If recording is not working in your DAW (digital audio workstation) software, or if you are experiencing issues such as glitching or other unwanted sounds, the AudioBox driver may need to be uninstalled and reinstalled on your system. Common reasons that it becomes necessary to reinstall the driver include:
- Plugging the AudioBox into a USB port other than the one it was originally installed on
- Using the device with a USB hub or extension cable
- Using the device with a USB cable other than the included cable
- Hardware and/or software changes to your system
- Plugging the device into the front panel of a desktop computer
In almost all instances, you can simply run the uninstaller, reinstall the driver immediately, and no other steps are necessary. This should only take a couple of minutes and usually solves most driver-related issues.
However, if you experience difficulties with the driver's installation process, or if you receive an error message from the installer, follow the steps in this guide to fully uninstall and reinstall the drivers properly. This guide can be used to install all PreSonus AudioBox devices, including:
- AudioBox USB
- AudioBox 22VSL
- AudioBox44VSL
- AudioBox1818VSL
Additionally, this article can simply be used as a guide to properly install the driver, even if no attempt has been made to install the driver yet.
Before uninstalling and reinstalling the driver, please check out this article, which explains common reasons why the AudioBox might not seem to function properly. Though the article is written for Studio One, its basic troubleshooting procedure applies to most major DAW software.
UNINSTALL
Uninstalling the Driver Application
1. Unplug the AudioBox from your computer.
Note: If this is an AudioBox44VSL or AudioBox1818VSL, power the unit off as well.
2. Click Start -> My Computer
3. In the new window, open your system drive (listed under "Hard Disk Drives") by double-clicking it. By default on most Windows systems, this is the C:\ drive.
4. Open the Program Files directory.
5. Locate the PreSonus folder and open it. If there is no PreSonus folder, skip to Removing Device Manager Entries.
6. In the PreSonus folder, open the AudioBox or AudioBox VSL folder, if present. If you do not find these folders, skip to step Removing Device Manager Entries.
7. In the AudioBox folder, locate and run the "uninstall" application. You may see it presented as "uninstall.exe". The uninstall wizard will guide you through the rest of the uninstall process.
Note: There may be a file present named "unins000". This is not the uninstall application. If you only see this file, and the "Uninstall" application is not visible, press "back" in Windows Explorer and delete the AudioBox/AudioBox VSL folder.
Removing Device Manager Entries
Now that the AudioBox driver has been removed, we need to check to make sure that the Windows Device Manager doesn't have any residual entries that could be conflicting with the new installation.
1. Click Start -> Control Panel -> System.
Note: In Windows XP, there are two different "views" for the Control Panel. If you are not using the "Classic View", you'll need to select "Performance and Maintenance" before you can select "System".
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click Environment Variables.
4. Under "User variables for [Your Username]," click "New..."
- For Variable Name, enter: devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices.
- For Variable Value, enter: 1
5. Press "OK" on all open windows and reboot the computer.
6. Click Start > Control Panel -> System
7. Select the Hardware tab, then click Device Manager
8. In the Device Manager, click View -> Show Hidden Devices
9. Check in the following categories and right-click/uninstall anything listed as "AudioBox," "USB Audio Device," or "Unknown Device." If you don't see any of these entries, that's OK - it simply means that no bad entries were created, and you can skip to Removing Application "Roaming" Data.
Check the categories below (if they are visible) to remove the relevant entries:
- Other Devices
- PreSonus USB 2.0 Audio Devices
- Sound, Video, and Game Controllers
- Universal Serial Bus Controllers
*It is important to remove only these entries. Other entries that appear similar may include "USB Composite Device," "USB Host Controller," "High Definition Audio Controller," etc. These are most likely devices embedded in your system and removing them may cause problems.
Removing Application "Roaming" Data
1. Click Start -> Run
2. Enter "%appdata%" (without quotes) and press the Enter key.
3. You will be brought to your computer's Roaming folder. You should see a PreSonus folder listed; open it.
4. Locate the AudioBox and/or AudioBox VSL folder, and delete it.
Removing Prefetch Data
1. Click Start -> Computer.
2. Open the System Drive (C:\ by default).
3. Open the Windows folder.
4. Open the PreFetch folder.
5. Locate any files with "AudioBox" in the title and delete them. These files would either begin with the word "AudioBox" or "PreSonus", so if the files are set to sort alphabetically, the files in question should only appear in the "A"s and "P"s.
Note: There may be other PreSonus prefetch data in this folder from Studio One or other PreSonus devices. Even if a file states PreSonus in the title, only delete it if it also states AudioBox!
INSTALL
Downloading the Driver
1. Visit this link to enter the PreSonus downloads page.
Note: For those unfamiliar with their web browser, most modern web browsers have a feature that allows multiple websites to be open in "tabs"; this allows for much easier switching between this guide and our downloads page. If you aren't sure how to open a new tab, right click the link above and select "Open in New Tab".
2. Locate your AudioBox product in the list and click its link.
3. Right-click the link for the driver for your computer's operating system and select "Save As..."
Note: Depending on your web browser, this option may appear as "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As...". These are the same functions.
4. Save the file to your computer's desktop.
Note: In Windows XP, there should be an icon on the left side of the window named "Desktop"; click it, then press "Save."
Installing the Driver
1. Go to the Notification Area in Windows and locate any antivirus software that could be running in the background. You'll need to temporarily disable its security features while you reinstall the driver. You can re-enable your security software once the driver has finished installing.
Note: For more information on how to disable and control your antivirus sofware, consult the company that creates and maintains it, such as Symantec, McAfee, or AVG. Most of these companies have online documentation that can assist you with configuration.
2. Locate the AudioBox installer on your desktop; double-click it to run.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions until the AudioBox installer prompts you to plug in the device.
WARNING: It is critical to not press "Install Driver" before proceeding with the instructions below. If this button is pressed before the AudioBox is properly connected and the Windows system installers are allowed to finish, complications may occur which require the driver to be uninstalled again.
4. Plug the AudioBox into your computer's USB 2.0 port. A "Found New Hardware Wizard" from Windows should appear, prompting you to install the driver software using Windows.
Note: If this is an AudioBox44VSL or AudioBox1818VSL, you will need to power the unit on as well.
5. In the Found New Hardware Wizard, you will be asked if Windows can "connect to Windows Update to search for software"; select "No, not at this time" and press Next.
6. Select "Install the software automatically (Recommended)" and press Next.
7. Select "No, do not connect to the Internet now" and press Next.
8. The Found New Hardware Wizard will now state that it "Cannot Install this Hardware"; this is normal and not an error. Simply press Finish.
9. When "Finish" is pressed, the Found New Hardware Wizard will disappear, but another one may soon appear. Repeat the process from step 6 until Found New Hardware Wizards no longer appear on your screen, and you receive a notification bubble in the bottom-right corner that states:
"Found New Hardware: A problem occurred during hardware installation. Your new hardware might not work properly."
This is normal. You can now click "Install Driver."
10. Once you click "Install Driver," allow the AudioBox installer to finish the installation. As the program suggests, this may take some time.
Note: You will be presented with an "error" claiming that the AudioBox driver did not pass the Windows Logo test. This is not relevant and can be disregarded. Simply press "Continue Anyway". This message may appear 3-5 times, or not at all; you can simply press "Continue Anyway" if prompted with this alert.
11. Once the install has finished, you'll be prompted to reboot your computer; reboot your computer.
Note: Right after the driver finishes installing, a new Found New Hardware Wizard may appear; this one will successfully install the software. Simply click "Install the Software Automatically" and the wizard will walk you through the rest of the process. These wizards may appear when you initially reboot the computer as well.
Checking for New VSL Firmware
Note: This step is only applicable to AudioBox VSL users at the time of this document's creation.
After your computer has fully booted, you will want to check to make sure that there are no pending firmware updates to the AudioBox. If the AudioBox is running firmware from a prior version of the driver, it needs to be updated to work with your new driver. To update the firmware, follow these steps:
1. Open the AudioBox program.
Note: If you are unable to open the AudioBox program (also known as AudioBox VSL or simply VSL), please check out this article.
2. If a firmware update is pending, you will be requested to update the firmware right away. Please update the firmware for the unit and it will be ready to use.
WARNING: It is critical to not unplug, turn off, or otherwise break/alter the connection to the AudioBox while the firmware updates. We recommend that you simply do nothing while the firmware is updating.
If the mixer window is visible and you are able to manipulate the different faders and controls, no firmware update is pending and the device is ready to use.
If you're still having problems...
If you receive an error during installation that halts the installation process, or your original problem is not resolved, please open a support ticket at our support site. If you already have an open ticket, create a system profile of your computer using the following process, and send it to your current support agent:
- Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information
- Click File, Save
- Save the NFO file as your name and make sure that the Save As type is: System information File (*.NFO)
- Attach the .nfo to your reply.
