From sub-zero problems to digital fire.

Today my MOTU Traveler completely screwed up, it crashed everything, crashed my G5 so hard it cried for several minutes while rebuilding Spotlight index. It took me an hour of complete total utter panic, restarting, error testing, swearing, crying, laughing manically. First I thought something was wrong with Logic, then OS X, then the harddisk, then everything, I was on the verge of restoring the nightly system backup before I found out the problem was... the cute little Traveler firewire audio interface. It just kept locking up, randomly spitting out high pitched noises audible at loud levels, sometimes working prefectly, sometimes not at all, crashing everything. Confirmed on multiple computers with multiple cables. Eff you see kay upped. I tried calling my dealer but got voicemail and he never returned the call.

Finally a factory reset combined with driver update, external power and change of FW port seems to have slapped it back into shape. For now.

This is my THIRD product of MOTU with crazy problems, and now I've had it. Last time this happened was right in the middle of scoring the first NDG film, my 828 mkII did exactly the same thing, random reboots and high pitched noises, eventually after a week of horrors it just died completely and I had to return it. Another 828 broke down the display during the first days of a month long trip. It continued working but the display was dead and useless for live work. Why do these things keep breaking down at the worst possible time? And why don't they break down PROPERLY, so you KNOW it's broken. Like with an explosion, or at least some smoke, like my Amiga. And why do they break down in quiet, controlled studio settings, not during a sweaty, violent nightclub gig, where I kinda would have understood it?

If this unit keeps giving me trouble, I'm never ever going to touch a MOTU product again. I'll set fire to this one on the next gig, I'LL GIVE YOU FIREWIRE, BASTARDS! I lost a whole day, and I'm nervous for loosing more. Fucked up interfaces is the last thing I want to waste my time with. I just hope this piece of plastic keeps it together until the album is done mixing.

And yes, I know what the MOTU acronym stands for. Makes the timing of this screw-up even more horrible.