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Itch & audio freeze
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Itch & audio freeze

Product
ITCH
Version
1.7.1
Hardware
Numark NS7 + Numark NSFX
Computer
PC
OS
Platform
-
hornsmaniac 6:24 PM - 28 March, 2011
Product: itch
Version: 1.7.1
Hardware: numark-ns7||numark-nsfx
Computer: pc
OS Version: win764
---

I DJ at a local bar every Friday night. Every Friday in my 4 hour set once or twice itch will freeze on me for 5-10 seconds. The program freezes and the audio goes blank. Then it comes back on to normal. This is embarrassing because I can hear prople in the crowd make comments. Then this past Saturday I played a different bar and had another crash but this time it went out completely. I had to restart my laptop. So the music was off for a few minutes which seemed like hours for me. I have bought 2 different laptops thinking it was the problem. The first laptop was an HP 3gb memory with an AMD processor. After the first few times I read that an Intel processor is better. So I purchased and now have a Dell 4gb memory with an Intel Core i3 Processor. But I still get the crashes and audio drops. Also there is a slight delay in the mic and aux input from the NS7. I also use a portable hard drive for all my music files. I have most my music in crates in itch but a few i dont. At times when I click the files tab and scroll through my hard drive it tends to lag a bit and I can see itch temporarily freezing but it doesnt affect the sound. Does that have something to do with it. Should ALL music be in crates? Can someone please help me ASAP this is VERY embarassing!!! The bar manager has already told me to get the problem taken care of or I am done there. HELP!
taterwulf 8:50 PM - 28 March, 2011
Downgrade your Windows7 to 32Bit. and change your Visual Environment settings to "Best Performance"

you also want to avoid having an Anti-Malware solution running as well as internet connectivity. turn off your AV and wireless radios.

I did this and i have not had a problem since! :D

here's my laptop specs (by no means a "new" pc!)
Dell XPS m1530
2.2Ghz Core2Duo
4 Gigs Ram
Windows7Pro32Bit *Clean Install*
500GB HDD
hornsmaniac 9:03 PM - 28 March, 2011
I will try that...but how do i downgrade from 64bit to 32bit?
taterwulf 9:28 PM - 28 March, 2011
You should be able to obtain the 32bit install disk from the PC manufacturer if your PC didn't come with one.

ITCH cannot use the extra processing power that windows can provide in 64Bit mode because it was not written with 64bit in mind, and i have noticed from troubleshooting my setup that it does more harm than good having W764 instead of 32Bit.

Make sure you backup all your data and do a clean install over the top of your current setup.

Make sure you uninstall ALL non essential things from your PC afterwards and go through the performance optimization steps on the Serato website.

Good Luck!
hornsmaniac 1:55 AM - 29 March, 2011
Do you happen to know what the green bar is underneath the time in the top left corner?? The green bar goes back & forth & I dont know what it is. Thanks.
taterwulf 2:24 AM - 29 March, 2011
That is the CPU meter telling you what the load is on your cpu at any time. If that meter is in the red your CPU is maxxing out... you want to keep it out of the red as much as possible, because that means your processor is working too hard. when I was running 64 bit, my processor with spiking out all the time, and that's when I would get audio drops and freezes.
Serato, Forum Moderator
Matt-C 2:24 AM - 29 March, 2011
Hi hornsmaniac.

Before doing anything drastic such as changing your operating system, please try to do the basic computer tweaks in this article: www.serato.com

Let me know how you go.
Also try raising the USB Buffer setting in ITCH to see if that helps.

If you are still having issues, please follow the instructions on how to get a DPC Trace report for me, and attach to this thread: serato.com

Cheers.
2:37 AM, 29 Mar 2011
hornsmaniac attached a file: DJMARK-PC-dpcisr-report.txt
Download· Permalink
hornsmaniac 2:42 AM - 29 March, 2011
Here is my report. I hope to get this fixed soon. Thanks guys for your help. The buffer was at 10. I lowered it to 1. So instead I should go to 20?
hornsmaniac 2:44 AM - 29 March, 2011
I also did all the tweaks and tried it out and about 15 min into mixing I got a quick 2 second glitch.
X RATED 3:34 AM - 29 March, 2011
Am DJ” X” I did my up grade from the total control to the NS7FX and tell you I was so excited that I never read the problems that other dj’s were running it to with( itch) I was currently using Virtual Dj 7 with the total control , I bought a lap top that had all the higher requirements so I would run into no problems .didn’t I no it I had it coming on my first 3 gig I rant in to all the problems this dj’s were writing about . I almost return every peace of equipment I bought just to upgrade to the NS7FX with itch, my last hope was to take I to a computer shop because I new it wasn’t the NS7FX it had to do with the software or laptop, well I took it in to my nearest computer shop can say there name or number or address but I took it in I been doing business with then for over a year this was my last recourse with gigs coming my way , well I took it in on a Friday and I didn’t get it back till the fallowing Friday( sorry I forgot I took the whole set up to them)to make thing short they fix the problems everyone is complaining freezing usb drops and ect ect wish I can post there business here . dj unit x
X RATED 3:36 AM - 29 March, 2011
Here are my specs
ASUS laptop
Processor i5
4g
640gd
I had the best running why didn’t it work who know but they fix it and it cost me 45bucks cant complain
These guys know there stuff.
X RATED 3:45 AM - 29 March, 2011
Can you let me know if this possible or don’t do it at all
I notice you can plug a CD player to the NS7FX controller right.
Can I connect a second lap top with the total control instead of a CD player is so will this cause any harm to my NS7FX please advice
I thought of this trying to play four decks, it should simulate like playing four decks right
please help
taterwulf 6:09 PM - 29 March, 2011
Hey X RATED,

you can plug all sorts of audio devices into the Aux input ports on the front of your NS7, and this will not affect the performance of your device. it will output the audio through the same master that your NS7 audio goes through.

The NS7 as far as i know does not have the ability to virtualize 4 decks in the ITCH software. the NS6 that just came out does have that ability.

hope this helps.
Serato, Forum Moderator
Matt-C 9:12 PM - 29 March, 2011
Hi X RATED - can you please start your own help request over here and we'll get right on to helping you: www.serato.com

Thanks.
Serato, Forum Moderator
Matt-C 9:13 PM - 29 March, 2011
Hi taterwulf.

First up, moving the USB buffer lower means the computer has to work harder, so if you move it to 20 it will mean there should be less USB dropouts. But leave it on 10 for the moment as there are things causing dropouts, you may be able to move it to the left once you have got the following things in your computer working smoothly.

USBPORT.SYS (USB port driver)

* Try connecting to a different USB port.
* Use a different USB cable.
* Go to your computer manufacturer's website and check if there you are using the most up-to-date drivers.
* Try using an external power supply for your hardware.

portcls.sys (Soundcard driver)

* Try updating your soundcard drivers.
* Try disabling your soundcard.


ntoskrnl.exe

Try doing any Windows updates that are available.
This one is a bit trickier, it's a fairly core Windows kernal file, it may be corrupt.
You can try to reinstall this, advice is here, though be very careful: www.computerhope.com
taterwulf 12:21 AM - 30 March, 2011
Hi Matt-C,

I actually have my system working well. for some reason, and believe me i have tried TONS of tips and tricks to get it working, but Windows7 64bit does not play well with ITCH no matter what hardware your using or what changes you make.

This is something your team really needs to look into, as most PC's are coming out with 64Bit versions of Windows.

I am a technician myself and have figured out what works best by using your help guides and some tricks of my own.

upon downgrading my PC to a x86 architecture, i had no problems making serato run smoothly on my system.
Serato, Forum Moderator
Matt-C 12:39 AM - 30 March, 2011
The modules above are showing system latency, this is outside of ITCH as a software, and is core to your computer architecture. Because ITCH requires a clean system as it is a low latency performance software, you will hear this latency as dropouts. You won't see it in other software so much (ie. word processing or the like) as they won't need this low latency.

The above recommendations are to get your computer's system latency to normal range, so if you'd want to do those tweaks then as long as your computer has good parts or drivers, then you will see good playback.
1:00 AM, 13 Apr 2011
This help request has been closed due to inactivity.