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DAE error -9073 'The PCI bus is too busy for DAE to communicate reliably with the audio hardware.' ...

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DAE error -9073 'The PCI bus is too busy for DAE to communicate reliably with the audio hardware.
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Error occurs during Bounce to Disk, playback or record on Mac or Windows platforms.DAE error -9073 'The PCI bus is too busy for DAE to communicate reliably with the audio hardware.' 'Disk too slow or too fragmented'.

Last Updated : April 18, 2013
Products Affected :

What does this error mean?

DAE error -9073 "The PCI bus is too busy for DAE to communicate reliably with the audio hardware." "Disk too slow or too fragmented". During Bounce to Disk, playback or record on Mac or Windows platforms.

*The leading cause of the 9073 error is recording or bouncing to a drive that is literally "too slow or too fragmented". The minimum spec for a Digidesign supported audio drive is a spindle speed of 7,200 RPM and a seek time of 10ms or faster.
  • Try splitting your audio tracks up amongst multiple drives to prevent this error. (See your systems getting started guide for track count to drive ratio information).
  • Partitioning large drives into volumes no larger than around 9 gigs in size can help prevent fragmentation.
  • Limiting Open Ended Record Allocation preference in Pro Tools can also prevent fragmentation issues.
                           1. In Pro Tools > Setups > Preferences > Operation Tab.
                           2. Set Open Ended Record Allocation to "Limit to 60 minutes". (or less). 
  • A DAE buffer size of "0" can also lead to 9073 errors.
  • For best results, keep the DAE playback buffer at it's default setting of "2".
  • To reset the DAE buffer size you must close and then reopen for the new buffer setting to take effect.
  • Firewire drives have been known to cause 9073 errors.
                            1. All Firewire drives must have an RPM speed of 7,200 and have the Oxford 911 Bridgechip.
                            2. Please see the compatibility section of our website for complete Firewire updated support
                                 details.   See http://www.digidesign.com/compato/
  • Norton FileSaver can cause 9073 errors. It comes with a "scan drives" default of 30 minutes. When FileSaver begins actively scanning drives the resulting drop in overall SCSI throughput can cause a 9073 error.
  • Norton Anti Virus can cause -9073 errors too. Disable it if you are seeing this error.
  • If you are using Roxio Toast to burn your CD's, disable the Toast CD Reader extension. This extension is not needed to burn CD's with Toast, it is only necessary to mount CD's from an external burner. (Mac OS 9 Only)
  • Audio tracks with lots of edits, as can be created when using Beat Detective, can also cause -9073 errors. Bounce to disk the tracks with a lot of edits, then replace the original regions with the bounced file. When bouncing to disk all automation and plug-ins will become part of the bounce unless disabled. If no automation or plug-ins are instantiated or needed, then Consolidate Selection could be done instead. Either of these two methods will create on (or more) audio files, instead of many edited regions. * If you are using SCSI drives, make sure they have been properly terminated and that you are using a supported SCSI card with the current software/firmware for the OS and version of Pro Tools you are using. See http://www.digidesign.com/compato/ for details.
  • Uninstall/Reinstall Pro Tools.
                              1. Make sure you are not playing the demo session from the Pro Tools CD.
                              2 .Make sure you are not playing a backed up session from a CD.  
  • DAE -9073 errors have been seen when playing back off of XL series Cheetah drives. LP series Cheetah's work fine (this is what Digidrives are) but XL may post errors when looping playback of a 15 second selection across 24 tracks with no edits. Supplemental comments: Occurred on freshly initialized volumes as small as 9 gigs on fully supported systems.
  • In one instance, Quicksilver 733MHz mac also reported "Built-in Memory checker returned an error" during OS boot. replacing the RAM caused both the error message and the DAE errors to disappear.

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