Error starting Demo

[davenz]

Hi team.

This is my first post and unfortunately it is a problem rather than an excited 'gush' about what looks like excellent software. I actually installed and tried out the latest version of RW a few weeks ago when trialling a bunch of different recording software titles. As the Nvidia ASIO endabled soundcard I have didn't perform well with RW I uninstalled and forgot about it until I found it again and remembered how groovy it was, so I reinstalled it last night and played around again after having installed a Sound Blaster Live 24bit card I had hanging around and (don't go nuts) ASIO4All. Anyway, long story short I played with the demo for a good hour or so and was getting some quite promising results out of it.

However, I tried to start it this morning (about 12 hours later) and all I get is a weird memory message, an offer to save my work before the software exits, then a crash and burn with a C++ library error with RW exiting thereafter. Similar errors are sprinkled throughout this forum, with users jumping on Vista, Microsoft or some other just-as-unlikely issue as being the cause. Sorry, as a computer repair shop owner I'm not big on blaming MS updates (which certainly haven't happened with the last 12 hours) or my OS for causing the issue. The fact remains that I have used the software for a total of a couple of hours on two different occasions without issue until this morning, when I can't get it to start at all. I have reinstalled the demo exe to no avail. Nothing else, as far as I am humanly aware, has changed on my machine overnight.

My machine is running an AMD 4200+ Dual Core with 2 gigs of RAM with Vista business and the aforementioned SV Live 24 bit card. I have no trouble running any of my other DAW's and applications.

I have a couple of screen caps here for those that can be bothered:

www.pcanytime.co.nz/error.jpg

www.pcanytime.co.nz/error2.jpg

Anyway, my excitement has turned to disappointment as far as buying this software goes. A hundred and thirty US dollars is quite a lot of money in my currency so any light shed on my issue would be appreciated, not only by me but also the creators of RW. If more info is required, let me know and I will do my best to supply it.

Thanks and have a great day.

Dave

[davenz]

After a bit more mucking around I found that after uninstalling completely and reinstalling, RW will run once or twice before again refusing to open. I tried installing with administrator priviledges and running in compatibility mode but it makes no difference. Now when I reinstall it won't work at all, giving the same errors as mentioned above. Interesting, and frustrating because I really like the look of this software.

Dave.

[camaro24gold]

Hi
I don't know what's going on with (or for) ya but in the past there has been some AMD issues that I have heard of concerning RW. Also Vista has been a nightmare for some but then again I'm still using XP Pro.
The only reason I am chirping in is that "we" are listening...so hang in there cause a better knowledge person (such as Wild Bill) or such will be along soon ta help you out.

What's some of the other DAWs that you are using?

[davenz]

Hi
I don't know what's going on with (or for) ya but in the past there has been some AMD issues that I have heard of concerning RW. Also Vista has been a nightmare for some but then again I'm still using XP Pro.
The only reason I am chirping in is that "we" are listening...so hang in there cause a better knowledge person (such as Wild Bill) or such will be along soon ta help you out.

What's some of the other DAWs that you are using?

Hi there.

I am using Mixcraft 3.1 and Reaper, though when I say using, although I have been a musician for 30 years it is only recently I have had the time to sit down and seriosuly look into recording music on my computer. While my machine is reasonably high-spec for gaming, it is way low-spec for recording, mainly in the soundcard department. Unfortunately music-related hardware is expensive here, so anything I buy I will have to source from overseas. Still, that other software has no issues (except a little latency if I monitor the inputs) running on my box, and I can happily stack up 20 tracks in reaper and play them all without trouble.

While I realise my machine has low specs required for RW, I would still expect it to start without errors, unless it is tied in with ASIO4All or while initialising my soundcard. But after more experimentation, removing ASIO4all and the SB Live card and going back to my ASIO enabled onboard sound (Nvidia Realtek AC97) the software still crashes out with those errors. It will be intersting to see what the gurus come up with.

Thanks for your help.

Dave.

[scott]

Dave,
What ASIO device are you using to get your audio to the software?

ASIO4ALL isn't recommended or supported by SWW although it works for some, not for others. I've got an onboard SB X-Fi soundcard and I've uninstalled it because the drivers were clashing with other audio related drivers so your problem might be a combination of things. Like yourself, I had to mix 'n' match drivers and software to see which combination worked best. Potential issues like chipsets also need looked at so if you have any error messages generated or offers of minidump files to be saved, e-mail them on to support@sonomawireworks.com along with any .log file from ... /My Documents/Sonoma Wire Works/RiffWorks/RiffWorks.log

[camaro24gold]

I tried ASIO4All once and had no luck with it on any of my sound cards with any DAW.
Some have had no problems I have heard.
I think there was a problem with some AMD chipsets and RW. Maybe Randy can help with that.

[davenz]

Dave,
What ASIO device are you using to get your audio to the software?

ASIO4ALL isn't recommended or supported by SWW although it works for some, not for others. I've got an onboard SB X-Fi soundcard and I've uninstalled it because the drivers were clashing with other audio related drivers so your problem might be a combination of things. Like yourself, I had to mix 'n' match drivers and software to see which combination worked best. Potential issues like chipsets also need looked at so if you have any error messages generated or offers of minidump files to be saved, e-mail them on to support@sonomawireworks.com along with any .log file from ... /My Documents/Sonoma Wire Works/RiffWorks/RiffWorks.log

Howdy Scott

I was using ASIO4all as I mentioned above, but since then I have uninstalled it and gone back to my on-board Nvidia AC97 ASIO enabled card. Since then, I am able to start RW every single time, even after multiple reboots, so it was obviously the ASIO4all that was causing the crash. Lesson learned.

BUT, I went out today and purchased an M-Audio Fast Track USB (which is on the list of recommended hardware and is the only device available locally on the list) and installed that. Since then, the software crashes out on startup again. GRRR! It seems too bloody finnicky with drivers to make it not work half the time. As usual, I am the only person on the planet to have these issues, so I don't expect the team to roll over just for me, but out of the thousands of software titles I have trialled over the years this has to be the most frustrating.

As there is only one driver available for Vista and the Fast Track unit, it seems I am going to be screwed if I want to use this software. I have no dump files, though I can send the log file you mentioned to the support team.

Thanks for your help.

Dave.

[Wedgebill]

Hey Dave, I don't know if you're using the usb circuitry bolted onto your motherboard or not but I do know that numerous problems have been solved by using a PCI usb 2.0 card instead. I must admit that I've had far more problems with Vista than XP but I've been a confirmed AMD disciple for donkey's years. The spec on your pc is far superior to either of the pc's I've used Riffworks on. I hope you don't give up on RW mate, this old Pom's lookin' forward to having a Kiwi on board

I hope you soon resolve it mate, Happy New Year to ya

Uncle Bill

[gatorjj]

Dave, I think the ones on the recommended list are ones Sonoma have actually tested, so they might have some guidance to give when Monday rolls around.

Ironically I just had an issue with another program hanging on startup that pointed to my ASIO device as the culprit (it's the first time it's done that with that particular program, but I've had it on occasion with others). RiffWorks has been pretty stable though in that respect. There's a lot of variables (and just as much speculation on causes) so I won't speculate but the Sonoma people have been pretty helpful in the past in helping sort these issues out.

Cheers and good luck!

J.J.

[davenz]

Hey Dave, I don't know if you're using the usb circuitry bolted onto your motherboard or not but I do know that numerous problems have been solved by using a PCI usb 2.0 card instead. I must admit that I've had far more problems with Vista than XP but I've been a confirmed AMD disciple for donkey's years. The spec on your pc is far superior to either of the pc's I've used Riffworks on. I hope you don't give up on RW mate, this old Pom's lookin' forward to having a Kiwi on board

I hope you soon resolve it mate, Happy New Year to ya

Uncle Bill

Thanks everyone for your assistance. I managed to get an afternoon with RW running happily, then out of the blue it started faulting again and now nothing I can do will resurrect it. Bloody frustrating! It must be a Vista issue, but in the two years I have been using Vista I have not had anything like this going on - I will never go back to XP.

Cheers to all and a Happy New year.

Dave.

[mickeymix]

Vista ? 2 years??? :rolleyes: I've been using RiffWorks for a couple of years with XP installed on my PC ...no probs for at least 2 years.............. .......NO problems at all on my laptop using Vista....... problems came when trying to use ASIO4 ALL and Reaper......though I've learned that the Reaper drivers have been fixed..... I stilll won't take a chance on either Reaper or Asio4All.....

[scott]

Vista was only released for public comsumption a year ago but maybe Dave (being an IT type person) is an M$ tester?
(Unless it's something to do with living so close to the International Date Line. I never could get my head around stepping over an imaginary line and losing or gaining a whole day - let alone a whole year!)

Happy New Year when it comes Dave! You'll be in 2008 before any of us!!!

[davenz]

Vista ? 2 years??? :rolleyes: I've been using RiffWorks for a couple of years with XP installed on my PC ...no probs for at least 2 years.............. .......NO problems at all on my laptop using Vista....... problems came when trying to use ASIO4 ALL and Reaper......though I've learned that the Reaper drivers have been fixed..... I stilll won't take a chance on either Reaper or Asio4All.....

Scott has it right, I tested Vista way back when. I have reaper installed as well and it works very well, though I'm not a fan of the 'classic' DAW, RW looks fantastic and I find it very intuitive and easy to get around, when it works that is.

Hopefully someone can pin something down as the cause; I have been experimenting with registry permissions, UAC and what-not all day just to see if I can find something to explain the crashes, but nothing is apparent so far. It has to be a driver initializing or something like that.

Cheers.

Dave.

[scott]

It has to be a driver initializing or something like that.

All of my major crashes have come down to driver incompatability. I don't have enough technical 'know-how' to delve into exactly why but, through persistence more than knowledge, I've managed to come to the conclusion that audio drivers are a f*ckin' nightmare to work with.
My combination of Line 6, Creative and TASCAM drivers hate working together. When the three of them are active they cause blue screen crashes that screw the whole PC up and it takes hours to uninstall/reinstall everything. As a result I've uninstalled a soundcard that now needn't even be there, ditched a TASCAM US-428 which gives much better audio output, just so I can live a trouble free life.
So if you manage to find something out Dave, I'll be very happy too!