Problem in Setting up Weiss DAC2 under VMware

[higo]

Dear all,

 

I just bought a 13.3" MacBook Pro to work with my Weiss DAC2. At the Apple OS Front (iTune + Pure Music Player), it works fine.

 

I then proceed to install VMWare Fusion and Windows 7 on the MacBook Pro with a veiw to using foobar. However, I have troubles in changing the sound device in the control panel of Windows 7. Despite repeated attempts, I simply cannot find the Firewire device in the control panel. I can only see the VMWare device in the control pannel. I got the message that I cannot change the sound device under VMWare.

 

Has anyone experienced this kind of problem before? Is that something to do with the VMWare? Should I change to Bootcamp instead?

 

Thanks in advance...

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Higo - I strongly advise against using VMWare or Parallels when playing audio. It's another layer os software / virtualization you don't want to go through. I frequently use Boot Camp to play audio. I also use Parallels to boot up my Boot Camp partition from within OS X just to make updates etc...

 

[higo]

First of all, thanks very much for your prompt reply. I am very new to the Mac world so I do not really know the difference between VMware, Parallel and Bootcamp. Now that with your advice, I will definitely not use VMware or Parallel to activate Windows 7 within the Mac Operationg System.

 

Personally, I find the iTune + Pure Music proposal very easy to use. My only complaint is that this combination may sound a hint too clinical. Being "greedy", I would also like to try out the Foobar + WASAPI combination so that I have a "dual playing system". That is precisely the reason why I bought a MacBook Pro instead of just a Windows-based laptop.

 

A couple of elementary questions on setting up under Mac operating system:-

 

1. Can VMware co-exist with Bootcamp?

 

2. If the answer to Question 1 above is "yes", do I have to install Windows 7 again when I install Bootcamp (so that there are two sets of Windows 7)?

 

3. If the answer to Question 1 above is "no", do I have to remove VMware and Windows 7 (together with the already installed Foobar) before installing Bootcamp?

 

Many thanks for your advice in advance!!!

 

[higo]

Dear MacBook Users,

 

May I ask another rather elementary question? Is there any setting in the MacBook so that I can close the lid without triggering the sleep mode.

 

Basically, I want to close the lid of the MacBook, turn off the MacBook display and control the playback via iPhone as a remote.

 

At the moment, whenever I close the lid, the computer will automatically go to sleep mode (and the playback of course stops as well).

 

Thanks for your advice in advance.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Higo - I would remove the VMWare version of Win 7 before installing it via Boot Camp. Don't mess around with two different installs of Windows on the same machine.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I used to use a program called Insomniax to keep the Mac awake after closing the lid, but it doesn't work that well with new versions of OS X. Now I just turn the display off using the function keys on the keyboard or set the display to turn off one minute after I last use the mouse or keyboard. This also allows the machine to breathe a bit :~)

 

[higo]

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for your prompt response to my questions.

 

Following your advice, I removed VMware and installed Bootcamp. I then installed Windows 7, Weiss DAC2 driver, Foobar and WASAPI. The dual playing system is now functioning properly. However, there is one small problem. When I use Windows-based Foobar to access the AIFF music files (ripped by iTune) stored in the Apple Operating System, Foobar hangs. I suspect that it is because the AIFF files that are stored in the Apple OS partition are not compatible with the Windows-based NTFS system. Accordingly, it appears that the music libraries under Windows and Apple are not inter-usable. Is there any way to solve this problem and build just a single library that is accessible by both Apple and Windows system?

 

 

 

[higo]

Hi Chris,

 

You mentioned:-

 

".....Now I just turn the display off using the function keys on the keyboard or set the display to turn off one minute after I last use the mouse or keyboard. This also allows the machine to breathe a bit :~)....."

 

Your suggestion is a very practical one but the downside is that the lid still has be left in the upright position. It follows that a lot of dust will be collected on the keyboard after prolonged use. As a new comer to the Mac World, I am very surprise that Apple do not see this as an issue at all.