Actually, when i plugged it into my usb 2.0 rather than 3.0, it worked. Weird.

Hi dlitle,

The DDJ-SX is only a USB 1.1 device, so plugging it into a USB 3.0 port will probably cause some issues.

Are all the issues resolved when connected to a USB 2.0 port?

Cheers

No, now my cpu red light is constant, and usually on the second or third song I it cuts out and the song actually slows down. I went thru you guide on how to optimize your computer for serato and windows 7, nothing seams to make a difference. I was able to run serato 1.3 with usb latency at 2 ms before, and even when maxed out on latecy now, it makes no difference. No defraging of computer is required at this time. This is fustrating to go this far and still not have no satisfaction. :-( I have had my ddj sx controller since August, and this is the first time I have had issues, or even seen the CPU red warning light.

I removed 1.5 and reinstalled 1.3 and now i have the same problem. This just started this week so I am about to restore to previous point.

Hi dlitle,

Sorry to hear you are still having issues and for our late reply. We have been very busy here lately but I will try to help your issue.

What are the full system specs of your computer? Please post all its specs.



You have had the DDJ-SX for almost 4 months and this is the first time you have had this issue? I dont believe it could have come out of nowhere, are you sure you have not done anything before this issue arose?

Have you installed any new software? Specifically audio software?

Have you removed any other programs on your computer that could be interfering audio-wise? Can you check your Task Manager to see if any other program/process is taking up your memory or CPU speed?

Can you please install all the latest Windows Updates, as well as making sure you have downloaded the latest DDJ-SX drivers?

Have you ever tried to do a firmware update?

Have you removed any anti-virus software or firewalls you have installed?

Again, sorry for the delay in replying. The software doesn't just start acting up like this for no reason, so there must be something on your computer not allowing it to perform correctly that you have installed or done recently. We will try to figure it out!

Regards

If you would like me to call you, we are available for the next 7 hours.

Please send me your phone number via private message and I will give you a call. Otherwise I will be happy to give you a call on Monday.

Thankyou

I went thru the Serato optimization guide, and with all attempts of optimizing nothing made it any better. I have current drivers and firmware for the ddj sx. I found some dpcisr-report and ran the report, and will attach the file. It looks Greek to me ;-)

Summary of everything I have tried

-turned off wifi
-Changed performance settings in Control Panel - System location
-I have put the latency to least latent position
-I have changed frame rates
-i have changed firewall settings
-I have changed start-up services.
-I have turned off aero and visual effects.
-I have changed the power settings.

I have done combinations of them both on and off. Nothing seems to make a difference.
Yes I keep windows updated, and it has done that recently. I even tried to go to restore points on my computer to see if that made a difference. It didn't. Yes, my antivirus has updated this week, I run AVG. Background programs are running, and I have stopped the ones that I feel confident about closing, but I am not sure what all are, or if they are vital in the operation of my computer. I found a thread to run two programs and then send you the reports. (They are attached). Other than that, no major changes were done, except when I updated to SDJ 1.5

Spec of Computer:

Toshiba Qosmio Notebook

Intel i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20 Ghz
8.0 GB RAM
64-Bit Operating system

Windows 7 Home Premium

Thanks dlitle,

Can you confirm that these dropouts happen when the computer is connected to power VS when it is running off battery?

There could be an issue with power management causing these dropouts, however to check I would like to see if you still get crazy dropouts when using Serato DJ with your computer plugged into its power supply.

Regards

Update: Are you able to take the battery completly out of your laptop, but then plug it into the power supply?

I would like to check if the ACPI (power management) issue is affecting your computer, and it can vary from laptop to laptop. At least if the battery is taken completely out I can know for sure.

Please shut down your computer, remove the battery, plug it into the power supply then boot your computer back up. Your computer should now be running solely off the mains power. Check to see if this fixes your dropout issue.

Regards

Thx for getting back to me, when I get home from work, I will try it out. I am off Monday, so I will private message you if this doesn't work.

:-)

Thanks dlitle look forward to hearing your results!

Cheers

Well, it seems to be working better. I ran the dpcisr without battery in. As well as the RATTV3 analysis again, but it doesnt want to give me the txt file again, just the histogram. I will attach that. Do I need a new battery?

No its not the battery that is the problem, it is the ACPI (Power Management) that is used in your computer. This is why some Windows PCs have trouble running Serato DJ, there are so many installed applications and processes that vary among PCs so there is no way of making the software universally compatible.

Have a read of this..

ACPI.sys (Power management)

If you have USB dropouts and are having trouble finding a cause on a seemingly powerful machine, check if your computer is ACPI by opening the device manager:

1. Go to control panel
2. Click system
3. Click the hardware tab
4. Click device manager
5. Click the [+] next to Computer
6. If you see "ACPI uniprocessor PC" or similar, you have ACPI.

Quick method for disabling ACPI power management on some laptops is to try taking your battery out and just run off the power supply, this stops ACPI from trying to manage the battery on some model laptops.

You can disable ACPI if you think it might still be a problem:

HOWEVER IT CAN BE HARD TO REVERSE THIS, AND YOU MAY HAVE IRQ CONFLICT ERRORS, SO DON'T DO THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND CAN AFFORD SOME SYSTEM DOWN-TIME! AND MAKE A BACKUP!

BEFORE PROCEEDING Make a new system restore point by using the system restore wizard in help and support (start menu).

If you right-click on the 'Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC' description and select the Properties option, and then the Driver page on the window that appears, you can select 'Update Driver'. Choose the second 'Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)' option on the subsequent page, and then the 'don’t search. I will choose the driver to install' option on the following page. This should come up with two options, namely ACPI PC and Standard PC.

Regards

Yup, just checked, I have ACPI. How come I did not have these dropouts when I used SDJ 1.3 with my 3.0 USB port? Any chance there could be a patch or something? This all started with having to update to 1.5 and device no longer recognized on USB 3.0 port . Both the options of removing a battery ( especially during Live Play) or showing me a process that may or may not botch my computer leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I am pretty good with a computer, I am not great.

Did you disable the ACPI? Does it make things better?

Unfortunately this is a known problem with some PC laptops, the Power Management system interferes with Serato DJ function.

I understand that this is not the best solution, and having your computer connected to the mains power is not always possible when DJing live. However, there are processes on your computer that seem to cause Serato DJ to act sporadically, unless you can confirm otherwise it is sounding like ACPI.

We have checked the DPCI Trace Report that you attached to this thread and it looks like large dropouts due to ACPI. Power Management seems to be the cause of dropouts according to your DPCI Trace Report.

A patch may come in the future, however at this stage I dont have any further information to when this will be available.


When you tried this, did you see improvements?

Regards

I tried to follow your instructions, there was no option to update driver to other than to APCI. So I disabled the APCI battery from device manager, reran the reports once the dropouts started again. Only other things that have happened to this computer is the updating of Windows updates. Fustrated.

Thanks dlitle,

Not so great news: According to your latest DPCI trace report it still looks like it is still the ACPI that is causing the dropouts. It doesn't look like removing the battery helps in this case for your specific computer.

Unfortunately the steps listed above are the only steps we understand to disable the ACPI setting in your computer. It looks like your recent Windows updates have locked the ACPI and it is unable to be disabled.

There is not much more support we can offer here until the ACPI issue is addressed, as that is the main cause of your issues. Are you able to contact a local computer technician in your area to help you completely disable ACPI on your computer as it looks like it is still running even after the steps I suggested.

Like I mentioned previously Windows PCs are all configured so differently depending on manufacturer and we dont know the full steps to switch off all their factory settings.

Unfortunately we have exhausted all the troubleshooting suggestions for this issue until the APCI is corrected. Hopefully once the ACPI is disabled your computer will work great with Serato.

Regards

Well thank you. I am going to try Traktor for a while, keep me posted when you get this issue fixed. I like your setup and look, but if Traktor stays stable under these conditions that my ACPI interferes with Serato, from a very reasonably popular brand of computer, then it's worth checking out the competition.

I get that you guys can't please every brand and make of computer, but doing some checking around, ACPI is very common in computers, and other Serato users have been affected with the same thing. So it not like you are pleasing 1 in a million.

Cheers

No problem dlitle, I hope you find a system that works best for your application. We will keep you posted on any improvements we make to the software to accommodate the ACPI, but unfortunately I dont have any further information as to when there will be a workaround. Windows computers are tricky like that :(

Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused, I will close this thread and log a bug as there is not much else we can provide at this stage. Hopefully there are improvements in the near future.

Thanks for the feedback, and I hope you find a setup that works for you :)

Kind regards
Scott