16.c. Troubleshooting

Playing and Recording

When I playing or recording, I hear skipping and/or dropouts.

• The most likely cause of the problem is that the input/output buffer size is too small, you may need to use a size of a second or more on slower CPUs:

1. Select Tools > Properties.
2. Select the Hardware tab.
3. Increase the input or output buffer size.

• If this doesnÆt solve the problem and you are using a compressed drive, then it is possible that this is using too much CPU time. The best solution is to use an uncompressed drive.
• It is also possible that you are low on system resources, or that your hard disk is fragmented. Consult the Windows help for information on checking system resources and defragmenting your hard disk.
• If the sounds have been stored in RAM and you have low memory then Windows will use its own virtual memory, which can also cause the system to be slower. To correct this, make sure you are using your hard disk for the virtual memory.
• If you are using Windows 2000 then there are known audio problems from which it suffers, check for the latest service pack to see if they have been corrected.
• If the problem persists it may be that you have a general system problem, try testing your system for any hardware incompatibility between your sound card and another cards in your system. Consult the Windows help for information on checking your system.

When playing files from my SCSI hard drive, I get a warbling effect?

• A SCSI drive that is connected to a controller that uses a DMA channel (such as the old ISA controllers) may have a lower DMA channel number than your sound card. To fix this you need to set the DMA channel used by your sound card to a low one than your SCSI controller.

Some sounds load fine but wonÆt play.

• Soundprobe enables you to open many different file formats. It is possible you have opened a file that has a playback rate that your sound card doesnÆt support. Some older sound cards will only play at certain fixed rates, or may only support 8-bit or mono play. You may need to resample the sound to a supported type, see your sound card manual for details or see the Hardware tab in the preferences for information on your soundcard.

When playing the play cursor seems to be at the wrong position.

• Soundprobe relies on your sound card driver reporting the correct play position. Some sound card drivers donÆt do this correctly and will only report at fixed times or even with a fixed offset. Makes sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card.

When playing sounds at some rates, they seem to have the wrong pitch.

• Some sound cards have fixed playback rates. Trying to play at a different rate will either not output anything, or play at one of the available, incorrect rates, giving a change in pitch. The Microsoft Windows Sound System Version 2.0 and some compatible sound cards contain this bug. Make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card.

IÆm trying record from CD player/microphone/line-in and canÆt hear anything.

• You may have the Windows mixer control set to mute. Trying enabling the VU meter in the advanced record dialog. If you can see the input (the meters move) then you have the input correctly set and the volume is probably muted or low in the Windows mixer. If the VU meter is low but moving, then you may have the record mixer level set too low. If the VU meter stays fixed at low then you probably have the wrong mixer input selected. Try looking in the Windows mixer under the recording section.

When using preview, the sound is crackling and skipping.

• It is likely that the output buffer size isnÆt large enough. Try increasing its size in the Properties. If this doesnÆt solve the problem then it is probable that your computer isnÆt fast enough to perform the playing and effects processing at the same time.

When using real-time, the sound crackles and skips.

• It is likely that the real-time buffer size isnÆt large enough. Try increasing its size in the Properties - Hardware. If this doesnÆt solve the problem then it is probable that your computer isnÆt fast enough to perform the playing and effects processing at the same time. Performing real-time processing needs a lot of memory and processing power. You can try decreasing the real-time attributes in the Properties - Hardware. Try decreasing the record rate and changing the input to mono.

Effects

After processing an effect the volume drops.

• Some effects have a Dry Level, make sure this is not too low. Also, some effects change the volume level depending on the parameters you set. Try increasing any level parameters. If there is still a loss you can use the normalise menu option to boost the volume back to maximum.

After processing an effect the sound becomes distorted.

• Some effects, such as reverb, use a feedback system. This means that if the parameters are set too high, it is possible that the sound level grows over time. Try reducing some of the levels in the effect; consult the section of the manual on the effect you are using.

Why does it take so long to process a sound?

• Soundprobe uses very intensive mathematical algorithms for many effects. Examples are the FFT and filtering effects. These require many millions of calculations every second of the sound. Soundprobe also uses the hard drive to store the sound. This means that each effect needs to read and write many times to the hard disk. You can try disabling the undo and redo buffers, and increasing the virtual memory cache size. Processing a CD quality track, which lasts many minutes or hours, will always take a long time. The bigger the amount of data you need to process the longer it will take. If you have anything less than the minimum recommended specifications then the only real solution is to upgrade to a faster computer system.

When I change a parameter and it doesnÆt change the preview/real-time output immediately?

• You can only hear the change every time the output buffer is sent to the sound card. The time this takes is set using the Properties - Hardware output buffer and real-time buffer sizes. This means that having a large buffer size will cause a large delay before you hear any changes.

When changing a parameter, I canÆt hear any change using real-time or preview?

• Most effect support real-time changing of the parameters. Unfortunately it is not always possible to do this, and a few effect parameters are fixed one you have pressed preview/real-time. This can change with each version of Soundprobe as the effect algorithm improves/changes. This affects Very few effect parameters; updates will be made available to improve the small number of parameters affected.

File Formats

When using Soundprobe to create .WAV files for use with CD-R there is a click after each track.

• Unfortunately some CD-R software does not read the RIFF-WAV format correct and simply skips over a set amount of data which it assumes is the file header. Soundprobe enables you to save more information in the header than the CD-R software knows about, so it leaves a small amount of data in the audio track. Try removing any extra fields in the File Properties, ensuring all author and copyright fields are blank.

When trying to use AIFF file saved with Soundprobe on my Macintosh, it doesnÆt recognise the file as a sound file.

• Soundprobe saves the audio data correctly, but canÆt tell the Macintosh what file type it is. You need to manually set the fileÆs type on the Macintosh.

IÆm trying to load a certain file, and it wonÆt.

• Soundprobe supports a fixed number of file formats. This will increase with updates of Soundprobe. Ensure you have the latest update. If the latest Soundprobe still doesnÆt support it, then there are many free converters that can convert sound files into more popular file formats, such as the SOX utility. Try converting the file to a standard Windows PCM WAV file.

General

I keep running out memory.

• Try decreasing the graph cache in the Properties. This uses RAM to store the information, so having a large cache will use up a lot of RAM.  If you have many sounds loaded, then try closing all sounds you arenÆt using. Finally, try decreasing the virtual memory cache, this also uses RAM to store the data.

I keep running out of virtual memory.

• Soundprobe uses your hard drive for its virtual memory. Make sure you have the correct path set in the Properties - Misc. Also ensure you have as much free space as possible. Soundprobe creates temporary files with the extension ô*.sptmpö. Make sure none of these files have been left behind due to Windows crashing. Use the Windows start menu, find files command to search for them on your hard drive.