Is my Pulsar2 card toasted ?

David Van Huffel · Post by **David Van Huffel** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:26 am

I suspect for a while now that something is wrong with one of my 2 pulsar2 cards. I tested my system by trying to fill up everything the DSP's have to offer. SFP refused to allow me 6 dsp's, which is a first indicator to me. He complained about STDM cable, but these seem ok and are firmly attached.

I fiddled around with the breakout connector a bit too much (it was not firmly attached) which must have caused something wrong I guess.I got a "connection error".

Now Windows XP refuses to recognize both Pulsar 2 cards. XP only finds ONE pulsar 2 card, not two. That one card seems to work fine.

What can I do ? How can I know if the hardware is toast, or if simply some setting/installation is the cause.

And if there's something wrong with the hardware, has anybody ever had a creamware card repaired ? The card is too old to have any warranty, so I'd like to know if there's any repair possible and what it would cost...

Thanks,

David.

Post by **garyb** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:39 am

yes, cw can repair it.
it sounds broken, but there could also be a bad cable whip. try starting the computer up with the affected card's whip removed and see if it appears in the os again, otherwise, contact Ralf...

H-Rave · Post by **H-Rave** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:40 am

What does it say in the device manager ?are there any conflicts ?

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:59 am

On 2006-08-31 09:26, David Van Huffel wrote:
...I fiddled around with the breakout connector a bit too much (it was not firmly attached) which must have caused something wrong I guess.I got a "connection error"...

the card might have lost it's fixed position in the slot.
I'd revmove all external connectors, then lift both cards and put them in again - pay attention that they really slip into the slots deep enough, then tighten them to the back of the PC case.
Attach only the S/TDM connector and and leave the cable whip(s), then start SFP and check the DSP meter.

A broken cable whip can paralyze a card, say by setting clock to ground or similiar things.

The cable whip is easy to open and to inspect if something is broken/loos inside.

good luck, Tom

Ralf · Post by **Ralf** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 11:15 am

Hi,

please remove the cards ( both ) out of your system and clean its contacts ( PCI & STDM ) with pure alcohol. Put the cards again in the system ( use other PCI-Slots if possible ) and boot again. If it is required, install again the hardwaredrivers. If this doesn't fix the problems, so please write me an email "rb[at]creamware.de" and ask for a RMA-number. Mostly we can fix such problems. Out of warranty this will cost 100 € + the shipment back to you.

cheers
ralf

On 2006-08-31 09:26, David Van Huffel wrote:
I suspect for a while now that something is wrong with one of my 2 pulsar2 cards. I tested my system by trying to fill up everything the DSP's have to offer. SFP refused to allow me 6 dsp's, which is a first indicator to me. He complained about STDM cable, but these seem ok and are firmly attached.

I fiddled around with the breakout connector a bit too much (it was not firmly attached) which must have caused something wrong I guess.I got a "connection error".

Now Windows XP refuses to recognize both Pulsar 2 cards. XP only finds ONE pulsar 2 card, not two. That one card seems to work fine.

What can I do ? How can I know if the hardware is toast, or if simply some setting/installation is the cause.

And if there's something wrong with the hardware, has anybody ever had a creamware card repaired ? The card is too old to have any warranty, so I'd like to know if there's any repair possible and what it would cost...

Thanks,

David.

David Van Huffel · Post by **David Van Huffel** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 2:38 pm

Hi,

I removed the cards, cleaned the contacts and put them back, one by one, without breakout cable. The results are good, I can use all DSP's, yippy ! I only got one error that said there was an "unexpected DSP limit reached", but that one didn't reappear so far.

Next test is testing with breakout cables. I connected all cables, firmly attached. I seem to have some problems with my midi cables, but this can also be due to the fact that it's 00h40. I will continue the tests tomorrow.

Many thanks for your help and usefull hints. I hope my installation will be back on its feet soon.

Post by **garyb** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:30 pm

if the cable whip is bad, a multimeter and soldering iron can fix that, or you can buy another.

i'm glad it's working!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: garyb on 2006-08-31 20:32 ]</font>