Hi,
Basic question I have is: how long does Creamware's support take these days? I submitted a support request a week ago but haven't heard back.
Additional questions:
* how long does card repair take?
* How much does card repair cost?
Background:
My 6 dsp chip pulsar card no longer works properly. I'm getting the "Hardware cannot be set up properly ... timeout waiting for acknowledge from dsp 0" error when trying to load SFP. I had received support from creamware a year ago and per their recommendation cleaned the contacts. This resulted in temporary gains but for the most part the problem still occurs.
I was also told I can arrange to have my card repaired if the cleaning doesn't work as that would be an indication of a faulty card. I sent a support request email last week to support(at)soniccore.de but have not heard back. I understand customer support departments can be overloaded and/or backlogged and so I'm curious how long Creamware support usually take's these days ... and mostly just want my card back up and running again.
Please let me know what you think. If you have any recommendations for speeding up service, I'd greatly appreciate them.
Warm regards,
Mapinduzi
"Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
they usually respond pretty quickly. a couple of things that might go wrong-
did you write to CREAMWARE support? that won't help, you need to write to Sonic/Core.
it's possible the spam filter caught your message by mistake. try resending, maybe even from a different email address...
did you write to CREAMWARE support? that won't help, you need to write to Sonic/Core.
it's possible the spam filter caught your message by mistake. try resending, maybe even from a different email address...
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Hey,
Thanks for the *super* quick response garyb. I sent the email to support at soniccore.de (listed on the current sonic-core.net site). Now that you mention the spam filter, my email's subject line contained the error message, which I suspect to a filter could easily be seen as a random generated string of weirdness and thus flagged.
I'll try sending again ...
Thanks,
Mapinduzi
Thanks for the *super* quick response garyb. I sent the email to support at soniccore.de (listed on the current sonic-core.net site). Now that you mention the spam filter, my email's subject line contained the error message, which I suspect to a filter could easily be seen as a random generated string of weirdness and thus flagged.
I'll try sending again ...
Thanks,
Mapinduzi
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Hello again,
I sent a renewed request on March 14th asking if I can arrange to have my card repaired and received a prompt response from sonic-core on March 15th, but I didn't receive an answer to my question. I suspect the person who responded didn't fully understand my request. Unfortunately, after I replied on the 15th asking the same question again I haven't heard back.
The weird thing is I received a response last year from the same person who then stated:
I've had the card a while. I love the card when it works, the thing is rad, and I'd really like to get it working again. Depending upon the cost, I'd be happy to pay to have it repaired and am willing to ship it ... but support has been difficult to receive answers from.
I work for an nonprofit organization that has a customer support department and I know how hectic it can be and how swamped support can get. I don't want to be a pain in the neck to a company I appreciate. I would like to make some music though and would like to get my card working consistently. If anyone has a recommendation for either resolving the issue or having the card repaired I'd greatly appreciate it.
Has anyone had a card repaired? How much did it cost? How long did it take?
Thanks,
Mapinduzi
I sent a renewed request on March 14th asking if I can arrange to have my card repaired and received a prompt response from sonic-core on March 15th, but I didn't receive an answer to my question. I suspect the person who responded didn't fully understand my request. Unfortunately, after I replied on the 15th asking the same question again I haven't heard back.
The weird thing is I received a response last year from the same person who then stated:
In my recent email request on March 13th I mentioned that I've tried the above to no consistent success and would like to arrange to have my card repaired, but the response I received just told me to clean my card again (which I've done) and that if that doesn't work my card is probably damaged ... which is why I asked to have my card repaired.please remove the board out of the system and clean it's contacts ( PCI
and STDM ) with pure alcohol.
Put the board back in your system ( use another PCI - slot ).
Install the hardwaredriver again.
If this won't help, than it seems, that the hardware is faulty. In that
case please contact us on monday again and we'll
arrange a customer repairing, if you want.
I've had the card a while. I love the card when it works, the thing is rad, and I'd really like to get it working again. Depending upon the cost, I'd be happy to pay to have it repaired and am willing to ship it ... but support has been difficult to receive answers from.
I work for an nonprofit organization that has a customer support department and I know how hectic it can be and how swamped support can get. I don't want to be a pain in the neck to a company I appreciate. I would like to make some music though and would like to get my card working consistently. If anyone has a recommendation for either resolving the issue or having the card repaired I'd greatly appreciate it.
Has anyone had a card repaired? How much did it cost? How long did it take?
Thanks,
Mapinduzi
-
Sounddesigner
- Posts: 1085
- Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2007 11:06 pm
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Hi Mapinduzi,
I think you picked a bad time for repair. Sonic Core is extremely bussy right now trying to finish 5.0 software and manufactering/shipping XITE-1's plus Mussikmesse, etc. It May take a couple months before they can repair broken cards again. This is just a educated guess, i can't say for sure what S|C can or cannot do, but from what i heard they are pretty bussy right now. I'd keep emailing if i where you and try to explain your situation as simple as possible to them, but also be aware they are bussy and this may be the case for several months. Hopefully Sonic Core will hire more workers and grow as a company "soon".
I think you picked a bad time for repair. Sonic Core is extremely bussy right now trying to finish 5.0 software and manufactering/shipping XITE-1's plus Mussikmesse, etc. It May take a couple months before they can repair broken cards again. This is just a educated guess, i can't say for sure what S|C can or cannot do, but from what i heard they are pretty bussy right now. I'd keep emailing if i where you and try to explain your situation as simple as possible to them, but also be aware they are bussy and this may be the case for several months. Hopefully Sonic Core will hire more workers and grow as a company "soon".
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
i would expect at least 4 weeks after you send it in. if you've reseated the i/o daughtercard and cleaned the contacts and it doesn't work, your best bet is to send an email requesting a repair RMA.
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Ah, ok. Strangely ... that's great news to my ears. I hope they kick some major butt. I'll do that, courteously email them every once in a while, thanks for the advice.
Oddly enough, I awoke to a working card this morning. It is a really tempermental cat these days. Usually it doesn't work, sometimes it does, sometimes it dies mid session. I think it's just a little old (like me) now and needs some tlc from a professional (how'd Stella get her groove back?). Hopefully it will receive the love it needs.
Thanks for the help,
Best,
Mapinduzi
Oddly enough, I awoke to a working card this morning. It is a really tempermental cat these days. Usually it doesn't work, sometimes it does, sometimes it dies mid session. I think it's just a little old (like me) now and needs some tlc from a professional (how'd Stella get her groove back?). Hopefully it will receive the love it needs.
Thanks for the help,
Best,
Mapinduzi
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Hey,
So the night of my last post I received a response from sonic-core. The cost is approximately 48 euros to look at it and 300 euros if they need to fix it. They said it would take one month (I assume from receipt). I plan on sending it in.
Regarding the issue, I'm not certain if it's a bad solder or what, but I have had the card a long time, since 2000. I inspected it more closely over the weekend and found that there were some small deposits of brown goop on some parts. It's been so long I don't remember if that was there originally, but I certainly don't believe that was the case. These deposits were very small but made me suspect a part was (somehow) squeezing the stuff out over a period.
The card worked great for years. It started to exhibit the aforementioned "timeout waiting for DSP" a couple of years ago. I've been in school learning to write fiction and between that and work haven't had much time to deal with music (poor excuse) ... but that's changing this summer and so I need a working card. I'm also one of those who lost Logic to Apple (and been working with 5.5 ever since), and so I just (finally) took Cakewalk up on their $100 off offer for Sonar 8.5 after tinkering with the 8.0 demo a bit. When my card worked (which was rare) it worked beautifully with that software and so I'm quite excited to get moving with the full version of 8.5.
If possible, I'm looking to use sonic-core in XTC mode with Sonar. I've been reading these boards and believe I can use sonic-core in XTC mode while using my pulsar card as I/O (I use adat and a digital mixer) ... does that sound feasible? Even if not, I do really look forward to getting my pulsar card back in working order and geeking out.
I'm also thinking about upgrading to the newest version of sonic-core, but will have to wait the prognosis of my card - and thus finances - before I do. I'm still on XP, but may upgrade to Windows 7 this summer. How's the new version?
Anyways, thanks so much for all your help,
Warm regards,
Mapinduzi
So the night of my last post I received a response from sonic-core. The cost is approximately 48 euros to look at it and 300 euros if they need to fix it. They said it would take one month (I assume from receipt). I plan on sending it in.
Regarding the issue, I'm not certain if it's a bad solder or what, but I have had the card a long time, since 2000. I inspected it more closely over the weekend and found that there were some small deposits of brown goop on some parts. It's been so long I don't remember if that was there originally, but I certainly don't believe that was the case. These deposits were very small but made me suspect a part was (somehow) squeezing the stuff out over a period.
The card worked great for years. It started to exhibit the aforementioned "timeout waiting for DSP" a couple of years ago. I've been in school learning to write fiction and between that and work haven't had much time to deal with music (poor excuse) ... but that's changing this summer and so I need a working card. I'm also one of those who lost Logic to Apple (and been working with 5.5 ever since), and so I just (finally) took Cakewalk up on their $100 off offer for Sonar 8.5 after tinkering with the 8.0 demo a bit. When my card worked (which was rare) it worked beautifully with that software and so I'm quite excited to get moving with the full version of 8.5.
If possible, I'm looking to use sonic-core in XTC mode with Sonar. I've been reading these boards and believe I can use sonic-core in XTC mode while using my pulsar card as I/O (I use adat and a digital mixer) ... does that sound feasible? Even if not, I do really look forward to getting my pulsar card back in working order and geeking out.
I'm also thinking about upgrading to the newest version of sonic-core, but will have to wait the prognosis of my card - and thus finances - before I do. I'm still on XP, but may upgrade to Windows 7 this summer. How's the new version?
Anyways, thanks so much for all your help,
Warm regards,
Mapinduzi
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Sorry to hear of this happening.
Assuming this is not a common problem and that you do not have loads of software tied to the card, i'd say it'll be cheaper to pick up another card than pay 48+300euros for repair.
For example, in the past 6 months or so i have bought 2 separate Pulsar 2 cards from eBay (UK) each for less than £115.00.
Although neither came with Scope 4.5/5 so i paid for the update.
Still something to bear in mind
Assuming this is not a common problem and that you do not have loads of software tied to the card, i'd say it'll be cheaper to pick up another card than pay 48+300euros for repair.
For example, in the past 6 months or so i have bought 2 separate Pulsar 2 cards from eBay (UK) each for less than £115.00.
Although neither came with Scope 4.5/5 so i paid for the update.
Still something to bear in mind
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
if those parts are small vertical 'tubes' then those are most likely 'leaking' capacitors - you can have that fixed locally by someone familiar with electronic repairs. It's a very common issue - had the same a couple of days ago with a network switch.mapinduzi wrote:... but I have had the card a long time, since 2000. I inspected it more closely over the weekend and found that there were some small deposits of brown goop on some parts. ...
cheers, Tom
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Hey y'all,
Regarding ebay - I'd certainly be willing to go that route instead, but I've been looking into it every now and then and haven't seen much. Currently there's nothing available on ebay and I want to make sure I'm ready to roll when this summer hits. I'll keep my eye out though, maybe something will turn up.
Regarding the goop - unfortunately the main culprit is the little black brick with 3 down facing connectors. You can see it in this image, sitting near the bottom right of the card in the middle of the yellow-gold and solder riveted board:
Best,
Mapinduzi
Regarding ebay - I'd certainly be willing to go that route instead, but I've been looking into it every now and then and haven't seen much. Currently there's nothing available on ebay and I want to make sure I'm ready to roll when this summer hits. I'll keep my eye out though, maybe something will turn up.
Regarding the goop - unfortunately the main culprit is the little black brick with 3 down facing connectors. You can see it in this image, sitting near the bottom right of the card in the middle of the yellow-gold and solder riveted board:
Best,
Mapinduzi
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
well, that part is a voltage regulator - it may become quite hot during regular operation.
This temperature may have turned the 'fluid' substance(part of the solder) to brown.
Just checked on my PC and it seems that it developes significantly more heat on a 6 DSP card than on 4 and 15 chip versions.
It's hot, but you don't get the feeling to immediately fry your fingers by it.
An alarmingly high temperature would also be reflected on the backside of the board where the regulator is mounted - it would probably have changed it's colour somewhat.
In any case it's an easy to replace, standard device - just pay attention that it gets good contact to the copper on which it's mounted for heat dissipation.
It's not very likely that it's damaged, though. Unless it emits a sick amount of heat...
You might also want to check the cable whip, which can make a system totally unreliable if parts of the clock signal (digital connectors) are short-circuited. Such cases have been reported here a couple of times.
Maybe you can run the system with the cable whip disconnected, just watching meters or use optical S/PDIF or Adat with an external converter.
cheers, Tom
This temperature may have turned the 'fluid' substance(part of the solder) to brown.
Just checked on my PC and it seems that it developes significantly more heat on a 6 DSP card than on 4 and 15 chip versions.
It's hot, but you don't get the feeling to immediately fry your fingers by it.
An alarmingly high temperature would also be reflected on the backside of the board where the regulator is mounted - it would probably have changed it's colour somewhat.
In any case it's an easy to replace, standard device - just pay attention that it gets good contact to the copper on which it's mounted for heat dissipation.
It's not very likely that it's damaged, though. Unless it emits a sick amount of heat...
You might also want to check the cable whip, which can make a system totally unreliable if parts of the clock signal (digital connectors) are short-circuited. Such cases have been reported here a couple of times.
Maybe you can run the system with the cable whip disconnected, just watching meters or use optical S/PDIF or Adat with an external converter.
cheers, Tom
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
Hey,
I had shipped the card off before seeing your post so my timing is off, but I appreciate your feedback. I had no idea that solder could brown. I don't think the card got too hot, but I'll be sure to keep it as chilly as possible from now on. I hadn't been using the cable whip for many years, I've been using adat to a digital mixer ... though I was thinking of using it once I get my card back. I hadn't experienced any craziness with the cable whip when I had used it before though.
I'll let you know how things go with the repair,
thanks everyone for the help!
Best,
Mapinduzi
I had shipped the card off before seeing your post so my timing is off, but I appreciate your feedback. I had no idea that solder could brown. I don't think the card got too hot, but I'll be sure to keep it as chilly as possible from now on. I hadn't been using the cable whip for many years, I've been using adat to a digital mixer ... though I was thinking of using it once I get my card back. I hadn't experienced any craziness with the cable whip when I had used it before though.
I'll let you know how things go with the repair,
thanks everyone for the help!
Best,
Mapinduzi
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
My card is now in Germany ... but delivery has been attempted and not accomplished. I'm worried it's going to be sent back to me without being seen by someone at Sonic-Core. I've never shipped something (other than myself) to Germany before and don't know how to make sure it gets to Sonic-Core now that it's waiting at a post office in Siegburg.
Anyone have a recommendation for this latest turn of events?
I sent the package to:
SONIC CORE GmbH
Siegdamm 32
53721 Siegburg
Germany
USPS's tracking web site tells me:
"We attempted to deliver your item in GERMANY at 10:07 AM on April 7, 2010."
I spoke with a worker at USPS who told me the package is sitting at a post office in Siegburg and can be picked up by Sonic-Core or they can arranged to have it shipped again. I've sent an email to Sonic-Core Support explaining this, but I want to know if there's anything else I can do to ensure the package arrives safely.
Thanks,
Mapinduzi
Anyone have a recommendation for this latest turn of events?
I sent the package to:
SONIC CORE GmbH
Siegdamm 32
53721 Siegburg
Germany
USPS's tracking web site tells me:
"We attempted to deliver your item in GERMANY at 10:07 AM on April 7, 2010."
I spoke with a worker at USPS who told me the package is sitting at a post office in Siegburg and can be picked up by Sonic-Core or they can arranged to have it shipped again. I've sent an email to Sonic-Core Support explaining this, but I want to know if there's anything else I can do to ensure the package arrives safely.
Thanks,
Mapinduzi
Re: "Hardware cannot be setup properly ..." - Need card repaired
well, German parcel services sometimes give you a hard time...
I recently received a 20channel console after it had been returned 2 times to sender (of course the package had the proper adress), they didn't even throw in a message.
Give them a phone call at SC...
cheers, Tom
I recently received a 20channel console after it had been returned 2 times to sender (of course the package had the proper adress), they didn't even throw in a message.
Give them a phone call at SC...
cheers, Tom