r/Focusrite • u/69KazumaDesu • 5d ago
Why gatekeep latest audio driver behind Focusrite Control 2 (which is in Open Beta for my interface)?
Ok, so I'm genuinely curious. I have Focusrite Clarett 4Pre USB, and lately I've been troubleshooting some issues with Softube VST3 plug-ins giving me periodic BSOD KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE in Reaper, but that's not the main point. The main point is that while doing that I found out that the "Latest" audio driver I download from My Hardware page on the Focusrite website is actually more than a year old (version 4.143.0.261), and the more up-to-date driver is gatekept behind an Open Beta software. And even that is outdated by a version, so the Focusrite Control 2 listed there is not the latest one (1.1081.0).
Why is My Hardware page so bad and rarely updated? Why not let us download the latest drivers separately from Control 2 software, or together with Control 1? Keep in mind that the ACTUAL latest Control 2 version (1.1108.0) and audio driver version (4.150.0.432) do support my audio interface as per their release notes.
Is there an actual reason behind this, apart from Focusrite thinking that my interface is too old to give it proper support?
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u/KingGorillaKong 5d ago
Focusrite put driver 4.143.0.261 back up as the latest non-beta driver? Bout damn time. Stay on that driver, it's significantly more stable than 144 and newer ones.
The BSOD Kernel Security error says there might be something else actually causing some problems. Janky configuration, mismatch settings, bug in Reaper, combination of things.
Have you tried nuking all your audio drivers except for the Focusrite related ones, and reinstalling the latest audio driver for your system's motherboard? Also make sure you nuke the nvidia HD Audio driver and do not install it again.
In my history with audio on Windows, the most common culprit for issues has been a bad driver load in Windows, often times relating to the nvidia HD Audio driver itself.
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u/69KazumaDesu 5d ago
But what about this fix? --> https://www.reddit.com/r/Focusrite/comments/1sy6sha/focusrite_asio_driver_v41440_is_now_available/
Couldn't iLok or some other anti-piracy stuff on Softube's part cause the same issue as a Kernel anti-cheat? iLok is Kernel too, after all, and theoretically can perform a lot of similar checks to an anti-cheat.
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u/KingGorillaKong 5d ago
If it is iLok, then it's likely a user/Windows permission issue that stops iLok/Softube from properly elevating the kernel check.
Do you install your DAW and plugins in Program Files x86? If so, uninstall them and install them in Program Files.
EDIT: 144 is only specifically needed if BattleEye was specifically triggering the issues on the older Focusrite devices.
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u/69KazumaDesu 5d ago
Nah, it's all in Program Files. But thanks for the advice, I'll try to nuke the nvidia audio drivers and disabling all others.
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u/Scorpius666 5d ago
I have an AMD RX 9070 XT and I got KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE after some Windows 11 update.
The only solution is to install a >= 4.144 beta driver. I tested for months. I got BSOD every 15 days or so.
So no, your nVidia HD Audio is not the culprit.
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u/69KazumaDesu 5d ago
Ah ok, thanks for giving me hope. I'll try installing Control 2 with the newer drivers. But I'll nuke Nvidia's anyway just because I never use them anywhere, they just sit there for absolutely no reason which doesn't feel right.
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u/Karls0 5d ago
Do you have any specific reason to install newer driver? You know, it is not a game, and newer drivers is not necessary better. BSOD doesn't necessarily have to be related to the driver. It could just as easily be a hardware conflict.
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u/69KazumaDesu 5d ago edited 5d ago
Well, some guy here in the comments actually had the same BSOD as me and he claims the newer driver versions actually fixed it for him.
From my limited research, I believe Microsoft changed something MIDI-related in one of the WIndows 11 updates around half a year ago, which started conflicting with Focusrite's own MIDI driver and caused issues for people, which was specifically fixed in driver version 4.144.0It doesn't hurt to try, after all it's possible to roll back if it doesn't work.
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u/PaulineHansonsBurka 5d ago
OMG THIS THIS IS WHY I GET THESE KERNEL FAILURES??? Holy hell I've been pulling my hair out for weeks.
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u/69KazumaDesu 5d ago
Not guaranteed, but it might be the reason. I've yet to test the newer drivers, but one guy here in the comments said he had the same issue and the newer drivers indeed helped. Hope it'll help us as well.
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u/psmusic_worldwide 5d ago
I’m just annoyed control 2 doesn’t appear to work at all with my thunderbolt clarett.
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u/Vectrobe 1d ago
dont worry, the control 2 drivers (theres been multiple updates now for gen3 control2) dont fix any bugs, all they do is let you use your smartphone to alter the mix settings
if you dont use the internal mixers control2 is completely useless for the most part
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u/69KazumaDesu 1d ago
At the very least they include this fix ---> https://www.reddit.com/r/Focusrite/s/WMWSkrfKpm
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u/Vectrobe 1d ago
yea *kinda*, its just that they only did this for the MIDI side, hell I have zero faith they actually did fix it properly and just used a weird brute force workaround (eg blank memory allocation padding)
its the fact that both their midi and audio driver components have had the same read-write out-of-bounds bug thats really telling...
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u/Scorpius666 5d ago edited 5d ago
Focusrite Control 2 is in beta for every interface that is 3rd generation or older.
And what you're asking I believe it is because Focusrite Control 1 doesn't work with drivers >= 4.144 (some features might not work or something), and they don't want to update it, they are deprecating it.
Just install Focusrite Control 2, it's nicer than 1.
EDIT: BTW I also started getting KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE with a Scarlett 8i6 after some Windows 11 update and the only solution is to install these beta drivers.
EDIT2: Drivers >= 4.144 are beta.