Pro Tools "Firewire bus reset"

[Aaron Smith]

I was editing a session today. Suddenly my Digi002 began to spazz a little bit and it seemed to be struggling to maintain its firewire connection with my G4. I reloaded the session and restarted the Digi002, and it seemed to work fine...for about another 10 minutes. Then it proceeded to randomly spazz and couldn't stay connected again. After this, the original "fix" didn't work at all, and the 002 seemed to be struggling even more to maintain or even create an initial firewire connection...but only once out of about 5 attempts did I receive an error message stating something like, "A firewire bus reset was detected. Check firewire device and cable". Does anyone know what's going on? Also it's not a Pro Tools specific problem- if I try to run sound from iTunes using the Digicore Audio Manager, it has the same spazzy problem. ...I'm kind of stressing a little bit because I've got a full day of guitar tracking scheduled in two days :zombie:

EDIT:

Alright, so I'm pretty sure I've narrowed it down to either the G4 itself (firewire card?) or the actual firewire cable. I plugged in my external firewire drive, using the same cable that I use to connect the Digi002 (because at the moment I can't find another firewire cable), and the drive shows up fine on the desktop. I tried to transfer a few sessions onto the drive, and it had transferred about a gig of data but then got hung up and finally gave me a -36 error message, telling me it can't move a certain file because it can't be read or written. I tried once more, and now it can't transfer anything without giving me the error message. I can assure you that there are no problematic files involved here, because it gives me the same error message, regardless of what file I try to move onto the drive. I have a feeling that it's more likely to be the firewire card, because it would make no sense at all that my firewire cable would just decide to stop working... I'm pissed!

 

[Aaron Smith]

...anyone!?

 

[Aaron Smith]

So for anyone who cares... I've spent all day trying to fix this thing- talking on the phone with people at The Mac Store, running around town getting a new firewire cable, and I just bought a new PCI Firewire card...and guess what? THE SAME PROBLEM EXISTS WHEN I USE THE NEW CARD. About all that's left to do is install the entire freaking operating system again, to see if this firewire issue is somehow related to a firewire driver or something. Just the thought of doing that pisses me off though, reinstalling everything and trying to get plug-ins reauthorized (I hear that they're tight-asses at Antares). And then if the whole reinstallation doesn't help, then I've been told that the logic board, the centerpiece of the entire computer, may be starting to go...and if this is the case, I don't think it's worth investing $300-$400 into a Dual 1gHz G4. ...so, I may just have to fork over the money for a G5. I'd be pissed and happy at the same time.

The good news is that no matter what, I won't be losing any sessions or files

 

[JBroll]

You should be able to clean up the drivers without reformatting, or at least I'd think so because you can do that on PC and apparently Mac Pwnz0Rs the PC industry; I'll look for some driver cleaners and hopefully that'll help.

I'd also see if I could find a Mac motherboard temperature monitor just to make sure there weren't any heating problems, as that can be completely unexpected a lot of the time and something moving that much data could very likely be a little sensitive to oopsies like that.

Jeff

 

[Aaron Smith]

Thanks for the help JBroll, but the latest update on my confusing situation is that my computer is fine (THANKFULLY), but it seems that my Digi002 is crapping out on me. I plugged it into my friend's Pro Tools rig- an entirely different computer -and it had the exact same problem. He works at a pro audio store in Seattle, and apparently one of the most common Digi002 problems is some kind of internal firewire/battery issue that requires Digidesign to fix it for you. I'm going to call Digidesign tomorrow and try to figure things out once and for all!

 

[tommyboy]

Aaron, I hope you haven't formatted your PC yet!

This is a relatively common problem with 002s (The rack version to my knowledge anyway).

If your 002 is Revision E or Lower (A - E), it is most likely the power harness inside the unit. The harnesses that come with the earlier revisions aren't a very snug fit so can become loose / dirty. This makes the firewire connection voltage drop so that it loses connection with your PC. Revision F and over have the new harnesses installed.

If you contact Digi they should send you a new power harness and some cleaner fluid free of charge. We have just done this for three of our units.

(this is my first post at this forum. There have been some great posts on here that have been of great help to me. Keep up the good work!)


Tom

 

[Aaron Smith]

Hey tommyboy, I actually found a thread on the Digidesign forum last night about the power harness issue. Unfortunately I'm not a registered user, because I got my 002R on ebay almost a couple years ago now, so I don't think Digidesign would send me anything even if I talk to them. But, on the Digidesign thread there were a lot of people saying that it's not even necessary to use the Digidesign cleaning/repair kit. Some guy posted his directions for cleaning it, basically just how to remove the power harness and then clean the oxidized connectors with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol, then put the power harness back, and for multiple users on the thread, it was a perfect fix.
Fortunately, I haven't reformatted my computer (not a PC by the way) or taken any drastic measures like that yet...and I'm feeling really optimistic about the fix I found out about. Just in case anyone actually reads this thread with interest, I'll post my results after cleaning the 002R.
Thanks again tommyboy!

 

[_RiseInside_]

your case reminds me of my lacie d2 160 external hard-disk. It shuts off itself whatever the computer and cable. I´m taking it to the store tomorrow ( should have done that earlier)

 

[tommyboy]

A good clean will probably do the trick. You may have to clean it again in the future (every couple of years it seems, lol) but that shouldn't be a problem.

Failing that, and if you are confident with a soldering Iron, you could take the plugs off and solder it direct.

I heard that Digi are helping 002 owners with this issue even after their warranty has expired. I'm not sure about not being registered though, they are quite strict on that.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Aaron Smith]

I opened up the Digi002 yesterday, and upon removing the two plugs from the power harness, I could actually see the oxidation on the metal prongs. Some of the prongs were a little hard to reach, next to some diodes or whatnot. But, between using a q-tip of alcohol and a fine nail file, I removed the dirt so the prongs looked clean, put the unit back together, and...it works perfectly! The whole process took no more than 20 minutes. I thought about soldering it, but a cleaning every couple years isn't really bad at all, and blowing dust out of it at the same time will always be a good thing.