Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
SomeTechNoob
466
Feb 12, 2016
So as some of you may know(or may have read a couple of pages back), I also had crashing issues on Windows 10 with this device. I've troubleshooted a lot more than I really should have, with plenty of back and forth e-mails with CEntrance(which, to their credit, are quite responsive).
My main computer has a Realtek 8111E LAN controller. I thought that maybe some old drivers were still lingering around, even though I did all I could to remove them though the Device Manager as well as following CEntrance's instructions.
Fast forward to today. I recently put together a new computer, which happened to have a Realtek 8111G LAN controller. Totally different hardware when compared to my main rig(i5 vs X4 860k, 980 vs 750 ti). I decided to give the Slim another shot, since this machine had a brand new Windows 10 install with the latest drivers. Installed the driver, plugged up the Slim. Sounds great, as usual. Unfortunately, despite the Slim on the latest firmware and the 7.4.19 driver on the website, I crashed a couple hours in during testing. I had previously stress tested the system for 48 hours straight before I plugged in the slim too, leading me to believe that there are still software issues. Same symptoms - freeze for ~1min, then BSOD. DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION is what came up on the BSOD. Sigh.
Therefore, if you've got a Realtek LAN controller, I can't recommend this product. Other computers with Intel and Broadcom/Atheros LAN controllers which I've tested with have been no issue. Hardware wise, the slim is great. Extremely solid body and it sounds good. I've had no issues with the micro USB connector. It's just the software/drivers which really hold this product back from being a great product.
SomeTechNoobThanks for your note and your help in debugging, SomeTechNoob.
For those who are curious, we are not the only Audio company affected by Windows 10. In a nutshell, Windows 10 was redesigned for lower system latency (faster response time). In theory, this is supposed to be good for audio, but it was designed in such a way that device drivers are all dependent on each other and can cause OS crashes. If a network card driver happens to wait just a hair longer for some Internet traffic to arrive, it causes a chain reaction, messes up all the other drivers and causes a system crash. We discovered the hard way that older Realtek LAN drivers were prone to this behavior. New ones are better. Essentially, all device manufacturers are forced to release new drivers that follow the new protocol. IMHO, well-designed operating systems should be crash-free, but I guess we don't make the rules...
In either case, we are about to release the CEntrance Universal Driver Version 8, which is developed from the ground up for Windows 10 compatibility. It is designed to minimize inter-dependencies and avoid system crashes. We have basically re-written our driver from scratch in the last couple of months. We expect that it will be out by the time the units from this drop are shipping to customers. Also, all units from this drop will have the latest firmware pre-installed at the factory.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile