Improved audio dropout diagnosis

When a dropout occurs, playback stops and a toast notification shows the detected dropout reason code. This code can be useful in tracking down the cause of dropouts.

The following table lists the dropout reason codes and, when applicable, potential preventative action that may be taken.

 

Note: The dropout reason codes are primarily intended for use by Cakewalk Support as a diagnostic tool. Please contact Cakewalk Support if you are experiencing persistent audio engine dropouts that you are unable to remedy on your own.

 

Table 4. Audio engine dropout reason codes  

Code	Reason for dropout	Potential preventative action
0	Unknown error or no dropout.
1	Audio processing took longer than the buffers allotted time slice.	Increase the Buffer Size value in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver Settings.
2	Buffer underrun while processing or error writing record buffers.	Possible CPU overload or driver malfunction. Increase latency and check disk status.
3	Driver did not request audio buffers for over DropoutMsec milliseconds. Possible driver overload.	Increase audio latency. Increase the DropoutMsec variable value in AUD.ini (see AUD.INI), which lets you configure the tolerance time in milliseconds before dropping if the audio pump mechanism becomes starved (default is 250 ms).
4	WDM/MME/WASAPI output buffer not available for delivery to audio device.	Increase the Buffers in Playback Queue value in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver Settings.
5	Disk reading overloaded and could not keep up with playback pump. Disk may be fragmented or too slow to read.	Increase the Playback I/O Buffer Size value in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Sync and Caching. Defragment audio drive or compacting audio files by saving to a bundle and reloading may also help.
6	[Internal] Error filling disk playback buffer cache.	Disk may be full condition or disk read error. Check disk status.
7	[Internal] Error reading from disk playback buffer cache.	Possible memory corruption. Close and restart the application then reload the project.
8	Disk full or error writing record wave files.	Make sure the disk is not read only and has sufficient free space.
9	Sequencer MIDI pump underrun.	Increase the Prepare using n Millisecond Buffers value in Edit > Preferences > MIDI - Playback and Recording.
10	[Internal] Audio pump frequency problem.
11	[Internal] Unexpected error while processing audio buffer.	Try saving then closing and reopening the project.
12	[Internal] Internal audio buffer memory limit overflow.	Contact support with recipe/project file.
13	ASIO subsystem signaled a dropout due to a state change.	Don’t make changes to ASIO driver during playback. Another app may be using driver.
14	[Internal] WASAPI ReadDataBuffer timed out.	WASAPI device error - restart device or close other applications using it.
15	[Internal] WASAPI buffer underrun.	WASAPI device error - restart device or close other applications using it.
16	[Internal] WASAPI Read/Write buffer failed.	WASAPI device error - restart device or close other applications using it.
17	WASAPI device removed or unavailable.	The device was unplugged. Re-attach device.
18	The audio device driver failed to initialize.	Reconnect device or restart application and retry. Also, set StopEngineOnASIOPanelOpen to True in audio configuration settings (see AUD.INI).

 

 

See:

Dropouts and other audio problems

New features