multiple midi devices created for a single controller

[La Tenaille]

Hi,
When I plug a midi controller in a different usb port, a new device is created. With 5 controllers it's a knightmare after a week if I don't use the same usb ports : I have to check which device correspond for each in and out, copy/paste and delete the old ones.
I'm afraid this is getting unmanageable in stressing live conditions.
Could there be a way to identify each controller with a unique ID in order to avoid this ?

[oli_lab]

I quit USB midi in live situation and make my own OSC devices for that reason...

Sometime I use 2 usb devices at once but it works fine. each devices has the correct name of the device, that is probably contained in the USB controller itself
Are you using 5 of the same controller ?

[woodslanding]

I asked about this many months ago.... And it's a real problem if you have specific input processing associated with a midi device!

I ended up labeling my usb ports, to make sure I always plugged the same device into the same port.

[La Tenaille]

@oli_lab > I use 5 differnt controllers including behringer BCR and BCF. I plug it on a hub.

@woodslanding > I've read your topic and saw you already had that trouble long time ago. I've patched buses and channel changes inside my devices, so it's a big problem if the assignations change... I'm thinking about labeling, hoping the USB ID won't change from a hub.

[oli_lab]

labelling is the way to go...

[senso]

Windows gives names to Usine in unpredictable order and and potentially unusable ID's. There is no way to change this behavior from Usine.
You should report this issue to Microsoft.
Try to send a mail to bill.gates@microsoft.com

On mac it works much better.

[woodslanding]

That makes sense. I've seen it happen in other software..... although some seem to have found a workaround. I don't remember it happening with bidule, but maybe I was just lucky.

[sephult]

One thing though, is that the names for the devices always appear the same within HollyHock.
So instead of interpreting in HollyHock the OS ID's..... couldn't a name relationship be used within HollyHock to prevent reordering?

As far as duplicates, a rescan would recognize the ID to not be there and remove duplicates, leaving only the new one with the name to associate to the Device?
-S

[sm_jamieson]

Usine is still doing this. I was surprised by it after plugging my interface into a different USB port.
The name of the second device was prefixed by "2".

Worse, I cannot remember which port I used (on that side of the laptop there are several USB ports), so I will probably end up with a third device.

Loads of USB devices (printers, scanners, cameras, etc) cope with this, so surely Usine should ?

Thanks,
Simon.

[parityflux]

The device issue goes way back to Windows 95/98 I believe. It may even go back farther into DOS days and interrupts. It's a Windows problem and it is not necessarily easy to resolve from a software point of view. Sephult's comment offers a promising idea (using a Smart algorithm) and may actually work most of the time, but there would not be an absolute guarantee.

The only way I've been able to ensure a reliable rig tear down and setup is to label my cables/devices and the USB ports and ensure they match every time. However if you use a different computer (e.g. laptop out in the field and desktop in the studio) it's always going to cause grief. Not even the latest DAW versions I've seen have some sort of smart port picking for USB devices.

-j

[sm_jamieson]

I've done some more research and it seems its down my the interface (roland duo capture ex) not supplying a USB serial number, so windows tracks it by port instead (so that you could have identical devices in different USB ports). There are indeed 2 device entries in the device manager.

Some classes of device, including storage devices, are supposed to supply a serial number, and if they do windows will use this to track the device so that it can be plugged into any port - which is why USB sticks usually work in any port. I just tried it - my USB stick comes up as "G: KINGSTON" in any USB port.

You get a problem if you plug two devices with the same serial number in, since windows may confuse the devices. Apparently some manufacturers have done this to make their devices work in any port (without the added expense of a unique ID per device), assuming the user will only have one such device ! It should have been compulsory to supply a unique serial number in all USB devices - they manage it with MAC addresses in cheap network cards after all.

Which gives me an idea for a product - a single port USB cable / hub that supplies a unique serial number for devices that do not. Such a USB adapter left permanently inline of the USB device would solve the problem.

Simon.