIDI gear set everything to off in the lower MIDI Ports section of the MIDI Sync Preferences.

Thanks for the response. Yes, the APC-40 is selected in all three columns. I get no red box in session view. I've disconnected all other midi gear, audio interfaces, etc. except the APC-40 and still have the same problem. I've deleted the driver and reinstalled it...tried every usb port...tried different usb cables...etc. and nothing worked. I've searched the forums and found plenty of other people who have this same problem, but haven't found a solution.

It needs to be set up as a control surface....

Cheers
D

It is set up as a control surface. Has been all along.

Did you ever have a logitech camera installed? Logitech drivers "take over" the USB audio device, and still stay there, even if you uninstall them using normal procedure.

Here's the response I got from Nick at Akai t/s (I just downloaded the zip file uner Win XP SP3, and it worked perfectly. The computer recognized the USB audio device right away....;


Hi Charles,



Various Logitech (and also Labtech made by Logitech) USB cameras interfere with the proper operation of USB audio or MIDI devices which use the USB Audio Codec. This is because when the camera driver is installed, the computer tries to use it for all USB Audio or MIDI devices. This driver is also not properly uninstalled if the Logitech Software is uninstalled by normal means.

If you have or have ever had a Logitech Camera connected to your computer, use the procedure below to determine if your system is exhibiting the conflict being discussed in this article.



Windows XP:

1. Disconnect your Logitech camera from your computer.

2. Connect the USB Audio or MIDI device which is not working correctly.

3. Select the Start menu at the bottom-right of your screen.

4. Choose Control Panel (or Settings, then Control Panel on some computers).

5. In the window that opens, double-click the control panel titled System. If there is no item titled System listed in the Control Panels window, click the link in the upper-left of the window titled Switch To Classic View. The System Control Panel should now be visible to the right. Double-click it to open the System Properties window.

6. At the top of the System Properties window that opens, click the tab titled Hardware.

7. Then click the button labeled Device manager. You will be presented with a list of all the components installed on your computer.

8. Right+Click the device titled USB Audio Device and select Properties

9. In the window that opens, select the Driver tab.

10. Click the button labeled Driver Details

11. You should see a list of the following 8 drivers:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\drmk.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\ks.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\portcls.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\stream.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\USBAUDIO.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\ksproxy.ax

C:\WINDOWS\system32\ksuser.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\wdmaud.sys

12. If there are more than 8 items in your own list, find out which one is not in the above list, and write down it's name, location and any other information displayed. If this driver appears to be a Logitech driver, then your system is exhibiting the conflict covered here. To remove the Logitech driver, proceed with the instructions below:



The following download contains a registry script (for Windows XP only, not Vista) which will remove the problematic file. Do NOT use this registry script unless (using the procedure above) you have determined that your system is exhibiting the specific conflict covered by this article. Simply unzip the file and double click the file titled LowerFilters_remove.reg. You will likely be asked by your computer whether or not to allow the action. When asked, choose Allow.



Logitech_Camera_Fix.zip - for Windows XP only, not Vista



If, for any reason, you are unable to use the above script, the following procedure will guide you through determining if you have this problematic driver installed, and will show you how to manually remove it.



1. Open My Computer

2. Navigate to the Logitech driver's location which you wrote down (see above). On most computers, it is located in the following directory:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\
Note: This may differ on different computers, or with different Logitech cameras.

3. Locate the file whose name exactly matches the one you wrote down earlier.
Your search will be easier if you select Details from the View menu at the top of the window.

4. Right+Click the file and choose Delete.

5. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete the file. Choose Yes

6. Restart your computer.

Your USB Audio or MIDI device should now be properly recognized by your software.



Windows Vista:

1. Disconnect your Logitech camera from your computer.

2. Connect the USB Audio or MIDI device which is not working correctly.

3. Select the Start menu at the bottom-right of your screen.

4. Choose Control Panel.

5. In the window that opens, double-click the control panel titled System. If there is no item titled System listed in the Control Panels window, click the link in the upper-left of the window titled Classic View. The System Control Panel should now be visible to the right. Double-click it to open the System Properties window.

6. At the top of the Control Panel > System window that opens, click the tab titled Hardware.

7. Then in the upper-left of the window, under Tasks, click the link labeled Device manager. You will be presented with a list of all the components installed on your computer.

8. Right+Click the device titled USB Audio Device and select Properties

9. In the window that opens, select the Driver tab.

10. Click the button labeled Driver Details.

11. You should see a list of the following 5 drivers:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\drmk.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\portcls.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\USBAUDIO.sys

C:\WINDOWS\system32\SysFxUI.dll

C:\WINDOWS\system32\WMALFXGFXDSP.dll

12. If there are more than 5 items in your own list, find out which one is not in the above list, click on it once, and write down it's name, location and any other information displayed. If this driver appears to be a Logitech driver, then your system is exhibiting the conflict covered here. To remove the Logitech driver, proceed with the instructions below:



1. Navigate to the Logitech driver's location which you wrote down (see above). On most computers, it is located in the following directory:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\
Note: This may differ on different computers, or with different Logitech cameras.

2. Locate the file whose name exactly matches the one you wrote down earlier.
Your search will be easier if you select Details from the View menu at the top of the window.

3. Right+Click the file and choose Delete.

4. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete the file. Choose Yes

Restart your computer.

Your USB Audio or MIDI device should now be properly recognized by your software.





Windows 7:

13. Disconnect your Logitech camera from your computer.

14. Connect the USB Audio or MIDI device which is not working correctly.

15. Select the Start menu at the bottom-right of your screen.

16. Choose Control Panel.

17. In the window that opens, double-click the control panel titled Device Manager. If there is no item titled Device Manager listed in the Control Panels window, click the link in the upper-right of the and change the view to either Large or Small Icons. Then you should see Device Manager.

18. Double-click on Sound, video, and game controllers. You should see your device listed.

19. Right+Click the device and select Properties

20. In the window that opens, select the Driver tab.

21. Click the button labeled Driver Details.

22. You should see a list of the following 6 drivers:

C:\windows\system32\drivers\drmk.sys

C:\windows\system32\drivers\ksthunk.sys

C:\windows\system32\drivers\portcls.sys

C:\windows\system32\drivers\USBAUDIO.sys

C:\windows\system32\SysFxUI.dll

C:\windows\system32\WMALFXGFXDSP.dll

23. If there are more than 6 items in your own list, find out which one is not in the above list, click on it once, and write down its name, location and any other information displayed. If this driver appears to be a Logitech driver, then your system is exhibiting the conflict covered here. To remove the Logitech driver, proceed with the instructions below:



5. Navigate to the Logitech driver's location which you wrote down (see above). On most computers, it is located in the following directory:

C:\windows\system32\drivers\
Note: This may differ on different computers, or with different Logitech cameras.

6. Locate the file whose name exactly matches the one you wrote down earlier.
Your search will be easier if you select Details from the View menu at the upper-right of the window.

7. Right+Click the file and choose Delete.

8. You will be asked if you are sure you want to delete the file. Choose Yes

Restart your computer.

Your USB Audio or MIDI device should now be properly recognized by your software.





Best Regards,





Nick Egerton

Technical Support & Return Authorizations

Akai | Alesis | Ion Audio | Numark

Tel. 401-658-4032

Fax. 401-658-3654

Thanks for forwarding that note from Akai. I'm aware of the issue with Logitech camera drivers, but I've never owned a Logitech product so I don't think that's it. Your message did give me a couple of ideas though. I'll keep trying and I'll keep y'all posted. Thanks for the help.

I have found that when I have both an APC-40 and another class-compliant MIDI device connected, such as an AKAI MPD24, Live sometimes gets confused. Here's how I've unconfused it:

1) Disconnect the other device. Connect the APC-40. Launch Live.

2) In live, turn off the other MIDI device. Verify that Live recognizes the APC-40.

3) Exit Live. Leaving the APC-40 connected, connect the other device.

4) Launch Live again. You should be good to go.

If this doesn't work, try reversing the order of the two devices in Live's device list.

this thread should be renamed and sticky-ed, or a new sticky made with the information as i'm sure more than one person has this issue

Muzik 4 Machines wrote:this thread should be renamed and sticky-ed, or a new sticky made with the information as i'm sure more than one person has this issue

First let's see if it works

Thanks for the tip, but it didn't work. If I disconnect the other devices they don't show up in Live so I can't disconnect them within Live. I'm gonna try to find a system restore point from about six months ago and see if that does anything. Wish me luck.

And one more thing...I did confirm that the APC-40 is functional. It works perfectly with my laptop so I'm thinking it might be a windows problem. Thanks again for all the suggestions...you guys are great.

If it's a Windows problem, short of formatting your drive, you might try http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner first to clean out anything that might be interfering.

If you run MIDI-OX, does it see the APC-40 input?

This is interesting...

I still have a version of Live 8.0 running on my desktop. Just for grins I fired it up and the APC-40 works perfectly with it. I have Live 8.2.1 set up EXACTLY the same as Live 8.0, but the APC-40 doesn't work with 8.2.1. I'll download version 8.2.6 and see if that helps. Stay tuned.