Has a lack of soundcard drivers kept you from upgrading your OS?

[Googly Smythe]

Biggest safe bet is RME

Had my Multiface for 15 years now and still has current drivers, never had a problem with it on any of the Windows OSs or various laptops and desktops I've used it with

Just installed the latest (4.15) driver for RME AIO - installer seems not to install the actual driver! The systemtray icons are are there, but they don't do anything. Checked sound control panel thingy, and no RME drivers listed. Back to v4.14.
Anyone got it working? Or is it just me?
ps Win7 Ult.

[rp314]

AVID took control of a few product lines (FastTrack and one other, can't recall) and as far as I know drivers are still updated for those. But the Firewire/ProFire series are dead. A bummer really as I have a bunch of old M-Audio gear as well, but if I want to use anything that isn't class compliant, I have to stay at OSX Yosemite.

Well I have a MobilePre USB around here somewhere which never got much use because it doesn't have MIDI (I got it with some other stuff I bought from a person moving away years ago), and since it's a 1st generation model I think Avid's last drivers work only on Win 8 and Mac 10.7.

So in my case I think that I literally have no soundcards that work on the current OSs.

That said, from seeing other people's posts, on the Windows side it looks like Win 7 has become the new XP so at least on that platform software will likely remain compatible...for now...

[Jace-BeOS]

I got screwed by M-Audio/Avid on two expensive FireWire devices (Lightbridge and ProjectMix) when the companies split. I'm stuck on Snow Leopard right now for that and other reasons (I can use them on Mavericks but there were the other reasons).

I tried to sell one to invest in a replacement and eBay let a jackass buyer screw me into paying to have it shipped back to me and refunding him. I lost quite a bit of money on that attempt and haven't tried again.

When I buy a new machine (if Apple ever releases a new Mac Pro & a standalone retina display), that'll be the end of my ability to use these devices.

Class compliant drivers for basic functions are really where every piece of hardware should go. I'd love to see some kind of regulation requiring it. The perpetual upgrade roller coaster sucks.

Edit: my other pro audio interface (TC electronic DigitalKonnekt x32) only has beta drivers for the current OS (which is going to be obsoleted in a few months) and no analog inputs. Either way, I'll be forced to buy a new interface for a new machine. Luckily, this device works as a digital router when not connected to a computer. Not a complete loss of drivers stop being made.

But apple shows no signs of releasing a computer I want to spend my computer nest egg savings on, so maybe I'll be using Snow Leopard till my MacBook Pro dies and I'm forced to buy another machine with laptop-style components.

[blaubär]

The win 10 anniversary update today broke my Creamware Scope 5.1 drivers. Did a rollback and everything is fine now. So thats the end of updates for me until either my three scope cards die or Soniccore releases a Win10 compatible driver. I am fine with either...
So now how do i prevent Win 10 from updateing automatically without pulling the ethernet cable?.

[justin3am]

Well I have a MobilePre USB around here somewhere which never got much use because it doesn't have MIDI (I got it with some other stuff I bought from a person moving away years ago), and since it's a 1st generation model I think Avid's last drivers work only on Win 8 and Mac 10.7.

When AVID lists a supported OS, that means that is the latest version they have tested with. It may work with later OSs but they can't say so officially. They used to qualify specific computers and wouldn't provide support unless you were using one of those.

I'm using some of their drivers which are only supported to 10.7 (Lion) in 10.10.5 (Yosemite). The uninstallers however, won't work in later versions of OSX, so if you encounter a problem you need to sudo remove the driver. Can't speak for Windows in general but I've used a Project Mix I/O, FastTrack Ultra and a FastTrack C600 in Windows 10.

I got screwed by M-Audio/Avid on two expensive FireWire devices (Lightbridge and ProjectMix) when the companies split. I'm stuck on Snow Leopard right now for that and other reasons (I can use them on Mavericks but there were the other reasons).

I tried to sell one to invest in a replacement and eBay let a jackass buyer screw me into paying to have it shipped back to me and refunding him. I lost quite a bit of money on that attempt and haven't tried again.

That sucks. I was using a Project Mix in OSX 10.10.5 until just recently. However, I know the drivers don't work in 10.11 (El Capitan), so I sold it on craigslist. Living in LA, it's pretty easy to sell audio gear locally. Luckily there are lots of people around here willing to pay top dollar for something if they can get it the same day.

[rp314]

Well I have a MobilePre USB around here somewhere which never got much use because it doesn't have MIDI (I got it with some other stuff I bought from a person moving away years ago), and since it's a 1st generation model I think Avid's last drivers work only on Win 8 and Mac 10.7.

When AVID lists a supported OS, that means that is the latest version they have tested with. It may work with later OSs but they can't say so officially. They used to qualify specific computers and wouldn't provide support unless you were using one of those.

I'm using some of their drivers which are only supported to 10.7 (Lion) in 10.10.5 (Yosemite). The uninstallers however, won't work in later versions of OSX, so if you encounter a problem you need to sudo remove the driver. Can't speak for Windows in general but I've used a Project Mix I/O, FastTrack Ultra and a FastTrack C600 in Windows 10.

That's good to know. Thanks.

So now how do i prevent Win 10 from updateing automatically without pulling the ethernet cable?.

Doesn't Win 10 let you turn off Windows Update? Or at least have to ask you before updating?

[incubus]

Nope. And if you figure a way around it, it will be self-aware and adapt.

Not really kidding.

[Jace-BeOS]

I was using a Project Mix in OSX 10.10.5 until just recently. However, I know the drivers don't work in 10.11 (El Capitan), so I sold it on craigslist. Living in LA, it's pretty easy to sell audio gear locally. Luckily there are lots of people around here willing to pay top dollar for something if they can get it the same day.

Well, word around the web says that the drivers work but aren't installable without disabling SIP. The M-Audio control panel software crashes on start and has no workaround or replacement. The control software is necessary for changing clock settings and digital I/O modes (ADAT vs S/PDIF). So it's basically useless anyway if you need to change these settings (I do regularly because of switching between external ADAT and S/PDIF devices and a word clock).

It's extremely frustrating because the hardware is excellent, cost me well over $2000 (none of which I can recoup or replace), and there are no equivalent products in existence for either the ProjectMix or the Lightbridge. I live in an area that has no music scene, so I'd have to ship to other states and pray I'm not screwed again. I'm not religious, so... Besides, who's going to buy hardware that has no driver support on current operating systems? The guy that screwed me was already trying to use the PM on a version of Mac OS X that was never supported (10.5 PPC?).

I'll never again buy from any InMusic brands (Akai, Alesis, Alto, Denon, Ion, Marantz, M-Audio, Numark, Sonivox, Tascam, etc... a real clearinghouse of some formerly great companies killed by bad management or general bad luck, bought up cheap for customer, brand and IP capture) or Avid, due to this abandonment.

Avid was supposedly the real developers of this hardware (same for the M-Audio banded Sputnik microphone I also have, but it seems M-Audio still markets a version of that), so these devices should've been kept by Avid, not abandoned. Avid acquired M-Audio specifically to market at non-ProTools people, so once they divested that brand and marketing plan, they saw no strategic value in maintaining the device support. It's all about getting new sales every quarter.

I hear RME makes great stuff with very long-term driver support... Too bad I likely cannot afford any of it.

[justin3am]

It's extremely frustrating...

Probably the nicest way you could have put it. I've certainly heard much worse.

The Project Mix and Sputnik were designed at the office where I worked. I think M-Audio's relationships with certain contract manufacturers and sales infrastructure were more valuable than the products themselves. There were some really creative people working at M-Audio while I was there. Very passionate about what they did.

I certainly wouldn't want to make business decisions for that kind of company. I can only say that I'm grateful for the experience of working there.

[annode]

My music PC has always been a 'standalone' off-line.
My RMI card w/ADAT was discontinued so long ago the latest drivers only work with XP.
I say phuck it then. I have no budget for a new card and OS. I can still make lots of noise with my system and it's going to just be like that.

For new VST running on win7, I can use my laptop as a host with midi over lan to my main host. But so far no real need yet.