No sound and no MIDI devices found in Vista

[Sherry C]

Hi Mabril,

Do you use other audio software on this machine? I'm asking because it's a known factor that the GS Wavetable interferes with ASIO, which is used by some audio software to avoid latency issues. I'm wondering if that's the case, perhaps some other audio software has turned off the GS Wavetable and therefore you can't use it.

Possibility?

ttfn,
Sherry

[Sherry C]

Hi Mabril,

Another easy to check item that I found on another forum: antivirus software(!) Some poor fellow had the bad fortune to have AVG antivirus running in the background and it cut off his MIDI sound. That's just another reminder to all of us (myself included!) to check everything about our systems when digging into problems.

ttfn,
Sherry

[mabril]

I have tried disabling my antivirus, with and without resetting, but have had no success. Still no sound, no MIDI devices found.

[mabril]

But… Am I the only Vista user who has experienced this problem? Maybe it’s not a Vista problem, then… Uhmmm…

[Sherry C]

Hi Mabril,

Just thought I'd mention the ASIO and antivirus items as fairly easy to check ones.

I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Some folks may not have had sound and just didn't let us know.

I've just spent about 15 minutes searching and scanning the internet, and it looks like some Vista systems (due to various configuration or update status settings) may not have MIDI capability(!) If that is the case for your situation, you can do a couple of different things to get MIDI sound.

1. Use an external MIDI synth unit connected to your computer to play the sounds. Eg. a MIDI keyboard with sound (eg. Yamaha, Casio, etc.) Many of our users do this anyway because the sound is better than the GW Wavetable. This is a fairly easy and inexpensive alternative.

2. Use a software synth such as the Roland VSC (http://www.roland.com/products/en/goPrd.cfm and type "VSC" in the search field). You can also use SynthFont (www.synthfont.com), and set it to "Activate MIDI input". The advantage is no additional hardware, but you do have to get the additional software and install it. You also will typically need to run the sound engine software prior to running the software (eg. Musician) that will use it.

3. Purchase and install a soundcard (or plug in an external soundcard) that has its own MIDI capability (most do).

Hope the above is helpful!

ttfn,
Sherry

[mabril]

Hi, Sherry.
I don’t think so. I have some other music programmes, but I installed them just to check that it was not a problem of Notation software. The first programme I tried was Notation Player, and it did not make a sound even when running alone.

Originally Posted by Sherry C

Hi Mabril,

Do you use other audio software on this machine? I'm asking because it's a known factor that the GS Wavetable interferes with ASIO, which is used by some audio software to avoid latency issues. I'm wondering if that's the case, perhaps some other audio software has turned off the GS Wavetable and therefore you can't use it.

Possibility?

ttfn,
Sherry