Michael S Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Hello! I'm using an older MOTU MIDI Express XT interface, plugged into my computer via USB. I've been using Cakewalk by Bandlab with it for awhile now and all has worked well. Recently, though, with no warning, Cakewalk stopped detecting the interface as a MIDI device. It no longer appears on the list of available devices, even though it is connected to the computer (and reads "MOTU USB MIDI (WDM) for 64 bit Windows" in Device Manager). I've tried everything - reinstalling Cakewalk, reinstalling MOTU software (old and new) - but to no avail. Anyone have any ideas?? Thanks! Michael S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xoo Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 Check what Driver Mode CbB is running in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Thank you for the response. It's been on MME. I toggled it to try both options, still nothing. Windows is definitely recognizing it as a MIDI device. Cakewalk, unfortunately, is not seeing it for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 How old is the latest driver? There’s a thread somewhere here and the OP ended up reverting to W7 just to use an outdated midi interface. Seems kinda a step backwards to me. But point is that it seems Windows updates can mess with Midi drivers. Long shot, but try unplugging it, uninstalling the driver and re install using a different USB port. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Thanks for the response. Driver is pretty old. Since the hardware is from 1997, MOTU's latest software doesn't speak to the old module. I always have to install the original software/drivers from the CD (old school!). I can certainly give your suggestion a try, but I'm not optimistic. Again, this is all just very weird since everything was working fine two days ago and then all of a sudden... I'd hate to have to spend $250 on a new interface. But alas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 4, 2022 Author Share Posted February 4, 2022 Follow-up: I found an updated driver to the original MOTU MIDI Express XT on their website. It's from 2013, compatible with Windows 10. Downloaded and installed it, plugged interface into a different USB port, and....nothing. Oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 MOTU is a very Apple-centric company. It seems like Windows is merely an afterthought. You should contact their support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 Thanks! Oh I have. Still waiting for a response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Even if you do get it to be recognized by W10 and Cakewalk the other person who was fighting this for almost a year and still is/ was having all sorts of issues. Then another person chimed in who had same issues and old outdated midi device and they took one look at all that and took the easy path, bought the new interface. Problem solved. They advised the other person to do the same. So you have a choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 UPDATE: Still not working but learned some things. I heard back from MOTU and they gave me some things to try. They suggested I try it on a different computer, so I installed Cakewalk on my Lenovo (Windows 11) laptop. Then I downloaded the MOTU drivers from their website. I rebooted and everything worked great. Windows recognized the MIDI device, and Cakewalk allowed me to select the MOTU input and output channels, just as it should. So it does work - on that computer. So then I went back to my desktop (only 3 weeks old) with Windows 11 as well and went through the following steps: Uninstalled Cakewalk and all related files. Restarted the computer. Uninstalled the MOTU drivers. Restarted the computer. Reinstalled Cakewalk. Restarted. Reinstalled MOTU. Restarted. Launched Cakewalk. Still nothing. One difference I noticed: On the laptop, the install was the first one and when I launched Cakewalk, it ran me through all the quick tutorials and such, as it's supposed to for the first launch. But on my desktop, it didn't do this, as if it's recognizing that I've already had Cakewalk installed. It even called up the screen with my recently opened files. So I am wondering what file(s) might be remaining after the uninstall that might be the culprit here. If I can find those and then do a completely clean install, perhaps things will work? Or, I can buy a new MIDI interface. But that's more expensive and my wife is tired of me spending money. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 16 minutes ago, Michael S said: On the laptop, the install was the first one and when I launched Cakewalk, it ran me through all the quick tutorials and such, as it's supposed to for the first launch. But on my desktop, it didn't do this, as if it's recognizing that I've already had Cakewalk installed. The Cakewalk onboarding process runs one time when the DAW is first installed. It may be re-run from Help > Getting Started. Uninstalling/Reinstalling Cakewalk does to remove registry entries. This requires a clean install. A clean install automatically runs the onboarding process because its registry entry is set to run. Be aware, step 9 of the clean install process Quote Open the following directories and delete their contents: C:\Program Files\Cakewalk and C:\Program Files(x86)\Cakewalk deletes all the contents of the default Cakewalk VST folder including any third-party programs installed there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 I really appreciate your assistance here. I did a clean install, following the prescribed steps. The onboarding process came up, but unfortunately, my MIDI device is still not being detected. I was hopeful, but alas, it did not work. Fearing we're out of ideas. But I do appreciate everyone's help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvideo Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Does Windows 10 still have some kind of limit (e.g. 10?) on historical MIDI hardware installations? There can be "ghost" devices that are not shown in device manager. There's a procedure to get them shown. It involves running the cmd prompt "as administrator", issuing "set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1" and then invoking the device manager: start devmgmt.msc. Microsoft tells how here. If there are ghost copies of MIDI interface hardware, you can delete them. Whether that's what is keeping Cakewalk from seeing the current one remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 Thank you for adding your perspective. I went in and followed your suggestions. There were like 12 hidden MIDI devices installed. I deleted them all and left only one unhidden on active. Unfortunately, still a no. But it was definitely worth a try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael S Posted February 5, 2022 Author Share Posted February 5, 2022 UPDATE I believe all Cakewalk related options have been exhausted. I do not believe this is a Cakewalk issue but rather a MOTU issue. It perhaps has something to do with my installation/uninstalltion/reinstallation of MOTU software throughout this process. I've tried full uninstalls, including registry edits, of all MOTU software, followed by clean installs, but to no avail. Again, that everything works on my laptop, where I installed both Cakewalk and MOTU software on it for the first time, tells me this is a machine specific difficulty. If anyone has any MOTU/Windows ideas, I'm all ears (or eyes). Otherwise, I thank everyone for their contributions and assistance through this process. Thank you all, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Vogel Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Ive not seen anyone mention this: The bottom line is that hardware does break so a long shot; is it possible that the USB port you are connecting to is faulty. Try another one. Try another device in the port in question. Sometimes Power settings deep in the advanced power management settings of windows can cause USB ports to shut down prematurely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkerTalker Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 If it's recognised by Windows, it must be a Cakewalk issue, don't you think? Try another DAW? Reaper is small and easy to install. If it sees the MOTU, you know it's Cakewalk. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 8 hours ago, Michael Vovel (MUDGEL) said: Try another device in the port in question. This was recommended in first reply and the OP followed through 7 hours ago, WalkerTalker said: If it's recognised by Windows, it must be a Cakewalk issue, don't you think? Try another DAW? Reaper is small and easy to install. If it sees the MOTU, you know it's Cakewalk. This is sort of true and you are absolutely correct that if it shows as connected in device manager that rules out connection and driver. But getting Windows to see a device and then Cakewalk are not exactly the same thing. Cakewalk seems fussy about audio and midi drivers. This is probably to protect us from using faulty drivers. So I’ll agree that it might be called a Cakewalk issue but it’s not Cakewalk that is broken, it’s the driver. It’s just plain outdated and there’s a few other threads with same issues. It’s going to become harder for those people like me who have the old gear that only has the Midi ports and not USB. My solution is all my audio interfaces have Midi ports. This means I have to daisy chain but it still works. If I had more old gear I would definitely invest in a multi port Midi interface. But I’m finding just about all my hardware now has a VST emulation. Most are free. I’m just holding out on paying for the Roland Cloud thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 9 hours ago, WalkerTalker said: If it's recognised by Windows, it must be a Cakewalk issue, don't you think? Try another DAW? Reaper is small and easy to install. If it sees the MOTU, you know it's Cakewalk. Not necessarily. I can plug my Korg Minilogue into a USB hub and Windows will see it, but it won't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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