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Topic: Please Help with Feedback Noise Sony Vaio/Vista - Page: 1

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Just spent a ton of money on a new Sony Vaio with Vista Business Edition Service Pack 1. Running the latest version of VDJ. Brought it to the club last night, and some major feedback happened. Could not use. Troubleshooted it today and here is the situation...The power cord plugged in is causing it. If I unplug the power cord it stops. If I plug it back in it will start in about 1 min after, unless I jiggle the wires from the maya USB soundcard, then it starts right away. It is not the soundcard, because I can jiggle them all I want if the power cord is not plugged in. Another interesting thing is when I unplug the power cord, and the Vaio goes straight to battery, the sound level drops. Not sure if this is the reason. The microphone is turned off, and the power cord is the culprit. I have plugged the power cord into 3 different outlets away from circuits where the mixing board is plugged into.

Please help. $1700 on a new computer and right now I am unable to use it. Need it to work by Thursday. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Inviato Sat 09 Aug 08 @ 4:19 pm
You need a ground loop isolator. Google it; there are lots of them out there.

The sound level dropping is probably due to a change in power mode for battery savings - no worries there ;)
 
uuuhhh i hope that's all it takes .... i keep one in my gig bag but never use it .....

uuuhhhh you just bought it brand new , take it outta the box and rush straight to the gig ??????????????? i hope i misunderstood that

how could you even have time enough to analayse all the trax ??????????????????? check and tweak out the system .....??

make sure the system and the soundcard are getting along with each other ??????

dive deep into the mysterious recesses of the config box and get everything smoothed out ?????????


uuuhh i do wish you success , but if you throw caution to the wind and rush out to a gig with out checking your new system you are setting yourself up for surprises at best and failure at worst ..........
 
discjockeydoc wrote :
You need a ground loop isolator. Google it; there are lots of them out there.

The sound level dropping is probably due to a change in power mode for battery savings - no worries there ;)

The ground loop isolator should take care of the noise, as for the power settings re-adjust those in the control panel.....
 
uuuhhhh here is my standard chuck lecture ..... when you get a new system check it very thoroughly before you start to go live or gig with it .....

unless you love problems and embarassment .....

what does checking it thoroughly consist of ????? well , make sure everything is connected , make sure you boot up okay , then start putting it through it's paces ( do yer thing) ........ if need be make a list of items to test and work the list .....

then give it the acid test ..... can you rip , download , burn etc while playing ?? in other words how hard can you push it .... this will be determined by the compatibility of what ever is currently running ( notice the choice of words ) how many processes and services are running , and the ram

ram isn't a magic wand ... neither is a particular operating system , particular soundcard , graphics card , etc ......everything onboard your system has to work with the other hardware and software so compatibility , not processor speed , not ram , is determinant ( nvariably have to disable or remove some things on the default setup that came out of the box .......

i always recommend disable the wifi , bluetooth , and set all power management to never ...... remove the battery ........ update everything .... all drivers , direct x , bios ( if you want some good security password the boot) there's lotsa free utilities that tell you cpu usage , temperature , fan controls , NEVER make more than one change at a time on yer system .... ALWAYS set a system restore point first ......there are many ways to see what's in yer startup , active x ,

registry cleanups etc ...... even a new system needs a defrag UNLESS you have SSD ....DO NOT defrag an SSD ....... you can kill the wifi and get downloads on the fly fer requests ( any songs you don't have) from yer cell phone .......
 
uuuhh dude .... 1700 isn't a ton of money ....

wait 'til you have tuition bills ... then you will be in a better position to speak on the relative merits of what's a lotta money

also no matter what you spent ... you will not automatically receive what you think you should ....... that you have to actively enforce yourself ......
 
Chuck,

I appreciate your concern. Let me clarify... I own two nightclubs and I also DJ. My Clubs have VDJ as the house system, so there is always a working one there. On Saturdays we substitute a DJ for the band on stage, so I am in the process of getting VDJ set up to be mobile, since my other systems are stationary in the DJ booths. My Regular Saturday night DJ uses serato, but once a quarter he leaves and I need to DJ. Now that we have moved him to the stage from the DJ booth, a mobile rig is required. I tried a few weeks ago and my current Toshiba Laptop worked terribly with vista and TCV. So I went ahead and purchased a new one with more RAM and a huge hardrive. I have been using it at my home with an external mixer and turntables for two weeks testing it out. All the songs have been analyed all 70 gigs worth of them, and the system has been running for hours on end. Last night I brought to the club to use it thinking there should be no problems, and pow! the feedback issue. I had our house system there for back-up, so it wasn't a disaster.

I assure you, I am well versed in VDJ. It is just frustrating that there are always some many unknowns with this software. The soundcard I buy the Maya 44 doesn't come with drivers for Vista. You have to go download special ones. Thanks to this forum, this solved my Vista issue last year.

In the states, I am a big promoter of VDJ, and I promise you, everyone in Houston is using Serato.

So with that said, we have been through all the power settings and have had no luck. Will this gadget work?

1700 is a ton of money, I agree. But I thought it was enough to be able to run my VDJ with vista and TCV. It is just frustrating that this issue popped up after I thought getting more RAM and eliminating the external Hard drive would only help performance.

What laptops are out there causing this? I have used a Toshiba, and HP, and currently have an IBM Thinkpad running VDJ at my places, and have never had this feedback issue.
 
oops, meant to say 1700 might not be that much money, but should be more than enough to run VDJ and TCV in a set up such as this.
 
uuhhhh i'll buy that fer a dollar ....

i don't wish you ill dude ... uuh it's not possible to know those details 'til you provide them ??

you seem to know about club setups and mobile which is a strange combination like myself ........ i run video on a xp media center edition laptop with the default ATI graphics and a presonus firewire 3 channel card ( recommended ..... rugged and sounds great )
 
i guarantee i can make that toshiba work gr8 ....... $200 and you pay the shipping
 
Well,

The problem we figured with the Toshiba, was only 1 gig RAM, and with Vista using most of that, I figured that is why last months mobile TCV gig using that computer didn't go well. And since it is my work laptop, I figured I should have a dedicated laptop for my music. So I went out and bought the damn Sony, thinking it should solve any further Vista or TCV issues. Well I thought it did, until I plugged it in at the club last night.

I am just trying to figure out why this particular laptop is doing this, when I have VDJ working on so many other computers with no problem at all. I am starting to think it is the type of power cord it came with.

My toshiba power source is a 15V and this Sony Vaio is a 19.5V. Could this be an issue?
 
uuhhhh i sorta agree with you and i sorta don't ......lemmee essplain it .... here is what i am reasonably well versed on ... VDJ , Traktor , PCDJ , Winamp ( i know it's civilian stuff )

Traktor to me seems by far the most stable of the bunch , and the most feature laden ( for audio only , no video) it is probably more stable because they don't try to over extend themselves or support everything there ever was ( not do able )

some think Traktor is tricky ... not me i think VDJ is more tricky and temperamental .......

when i got 5.1 it got really unstable for about a week until i figured out that some of my yahoo widgets ??? were causing the problem ??? why should everything else be ok but VDJ can't handle cohabiting with the weather channel widget ????? i'm sure itt's just e being picky but why can't my expensive dj software handle a little konfabulator app that doesn't bother anything else.... ??

you do end up sometimes searching for odd compatibilty problems that would never happen with Traktor .........

dev guys ..... you just can't be everything .... it isn't a weakness on your part it's just reality .... narrow what you do and add some easy recordcase bits and i'll be all happy
 
I notice that you are using the word "feedback" quite regularly in your posts. The sound that a power cable normally causes is that of a "hum."

Can you elaborate on the sound itself?
 
mjpaolucci wrote :
Well, My toshiba power source is a 15V and this Sony Vaio is a 19.5V. Could this be an issue?

Hi, man, I have a vaio that I use as well and it's a 19.5V battery too and I don't have any 'feedback'/ humming issues. There's a couple of things I would suggest you do before everything else.......make sure the turntables are grounded as the free electrons might interfere with the audio cables especially with considerable high wattage. Also since the plug is two pronged ( since you're in the states)it might help to not plug it in directly to the outlet but through an extension with a three prong plug, and maybe try plugging the powercord in after you've already started running vdj. Also try starting your computer after you've already connected the whole set up....and don't have anything touching the laptop's surface e.g wireless mic antennae

At the end of the day, the ground loop isolator eliminates the humming/feedback issue. Whenever I use my vaio, I simultaneously use wireless, messenger and a whole host of programs and it never interferes with vdj's operations.......
 
Thanks for the input. I will try all of your suggestions before going out and getting the Ground Loop Isolator. Just an FYI, when I got all the feedback I didn't even have the turntables hooked up. I was just going through the external mixer and the soundcard. I know this is a great machine, so I am sure the solution should be near. Do you have Vista with yours?
 
I guess it is more of a hum. After searching ground loop isolator in the forum, I am beginning to see that this is a common situation. My power cord is a two-prong, which is different than most of the other posts, who normally have the 3 -prong causing the problem. It is just strange how only certain laptops are doing it. Tomorrow I actually am going to try it in two other set-ups, to see if maybe it is only in the one particular situation that is causing it.
 
Good luck, I hope it works for you ;)
 
This "hum" you are referring to is called a 60 Hz hum or some call it a 60 cycle hum. I've only had this problem with one computer and that was a laptop, never with a desktop. The ground loop isolator totally eliminated the problem. If we lived in the same town you could drive over and I'd give you one for free. (I no longer use laptops)

Give the isolator a try. :-)
 
I appreciate the offer. I am heading over to Radio Shack in bit to fix the issue. I wish I could use only desktops, but not possible in this situation.
 
Ive used a maya 44 with virtual dj and also the M audio connective interface, Numark virtual vinyl with its own interface and i had ground noise from the same outlet. I am using serato and its connected to the same outlet and i never have problems. Why cant they study how serato makes its own stuff work perfect and apply it to what they have. I dont see why you have to spend more money on top of what you already spent to make something work perfect when it should have worked perfect from the beggining.
 
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