CUBASE 6,SILENT GAPS + NOISY SOUNDCARD

Cubase
1

Hi Everyone

I’m new to this forum and this is my first posting.
I have two problems that I’d like some feedback on. One software and one hardware.
I’m going to include them in the same posting, and I apologise if I’ve broken any rules.
I have also spent some time going through the forum looking for these topics, but couldn’t
find anything; again I apologise if there are answers on here that I have missed.

No 1. SOUNDCARD PROBLEM

I have an M-Audio 24/96 soundcard that produces dreadful noise/interference when I use Cubase 6. It’s even worse when I use the internet, and sounds almost like a chip pan
frying away.
When I move the cursor around the screen this also generates all sorts of strange static
sounds, which I never experienced on my previous computer which also had an M-Audio 24/96 soundcard which was crystal clear and silent.

Obviously I have the latest driver installed and have tried various different buffer settings,
all to no avail. I’ve checked all the various cables throughout my monitoring system,
speakers etc, and they’re all fine.
I also tried ASIO4ALL, but that made no difference.
I’ve had the computer for 5 months now, and it’s been like this since day one. When I
finished my first track on Cubase 6, exported it to a final mix WAV file and played it on other systems, the noise still appears, although a lot quieter, but still unacceptable.

No 2. CUBASE 6 PROBLEM

I upgraded to Cubase 6 two and a half months ago. I started working on it and everything
was fine. Got my first track finished, with no problems, then started work on a new track,
and all was well until just over 2 weeks ago; when every 30 to 60 seconds, short gaps of silence started to occur while playing back the track.
These gaps also appear when the track is not playing back and I am playing a VST
instrument. It does this with all VST instruments.
It seems to me that it is some problem with streaming from the hard drive.
I checked the VST performance meter; ASIO is barely registering, and the disk meter doesn’t register at all. I’m hardly using any CPU power.

The version of Cubase is legit, I have the dongle installed, registered the software with Steinberg and followed all the instructions as far as I can tell.

I would be extremely grateful for any advice that anyone on the forum can provide.
Thank you very much in advance.
Computer Spec…
INTA AUDIO Barebones PC
INTEL E5700 Dual Core 3.0ghz, ASUS P5G41T DDR3 Motherboard, 4GB Ram,
2 Physical Hard Drives, both SATA 7200RPM, M-Audio 24/96 PCI Soundcard,
Windows 7 Premium 32 bit, Cubase 6, plus 6.5 update.

2

In regards to problem number 2, have you installed any demo or trials of plugins lately? The equal timing intervals of 30-60s before you get silence sounds like it could be some sort of limitation imposed on a trial/demo of a plugin to force you to buy it. There are quite a few plugins that do this and it is only meant as a means of a quick test, without the ability to mixdown an entire track, uninterrupted.

Just an idea. I have no other reasoning for sound to work fine then at exactly 30-60s it cuts out. If you have tried various drivers, ASIO4ALL and different/higher buffer settings, I really am at a loss.

As for problem number one, it sounds like a grounding problem, where the sound card is able to pick up interference and background noise and amplify it at its outputs. I have this before too where I would get strange grinding and chirping sounds as I moved my mouse across the screen, scrolled a window, opened a new window etc. The only thing I can suggest is to try another sound card if possible, or move your current soundcard into a different slot in your motherboard, preferably furthest down and away from everything else and see how it holds up. Since this system is new and you said it did this from day 1, it shows the problem has always been there and not something you have personally done. The system was set up this way. Can you get in touch with who built your system and inquire with them on options?

I wish you luck, nothing sucks more than having computer issues when you want to get to work.

3

No. one sounds like hardware issues, like shared IRQ, maybe mouse driver too.

Try the sound card in a different slot of the motherboard.

4

Go to devices > device setup > VST audio system

Make sure you have the correct driver loaded.