Need help getting started writing/hacking audio device drivers

[Awake77]

I have a DJ mixer that houses a very nice firewire audio card. Unfortunately the company refuses to release x64 drivers for it, and it doesn't look like that's going to happen either as they've just discontinued the unit.

I'm a software engineer by trade, and I know with enough effort I can craft my own. Trouble is, it's a whole new field for me to explore and I don't really know where to start. I've read through the Windows Driver Development Kit here:

About the Windows Driver Kit (WDK)

and also read up how windows USB drivers were hacked for the Xbox Kinnect:

Hacking the Kinect - How to hack USB device drivers

both have given me some great ideas, but I don't want waste time barking up the wrong tree, so to speak.

So for those of you that have experience with this kind of thing, can you suggest any websites or books that will get me off to a good start? If I were an x86 Assembly master, I suppose I could simply disassemble the x86 driver .dll that is available for the unit and craft the 64-bit friendly code from there. Unfortunately, I only have real experience with higher level languages.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
A77

 

[Darryl Licht]

Honestly, Id just go get a new sound card... far less headaches in the longrun.

It may sound like a fun project, but put it this way... what do you charge an hour to DJ... now how many hours do you think you will spend creating this driver... do the math... a new high end sound card is $100 USD!

If you really like headaches.... I have a large hammer you may borrow!

 

[Awake77]

lol Darryl I agree, it would be more straightforward just to get another sound card. My issue is this mixer is the bees knees,there's really nothing else like it at any price point:

http://futuremusic.com/news/images/Ecler_EVO5_Mk2.jpg

Keeping the mixer, and just using a different sound card, would mean a rats nest of cables running all over the place vs one nice firewire cable. The quality of the audio card inside (12 channels of 24bit/96Khz IO) plus full MIDI control makes it kinda special - and costly to replace.

Plus, as a software developer and all around computer geek it's a challenge I wouldnt mind putting some time into.

Not something that needs to be done tomorrow either - if its takes me a year or more of tinkering around I'd still go for it.