Vista - Focusrite Saffire/Vista 32

crocker09 · 08-23-2009

External audio interface has been working fine on PC running XP sp2 for a couple of years. Now installed on PC running vista 32 sp2 and i keep losing firewire connection - latest drivers and firmware installed and i have tried with and without power supply plugged in (I never had to use it previously) but no success.
System details: Packard Bell IMEDIA A5518 UK, AMD Phenom 9650 Quad-Core Processor 2.3GHz, 4 GB RAM.
Unit is recognized in device manager (61883 device class/Saffire) at all times.
Sometimes - but not always - the unit fires up after a restart and will, for example, work with Itunes/Media Player for a while but then loses firewire connection and crashes the program.
I have now tried the unit on two similarly speced Packard Bell machines and have the exact same issue. Could this be a crappy 1394 card (assuming that the same interface is being used on both machines - OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller - no manufacturer info) or is it compatibility issue with Vista 32 bit sp2?
I have seen lots of posts regarding 1394 issues with Vista, a bit worrying really…

zed8 · 08-30-2009

Hi. I'm using the Focusrite Saffire on the same machine as yours and had a similar problem with losing the connection. The Saffire soesn't like the cheap firewire connection that comes installed on the machine. Buy a dedicated fireire port and everythign should be good. Mine's in a week now and no lost connections.

crocker09 · 08-31-2009

Thanks for that, I'm glad to hear you're sorted. On the advice from a guy at Focusrite I changed the firewire buffer size and that also seems to have cleared up the problem (it's a bit hit and miss though). I still may fit a decent 1394 card just to be sure!

08-23-2009	#1 (permalink)
crocker09 Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2 2 posts	Focusrite Saffire/Vista 32 External audio interface has been working fine on PC running XP sp2 for a couple of years. Now installed on PC running vista 32 sp2 and i keep losing firewire connection - latest drivers and firmware installed and i have tried with and without power supply plugged in (I never had to use it previously) but no success. System details: Packard Bell IMEDIA A5518 UK, AMD Phenom 9650 Quad-Core Processor 2.3GHz, 4 GB RAM. Unit is recognized in device manager (61883 device class/Saffire) at all times. Sometimes - but not always - the unit fires up after a restart and will, for example, work with Itunes/Media Player for a while but then loses firewire connection and crashes the program. I have now tried the unit on two similarly speced Packard Bell machines and have the exact same issue. Could this be a crappy 1394 card (assuming that the same interface is being used on both machines - OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller - no manufacturer info) or is it compatibility issue with Vista 32 bit sp2? I have seen lots of posts regarding 1394 issues with Vista, a bit worrying really…
My System Specs

08-30-2009	#2 (permalink)
zed8 vista x32 1 posts	Re: Focusrite Saffire/Vista 32 Hi. I'm using the Focusrite Saffire on the same machine as yours and had a similar problem with losing the connection. The Saffire soesn't like the cheap firewire connection that comes installed on the machine. Buy a dedicated fireire port and everythign should be good. Mine's in a week now and no lost connections.
My System Specs

08-31-2009	#3 (permalink)
crocker09 Vista Home Premium 32 bit SP2 2 posts	Re: Focusrite Saffire/Vista 32 Thanks for that, I'm glad to hear you're sorted. On the advice from a guy at Focusrite I changed the firewire buffer size and that also seems to have cleared up the problem (it's a bit hit and miss though). I still may fit a decent 1394 card just to be sure!
My System Specs