Sometimes a reinstall works. Could be just some tiny issue, but one that is so hard to find it's just easier to 'reset' everything with an initializing reinstall.
My external soundcard sometimes misses the boat on FW sync somehow for a moment while booting...not often, but when it happens, it just vanishes for a while. It either comes back automatically, or I take the cord off or turn the soundcard off and on again, and then it works fine.
Seems, however, that after this some apps automatically change the settings, i.e. some software might suddenly have SoundMapper as output, not the soundcard's main outs or ASIO, and that can sometimes cause problems with sound settings. It's rare but goes to show sometimes weird problems can happen.
My main soundcard is basically for audio work alone; I have a separate soundcard for games etc, and a third one for Skype use, and a fourth which I sometimes use for headphone monitoring.
When I used a Pod Xt I just hooked it up to my soundcard and only used the USB option for tweaking sounds. Five soundcards seemed excessive somehow plus I worried how well it would work using several soundcards in a same multitrack project...actually it probably would not have worked at least simultaneously...and actually I just realized the display adapter also has an in-built soundcard used to relay 5.1 sound through the HDMI.
Phew, it ain't been even a decade when just setting up one soundcard on a PC could be a real PITA, now it seems everything finally works truely plug and play most of the time even with half a dozen soundcards at once.
Dee
"When life's a biatch, be a horny dog"
Amps: Marshall JVM 410H w/ Plexi Cap mod, Choke Mod & Negative Feedback Removal mod, 4x12", Behringer GMX110, Amplitube 3/StealthPedal
Half a dozen custom built/bastardized guitars all with EMG's, mostly 85's, Ibanez Artwood acoustic & Yamaha SGR bass, Epiphone Prophecy SG, Vox Wah, Pitchblack tuner plus assorted pedals, rack gear etc. for home studio use.