First use 'live' with My DMX...

Hi Jas,

I find that the USB dongle is not always recognised at boot and after starting the myDMX software. I remove the cable from the laptop and re-insert it. Once the green transmit light is flashing, I find that the whole system is then stable.
I am currently programming a large set of songs and have worked for 10+ hours without the program crashing at all.
There are a few niggles with the operation - unable to select items without switching in and out of pages etc, but that could be the older version currently in use on that machine.
This may have been addressed with the new version but I am not updating until I have fully tested it on my sandbox pc.

Make sure the cable is undamaged. Is the laptop trying to run other applications. Are you running Firewall or Antivirus software which may be interfering.
My laptop does 1 thing - run myDMX. Keep things pure and simple to avoid problems.

Regards,

Thanks Paul,

The pc is running a firewall & anti virus so will disable them and have a test.
I am also using the USB cable that came with the unit so will also replace this and see how it goes.

It seems odd that the unit runs ok for a few minutes and then drops out.. sometimes it runs for 10 mins with no problems and then drops out.

The green light starts flashing when its active (obviously) and it either turns solid or turns off completely when problems occur.

I will try disabling the firewall, antivirus and a new lead then post my findings to this thread.

Fingers crossed.....

You Prob need a new USB Cable. We have had reports that some of the usb cables are faulty.

Sincerely,

Turn off your wireless, it will cause problems.

Replace the USB cable.

Turn off crap you don't need.

It's not your anti-virus and firewall.

Boot with the dongle not plugged in.

Are you using the latest version from the web site? I'm going to upgrade this week to it from the previous stable build.

Make sure you have the latest hot fixes, updates and patches from Microsoft.

I'm surprised no one has yet told you to try disabling the "USB selective suspend" settings. Vista, by default, is designed to suspend USB ports after a certain amount of time, especially on laptops. Suspension of the USB ports or the computer itself causes myDMX to stop communicating (and sometimes then your lights will flicker or not turn on at all) until you unplug myDMX and plug it back in again (even if you reboot, still need to unplug, etc).

Go into Control Panel, Power Management. Click Change Plan, go to USB -> USB selective suspend settings and disable both On Battery/Plugged In.

Even better: Lose Vista and go back to XP.

Even Microsoft is looking for a quick death to Vista.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

I've got a new cable & disabled the USB selective settings. If only I could go back to XP.. I dont like Vista as much as the next man. I've even been looking at the prices of small XP notebooks this week :-).

I have the latest version of My DMX as I've only just bought it.. So fingers crossed so far so good.

I find I get a bit of lag occurring in the visualizer at the moment but nothing is freezing.. I have 2 gigs this week so will give it another proper run out.

Stop thinking "INSIDE THE BOX"

Sorry, I deal with people who can't think for themselves 120 hours a week. I'm getting tired of it.

Here's the deal:
Microsoft wants to kill XP. They want to assassinate Vista. People don't like Vista. People like XP, but XP is now 7+ years old and Microsoft wants to ditch older products EVEN if they still work(and outperform their latest incarnations). As a result, MS won't let computer builders(like HP, Dell, Gateway, Sony) ship a computer with XP pre-installed anymore on NEW machines. Some companies, such as Dell, are offering a "downgrade" option at cost which would include a license of XP pre-loaded for INSTALLATION but not pre-installed. You as the user, who are paying extra for this option, MUST make the effort to load XP. It's a "let's not piss off the powers that be" sort of deal. MIcrosoft hates this but legally there isn't anything they can do about it because the software is a legal and legitimate license for the operating system.

Vista is better for many 64-bit apps, mainly since it was designed more with a future architecture of 64-bit, which is where many of us are these days. So, while it does suck donkey balls, it does have some forward looking intentions. Windows 7 SUPPOSEDLY addresses this even further. The bigger problem is supporting 32-bit apps in a 64-bit environment(not too bad to do), while waiting for developers to move towards a 64-bit architecture(may not fully happen). Sometimes it is merely a driver issue, which is often the case, such as with MyDMX. In other cases, such as Sony Vegas Pro, it requires a whole new build. It really depends on the application.

This is where thinking OUTSIDE the box helps. You can get a an OEM license for XP Home with SP2 for a decent price(I can't mention prices here, but it's affordable) Wipe your laptop or whatever down to zilch, start fresh with XP Home. Or do a dual-boot thing, which I don't trust, and also because Vista does some goofy things with their handling of NTFS.

So, mail order XP Home or Pro(whatever you want) as an OEM version. The OEM is the exact same thing as the full retail MINUS the fancy packaging. The license structure is different as it's meant for system builders and integrators, so the checking algorithm is different(it checks OEM licenses, not retail licenses). Other than that, there is essentially NO real or valid difference.

Hopefully someone in the UK is selling the software for a good price.

You're not going to find a new notebook with XP on it these days. If you're going to buy a notebook, keep that in mind. If you want to use your existing hardware that is chugging away on Vista, then save the money as you've got decent hardware already(most likely), so just spend some money on XP Home license.

Another tip for MyDMX users:

It's been long proven that dedicated hardware is often much more reliable than computer-based solutions. This is largely because the layer of complexity that a computer adds to the equation due to the operating system, drivers and other software conflicts that may or may not exist. One of the biggest tips with computer-based stuff for professional audio/AV/Video/lighting apps is to "harden" or streamline the OS to NOT run or include anything that isn't absolutely necessary in order to make the computer as robust, stable and reliable as is possible. On tours, guys will NOT update or upgrade their computers unless absolutely necessary. Why fix it if it ain't broke? Plus, one stupid fix could bring the whole thing crashing down. Too much of a risk, even with restore images handy, but that is a "time wasting" thing, having to reload your stable images, and time is NOT on your side at an event. Often, you go to your back-up computer, trash the "production" one for the event, then while in transit to the next location, re-load your production machine back to where it was.

I'm not saying MyDMX isn't reliable. It can be. I've had failures with it, but I've had problems as well. I'm not immune. But I have a solution many of you are not considering for a wide variety of reasons.

Should MyDMX fail, do you have a back-up solution? I do. I previously bought a DMX Operator back in I think end of 2001. I'm not saying "hey, go run out and buy a DMX Operator", but what I am saying is "you should thing about having a lighting controller of some sort readily available and programmed just in case...." This isn't necessarily cheap insurance as it may cost more than MyDMX. I know, one of the lures and appeals of MyDMX is that it costs less than even a DMX Operator(depending on when and where you buy it).

Let's think about this:

If your butt is on the line here and your MyDMX or your computer takes a big dump on you, what you gonna do? I'm not going to get into the Mac/PC debate, but it generally takes LESS time to get a Mac up and running than a PC, by often a factor of 5 or more. Even so, you might need to get updates, and that is still time consuming and Apple isn't immune to those sort of issues either.

But, getting your PC back up on-site is a time consuming venture. Even if you have a DVD or CD chock full of drivers and other software to install, this is time. Time is what you don't have. A back-up laptop is nice, but how many of us have that as an option? I do, but I don't carry it because it's a POS Dell netbook and that thing just pisses me off(WTF? No CD/DVD drive? Took me 2 weeks to set up a TFTP server and get the damn thing to boot over the network to pull in the OS so it could install XP Pro...)

No, you're gonna fail. It sucks, it happens. That's life. What you need is a DMX controller that you can pre-program for at least enough stuff to get you through your event. In my case, should MyDMX fail, I can swing a cable to my DMX Operator and keep on going.

This may sound simple, but it requires two bits of up front work. The first bit of work is fairly straight forward, and that is to program your lighting fixtures addresses to be compatible with both your MyDMX and your controller. In the case of my DMX Operator vs. MyDMX, I leave gaps in the addressed to accomodate logical control on the DMX Operator. The second part is much more time consuming, and that is programmning the controller. This is because it simply takes more time to do this. Some controllers have computer software to let you design and then dump it in to the controller. The thing that is great about this is that you can save your shows to disc. In the case of a DMX Operator, no such luxury.

Now, since following a few simple guidelines for dealing with MyDMX, I've not had any issues with it since then. Even so, my DMX Operator is quite literally inches away and a cable can be moved incredibly fast. Even though I've broken my rule by not programming much of it(my lighting changed and I've lacked the time, which is a crappy excuse), worse case is I can flop around on the DMX Operator and get by.

I'm not slamming MyDMX. Compared to my DMX Operator, which I really really like, MyDMX makes me feel like I was living in the stone age. MyDMX does all the stuff I had problems with by using a DMX Operator, namely I can't visualize things and MyDMX even has a 3D Visualizer. MyDMX does a lot of nifty things that are flat out impossible for a DMX Operator to do, such as looping and complicated movement sequences. We're talking a total lack of comparison as the products aren't on the same level as far as capabilities. The only general area they can compete in is pricing.

MyDMX puts a lot of "professional lighting console" power into a cost effective computer program. For what it offers and at the price, it is an impressive software platform.

I do recommend a few things for practicing. First, find a schematic to build a DMX Terminator, which is like nothing to do. Find another schematic which will show you how to make a super basic DMX tester. DO NOT use the 2-color LED version, I did that,it doesn't work worth a damn, use two LED's, works much better and takes just as long to make. Should you not have your lights handy, no doubt you've done work just using your MyDMX dongle. Plug in that basic tester so you can see the lights blinking. This will simulate load as the tester I made has 2 230-ohm resiters which end up providing not only testing capability, but also aacts as a terminator.

Examine your start-up procedure. First, just "do it" and notate what you do. Seriously. Even if it's "I plug in the dongle and fire up my computer". For most, it's starting up, then I have to disable things like wireless and turn off other things I use at home(like TightVNC, my scanner driver... stuff like that), and then plug in the dongle, wait for it to recognize and then I'm pretty much good to go, every single time. The key is to turn off crap you absolutely don't need. One thing I don't always need but can't easily turn off is my M-Audio drivers for my Firewire 410 interface, which I don't use all that often.