Windows USB Device Drivers

Discuss John Bowen Synths - Solaris
dingebre
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Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by dingebre »

I decided to connect the USB port on my Solaris to my PC. It was a hit and miss proposition installing the drivers. Windows would sometimes install a "John Bowen Solaris" driver and a generic USB audio device, but then, Windows tried to install an "Unknown Device" which failed. I just unplugged it for now.

Does the USB work in this release of the operating system? I thought I read something about the USB in this release, but I can't find it in email, manual, or on this forum.

Windows 7 64 bit, latest service pack

David
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David M. Ingebretsen
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John Bowen
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by John Bowen »

The USB is working for MIDI notes, but there are sometimes problems with a ‘MIDI feedback loop’ happening. I’ve not tested it on Windows, but I know the Sonic Core guys did.
dingebre
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by dingebre »

John Bowen wrote:The USB is working for MIDI notes, but there are sometimes problems with a ‘MIDI feedback loop’ happening. I’ve not tested it on Windows, but I know the Sonic Core guys did.
Thanks John. I'm not too worried about USB right now since I personally like the midi in/out ports. I was more wondering about Windows drivers in general for the Solaris. They just don't seem to install properly, so I can't test the MIDI notes on USB.

Maybe an issue to look into for future OS releases.

David
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valis
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by valis »

IIRC (if I remember correctly) the USB driver should be class compliant, so if you're having issues with connecting you might want to try changing your usb topology. Each USB port is a new driver install for one thing (so plugging it into the same port on Windows is common) and you maybe have issues depending on what other devices you share with. I found the best way to make things work was to use a Multi-TT usb hub like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/USB-2-0-7-PORTS-M ... B005EJF016

I can connect any number of USB 1.0, 1.1 & 2.0 devices to it and they all coexist happily. No speed drops for my CF/SDHC card reader compared to direct connection to USB ports on the back of the PC, and I no longer have to pore over what devices are which speed when hooking things up. Oh, and it supplies better power to all ports than any of my other hubs (I have like 8 other models here from various makers that all have one issue or another and I have to insure I connect the right devices when using those).
dingebre
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by dingebre »

Thanks. I"ll give it a look.

David
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David M. Ingebretsen
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francois
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by francois »

One important thing to keep in mind with Windows and MIDI drivers. You are limited to having 10, numbered from mid0 to mid9 in the registry. 10 seems quite a lot doesn't it ? However, you soon realise that you can easily reach that limit, because each time you plug a USB MIDI instrument on a USB port, it installs a driver for it. So if you plug your Solaris on three different ports, you'd have 3 slots out of the 10 taken.

If you have a problem with a MIDI driver not installing properly, or seemingly installing properly but not working, check the control panel Sounds, then Hardware tab, MIDI driver concerned, properties. If you see a message that says "driver installed properly but not functioning", you know there is a problem somewhere.

The best thing to do is to uninstall the MIDI drivers. One of the best utilities for this is the latest Korg USB driver. It comes with a great uninstall utility which gives you the option of uninstalling other MIDI drivers, not just the Korg one. So you could install that and then remove everything with the Korg unsintall program. Then, restart your PC and start afresh with the driver you want to use. With the Solaris, there is none as such. You should get a generic USB Audio Driver.

Further reading on this can be found at:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar05/a ... sician.htm

Now, if someone can have a go at explaining how you troubleshoot and uninstall MIDI drivers on OSX, feel free to chime in !
"Sit Solaris vobiscum"
dingebre
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by dingebre »

That's fascinating. I didn't know there was a limit of 10 MIDI USB devices.

I use this batch file:

SET DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
devmgmt.msc
pause
exit

which opens the device manager and enables viewing and editing/deleting of all devices whether or not they are connected. Very useful (you do have to click on "show hidden devices" to make them visible). It's a convenient way to get ride of old conflicting device drivers.

That was an excellent article, too. Thanks for the link.

I'm going to make some time to play around with it over the weekend. I'll post anything interesting I find.

David
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David M. Ingebretsen
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francois
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by francois »

dingebre wrote:That's fascinating. I didn't know there was a limit of 10 MIDI USB devices
Very bizarre as it's a limitation that has existed since Windows 98, so not new, and yet Microsoft have never bothered to fix this.

And it's far more annoying now, with more machines giving you the option to send MIDI via USB.

If there is one thing to remember from this, it's to make sure you always plug a particular instrument on the same USB port to avoid the installation of another copy of the driver.
"Sit Solaris vobiscum"
dingebre
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Re: Windows USB Device Drivers

Post by dingebre »

Well, given good Mr. Gate's track record with the bloatware that is windows, and his utter lack of vision for growth and expansion for the future he had and seemingly still has, I'm afraid I don't find it bizarre at all :)

Fortunately, I'm using a rack mount PC so I can leave the MIDI cables where they are.

Thanks again for your help.

David
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David M. Ingebretsen
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