[solved] Apollo Twin USB will not function properly - freezing & no audio from device

UnWorld

UnWorld

New Member
[solved] Apollo Twin USB will not function properly - freezing & no audio from device

Timeline of Events (Saturday-Sunday, 2016 FEB 20-21)

1a) Received Apollo Twin Duo USB at my front door, with great excitement. Long-time "other company" interface/plugin user, New to the UA community here at my home/project studio. I am moderately familiar with UAD via the producers/engineers I collaborate with, so I dive right in, taking care to follow all of the instructions step by step, then...

1b) UAD Console freezing, audio freezing/spiking, and overall system instability

1c) Audio playback finally consistent enough to re-try within DAW environment.

--- light at the end of the tunnel? ---

2) Received multiple; Error - "A UAD device is not responding (code -38)."

3) Re-try, un-install with manual removal of drivers via Device Manager, re-start, re-install, re-start, maximum of 5-10 minutes with working audio, then again: UAD console freezing, audio freezing/spiking, and overall system instability... repeat

--- return to family and sleep; to try again in the morning ---

4) maximum of 5-10 minutes with working audio

5) Continued to receive multiple; Error - "A UAD device is not responding (code -38)."

6) Went to "Device Setup > VST Audio System" then clicked "Reset"

7) After approximately 20-30 seconds, received Error - "A UAD device has been removed from the system. (-16)"

--- ok, you wanna play rough? ---

8) Attempted to reinstall UAD drivers and system crashed ("BSOD") - given an error related to "wdf01000.sys"

--- derf ---


In general, I have been unable to get the Twin USB to function properly. The Twin USB has not worked as a Windows audio playback device (WDM), as audio will not play through the interface for any consistent duration of time. I can occasionally hear the system startup sound/jingle; and can only get the "Sound > Playback > Speakers (Properties)" TEST function to sound approximately 1 out of every 10 attempts (I've been testing for sound on an intermittent basis).

A ticket has been filed with UA Customer Support, waiting to hear back from them.

After spending 10 hours yesterday (Saturday) and another 6 hours today (Sunday), I resign myself to the realization that I am out of ideas in attempting to troubleshoot my studio update with the Apollo Twin USB.

I feel like the team that loses the SuperBowl (or the 2nd place driver in this year's Daytona 500! Can't believe that just happened). So close to greatness... so effin close.
 
Storyteller

Storyteller

Active Member
Hi there,

sorry to pipe in although I am not able to provide help- basically the same situation here. Apollo Twin USB is sitting in front of me and just begs to contribute to make some tunes, but...

I got some errors from Antivirus and Firewall while installing the UAD software for the first time, so I did a complete uninstall, disabled both and re-installed the UAD software. Since then no more BSODs when shutting down the system, and communication between the PC and the Apollo has been stable. I can insert Plugins and monitor my guitar with great sound, but I am unable to get any sound in and out to the DAW (ASIO, WDM, Cubase, MediaMonkey, anything "goes not" ;) ).

I applied everything listed in the support section of the UAD page (disabling power management on each and every USB root hub and all the other stuff), but no help- the Apollo works as an interface, but refuses to work as an AUDIO interface :-(

Just wanted to let you know you're not alone with the problem- it is frustrating not being able to troubleshoot the own music workstation (it's a first for me too).

If life gives you lemons- ask for salt and tequila...

Cheers from Germany, Storyteller
 
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S

Snatchman

Member
I'm contemplating getting the Twin USB. I don't know much about it but I've been asking around. Just by chance, are you not using it with a 3.0 USB input..?
 
M

mattbroiler

Established Member
Console.exe must be running for audio to function in windows so check task manager and device manager to see if they are present. Windows easily recognizes the uad dsp driver but the apollo soundcard does not appear in device manager and doesn't function in windows unless console.exe is running and makes the connection to apollo when it loads. When I launch console I get the "connecting to apollo" splash screen then the apollo appears in device manager and it starts working (console and uadperfmon load at windows startup by default).

When I don't get the "connecting" message that means windows doesn't see the apollo and it doesn't work as an audio device. Hope this helps someone fix the issue - I am on windows 7x64 (firewire/thunderbolt) but not usb3 so the drivers and other factors are not exactly the same. The apollo being recognized as a dsp device but not a soundcard in device manager is the same issue I had in the beginning though.

I would recommend disabling all other audio devices so there is no conflict of multiple sound devices and drivers in windows.
 
Marando

Marando

Active Member
UnWorld said:
[..]

After spending 10 hours yesterday (Saturday) and another 6 hours today (Sunday), I resign myself to the realization that I am out of ideas in attempting to troubleshoot my studio update with the Apollo Twin USB.

I feel like the team that loses the SuperBowl (or the 2nd place driver in this year's Daytona 500! Can't believe that just happened). So close to greatness... so effin close.
Click to expand...
Can you tell me what USB 3.0 port you are using? Is it directly on your motherboard or are you using an PCIe USB 3.0 controller? Also, can you tell me the chipset that is powering the USB 3.0 port that you are using? If you don't know, can you name the exact model of your motherboard or PCIe USB 3.0 controller?
 
UnWorld

UnWorld

New Member
@Marando --- I'm using the USB 3.0 port that's factory mounted to the tower (I believe that's directly on my Acer motherboard; never added anything other than RAM to the machine). The model of the motherboard is "Acer Aspire M3970G", and the chipset is "Intel Sandy Bridge Revision 09, Southbridge H67"... the USB controllers are "Intel 6 series / C200 series chipset family" and "Etron USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller".

@mattbroiler --- Good point in regards to disabling all other audio devices. They're not plugged in (greyed out), but removing possible conflicts with the drivers makes a lot of sense in this situation. As far as the Console.exe, the crazy thing is that it IS running and showing as "Console (32 bit)" in the task manager. It's even finally been recognized as a soundcard under device manager as well, but no audio will pass through it on a consistent basis. The best I've gotten thus far was about 15 minutes of Arturia synth playing in standalone mode, then the errors, freezing, spiking happened all over again :(

@snatchman --- Using USB 3.0 on Windows; it's the only way to connect, as there is no UAD<>thunderbolt support available "right now"

@storyteller --- Sorry to hear you're stuck as well. I was also able to to get my guitar and mic going through the hardware monitoring, BUT now that is only giving me sound 50% of the time. Yeah... I'm needing that salt and tequila about now :eek:

-----------------------------------------------
So, I'm about to do another restart just to "roll the dice" and see if I can get the hardware to monitor/headphone it's output.

Thanks everyone for replying.
 
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Marando

Marando

Active Member
I'm not an expert, but I'm suspecting that your Etron powered USB 3.0 ports are not fully compatible with the Apollo Twin (ot vica versa). I read this in another thread where Etron was not being in the favorouble bunch of USB 3.0 controllers.

Do you happen to have a laptop with an USB 3.0 port? If so, could you try to see if that combination works?

I have it running stable for 3 days now, it's connected to an on-board Intel USB 3.0 port. I tried my 2 year old laptop (also intel USB 3.0 chip) and again it works glitch free. I'm starting to think some brands are not following the USB 3.0 protocol completely.
 
UniversalAudio

UniversalAudio

Official UA Representative
UnWorld said:
@Marando --- I'm using the USB 3.0 port that's factory mounted to the tower (I believe that's directly on my Acer motherboard; never added anything other than RAM to the machine). The model of the motherboard is "Acer Aspire M3970G", and the chipset is "Intel Sandy Bridge Revision 09, Southbridge H67"... the USB controllers are "Intel 6 series / C200 series chipset family" and "Etron USB 3.0 Extensible Host Controller".

@mattbroiler --- Good point in regards to disabling all other audio devices. They're not plugged in (greyed out), but removing possible conflicts with the drivers makes a lot of sense in this situation. As far as the Console.exe, the crazy thing is that it IS running and showing as "Console (32 bit)" in the task manager. It's even finally been recognized as a soundcard under device manager as well, but no audio will pass through it on a consistent basis. The best I've gotten thus far was about 15 minutes of Arturia synth playing in standalone mode, then the errors, freezing, spiking happened all over again :(

@snatchman --- Using USB 3.0 on Windows; it's the only way to connect, as there is no UAD<>thunderbolt support available "right now"

@storyteller --- Sorry to hear you're stuck as well. I was also able to to get my guitar and mic going through the hardware monitoring, BUT now that is only giving me sound 50% of the time. Yeah... I'm needing that salt and tequila about now :eek:

-----------------------------------------------
So, I'm about to do another restart just to "roll the dice" and see if I can get the hardware to monitor/headphone it's output.

Thanks everyone for replying.
Click to expand...
Hi Unworld and Storyteller,

Sorry you're having trouble getting going. Working with CS directly is definitely the best way to sort through what's happening with your system.

It sounds like you guys have looked at the PC Optimizations documentation and installation instructions on Knowledge base - here they are, in case you haven't seen them.

https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/207814006-Apollo-Twin-USB-Support-Videos

The Optimization Video covers a few items, but there is also an extended list of recommendations that goes deeper, you may need to do some of these.

https://help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/207805936-Windows-Optimization-Optional-Settings

Also, try updating your drivers for the USB controllers on your computers. That has helped some people with similar issues.

I hope that helps!

-GK
Gannon Kashiwa
 
Storyteller

Storyteller

Active Member
Hi again,

I did figure out where the problem was, I wrote about it in this post:
http://uadforum.com/support-trouble...twin-usb-so-called-usb3-ports.html#post190574
Seems I have a PCIe USB3 controller card I did not know anything about... right now everything is working fine.

@Gannon: thanks for the help! I will update the VIA USB3 drivers as soon as I find out why Gigabyte does not list my motherboard on their homepage (the only google hits are the shop where I bought the PC and some manual webpage).

@UnWorld: hope you figure out where the problem is, the Apollo sounds amazing :)

Cheers Storyteller
 
UnWorld

UnWorld

New Member
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tuesday, 2016 FEB 23: (update) Apollo Twin Duo USB will not function properly --- freezing and no audio from device
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After joining on UADforum threads and receiving suggestions/tips from the community, as well as reading other online forums, it seemed that the core issue was being isolated to be a 'USB Hub/Controller incompatibility' of some sort.

I uninstalled the old USB drivers and installed the most recent driver version. This seemed to fix the connectivity issues as Windows system audio began to play through our Monitor/Headphone output again!

But, upon testing out some playback in Spotify we had perfect audio playing through our monitors for 18-20 seconds, then Boom! :eek: The audio output glitched/spiked and the Monitor/Headphone froze (the same results were found using Windows Media Player, YouTube, Cubase, Sony Sound Forge, Arturia & ToonTrack standalone programs, etc).

Screenshots of everything are attached.
View attachment 2405 View attachment 2409 View attachment 2410 View attachment 2408

• Hardware status is "OK"
• WDM and ASIO sample rates are "Matched at 44.1kHz"
• Windows Sound > Playback displays "UA Apollo Twin USB DUO" as default device

• Device Manager: "UA Apollo Twin USB DUO" displays as it's own installed/active device
• Device Manager: Audio DSP Accelerator appears to be installed/loaded
• Device Manager: Line and Speakers are installed/active as "UA Apollo Twin USB DUO"
• Device Manager: Sound/Video/Game controller installed/active as "UA Apollo Twin USB DUO"


I'm lost for ideas at this point. It's very possible that my understanding of the USB3.0 is lacking, but if ALL of the necessary "devices" are installed, up-to-date, and Windows claims they're functioning properly --- HOW and WHY is this happening to my studio setup?!? Some people are reporting flawless running (seems like Intel USB3 chipsets are optimal), yet others are reporting similar issues or worse.

Am I missing something? :confused:
 
UnWorld

UnWorld

New Member
new update:

@Gannon (Universal Audio), @Marando, and @Billybk1 have all provided some great tips/advice in getting the Apollo Twin USB to work!

We've updated USB3 drivers (Etron; v119), disabled ALL other Audio Drivers (via Device Manager), and have also run LatencyMon to begin stopping processes that negatively impact DPC latency (i.e., CPU spikes, audio dropouts, etc.)

Updating the USB3 drivers has improved the stability of the UAD Console, but this ONLY applies to the hardware Monitor/Headphone... it is still IMPOSSIBLE for us to playback audio via Cubase, nor any Windows system software (WDM) for any duration longer than 20-30 seconds. Likewise, we still cannot use the Apollo Twin USB to record any input to our DAW, nor other software (we used Sony Sound Forge). The inputs and outputs show up inside the software, but they don't function and communicate with the computer properly (yet).

For others out there who may have a mix of different USB3 ports, definitely 1) make sure your drivers are up to date (very very very important), and 2) make sure you try ALL of your USB3 ports b/c these manufacturers are bundling our Windows systems with a 'Buffet of Buses'... just remember, "Not All USB3 Ports are Created Equal" and "Make sure your USB ports are UP TO DATE!!!"

This has been proven to help several others who had issues with their Apollo Twin USBs.
 
pierre87

pierre87

Active Member
I think it's Etron driver cause I've the same as you and my twin does'nt work. with Windows audio or asio audio.
 
UnWorld

UnWorld

New Member
This Week I Learned: USB3 ports are NOT "all created equal". So, I want to share my latest update in case anyone else runs into similar issues.

Last week I couldn't get my Twin USB to function as expected, I was using my USB3 ports built into the motherboard - BUT - the driver/chipset for those ports is 'Etron USB3'.

After trying an insane amount of fixes, I installed 2 new USB 3.0 PCIe cards:
1) Inateck KT4005 (green, 4 port); this card uses a 'Renesas USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller'
2) Inateck KTU3FR-4P (red, 4 port w/ SATA power supply); this card uses a 'Fresco Logic xHCI (USB3) Controller'
* note: Our computer DOES have USB3 ports "built in" to the motherboard; so USB3 Super-speed functionality is native to the system.

2016-02-24_USB Ports and Hub Drivers 02.jpg

:D BINGO! The Inateck KT4005 PCIe works perfectly and I am now experiencing full Universal Audio bliss! :cool:

I also set up a test install on a secondary laptop and a Microsoft Surface Pro (running Cubase AI/Essentials), both of these devices have an 'Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller' port. Apollo Twin USB = SUCCESSFUL install & operation!

Unfortunately the Inateck KTU3FR-4P PCIe (Fresco Logic) gave the same results as our original Etron ports.

---

Others (including @billybk1 - who got this list together) have discovered that Windows systems have a 'Buffet of Buses' when it comes to USB Port chipsets/drivers.

Any of the following could be USB host controller(s) inside your computer:
- ASMedia
- Intel Controllers
- Etron
- Fresco Logic
- Renesas
- VIA Labs
- Texas Instruments
- and at least 2-3 others have been documented as existing in computers made since 2012

To make things a little more confusing, if you have multiple USB ports (especially in separate locations on your computer; front/top, back/side) then you may actually have several DIFFERENT USB chipsets/drivers on your system simultaneously!

---

As far as the Universal Audio Apollo Twin USB and current driver/chipset compatibility - to my knowledge it appears that:
• Intel is a sure choice
• Renesas definitely works for my system
• ASMedia seems to work for others

• Etron is the "devil"! If you have these drivers/chipsets, to avoid a headache & increase in blood pressure, look into other options ASAP
• Fresco Logic is a no-go as well

• Any other drivers/chipsets are a mystery to me

Thank you to everyone who has pitched in to these troubleshooting threads & UA customer support!
 
UniversalAudio

UniversalAudio

Official UA Representative
UnWorld said:
This Week I Learned: USB3 ports are NOT "all created equal". So, I want to share my latest update in case anyone else runs into similar issues.

Last week I couldn't get my Twin USB to function as expected, I was using my USB3 ports built into the motherboard - BUT - the driver/chipset for those ports is 'Etron USB3'.

After trying an insane amount of fixes, I installed 2 new USB 3.0 PCIe cards:
1) Inateck KT4005 (green, 4 port); this card uses a 'Renesas USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller'
2) Inateck KTU3FR-4P (red, 4 port w/ SATA power supply); this card uses a 'Fresco Logic xHCI (USB3) Controller'
* note: Our computer DOES have USB3 ports "built in" to the motherboard; so USB3 Super-speed functionality is native to the system.

View attachment 2422

:D BINGO! The Inateck KT4005 PCIe works perfectly and I am now experiencing full Universal Audio bliss! :cool:

I also set up a test install on a secondary laptop and a Microsoft Surface Pro (running Cubase AI/Essentials), both of these devices have an 'Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller' port. Apollo Twin USB = SUCCESSFUL install & operation!

Unfortunately the Inateck KTU3FR-4P PCIe (Fresco Logic) gave the same results as our original Etron ports.

---

Others (including @billybk1 - who got this list together) have discovered that Windows systems have a 'Buffet of Buses' when it comes to USB Port chipsets/drivers.

Any of the following could be USB host controller(s) inside your computer:
- ASMedia
- Intel Controllers
- Etron
- Fresco Logic
- Renesas
- VIA Labs
- Texas Instruments
- and at least 2-3 others have been documented as existing in computers made since 2012

To make things a little more confusing, if you have multiple USB ports (especially in separate locations on your computer; front/top, back/side) then you may actually have several DIFFERENT USB chipsets/drivers on your system simultaneously!

---

As far as the Universal Audio Apollo Twin USB and current driver/chipset compatibility - to my knowledge it appears that:
• Intel is a sure choice
• Renesas definitely works for my system
• ASMedia seems to work for others

• Etron is the "devil"! If you have these drivers/chipsets, to avoid a headache & increase in blood pressure, look into other options ASAP
• Fresco Logic is a no-go as well

• Any other drivers/chipsets are a mystery to me

Thank you to everyone who has pitched in to these troubleshooting threads & UA customer support!
Click to expand...
Thanks for working through this and not giving up, UnWorld!

As Don says, you have the patience of a saint.

There are so many permutations with motherboards and controllers, sometimes the answers aren't readily apparent, so great job sticking with it and sharing your findings with the rest of the forum and CS.

Glad you're up and running - have fun making some music!

-GK
Gannon Kashiwa
 
T

timoshina

New Member
UnWorld said:
:D BINGO! The Inateck KT4005 PCIe works perfectly and I am now experiencing full Universal Audio bliss! :cool:
Click to expand...
MAAAAN! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! I went through hell with my new apollo. I spent countless hours trying to fix it and I was ready to return and forget about it until last minute I found your post. I can't be more grateful for you, dude! :) Seriously, a life saver.
 
D

Dipe

New Member
Just registered to say thank you !!
Have the same Problems with my Asrock z68 Exteme 4 which also has an Etron EJ168A USB 3 Port. Hopefully my pci Card arrives soon so i can tell if it also worked out for me.
Dont know what i could do instead cause the Apollo is useless at the moment :/
 
Matt Hepworth

Matt Hepworth

Master of the UADiverse
Forum Admin
Moderator
Dipe said:
Just registered to say thank you !!
Have the same Problems with my Asrock z68 Exteme 4 which also has an Etron EJ168A USB 3 Port. Hopefully my pci Card arrives soon so i can tell if it also worked out for me.
Dont know what i could do instead cause the Apollo is useless at the moment :/
Click to expand...
Welcome! Definitely post your results!
 
D

Dipe

New Member
Dipe said:
Just registered to say thank you !!
Have the same Problems with my Asrock z68 Exteme 4 which also has an Etron EJ168A USB 3 Port. Hopefully my pci Card arrives soon so i can tell if it also worked out for me.
Dont know what i could do instead cause the Apollo is useless at the moment :/
Click to expand...
Yep the Inateck KT4005 PCI card solved my Problem too!!

Thanks for the sharing :D
 
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R

Renaud

New Member
Dipe said:
Yep the Inateck KT4005 PCI card solved my Problem too!!

Thanks for the sharing :D
Click to expand...
I try with the driver on the CD, the one on their website and the update one (from Microsoft version 6.3.9600) but i am not able to make it working.
Can you please tell me which version of Driver do you have and where to find it (I am on Windows 8.1) ?
 
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