[averydonovan]

My Terratec EWX 24/96 card has been working flawlessly since I got it in February this year. Today when I started up my computer it froze when it started up, which is unusual since this system hasn't had that issue yet. When I restarted Windows said it found new hardware which is quite unusual since I hadn't installed anything new since last night and then the installation of that device failed. It turns out to have been my Terratec sound card and I have been through everything I can think of including reinstalling the drivers, resetting my ECSD, turning off unneeded devices to free up IRQs, and through lots of restarts to no avail. Windows just says "Code 10" "Device cannot start" in the properties for the card under Device Manager. I am baffled by this since it worked fine all this time and nothing has been changed on my system since last night. I have never had a sound card go bad, but this is leading me to suspect that this thing might be bad. Any suggestions?

 

[pbirkett]

My mates Terratec Phase 22 did this. We took it out, uninstalled all the software, and put it in a PCI card and this fixed it for him, so maybe try that. Failing that though, it does not sound good does it....

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbirkett My mates Terratec Phase 22 did this. We took it out, uninstalled all the software, and put it in a PCI card and this fixed it for him, so maybe try that. Failing that though, it does not sound good does it....

in that case, at least he has your reports that the 0404 can be a good upgrade for the EWX lover

 

[averydonovan]

I uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers many times and even moved the card into a different slot. It is very bizarre that Windows recognizes the card as an audio device but keeps saying that the device cannot start. This thing worked perfectly last night. I guess this is one big strike against a computer-based audio system. Until this thing is working I have only my iRiver IMP-350 and Sony D-14 CD players to listen to, neither or which are great sources. If I can't get this thing working then I'm just going to buy a standalone CD player and relegate my computer to secondary audio duties. What's even worse is that I can't afford anything else for a while, so if the Terratec doesn't work then I'm stuck with low-fi sources for a while.

 

[pbirkett]

Have you tried it in another PC?

 

[1UP]

Do you have SP2 installed as a similar thing happened to me there?
What motherboard is it?

 

[averydonovan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbirkett Have you tried it in another PC?

I don't have any other PCs to try it on. I am suspecting that it's a Windows problem since the hardware is obviously being detected, but Windows is messing up somewhere with it.
Quote:

Originally Posted by 1UP Do you have SP2 installed as a similar thing happened to me there? What motherboard is it?

Yes, SP2 and automatic updates also. I have had SP2 for months, even the pre-release version, with no problems until now. I have an EPoX EP-8RDA+ motherboard.

 

[1UP]

I also have an nforce (3). Perhaps it's related to the nforce drivers - have you changed them lately?

 

[averydonovan]

I haven't changed any drivers for months since all of them have been working fine. But some other issues are pointing towards there being possibly a hardware problem with the card. A few times since yesterday my computer has frozen during BIOS startup right after it detects the CPU and memory, and it has only started happening since I noticed the problem with my card. Windows warns me before installing the drivers for the card that it cannot verify compatibility for the drivers with the card, and the only way I can even install the drivers for the card is to manually select them out of the list. It does seem like the card might be defective.

 

[averydonovan]

I rescinded on going to a standalone source for now and just bought an E-Mu 0404 from JDSound. I don't like the fact that I have to use an adapter but I'm sure I can wire up my own adapter with RCA jacks later. If pbirkett likes it then I'm sure I will too since I really liked the EWX when I got it after seeing him pushing it so much way back when.

 

[1UP]

Surely adaptors will have a negligible effect?

 

[Feanor]

Well, it was a ripe time for an upgrade! Hooray for your new card!

 

[averydonovan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1UP Surely adaptors will have a negligible effect?

After hearing what even seemingly very minor changes like re-terminating an interconnect with different plugs can do, I'm suspicious of nearly anything in the signal path. Seeing the pictures of how thin the cables coming off the dongle on the E-Mu cards are it makes me really wonder how they would affect the sound quality since even the $3 cables at RadioShack are thicker than that and I definately would question their durability due to their thinness. I'll probably end up making a new dongle just to satisfy my curiousity about whether it would make a difference and to put my mind at rest about keeping the signal path as clean as possible. I think I might be becoming one of those crazy audiophiles

 

[pbirkett]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donovansmith I rescinded on going to a standalone source for now and just bought an E-Mu 0404 from JDSound. I don't like the fact that I have to use an adapter but I'm sure I can wire up my own adapter with RCA jacks later. If pbirkett likes it then I'm sure I will too since I really liked the EWX when I got it after seeing him pushing it so much way back when.

I think you will like it. The adapters arent much of a problem, TBH. I was hung up on it too, originally though I admit. It takes the sound from the EWX and improves it with better bass extension and control, more detail, slightly more refinement and despite that manages to sound even more lively and fun than a card which IMO was already quite a nice little card. I'm sure you wont be disappointed.

Edited to add, the cables might make you wonder, I happen to have a slightly cynical view on cables. My view is that they do make a difference, but as long as they are fairly decent they should be fine. Even though I used a very good quality interconnect on the EWX, I now use a set of Pro Audio cables which were 1/10th of the price of the original interconnects I used and I can still hear a very noticable improvement over the old card. I think though, that if you really can not rest with the fact you need adapters etc, you should probably look at modding the card with better cables in the first place. It doesnt bother me that I am using a cheaper cable, because as already said I've never got hung up on the whole interconnect thing, and when you see the cables on the breakout connections, then it just made me think that there was no point in worrying about it since it has to go through those anyway.

YMMV, but good luck.