WTF?? 3.3.4.00 breaks my MBP keyboard and touchpad... :-(

  • Just installed VC 3.3.4.00 on my late 2008 (5,1) 2.4GHz MBP running OS X 10.5.8. Restarted after installation, now the keyboard on the Mac is not working and neither is the touchpad. (Typing this on external keyboard...)


    I AM VERY, VERY PISSED AT ACCESS MUSIC FOR THIS CRAP. :(


    (And before you tell me that's the risk of updating to a beta: I have not had my Virus TI2 nor the VC plugin working properly *ever* yet, tried multiple machines and OSs. So yeah, I'm eager to try new versions as I figured things couldn't get much worse. Well, I was wrong. They can...)

    ˙ɯǝɥʇ ǝsooɥɔ ǝɯ ʇǝl ʇ,uoʍ ɯnɹoɟ pıdnʇs sıɥʇ ʇnq 'ɹǝɔuǝnbǝs puɐ SO ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ɐ ǝsn I

  • hi banned,


    i'm working on a MPB bought in summer 2009 (2.66, core duo) and i'm using this very keyboard right now. sure, that's not the same machine but what I'm trying to say is that it's not like we don't test things - we might not have the same machine like you have to test with though.
    i'm pretty sure that the Virus OS doesn't break anything in terms of making other components defective. on my macbook the IR receiver, keyboard and trackpad are connected to the same root hub. if 2 of those components would stop working, i would check, if a device is on that root hub and unplug it to see if it makes a change. and if you can connect an external keyboard you essentially proof that the basic function which makes the OS understand what a keyboard is works fine.


    does your keyboard / touchpad show up the USB tree in system preferences? does it work when you unplug the Virus TI? did you get in touch with access support - i'm sure that they can help you fast.


    best, marc

  • The keyboard and Touchpad are working again, after a full reboot. I'm pretty sure that the Virus Control update *did* break it, although not *permanently* (no, I hadn't expected permanent damage to the hardware... that would have been the story of the month, now wouldn't it?). I understand very well that not all hardware/software configurations can be tested in advance. But this type of problem indicates to me that there is a more serious problem than that, namely exceptionally bad programming and/or not adhering to manufacturer/industry standards and protocols. Testing is no substitute for education. :P
    Moreover, my Virus TI2 is also unreliable *without being connected to anything other than its main audio outputs and/or MIDI out*, and has been so since day one, throughout all the firmware versions up to now (for example, it spits out random MIDI data and audio pops / clicks / sustained squelching noises at unpredictable, seemingly random intervals, and upward pitch bend range is often truncated at about 2/3 of its maximum value). This has nothing to do with testing different hardware configurations, but simply with proper product testing per se, and build quality in general. I'm seeing a pattern of unusual clumsiness, and that for a €2000+ product... so far I'm not impressed at all, to say the very least.


    Btw, the MBP I was using would probably only differ with yours ( Marc) in a few very minor aspects: CPU clock speeds were bumped up a bit, on the 15" versions (of which I have the 2.4 GHz one with the dedicated 256MB extra GPU) the ExpressCard/34 slot was exchanged with a SD slot; the battery had its capacity increased and is no longer removable, and the display has slightly better gamut, i.e. more intense colors (and initially there was no matte display version of the 15" models). Only the change from the ExpressCard/34 port to the SD slot seems potentially relevant to me, at first sight. If for some reason Access didn't test with any MBP model with an ExpressCard/34 slot, that would seem to be quite an oversight to me, as that is one of the main real "Pro" features (and, coincidentally, the imminent disappearance of it on the 15" models was exactly the reason why I quickly grabbed the previous model when Apple introduced the model you ( Marc) are working on mid 2009).

    ˙ɯǝɥʇ ǝsooɥɔ ǝɯ ʇǝl ʇ,uoʍ ɯnɹoɟ pıdnʇs sıɥʇ ʇnq 'ɹǝɔuǝnbǝs puɐ SO ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ɐ ǝsn I