NEED HELP WITH BOOT ISSUES

[razza25]

Hey All,

I'm new here and have never posted before. So please forgive if what I'm about to ask is already in another topic, however after searching the forum extensively and reading a bunch of similar issues and solutions I can't see anything that's 'exactly' the same problem that I am having.

This issue is:
As I attempt to boot the d8b it "freezes" with all of the LED's across the meter bridge stuck on. It doesn't load the "DOS Esque" startup sequence, literally as I flick on the switch to the d8b computer to power it on, the freeze is the first thing that happens.

Oddly enough, if I turn it on and off enough times it will eventually boot up fine and play audio relatively well, however if I send multiple channels of audio at once through the d8b the audio starts to glitch and it sounds similar to the sound of a clocking issue.

SETUP:
mac pro quad core intel (SLAVE)
M-Audio ProFire Lightbridge FireWire Lightpipe Interface (SLAVE)
apogee big ben (MASTER CLOCK)

Please let me know if you require more info.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Best,
Ben

[doktor1360]

Hey All,

I'm new here and have never posted before. So please forgive if what I'm about to ask is already in another topic, however after searching the forum extensively and reading a bunch of similar issues and solutions I can't see anything that's 'exactly' the same problem that I am having.

This issue is:
As I attempt to boot the d8b it "freezes" with all of the LED's across the meter bridge stuck on. It doesn't load the "DOS Esque" startup sequence, literally as I flick on the switch to the d8b computer to power it on, the freeze is the first thing that happens.

Oddly enough, if I turn it on and off enough times it will eventually boot up fine and play audio relatively well, however if I send multiple channels of audio at once through the d8b the audio starts to glitch and it sounds similar to the sound of a clocking issue.

SETUP:
mac pro quad core intel (SLAVE)
M-Audio ProFire Lightbridge FireWire Lightpipe Interface (SLAVE)
apogee big ben (MASTER CLOCK)

Please let me know if you require more info.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Best,
Ben

Sounds like it's time to :

a) open the desk
b) clean and reseat ALL power cables (there's 4 of them)
c) reseat any/all MFX/UFX cards

And you might even consider nuking your startup file... then ultimately reboot. If this doesn't work, it'll tell you a lot about what else may or may not be happening.

Certainly, you could always boot the desk up isolated from all the other gear, just the CPU/Desk. Without being onsite to actually see things, I'd personally break this down to singular parts of the architecture and test each individually as necessary. As it's been said - "Eat the Elephant One Bite at a Time"...

The clocking 'chain' here sounds OK, assuming the D8B is slaved to the Big Ben master clock siggy accordingly - check the terminations, t-connectors and/or cables. I'm not an 'expert' here by any means in terms of practical application, but the D8B does like to boot 1st before anything attached; I'm sure others here will chime in and bring this part of the discussion up to speed more adequately and do this more justice than I can. For all I know, I may be completely off base here (and ultimately I stand corrected therein)...

I personally don't think you've got a 'serious' problem per se, I think your D8B has a 'cold'. You've just gotta learn to live and work around the 'quirkiness' of this older Mackie hardware - they're somewhat like a vintage auto in a certain analogue. Just keep in mind, it's essentially a 'specialized' computer (the cpu/power supply unit) and a mixing desk. It's all digital internally for the most part so there's not a lot of 'moving parts' as it were. The Sonido database linked to this forum above is also an excellent archived source of all things D8B - http://www.sonido-7.com/d8b/index.html - there's a shit-ton of data there too. If you haven't as of yet, I'd personally recommend you look thru the info on that site...

Above all, just stay with it and be patient. Post back here with the ongoing progress, this forum community ROCKS and will help get this resolved for ya...

However as always, you knew it was coming so here it is :
[Standard Mgmt Disclaimer] - "Your Actual Mileage May Vary..."

Peace

[FrankH]

Ben:

What I don't see in your post is if your D8B is equipped with an Apogee Clock Card. If it is, I'd suggest trying this:
Big Ben (Master Clock)> D8B (slave)
Big Ben (Master Clock)> ProFire (slave)

With the ProFire as slave, whatever DAW your using on the Mac will be slaved to the BigBen as long as it is the active DAWs I/O interface.

If boot is still funky, ignore the accepted boot procedure suggested in the manual and do this: Power on the ProFire, BigBen, Mac and finally D8B, in that order.

Doktor's suggestions should be looked into. Also, unplug and reseat the BFC and strain relief it so it's not hanging straight down. You can't believe how many issues get solved with that one detail.

One other thing: make sure you have a fresh battery (Duracell DL2032 or similar) and reset the BIOS after changing the battery. There are instructions and docs in the forum's database on the subject.

[razza25]

WOW THIS FORUM's AMAZING!! I wasn't expecting a reply for ages and to get two incredible responses in under 24hrs. Thanks guys.

You're not going to believe it... I tried Franks advice first (because it was easier than opening up the board, hahaha), with the new startup sequence and also adjusting the BFC and to my astonishment it booted completely fine first time. I've just pulled a 24 track mix up on the board and no glitch clock issue. So fingers crossed that's it!!

I'll keep an eye on it the next couple of days and stick with that boot sequence and if anything else changes I'll update the thread with more info on what I try next from the suggestions.

Thanks a bunch guys!!!

Also just to clarify: I do have the Apogee Clock Card installed in the d8b. So the clock signal is as suggested
Big Ben (Master Clock)> D8B (slave)
Big Ben (Master Clock)> ProFire (slave)

[razza25]

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to give you an update a little over a week later... And everything's absolutely fine! Booting first time and no more clocking issues.

Thanks heaps for your support guys, it's actually priceless.

Cheers,
Ben