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ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86228] Thu, 13 August 2015 12:59 Go to next message
basskitten is currently offline  basskitten
Messages: 13
Registered: January 2013
Junior Member
I have a ULN-2, firmware 2.2.08, connected to a brand new Retina iMac via the Apple Firewire-Thunderbolt adapter. When it works, it works fine, but after some period of use (average around 24 hours), it stops working. Any app that attempts to send audio to the ULN-2 just hangs, and has to be forced to quit. When this occurs, the only solution is to shut down and restart the iMac. I tried unplugging & replugging the cable, using different firewire/thunderbolt ports, but none of it makes any difference. The ULN-2 is being powered by an external "wall wart" supply - it does not appear to get enough voltage from the Thunderbolt port alone.

Is this a known issue? Is there any workaround?

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86229 is a reply to message #86228] Thu, 13 August 2015 15:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jon is currently offline  jon
Messages: 40
Registered: November 2012
Member
Administrator
You may be having an issue on your computer that is a result of a bug in OS X that affects OS 10.8 and higher.  You can try the following to see if it helps:

From Applications/Utilites, launch Terminal.

In the Terminal type:

sudo nvram boot-args="dart=0x0"

and when it asks for your password, enter your password.

Then restart your Mac.

Jon Stern
Metric Halo Support

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86333 is a reply to message #86229] Sun, 20 March 2016 14:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPeteri is currently offline  JPeteri
Messages: 4
Registered: March 2016
Location: Amsterdam
Junior Member
I have the same issue on 10.10.5 with my 2882 and a thundebolt to firewire adapter, will El capitan solve this?

Really happy I found this thread btw, it was driving me nuts! Another reason to REALLY look forward to the 3D expansion Smile

[Updated on: Sun, 20 March 2016 14:41]

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86334 is a reply to message #86333] Sun, 20 March 2016 16:15 Go to previous messageGo to next message
basskitten is currently offline  basskitten
Messages: 13
Registered: January 2013
Junior Member
I have not found a solution. El Capitan made no difference. The boot-args made sound throughout the system really unreliable. Basically you will just have to do a full shutdown/restart cycle every once in a while to get the Metric Halo interface to work again. I'm saving up for another brand of interface.

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86335 is a reply to message #86334] Sun, 20 March 2016 16:31 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPeteri is currently offline  JPeteri
Messages: 4
Registered: March 2016
Location: Amsterdam
Junior Member
Going to try Jon's solution first, seems like a known issue with a workaround. Worst case would be less stability until 3D is released, but hopefully not.

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86336 is a reply to message #86334] Sun, 20 March 2016 19:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
bj is currently offline  bj
Messages: 621
Registered: July 2011
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Can you explain what you mean by "sound throughout the system really unreliable"?

The boot-args thing has no effect on sound. It works around an acknowledged Apple bug in the FireWire stack (not our driver or the interface).

If you are still encountering issues with hangs or loss of sound after you apply the boot-args, the likelyhood is almost 100% that either the change you made didn't take, or that it got reset (e.g. if you reset the PRAM on your computer, the boot-args will be reset, and you need to apply the fix again).

As far as we can tell, the bug that is in the Firewire stack does not appear to be in the USB stack, so 3d will not have this issue.

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86337 is a reply to message #86336] Sun, 20 March 2016 19:35 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPeteri is currently offline  JPeteri
Messages: 4
Registered: March 2016
Location: Amsterdam
Junior Member
Good to know about resetting the PRAM also resetting the fix. Haven't had time to intensively test the boot-arg fix(good name!) but I'm confident it will solve the issue for now. Long term 2882 user, and hope to remain so for many more years!

3D though! So many questions! Smile

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86339 is a reply to message #86337] Tue, 22 March 2016 13:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JPeteri is currently offline  JPeteri
Messages: 4
Registered: March 2016
Location: Amsterdam
Junior Member
Some additional info from my end: OS updates require you to redo the boot-arg thing, and the active box will always have to be power cycled after a disconnect. Without a powercycle it will simply not reconnect. The disconnect will leave the firewire-status as lit on the frontend of my 2882 but after reconnecting it will not come back, not even when you reboot the Mac.

[Updated on: Tue, 22 March 2016 13:50]

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86373 is a reply to message #86336] Tue, 03 May 2016 18:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
basskitten is currently offline  basskitten
Messages: 13
Registered: January 2013
Junior Member
bj wrote on Sun, 20 March 2016 16:02
Can you explain what you mean by "sound throughout the system really unreliable"?

The boot-args thing has no effect on sound. It works around an acknowledged Apple bug in the FireWire stack (not our driver or the interface).

If you are still encountering issues with hangs or loss of sound after you apply the boot-args, the likelyhood is almost 100% that either the change you made didn't take, or that it got reset (e.g. if you reset the PRAM on your computer, the boot-args will be reset, and you need to apply the fix again).

As far as we can tell, the bug that is in the Firewire stack does not appear to be in the USB stack, so 3d will not have this issue.


I decided to give the boot-args thing another trick and I'm happy to report that this time it appears to have done the trick. I have had no issues with the ULN2 since applying it.

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86439 is a reply to message #86228] Tue, 08 November 2016 00:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ShogunOfHarlem is currently offline  ShogunOfHarlem
Messages: 10
Registered: March 2013
Location: Nashville
Junior Member
Hey there,

I realize I'm bumping a pretty old thread but...

This issue keeps getting worse through new versions of OS X/macOS. Sierra is the worst yet for me. Just tried the terminal hack and got this response:

nvram: Error setting variable - 'boot-args': (iokit/common) general error

Is that the desired result or does this hack not work under Sierra?

cheers

-T

Non Retina Macbook Pro (mid 2012), OSX 10.12.1, Pro Tools 12.6, Metric Halo ULN-2

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86440 is a reply to message #86439] Tue, 08 November 2016 14:33 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jon is currently offline  jon
Messages: 40
Registered: November 2012
Member
Administrator
Please make sure that you have the latest driver installed. This would be part of the latest software download:

http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/support/downloads.html

It's the file called MIODriver_5.4d238_Universal.pkg. It is expected to work around the bug in the OS that is causing the problem you have been seeing.

Best regards,

Jon Stern
Metric Halo Support

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86441 is a reply to message #86440] Tue, 08 November 2016 18:44 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ShogunOfHarlem is currently offline  ShogunOfHarlem
Messages: 10
Registered: March 2013
Location: Nashville
Junior Member
Yeah, I've got that, thanks. Just wanted to make sure everything was copacetic in terminal. Wink

I'll report back if I have any further issues. This has been one of the more annoying things about macOS in some while.

cheers

Non Retina Macbook Pro (mid 2012), OSX 10.12.1, Pro Tools 12.6, Metric Halo ULN-2

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86442 is a reply to message #86441] Thu, 10 November 2016 17:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ShogunOfHarlem is currently offline  ShogunOfHarlem
Messages: 10
Registered: March 2013
Location: Nashville
Junior Member
fwiw, I'm still getting the periodic hang, even with the new driver. I guess I just have to wait for the USB cards....

Non Retina Macbook Pro (mid 2012), OSX 10.12.1, Pro Tools 12.6, Metric Halo ULN-2

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86443 is a reply to message #86442] Sun, 13 November 2016 15:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mommaerts is currently offline  mommaerts
Messages: 7
Registered: October 2012
Junior Member
I've been dealing with this issue for almost 2 years now (been an ecstatic 2882 user for well over 10 years). Stopped using my 2882 for the past year but miss it along with the sounds system connected to it I decided to try it again with sierra. it worked great for a day, then now it hangs the entire system (making it super laggy 30 seconds or more for a keystroke or mouse movement).

I tried the terminal code. I too get the error setting variable message in terminal.

I am using the latest os and drivers.

Would love to use my 2882 again. Any other work arounds?

Mitch

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86444 is a reply to message #86443] Sun, 13 November 2016 16:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
cbenson
Messages: 3
Registered: November 2016
Junior Member
Just to be clear as I am having this issue from time to time, if we have installed the 5.4d238 driver we should still type in the terminal commands? Or the driver itself should take care of the issue?

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86445 is a reply to message #86444] Sun, 13 November 2016 16:52 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mommaerts is currently offline  mommaerts
Messages: 7
Registered: October 2012
Junior Member
I myself am getting the issue with 5.4d238 driver, and terminal command gives me the error when doing it, before and after restarting. I've been getting this issue for several os's along with various drivers. However I have not tried the command line until today, latest os and latest driver.

[Updated on: Sun, 13 November 2016 16:55]

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86446 is a reply to message #86445] Tue, 15 November 2016 15:15 Go to previous messageGo to next message
bj is currently offline  bj
Messages: 621
Registered: July 2011
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So, we thought that the update to the driver for 10.12 may have worked around the underlying bug in the OS, but based upon what you folks are seeing, that doesn't appear to be the case.

The boot-args work-around described earlier in this thread still works, but it is harder to apply than it used to be.

Unfortunately, the system integrity protection (SIP) that apple shipped with 10.11 is keeping you from applying the fix.

This is a bit of a pain; in order to apply the fix now, you need to reboot the computer into recovery mode:

1) reboot and hold cmd+R until the progress bar appears
2) when you are in recovery mode (macOS Utilities window), choose Terminal from the Utilites Menu
3) in the terminal, enter the following exactly (followed by the return key):

nvram boot-args='dart=0'

4) Select Reboot from the Apple Menu

Now, the fix is applied, and stay applied until you do something that causes the boot-args to change (for example, installing a major update of the OS).

At this point you will not see the hangs anymore.

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86447 is a reply to message #86446] Tue, 15 November 2016 19:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ShogunOfHarlem is currently offline  ShogunOfHarlem
Messages: 10
Registered: March 2013
Location: Nashville
Junior Member
Right on, just followed those steps and I'll report back in a day or so.

thanks

Non Retina Macbook Pro (mid 2012), OSX 10.12.1, Pro Tools 12.6, Metric Halo ULN-2

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86448 is a reply to message #86228] Wed, 16 November 2016 15:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
mommaerts is currently offline  mommaerts
Messages: 7
Registered: October 2012
Junior Member
BJ and Metric Halo Team, it's been over 24 hours and I haven't experienced a single freeze. There's no way this would have happened before so thus far I'm able to use my entire studio monitoring investment vs the thunderbolt monitor or macpro speaker. If this continues to work (until the next os update where i'll have to repeat the proceedure), words cannot explain how grateful I am. It's so rare to have a company work on a solution vs, just blaming apple (even if it's their fault) and not doing anything at all.

Thank you soooo much, really...

Mitch

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86449 is a reply to message #86448] Wed, 16 November 2016 16:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
bj is currently offline  bj
Messages: 621
Registered: July 2011
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Glad to hear that this solves the problem for you!

It would be (very) nice if you didn't have to jump through these hoops. We reported this issue to Apple years ago, and it was acknowledged, but they decided not to fix it. Don't know why; but at least there is a work around!

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86450 is a reply to message #86449] Wed, 16 November 2016 18:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
ShogunOfHarlem is currently offline  ShogunOfHarlem
Messages: 10
Registered: March 2013
Location: Nashville
Junior Member
I too can happily report that I'm about 24 hrs in, and no problems. Here's hoping it continues.

Thanks guys Wink

Non Retina Macbook Pro (mid 2012), OSX 10.12.1, Pro Tools 12.6, Metric Halo ULN-2

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86451 is a reply to message #86450] Wed, 16 November 2016 19:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
bj is currently offline  bj
Messages: 621
Registered: July 2011
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It will continue, unless the boot-args get reset*. So if you get a hang again, it means that the boot-args were reset and you'll just need to apply the fix again. Again, it sucks that this work-around is required, but at least it is pretty much set and forget...

* The boot-args can be reset manually, by resetting the PRAM/NVRAM, or sometimes they get reset during major system update.

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86452 is a reply to message #86451] Thu, 17 November 2016 14:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
cbenson
Messages: 3
Registered: November 2016
Junior Member
Besides having great products, it's this type of support and attention that makes me a fervent and fanatical supporter of Metric Halo.

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86476 is a reply to message #86228] Fri, 06 January 2017 21:14 Go to previous messageGo to next message
riondrum
Messages: 1
Registered: January 2017
Junior Member
I just got a new iMac 5K that's running Sierra... And I'm having the hang problem. Couldn't figure it out, went to the Apple Store, did phone support with them, but couldn't find the root of the problem- the hang only affected applications that were using audio, so I thought to look here. Found what I was looking for.

Now, I applied the bug fix as prescribed, and it seemed to work, but 30 more minutes into video editing, and the same hang happens. All applications without audio still work, but once the hang happens, I can't play music, or video on any app, without a restart.

I have a 2882 +DSP, and a 5K iMac, Sierra-

I am also current on all the latest drivers.

any help would be greatly appreciated !

thanks-

rion.
word.

[Updated on: Fri, 06 January 2017 21:19]

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Re: ULN-2 hangs system periodically [message #86477 is a reply to message #86476] Fri, 06 January 2017 21:34 Go to previous message
bj is currently offline  bj
Messages: 621
Registered: July 2011
Senior Member
Administrator
Did you follow these steps:

In order to apply the fix now, you need to reboot the computer into recovery mode:

1) reboot and hold cmd+R until the progress bar appears
2) when you are in recovery mode (macOS Utilities window), choose Terminal from the Utilites Menu
3) in the terminal, enter the following exactly (followed by the return key):

nvram boot-args='dart=0'

4) Select Reboot from the Apple Menu

With Sierra you can't use the sudo command.

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