[Windows]USB Midi Device Not Recognized After CB8 Is Running

[Minimalist]

@peakae

Would Love to see the new win10 midi API used in Cubase. Mostly because of tighter midi clock and the upcoming multiclient support.

Excellent suggestion.

[fourways]

@Minimalist

This is kind of OT but speaks to the complexity or suckyness of Windows 10 and perhaps the difficulty of programming for it. I have long assumed that Steinberg engineers use mostly Macs.

I recently had to do a clean install of Windows because it would no longer recognize the dongle at any time. If I could afford to, I would switch to Mac now.

I think it’s not just Windows behaviour. For example, you have “Reset MIDI devices” action in Reaper that works flawlessly. I have a lot of gear that connected via USB (synths, fx, etc) and it’s real pain to restart Cubase every time I want to use one of them.

[Photon]

This is a major inconvenience. This problem has been discussed on numerous threads on this forum over a period of several years, so why hasn’t Steinberg fixed it? Steinberg’s unresponsiveness on this issue has made me hesitant to buy Cubase Pro 9 – whenever it becomes available.

This issue has caused all kinds of trouble and confusion for me, with the demo version of Cubase 8 that I’ve been trying out.

I know this is not a Windows issue, because my demo copy of Sonar Platinum reliably detects external midi gear whenever it is plugged in.

For example, if Cakewalk Sonar is already running, I can turn on an external keyboard which is connected via USB, and Sonar will recognize it. In contrast, if Cubase 8 is already running, and I turn on the external keyboard, Cubase will not recognize it. The keyboard is recognized only after I shut down Cubase and restart it. In other words, the keyboard must be turned on and physically connected before I start Cubase, or Cubase will not recognize it.

Here are the disadvantages:

1. When I restart Cubase, I lose my undo history.
2. Having to restart Cubase is a waste of time, and it disturbs my train of thought.
3. Generally, when I’m using fussy, unreliable software, I end up wasting a lot more time on troubleshooting.

The only reason I care is that Cubase has some functions that Sonar lacks – including better tempo editing – so I’d prefer to buy Cubase. But I do think Steinberg should be more responsive to its customers’ concerns, and I do think Steinberg should have fixed this USB hotplugging issue long ago.

[tepa]

Yes it’s not a Windows issue, but midi improvement/new features will only come with this new midi API that is exclusively available for Windows 10.

I don’t know if it’s means that if they recode on the new Midi API it will make Windows 7 unsupported because of a different/old API, just wondering…

[tepa]

@peakae

Would Love to see the new win10 midi API used in Cubase. Mostly because of tighter midi clock and the upcoming multiclient support.

Exactly
A kind of revolution to PC user, and a lot less workaround

[Photon]

The Windows 10 market share is still much lower than Win 7, as you can see here:

Operating system market share

I reverted to Win 8.1 when I discovered that I could not install some crucial legacy software on Win 10. I have no plans to upgrade to Win 10, ever. And I’m not alone.

So if Steinberg wants to make use of some new win 10 feature, they’ll have to continue supporting win 7 and 8, or lose customers.

The undeniable fact is, Sonar can detect hotplugged USB interfaces – in Windows 8.1. Steinberg has no excuse. They need to catch up.