Windows 7: MIDI cable problem

Hello,

I have a usb MIDI cable which worked fautlessly on XP but Windows 7 won't accept it. It tried to load a driver to it (generic Windows?) then said 'failed'. That was that

What are my oprions please?

* Are there other MIDI drivers out there that I can download?

* Is there a recommended MIDI connection cable for Windows 7 (32 bit) operating systems?

And finally, why have Windows authored '7' to refuse MIDI connectivity? I am perplexed.

Thank you,

Ric

That particular device is apparently incompatible with Windows 7. What is the brand name of the device? I use MIDI but it's through my recording interface equipment. Does the device vendor have a Vista/Windows 7 driver? Whatever driver you have, have you tried installing it in Windows XP compatibility mode?

Use the System Restore and restore the PC back to a date PRIOR to first attempting to install this device if it's fairly recent. That will give you a "clean start" to try and install in.

I do a lot of support on the Dell users forum (community). I don't recall anyone posting a compatibility problem with a USB/MIDI device.

Hi Fireberd,

This device was from the Bay, I have since discovered the brand name VIEWCON. The web site is a joke, it only accepts buyers enquiries but even then, you enter your message and get an error code message (sigh). There are download support files but they can't be opened once downloaded. I am ready to defenestrate this cable. What can I use instead please?

I am running a Dell Inspiron 531 2Core Windows 7 / 32 bit.

No, unfortunately I am not given an XP compatibility option, although this cable works perfectly with XP.

What else can I use to MIDI-connect my Yamaha E303 piano keyboard to my pc please?

Many thanks,

Ric

The MAudio unit appears to be compatible. It lists Vista and Vista devices are Win 7 compatible.
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Uno.html

It's available on line from Sweetwater
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Uno/

Thanks. Can you give me some more on this please? It gives: "Windows 98SE / Me / 2000 (SP4) / XP (SP2)* / Vista (32 bit)", no mention of Windows 7, which looks a tiny bit suspect to me?

I just discovered my old XP P4 is inert, so I am really stuck at the moment, can't test the MIDI cable on anything now.

If it's Vista compatible it's Win 7 compatible as Win 7 is basically "Vista Improved".
However, there are Windows 7 drivers listed on the MAudio (Avid) site.

Thanks Fireberd,

With respect the Dell support forum told me Vista is a completely different OS to Windows 7 and that I should erase an entire backup partition for Vista since I updated to 7, because the backups won't do anything for a 7 OS?

But be that as it may, or may not, be -

M-Audio make their FastTrack Pro interface which has two MIDI (in/out) sockets. Can I not use this between my piano keyboard and Windows 7 computer?

Thanks for help

Ric

I have a Fastrack Ultra 8R and it has MIDI. Any recording interface device with MIDI should work. I use Sonar X1 software in my recording studio.

With respect to your backup partition, it is no longer valid once you install a different operating system. But, Win 7 is basically "vista improved", they took the Vista foundation as a start to building Windows 7. Many of the functions and Control Panel items are identical. Vista device drivers in almost all cases will work in Windows 7 (Soundblaster sound drivers are an exception). There are many documented cases, on the Dell forum, of users that have upgraded to Windows 7 and used Vista device drivers.

Thanks Fireberd,

I have been using M-Audio FastTrack USB interface with 'MixCraft' software and getting good results, but this interface has no MIDI connectivity. My MIDI cable worked on XP but it is not even working on an old XP system now, so I think MIDI cables are a problem. Took me ages to set it up originally years ago, but it did work then. Not now.

One thing which crashes constantly on 7 is Windows Media Player. It never crashed on Vista and never ever crashed on XP, yet there is a 50:50 chance it will crash on 7 as soon as you try to use it. I have spent months chatting to Microsoft Forums technicians about this and got nowhere. Eventually they stated the obvious: "Media Player has crashed", and that was the end of the thread - in other words they had no more answers. Is that not ridiculous? I really like WMP and am constantly fed up that it is unreliable on 7.

Thanks again,

Ric

Some of the MAudio equipment is not Vista/Win 7 compatible. I've seen postings on the Avid forum (the company that owns MAudio, ProTools, etc) about some equipment not having drivers for Vista/Windows 7.

Beside the Fastrack Ultra 8R, I also have a Firewire connected Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 (my main recording interface) and it too has MIDI, and I've used this for a MIDI keyboard. The Saffire Pro 40 (and Ultra 8R) are a lot more than what you want just for MIDI I/O. I've also got a Behringer BCF2000 Control Surface unit and it too has MIDI.

I haven't had any problems with WMP, but I don't like it or the way it works compared to older versions. I've also got iTunes installed as I have an iPod but iTunes is only used with the iPod.