Tracktion in XP pro SP2

[valley]

I Seem To Recall/Remember

I need to stop using acronyms.

My experiences with SP2 were favourable beyond just the security stuff, the whole system felt snappier after the update. I think maybe XP2 is more efficient with virtual memory, but that's just idle speculation.


OT: bloody hell, the new KvR logo is *ugly*

[unknown user]

sp2 because I heard that it allows more power to usb ports.

Maybe this refers to CPU power (read: the USB port will be allowed to hog the bus, and doing so will create glitches, pops, crackles and other audible artifacts associated with your application not getting enough CPU power)

The voltage supplied by the USB port (12V?) is not sufficient to serve as 48V phantom power. If the Tascam unit has its own power supply and says it delivers 48V phantom power, than just stop worrying. It will do as advertised on the box (or sue them bastards!)

hmm. no external power supply and designed to run 2 phantom-powered mikes simultaneously. wattage used is extremely low, and doesn't seem to be a problem for many users (i.e. voltage not seen as an issue). Meant to be better (power for signal) for usb2 (even though the sound card is usb1), but wasn't sure if activation required sp1 or 2.

I'm just going to have to get the mikes and see.

valley , remind me what ISTR is.

otherwise, is sp2 really worth having as an update anyway? I was under the impression the main developments were security-related, which doesn't bother me at least since i don't hook my daw up to anything else.

USB electrical power delivered to the the cable is slightly less than 5V at 500mA max per connection. This is defined in the USB Specification. SP2 includes USB fixes as well as changes in the way certain USB class drivers work (esp. Storage class). Real-time performance can be affected by lots of things, especially if it's marginal to begin with.

There is a list of changes in SP2 here.

You best bet is probably to Google the web and newsgroups with something like:

xp sp2 usb audio [device]

[Samosa]

sp2 because I heard that it allows more power to usb ports.

Maybe this refers to CPU power (read: the USB port will be allowed to hog the bus, and doing so will create glitches, pops, crackles and other audible artifacts associated with your application not getting enough CPU power)

The voltage supplied by the USB port (12V?) is not sufficient to serve as 48V phantom power. If the Tascam unit has its own power supply and says it delivers 48V phantom power, than just stop worrying. It will do as advertised on the box (or sue them bastards!)

hmm. no external power supply and designed to run 2 phantom-powered mikes simultaneously. wattage used is extremely low, and doesn't seem to be a problem for many users (i.e. voltage not seen as an issue). Meant to be better (power for signal) for usb2 (even though the sound card is usb1), but wasn't sure if activation required sp1 or 2.

I'm just going to have to get the mikes and see.

valley , remind me what ISTR is.

otherwise, is sp2 really worth having as an update anyway? I was under the impression the main developments were security-related, which doesn't bother me at least since i don't hook my daw up to anything else.

USB electrical power delivered to the the cable is slightly less than 5V at 500mA max per connection. This is defined in the USB Specification. SP2 includes USB fixes as well as changes in the way certain USB class drivers work (esp. Storage class). Real-time performance can be affected by lots of things, especially if it's marginal to begin with.

There is a list of changes in SP2 here.

You best bet is probably to Google the web and newsgroups with something like:

xp sp2 usb audio [device]

many thanks for the link

[darcyb62]

I have been working through this problem for the past couple few days and I thought I would post where I am at.

After removing SP2 I found that the system worked quite well, but I had found that I needed to update my bios to address some issues with USB handling. I did that and checked everything out and it seemed to work okay so I upgraded to SP2 and again everything seemed okay. After spending some time with it I found that if I freeze more than a single track the problem resurfaces. With 2 tracks frozen and nothing else running I get the pause problem. You can actually see it occuring with the play line. It will move for a second or two then stop, then go, then stop. With the two tracks frozen CPU utilization would be under 10%. If I unfreeze the tracks they play just fine with CPU utilization at about 60%.

This didn't make much sense to me so I borrowed a slightly newer notebook from work (same brand and kine), performed a virgin install of XP, upgraded to SP2, installed the US122 drivers, installed Tracktion and ran without a problem. Froze 5 tracks without a hitch. So I am thinking this is a problem with the USB implementation on my notebook (it's 6 years old) so I am going to try adding a PCMCIA USB card and see if that helps....

Thoughts?

[CharlieSolak]

I had sp2 downloaded automatically from MS. Something told me not to install it. I didn't. I changed my mind and tried to get sp2 via windows update. It would not install (said 0 bytes to be installed. I was saved again. So, I thought I'd order the cd. It came the other day, but someone had lifted the cd and I received an empty package. I called and re-ordered.

Now, reading the posts here and hearing that MS was coming out with a new sp2, would it be safe to say not to install sp2 until the whole thing shakes out?

Advice?

Thank you,

[darcyb62]

The problems gone...

I found a WinXP supplementary package for my notebook which I applied and the problem is virtually gone. I guess the lesson learned is tomake sure you have all the updates from your hardware provider before going too far with OS upgrades...

Cheers...

[rich_h]

The voltage supplied by the USB port (12V?) is not sufficient to serve as 48V phantom power.

Not directly, but with an inverter circuit included it could - when you increase voltage in this way you decrease available current, but as powered microphones are generally low current devices then it's not a problem.

[metamorphosis]

there may be some confusion: ISTR that SP2 offered improved Firewire drivers that raise the maximum throughput ceiling, and handle the stream more efficiently. This is am effort to overcome serious shortfallings in the windows implementation of firewire. I don't recall reading anything about USB though, and I have noticed any difference personally.

SP2 destroys firewire support unless you download an additional patch-
otherwise your port slows to 100mbps rather than 400mbps - and there's no support for 800mbps (1394b)-
m@

[ObsoleteAcc99]

[DELETED]

[sean808080]

i'm using xppro sp2 on a laptop and have had no problems at all with my line 6 pod as the input device. ymmv.