Composer crashes when setting up midi controller

[Pat401]

Hi Sherry,

Over the weekend I've been able to get NC, Loopbe, SoundFont and the free ASIO driver to work together nicely ... ish! Still have to properly understand how to change the sounds in SF but I can work on that.

There are two remaining niggles, one I think is a problem with my computer, the other possibly a NC/Midistart conflict. I'll detail with the conflict first.

When NC has been opened and everything is working as it should, if I close NC and then re-open it (but not turning off the computer), it doesn't find or recognise the midistart controller even though I've left it turned on.

I tried a couple of things, checked the Port and Device tabs in the Configuration window and made sure they're correct. That doesn't do anything. Then, again in the Config window, I tried the Select tab and highlighted the default configuration. Midistart then appears in the config window but with ***Not Detected*** above it. So I have to restart the computer to get everything working again.

The second niggle is that the computer won't actually do a soft restart, it just hangs in the "Windows is shutting down" screen so I have to turn it off via the on/off button. This happens a lot regardless of whether I've got NC running or another music program, even with Red Dot Forever. I've googled the problem but haven't found anything useful yet.

Earlier, I emailed Miditech re a driver for the controller, they replied that I should update Windows drivers, etc., as the unit doesn't have a specific driver. Everything is up to date so I suspect the non-shutting down is due to a driver conflict.

Or, it could be a "I've not had breakfast yet" conflict! Yes? No!

Cheers,
Pat

[Sherry C]

Hi Pat,

A quicky thought (I'm fixing supper) - maybe try turning off the MIDI Start, and then turning it back on after you restart Composer. There is one other keyboard that a user found (only one I know of) that actually has to be off before Composer and then turned on to work properly.

ttfn,
Sherry

[Pat401]

Nope, that doesn't work. I'll just keep fiddling around. Probably just have to get a different keyboard or computer at some stage. Won't be for a while though so I'll keep fiddling and swearing for now.

Thanks for all your help,
Cheers,
Pat

[Sherry C]

Hi Pat,

I think your surmise that the problem is some sort of driver conflict is most likely correct, given that Composer is not consistently detecting the device (which Composer is quite good at), and that the computer is hanging like that on shut down. A quick google on "driver for MIDI Start 25" shows that some other MIDI programs have issues with the MIDI Start 25 unit as well. That's unfortunate, because it looks like a well-built piece of equipment from what I see in descriptions. Perhaps some gentle nudging from customers would get them to come up with a more robust driver solution (probably not swearing, though ).

Here's hoping for you!

ttfn,
Sherry

[Pat401]

Thanks, Sherry.

I'll let you know if I manage to get things sorted and if there's any joy from Miditech.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Cheers,
Pat

[Sherry C]

Hi friends,


I'm adding the information to all SynthFont related posts that with the Notation Software Synth, as well as the advanced audio capabilities of version 5 and going forward, there is no need to use SynthFont with our software as our synth is actually more flexible and handles more than SynthFont does.


ttfn,
Sherry