USB MIDI driver freeze on Windows

[halifax30]

I use a 56-input MegaDrum with FW 20200331. I have a dedicated drumming laptop with Win 10. I use Reaper 5.99 as a VST host with Addictive Drums.

My problem is that from time to time Windows stops communicating with Megadrum. The USB MIDI driver seems to freeze. If I continue to play my drums then I see notes correctly generated on the LCD, the red LED flashes indicating that notes are sent to the PC. But neither Reaper nor MDMFX receive these notes on the PC. When this happens I have to close all programs which use MIDI and unplug Megadrum's USB cable, then plug it in again, reload Reaper and Addictive Drums and it continues to work.

I never know when this will happen. Usually, I practice for 2 hours and sometimes it happens after 15 minutes, sometimes after 1,5 hours. This obviously makes my setup useless in live drumming situations.

If I start Reaper when the MIDI driver is frozen it says "Cannot open Megadrum USB MIDI".

On one occasion the MIDI driver froze but I did not know about it. I opened MDMFX and clicked "Open MIDI". MIDI was not opened and MDMFX hung forever. I had to force close it using Task Manager. After this even the unplug-plug did not help. The driver remained frozen. So I tried to restart my laptop, but the frozen driver did not let Windows restart! Windows stopped at the "Restarting Windows" screen and nothing happened. So I had to forcefully switch off the laptop by long-pressing the power button.

Does this also happen to someone else? I'm experiencing this for over a year now and it also happened with FW 20181218 and previous versions of Reaper.

[dmitri]

Did you configure Reaper to use only one of the MegaDrum USB MIDI ports and MDMFX to use another?

[halifax30]

Yes, I did. I noticed that there are 2 pairs of MIDI drivers. One is called something like "Megadrum USB MIDI In/Out", the other is "MIDI IN"/"MIDI OUT". I use the first pair in Reaper and the second pair in MDMDFX.

Actually, 90% of the time I only use Reaper (because my Megadrum is already configured) and the driver froze even when only Reaper was in use.

[dmitri]

"MIDI IN"/"MIDI OUT" is not MegaDrum, it is some other MIDI device. MegaDrum MIDI ports would have names like "Megadrum USB MIDI" and "Megadrum USB MIDI II"

[halifax30]

I checked on my drumming laptop and I have the following MIDI Input devices:
MegaDrum USB MIDI
MIDIIN2 (MegaDrum USB MIDI)

And the following MIDI Output devices:
MegaDrum USB MIDI
MIDIOUT2 (MegaDrum USB MIDI)

Is this normal?

I use "MegaDrum USB MIDI" for Reaper and AD, and I use MIDIXX2 for MDMFX.

[dmitri]

Yes, this is normal. I can only suspect two things:
1. There is something with the USB connection which causes random very brief MegaDrum disconnection. Can be caused either by a bad USB cable/socket/USB hub or by a power spike from a nearby powerful device switching on/off (freezer/aircon and etc).
2. There is something wrong with your Windows installation or running software/app/process.

[halifax30]

It can happen that there is a brief disconnection, because my MD is placed on top of my bassdrum. Although I made "legs" for it from foam cubes, but those may still be transferring some vibration which might move the USB cable and connector. I don't know when will I have time to change my setup and test if the disconnections are going away.

[sbonasuk]

Good evening this is the issue I am having, I have completely rewired the usb connection and there are no high power devices close by its happening must more and I can sometimes only drum for 2-3 minutes before the crash. This configuration is over two years old and the problem stated about three upgrades ago

[dmitri]

I have not changed anything USB related in firmware for very long time. But can you downgrade to a firmware version which you did not have the problem with and re-test it. IF the problem is gone, please tell me which firmware version you downgraded to.

[halifax30]

Since July, I moved my MD unit a little forward on top of my bassdrum so the unit and the cables at the back do not touch any vibrating parts. After that, I've never experienced the MIDI problem, again. So it seems the problem indeed was that while I was playing the vibration moved the USB cable and caused a brief disconnection.