Why so problems reported about DAX error

Rick WN2C

I searched for DAX error and came up with 108 pages of post about DAX error. I would like to know if the driver has ever been updated since DAX was released. Is it the same version in 1.2 as in 1.5? Why so many problems with DAX. Yes I am one of those who has and still have a problem getting DAX to work on my 6300. Did not work from day 1. I already have talked to Dudley about it. He tried and tried to no avail to get it to work. Says it is my computer, which it may be. But still there are so many problems reported about DAX that I have to question...is it others computers too. 
I am running 64 bit Vista with a Quad core processor and now vers 1.5 SSDR. Have any of you out there have any problems running Vista and what did you do to fix it besides upgrade the OS.
The error I am getting is below. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Rick WN2C

Bob G W1GLV

The problem is with Vista. Upgrade to Win7or Win10 and your problems will be gone.

Rick WN2C

Bob, there have been many problems reported from those running Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and even 10 or XP. My Question has more to do with... what have you done to rectify the problem. If you search the Flex site for DAX error it comes up to 108 pages. Lets see, 108 time the avg. number of entries on a page about 15 = 1620. 

George KF2T

Rick, Vista is no longer supported and probably does not interact with DAX as it is designed. To answer you directly, DAX has been updated several times. I've had great luck with it under Win 7 through 10. Multiple channels do take a good chunk of system resources and bandwidth, but much less than back in the early versions.

Once you get it installed in a supported OS, start with one channel and work from there. The latest version is pretty intuitive, and the manual has good advice. By the way, the numbers of results about "DAX error" should not be taken to represent problems with the software. A cursory glance shows questions about use cases, coming features, and other non-problems. Granted, there are a fair share of problems, but most do seem to boil down to incomplete reading of the instructions, failure to meet system requirements, or simple error. Hope we can get you squared away soon.

Walt - KZ1F

I concur, Vista was a shamefully bad attempt at what later became win 7.

Rick WN2C

Does anybody have a copy of Windows 7 or 8 they want to sell? Preferably with the key. 

Mike KD2CJJ

Goto newegg and get an OEM copy of windows... Its the best 99 dollars you will spend... And go right to windows 10... I can't believe your not having more issues with vista...64 bitversion was an experiment... I'm surprised any drivers work with it

Rick WN2C

I have had not 1 problem with Vista. I have on the other hand have had some power supply issues with this computer. I have changed it twice.

David Decoons, wo2x

The problem is not with DAX per se but the way it is enumerated in Windows. Sounds like something may be corrupted in your registry that is not allowing the driver to either be installed or initialized. When helping a friend with same error, we needed to boot in safe mode then clean out all instances of DAX and other left over pieces of other non-used devices. Once this was done we reinstalled 1.5 and the DAX error was gone. Check to see what you have selected for default playback and record devices. Right click the speaker icon in the toolbar and select playback devices. Scroll down to see what is set as default. Do the same for record devices and make sure neither have a DAX device set. Last if click start and type in msconfig in the run window and hit enter it opens msconfig. Go to the startup tab and uncheck DAX. Reboot. DAX will not load at startup. Once it is booted and settled down launch DAX from the start menu and see if it launches without error. Something may be delaying the driver from initializing on startup. There is always the option of enlisting someone's help via a TeamViewer session. Dave wo2x

ai6re

I have reinstalled my FlexSDR and CAT and DAX 3 times on windows 10 and it still comes up with errors and I have to go start the VSP Kit Service to get CAT running. It is set to Automatic but it never starts by itself. I have completely removed version 1.5.0 and all the drivers and reinstalled and rebooted the system many times. Now I just go the Services.msp and start the service after booting and the system run fine until I have to reboot windows again. I notice that the VSP Kit Service properties don't show any actions to take if it does not start. Should there be recovery actions included for this service? Everything worked great until I installed Windows 10. The pictures are after I start the service.

Burt Fisher

I do

k3Tim

Hi Don,

Sorry you are having this problem. Running Win 10 with SSDR version 1.5 and no problems here.  On the Dependencies tab I assume it shows ftvspenum.

Having to recover seems a step one shouldn't have to take.  Finding why the VSP doesn't start in the first place would be a better solution. I know you know this but figured I'd state the obvious.

Nice QRZ page BTW.

Good Luck,

Tim / k3Tim

Dan -- KC4GO

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=windows+7

Burt Fisher

Mine cost less and there are two copies

Peter K1PGV

Did you check the Windows system event log?  That *might* give us a clue as to why the service isn't automatically starting as it should.

BTW, those folks who are cursing Vista:  It was a hideous pile when it was released, but Vista plus all the service packs and updates for all intents and purposes is the same as Windows 7.  Entirely stable and usable.  Having SAID that, I'd still recommend you upgrade to Windows 8.1 Update 1 (followed by the Windows 10 update looming in the near future).

Mike KD2CJJ

I agree vitsa 32 bit was stable... The 64 bit version was not intended for home use. Most drivers aremnot compatible with vista 64 bit. Vista 32 bit was much more compatible with broader range of drivers and devices. Windows 7 64 bit would benthe lowest ,64 bit windows platform I would use for the home.

Steve K9ZW

Perhaps there are 108 pages because Windows sound drivers and control management is substandard? That most of us don't want to read the instructions, many cling to unsupported hardware/software configurations, other stuff running - including stuff that doesn't play well with others and those compounding issues of registry glitches & every other twist Microsoft threw in there might also play a role in the 108 pages? That this community's search engine makes it hard to actually find stuff, and produces endless results plays a role. That folk seldom identify what version of this evolving software keeps stale obsolete "problems" from disappearing when they have actually been resolved in later releases. Do any of us look at dates when the version number is lacking? Correctly identified you have a system that runs a uncommon Windows variety that developers of most new software ignore. Bummer having to either needing to upgrade or unless you have pretty hot hardware behind that Vista-64 perhaps replace the whole box. I have my 6300 running on a USB PC which is a hoot. The 6700 I sprang for one of Neal's FlexReady PCs and it rocks. Both machines are also run from iMacs with the DogparkSDR beta for grins. You have a lot of options, but a legacy unsupported operating system is a problem hard to get past.

GL and 73

Steve
K9ZW

Rick WN2C

Every body blames the the OS but Dudley tells me that he has a 32 bit and a 64 bit machine running Vista with no problems. So if that is the case then why is mine not working?
David Wo2x, thanks for the suggestion. I will give that a try.

ai6re

This event is just another look at the problem but does not provide me with a solution. I hope it means something to someone on here. It appears that the system is not responding fast enough to these services. This an 4th gen I7 4710HQ

Tim - W4TME

Do you have a solid state HD?

Tim - W4TME

Rick - Windows suffers from the accumulation of "crud" over time.  This is from updates, driver installs and other software that may cause Windows to operate differently from when it was first installed.  I suspect that there is something very unique to your PC that is causing the service timeout.  Unfortunately finding the exact root cause may be impossible.  We test our software on "clean" installs of Windows operating systems with all Windows updates applied.  This is done to validate software compatibility.

In some cases, a "clean" install of an operating system is the only thing that will clean up the "crud". 

Peter K1PGV

Hmmmm... this would be a good time to look at what services you're starting during system boot and disable some that you don't need.

Peter
K1PGV

Peter K1PGV

Every body blames the the OS but Dudley tells me that he has a 32 bit and a 64 bit machine running Vista with no problems. So if that is the case then why is mine not working?

I have no doubt SSDR and friends work properly on Vista.  As I posted earlier, Vista + Patches = Windows 7.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with an up to date Vista system, 32 bit or 64 bit. I ran one myself for quite a while.

Why not YOUR system?

Windows suffers from the accumulation of "crud" over time.  This is from updates, driver installs and other software that may cause Windows to operate differently from when it was first installed.

This.  There are zillions of reasons that your particular system could be presenting problems, and the one that Tim cited is one of the best.  For example, when you remove a driver, even if you uninstall it and elect to delete the associated files, there's "stuff" left around.  The stuff that slowly collects in your average Windows install can be truly... ah... "impressive" (and not in a good way).

Consumer hard drives also have an incredibly variable lifetime. A drive that's on its way out can seem to be slow, balky, and can cause weird delays in a system.  And, no... this is not necessarily accompanied by any specific system log entries.

Every couple of OS releases, it's worth going through the annoyance of doing a new OS install.  Not an upgrade, mind you... a totally new install onto a totally new disk, and then adding whatever layered products you want/need. You can keep the old disk around, plugged into the machine even, in case there are files or "stuff" that you need. Yes, I realize what a PITA this can be.  But, believe me, it's worth it.

If you're REALLY set on keeping the install you have I would suggest:

1) Checking the fragmentation status of all the drives in your system.  I can't recall if Vista had the "defrag by default" feature enabled.

2) Consider replacing/updating your hard drives.  You can do a disk-to-disk copy in about two hours.  The results can be impressive.  There are some caveats to this, and if you decide to do it, post back here and I'll give you a couple of hints to make the process faster/easier.

3) Have a good close look at your system event log to see if there are any issues being reported.

4) Go through the list of services that you're starting on your system during boot and set any you absolutely do not need to either "Manual" or "Disabled".

Most people really dislike doing this system maintenance stuff... and results are not guaranteed... hence the beauty of "do a clean install to a new hard drive" approach.

Peter
K1PGV 

ai6re

Tim, I do not have an SSD. I agree this looks like a very difficult problem to understand. I will post the cause if I ever locate it. Don, ai6re

ai6re

I will end this problem as part of this thread. I have changed the startup of VSP service kit in Win 10 from Automatic to Automatic (Delayed Start). The VSP service now starts on system reboot so I am on a path to solve this problem for my system. I have some more to look through but I don't see a reason to keep going under this heading.

Thanks to those who made suggestions on possible causes.

Don
ai6re

Tim - W4TME

Don - the issue is that with a SSHD, Windows is booting faster and it starts CAT before the FlexVSP driver (service) can start completely.

Tim - W4TME

Actually, Vista with all service packs is supported for SmartSDR.

Steve K9ZW

@Tim - with all Versions of Windows Vista now in the Extended Support period (general support ended apparently) which means no non-security updates, does FRS envision a timeframe where Vista wouldn't be supportable for SmartSDR?

In April 2017 when all Vista support stops what happens for SmartSDR?

And for the loaded question - what is the current (Sept/Oct 2015) configuration of choice for operating system and system specifications?

Thanks!

73

Steve K9ZW

Tim - W4TME

When Microsoft cuts the cord like they did recently with XP, that is when we stop supporting a particular Windows OS.  So in April 2017, you will be able to load SmartSDR on the PC and run it.  If you have a problem on an unsupported Windows platform, we will not expend resources to investigate or fix.

My personal recommendation is Win7 or Win10  I use Win10 exclusively for running my 6000s.  For the PC configuration, I have run it without any problems in an i7 Intel NUC.  I prefer to have as much processor "headroom" as affordable because I have been know to do crazy things like run 4 CWSkimmer waterfalls and a few instances of Fldigi at the same time which can chew up and spit out CPUs.

Paul Christensen, W9AC

Not necessarily.  I upgraded from Win 7 Pro to Win 10 Pro and I'm now on day 4 of trying to resolve DAX problems -- now with an open trouble ticket.  

I have followed Tim Ellison's posted protocols for uninstalling, then re-installing SSDR as well as his protocol for manually deleting/adding DAX drivers, eliminated ghost audio drivers in Device Manager, eliminated all DAX audio in device manager, removed Flex ports and ghosted Flex ports in Device Manager.  Reviewed and studied every recent posting on the matter in the Flex Community, uninstalled/Installed countless times as administrator, started DAX as administrator, disabled Virus/Malware software while doing the above and ...still DAX does not work.  I see the same error message at Windows launch - or when I close, then manually start DAX.

As I continue work through this, what's sorely needed is a utility that cleans up all the Windows and Flex residue (or Flex residue *caused* by Windows) when uninstalling SSDR.  The utility should automate the processes described in these protocols.  I had to manually clear out hundreds of old DAX audio drivers in Device Manager.  They replicate with each new install.  They're not seen until you select "show hidden devices."  Every attempt should be made to create a utility that can create a clean, new installation.  That may mean such a utility gets into the system registry as well. 

Tomorrow, will see what Day 5 holds. 

Paul, W9AC   

DH2ID

Tim, thank you for this info, it gives my thoughts a new direction ;-)
I'm using a 1TB SSD with my VAIO notebook which controls all of
my TRX. Sometimes (abt. 2 times a week) DAX and CAT crash on
starting. Now I know why! Setup here is Win7HE64bit, VAIO i7 CPU.
Won't it be possible to program a small delay into CAT and DAX, to get
them to start a wee bit later than FlexVSP? There are more and more people
using SSD's...
73, Alex DH2ID