This was a progressive event. It didn't happen all at once. So let me start at the beginning, but I'll try to keep it as succinct as possible.
I bought a CODE 50 earlier this year for a few reasons, one of which was because it had a USB out. I do a fair amount of home recording with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), so having a USB output for my electric guitar was appealing. However, I didn't actually begin to use this function until just a few days ago. My DAW is still running Win7 (I still don't see why I need to upgrade to Win10), and all of the music software I use with it works fine -- no issues, well, until a couple days ago.
At first, everything worked great. With the software I was using (Band in a Box) I was getting good levels when I recorded my guitar. But then, suddenly, the levels fell off to about half the volume they were previously. I couldn't figure out why -- I hadn't changed anything -- so I just compensated by turning up the gain on my CODE and then, after recording, boosting the signal in the sofware. This worked well enough. But then, the volume fell off again, until just a trace was showing. Again, I hadn't done anything that I can think of that would cause this.
So I started to check things out. I checked with the Sound dialog in Win7, and found that the CODE was listed among the available recording devices, but that it wasn't checked. Only my sound card -- the one I always use -- was. So I decided to mark the CODE as my default recording device. I felt at the time I could always go back in and change it back to my card after recording with the CODE.
I tried recording audio in this new configuration and this time I got flat lines. Zip. Huh, I thought. That should have worked. But it didn't. So I went back into Sound, and this is where I think I made my first mistake. When messing about with the setting there was one point where I got a message popup, asking me if I wanted to disable the CODE or not, and for some reason that seems stupid now, but good at the time, I clicked on "disable." I figured that it would just not be selected as the audio device for recording, but instead it disappeared from the list of devices listed in Sound. So I booted the Device Manager, and found CODE in the sound section, clicked on it, and it said the device was operating normally and had not been disabled. Huh, curiouser and curiouser.
At that point I was totally stumped, so I decided to google the topic, and that's when I found a thread right here. This one:
http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/code-50-unable-to-connect-via-usb.97141/
I read through the thread, top to bottom, and decided to try the suggestion about shutting my PC down entirely, unplugging the CODE's USB cable (I even unplugged it at both ends and shut off the amp), and disconnecting the PC from the wall.
Unfortunately my PC exhibited a fault it has a couple of times in the past. A power supply in the first stages of incipient failure. I couldn't get the computer to start up again. So off I go to Fry's the next day and I spend entirely too much money on a new power supply. But by the time I got back, it was late and I was tired, and I didn't feel like messing with the huge job of unplugging my system from its web of cables, so I put things off until the next day -- which was today. Well, this morning, just to see what would happen, I tried starting up the PC again, after a couple days rest. And what do you know? It fired back up. So now I have an expensive power supply I'm looking at, wondering if I even needed it. But I probably do.
So anyway, now that I had done a cold boot of my machine -- a stone cold one, at that -- I hooked the CODE up to it, hoping that it might restore itself to its previous glory. But alas, it was not to be. This time, when I plugged it in, there was no recognition signal from the computer whenever a USB device is plugged in. I read through the above thread again, and noted where one respondent reported that he'd had the same problem and had solved it by using a different USB port. Ah, I thought! I've had that happen to me before, so I tried another. No luck. And I tried another. No such luck again. Now, I must admit here, just for full disclosure, that these three ports are what are located at the front of my machine. Two are part of this PC's case and have cables that plug into USB jumpers on the motherboard. The third is one of several input port types (various memory cards, for example, plus USB) that all fit on a half slot plate that fits into one of the slot blanks. I don't recall anymore how this accessory hooks into the machine, but if I had to guess, I'd say that it hooks up to anothe rset of USB jumpers on the motherboard. I still have a couple or three open USB ports in the back of the machine that are part of the ATX stack, and the only reason why I haven't tried them is because it is very difficult getting to the back of the machine without disturbing the festoon of cabled webbing I have going on that is part and parcel to my DAW. So, might one of these other USB ports work? I don't know. Perhaps I should bite the bullet and find out. Not looking forward to it, though.
But let's get back to this latest development. Now, there is no special USB sound when I plug the CODE in -- and yes, I did try another USB device, just to make sure the port still worked (it does) -- plus, when I boot the Sound dialog, there is no longer a CODE shown, as before, and plus again, now when I go to the Device Manager, there is no CODE listed in the sound devices, even though there was just prior to my shutting the machine down.
So, I went to Marshall's website, hoping I might find a copy of a CODE USB driver to download, and I couldn't. I don't recall if I did or not when I bought my amp anymore. I even did a search through the machine's downloads directory, which is where everything I download is stored by default. I couldn't find any file that resembled a USB installer for the CODE. So I did a search at Marshall's site on the topic and was directed to a page showing me how to upgrade the amp's firmware. Well, maybe, I thought. And then the directions are laid out -- but unfortunately, in order to upgrade the amp's firmware, it requires a USB connection! Which I don't have anymore!
Yes, my use of exclamation points !!!!! is a direct indication of my level of frustration at the moment. So, for those of you who probably occasionally read books, or at least long articles, I see you managed to make it to the end of this "succinct" explanation. And here's the 64-bazillion dollar question. What do you recommend I try next? Me, I think I'm gonna check and see when my last Restore Point was. Maybe if it wasn't too long ago, it might be the way to get out of this mess. Maybe that'll work -- what do you think? Please feel free to expound -- at length, should you have the mind to.
I bought a CODE 50 earlier this year for a few reasons, one of which was because it had a USB out. I do a fair amount of home recording with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), so having a USB output for my electric guitar was appealing. However, I didn't actually begin to use this function until just a few days ago. My DAW is still running Win7 (I still don't see why I need to upgrade to Win10), and all of the music software I use with it works fine -- no issues, well, until a couple days ago.
At first, everything worked great. With the software I was using (Band in a Box) I was getting good levels when I recorded my guitar. But then, suddenly, the levels fell off to about half the volume they were previously. I couldn't figure out why -- I hadn't changed anything -- so I just compensated by turning up the gain on my CODE and then, after recording, boosting the signal in the sofware. This worked well enough. But then, the volume fell off again, until just a trace was showing. Again, I hadn't done anything that I can think of that would cause this.
So I started to check things out. I checked with the Sound dialog in Win7, and found that the CODE was listed among the available recording devices, but that it wasn't checked. Only my sound card -- the one I always use -- was. So I decided to mark the CODE as my default recording device. I felt at the time I could always go back in and change it back to my card after recording with the CODE.
I tried recording audio in this new configuration and this time I got flat lines. Zip. Huh, I thought. That should have worked. But it didn't. So I went back into Sound, and this is where I think I made my first mistake. When messing about with the setting there was one point where I got a message popup, asking me if I wanted to disable the CODE or not, and for some reason that seems stupid now, but good at the time, I clicked on "disable." I figured that it would just not be selected as the audio device for recording, but instead it disappeared from the list of devices listed in Sound. So I booted the Device Manager, and found CODE in the sound section, clicked on it, and it said the device was operating normally and had not been disabled. Huh, curiouser and curiouser.
At that point I was totally stumped, so I decided to google the topic, and that's when I found a thread right here. This one:
http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/code-50-unable-to-connect-via-usb.97141/
I read through the thread, top to bottom, and decided to try the suggestion about shutting my PC down entirely, unplugging the CODE's USB cable (I even unplugged it at both ends and shut off the amp), and disconnecting the PC from the wall.
Unfortunately my PC exhibited a fault it has a couple of times in the past. A power supply in the first stages of incipient failure. I couldn't get the computer to start up again. So off I go to Fry's the next day and I spend entirely too much money on a new power supply. But by the time I got back, it was late and I was tired, and I didn't feel like messing with the huge job of unplugging my system from its web of cables, so I put things off until the next day -- which was today. Well, this morning, just to see what would happen, I tried starting up the PC again, after a couple days rest. And what do you know? It fired back up. So now I have an expensive power supply I'm looking at, wondering if I even needed it. But I probably do.
So anyway, now that I had done a cold boot of my machine -- a stone cold one, at that -- I hooked the CODE up to it, hoping that it might restore itself to its previous glory. But alas, it was not to be. This time, when I plugged it in, there was no recognition signal from the computer whenever a USB device is plugged in. I read through the above thread again, and noted where one respondent reported that he'd had the same problem and had solved it by using a different USB port. Ah, I thought! I've had that happen to me before, so I tried another. No luck. And I tried another. No such luck again. Now, I must admit here, just for full disclosure, that these three ports are what are located at the front of my machine. Two are part of this PC's case and have cables that plug into USB jumpers on the motherboard. The third is one of several input port types (various memory cards, for example, plus USB) that all fit on a half slot plate that fits into one of the slot blanks. I don't recall anymore how this accessory hooks into the machine, but if I had to guess, I'd say that it hooks up to anothe rset of USB jumpers on the motherboard. I still have a couple or three open USB ports in the back of the machine that are part of the ATX stack, and the only reason why I haven't tried them is because it is very difficult getting to the back of the machine without disturbing the festoon of cabled webbing I have going on that is part and parcel to my DAW. So, might one of these other USB ports work? I don't know. Perhaps I should bite the bullet and find out. Not looking forward to it, though.
But let's get back to this latest development. Now, there is no special USB sound when I plug the CODE in -- and yes, I did try another USB device, just to make sure the port still worked (it does) -- plus, when I boot the Sound dialog, there is no longer a CODE shown, as before, and plus again, now when I go to the Device Manager, there is no CODE listed in the sound devices, even though there was just prior to my shutting the machine down.
So, I went to Marshall's website, hoping I might find a copy of a CODE USB driver to download, and I couldn't. I don't recall if I did or not when I bought my amp anymore. I even did a search through the machine's downloads directory, which is where everything I download is stored by default. I couldn't find any file that resembled a USB installer for the CODE. So I did a search at Marshall's site on the topic and was directed to a page showing me how to upgrade the amp's firmware. Well, maybe, I thought. And then the directions are laid out -- but unfortunately, in order to upgrade the amp's firmware, it requires a USB connection! Which I don't have anymore!
Yes, my use of exclamation points !!!!! is a direct indication of my level of frustration at the moment. So, for those of you who probably occasionally read books, or at least long articles, I see you managed to make it to the end of this "succinct" explanation. And here's the 64-bazillion dollar question. What do you recommend I try next? Me, I think I'm gonna check and see when my last Restore Point was. Maybe if it wasn't too long ago, it might be the way to get out of this mess. Maybe that'll work -- what do you think? Please feel free to expound -- at length, should you have the mind to.
