Kronos crashing and display error messages
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
So your Kronos does get moved around a bit? I think your RAM probably came loose. I've transport a lot of gear over the years & occasionally I find loose screws and other hardware in a case or the floor in my vehicle. I've also opened up computers that were operating just fine, only to find dust caked on components. So I doubt it was a dirt issue. Corrosion? Maybe. I'm not an electronics engineer, but I've worked in the electronics manufacturing and service industry. Certain rules do apply. Glad to hear you are up and running. Did you check the SSD power and data cables. Did you check bolts the secure components inside? Keep us posted.
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog
Bob Moog
My K2-73 just started doing this in the last week. "A problem has been detected..." It has not been moved out of my studio for months.
It first happened after being on for over a week. I look down and see the black screen message. During that time I had done several KSC auto-loads as I was working on programming. They all were normal without incident.
On restarting, it restarted, displayed the normal setlist, then a few seconds later "A problem has been detected..."
I shut down, waited a minute, and restarted. In the middle of loading user banks "a problem has been detected...".
Shut down and wait some more, restart. While "finishing up" it gives "A problem has been detected..."
Shut down and wait even longer (3 minutes). Start up, and it has been running OK for 30 minutes now.
The only system-level change I've made recently is adding Dan Stesco's Vangelis Userbank to my KSC autoloads. So slightly more RAM is used compared to before.
Does anyone know the technical root cause of the "a problem has been detected..." message? Is it memory corruption, segmentation fault, kernel panic, disk read error, or something else?
My inclination is to replace the SSD and RAM memory as a preventative measure, but it would be helpful to understand more about what's going on.
It first happened after being on for over a week. I look down and see the black screen message. During that time I had done several KSC auto-loads as I was working on programming. They all were normal without incident.
On restarting, it restarted, displayed the normal setlist, then a few seconds later "A problem has been detected..."
I shut down, waited a minute, and restarted. In the middle of loading user banks "a problem has been detected...".
Shut down and wait some more, restart. While "finishing up" it gives "A problem has been detected..."
Shut down and wait even longer (3 minutes). Start up, and it has been running OK for 30 minutes now.
The only system-level change I've made recently is adding Dan Stesco's Vangelis Userbank to my KSC autoloads. So slightly more RAM is used compared to before.
Does anyone know the technical root cause of the "a problem has been detected..." message? Is it memory corruption, segmentation fault, kernel panic, disk read error, or something else?
My inclination is to replace the SSD and RAM memory as a preventative measure, but it would be helpful to understand more about what's going on.
Kronos2 73, Presonus StudioLive, Cakewalk / Sonar Platinum, Windows 10
-
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 9451
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:46 am
- Location: Discovery Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
"a problem has been detected..." etc
after years of seeing posts about this ' message ', I conclude its a generic warning.
IOW, the message is not simply indicative of 'one reason'.
It could be a list of 10 different reasons. Therefore, from a DIY approach , more user details are helpful to narrow down the list of 10 'possibles '
I think most owners are aware that the "a problem has been detected..." is generic. not specific to 1 size fits all.
Just thought to explain or clarify since generic messages are often confusing.
after years of seeing posts about this ' message ', I conclude its a generic warning.
IOW, the message is not simply indicative of 'one reason'.
It could be a list of 10 different reasons. Therefore, from a DIY approach , more user details are helpful to narrow down the list of 10 'possibles '
I think most owners are aware that the "a problem has been detected..." is generic. not specific to 1 size fits all.
Just thought to explain or clarify since generic messages are often confusing.
Computers are programmed to display the error message you see. They don't necessarily understand what is going on, they are just told to display a message if something goes wrong. That actually has to be written into the code. It is not necessarily an intelligent thing. It's kind of like a baby. It cries for everything. You just have to figure out what it's crying for. Maybe one of our bonafide computer gurus here can chime in.
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog
Bob Moog
-
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 9451
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:46 am
- Location: Discovery Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
makes sense , of course, lots of technology has a locked vice grip on problem detection, proper problem identification.
Just because 'thats the way it is ' does not means that I agree ' thats the only way " it could be .
In my perfect world, the error message should be more intuitive and lead the owner to solve the issue , as being indicative of 2 or 3 accurate causes.
Not being argumentative, just philosophically challenging what " should be " on a $3500 keyboard.
Just because 'thats the way it is ' does not means that I agree ' thats the only way " it could be .
In my perfect world, the error message should be more intuitive and lead the owner to solve the issue , as being indicative of 2 or 3 accurate causes.
Not being argumentative, just philosophically challenging what " should be " on a $3500 keyboard.
-
- Approved Merchant
- Posts: 1203
- Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2005 4:42 pm
- Location: Seattle
I was told by an EXCELLENT source that the error message “A problem has been detected. Please turn the Kronos off. Wait 10 sec. and then turn it back on” indicates a problem with the communication between the motherboard and the OMAP subsystem. That might mean the motherboard actually has a problem (for instance, it’s crashing and thus not communicating), or a physical connection, or… So it's a failure to communicate!
In my case, cleaning and re-setting all the internal connections completely solved the problem.
Busch.
In my case, cleaning and re-setting all the internal connections completely solved the problem.
Busch.
Kronos 73, Nautilus 61, Vox Continental 73, Monologue, Yamaha Montage 8, Rhodes Suitcase, Yamaha VL-1, Roland V-Synth, Yamaha AvantGrand, Minimoog Model D, Studio Electronics Omega 8, CSS, Spitfire, VSL, LASS, Sample Modeling, Ivory, Komplete 12, Spectrasonics, Cubase, Pro Tools, etc.
http://www.purgatorycreek.com
http://www.purgatorycreek.com
-
- Approved Merchant
- Posts: 2485
- Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:44 pm
- Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Maybe so. There is no consistency to it. Sometimes, I won't see it for a month. Other times, a couple times in a week. If you figure I've had it for 96 months, that's probably how many times I've seen it.GregC wrote: IOW, the message is not simply indicative of 'one reason'.
My OASYS, which is powered on just as much as the K, has had that message about 3 times, in 15 years. It has been several years since the OASYS popped that up.
I don't know if I can blame a power source, as they are both plugged into the same UPS. The Kronos will do it and the OASYS won't.
Again, it's a non-issue for me, and it is, by far, my favorite piece of equipment. The Kronos rarely does this when I've composing or working with it. Usually, it happens when it is sitting idle, while I'm checking my email.... or Korg Forums! The Kronos is like a jealous lover, because it happens when my attention is elsewhere. It shouts at me with that high pitched whine!
-
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 9451
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:46 am
- Location: Discovery Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
sure, each owner has a certain 'tolerance '. Subjective stuffMike Conway wrote:Maybe so. There is no consistency to it. Sometimes, I won't see it for a month. Other times, a couple times in a week. If you figure I've had it for 96 months, that's probably how many times I've seen it.GregC wrote: IOW, the message is not simply indicative of 'one reason'.
My OASYS, which is powered on just as much as the K, has had that message about 3 times, in 15 years. It has been several years since the OASYS popped that up.
I don't know if I can blame a power source, as they are both plugged into the same UPS. The Kronos will do it and the OASYS won't.
Again, it's a non-issue for me, and it is, by far, my favorite piece of equipment. The Kronos rarely does this when I've composing or working with it. Usually, it happens when it is sitting idle, while I'm checking my email.... or Korg Forums! The Kronos is like a jealous lover, because it happens when my attention is elsewhere. It shouts at me with that high pitched whine!
getting back to " WTF " and why... is this experience " Kronos normal " ?
and as you jest,, its the " ghost in the machine "".
Just for fun, lets dig further. In your sizable studio,, what about ' heat'', and household demands on power while using gear ?
Its totally your call, if there is no issue. Tolerance for power problems and stability is subjective.
-
- Approved Merchant
- Posts: 2485
- Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:44 pm
- Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
GregC wrote: Just for fun, lets dig further. In your sizable studio,, what about ' heat'', and household demands on power while using gear ?
Its totally your call, if there is no issue. Tolerance for power problems and stability is subjective.

My house is 72 degrees, year round. My power is good. Plenty more available for plugging in 1000 watt movie lights, for videos, so that's not it. Kronos and OASYS are plugged into this UPS. The UPS makes no difference. Kronos does that, no matter what. I think Busch's post may be one answer.
Like I said, it has not affected my work one bit. No lost projects, and I have many! I save often, and redundantly, just in case. Honestly, it generally happens when I let it sit there for a while.
@Busch, thank you! That makes good sense. Since the LCD display is driven by the OMAP, there's not a lot it can do if it suddenly loses the USB link to the motherboard other than display a vague error message.burningbusch wrote:I was told by an EXCELLENT source that the error message “A problem has been detected. Please turn the Kronos off. Wait 10 sec. and then turn it back on” indicates a problem with the communication between the motherboard and the OMAP subsystem.
There is probably better information being displayed on the VGA video on the motherboard, but that's hard to access.
I'll re-seat those connectors while I'm inside replacing the RAM.
Kronos2 73, Presonus StudioLive, Cakewalk / Sonar Platinum, Windows 10
Sounds exactly like my setup, except no OASYSMike Conway wrote:My house is 72 degrees, year round. My power is good. Plenty more available for plugging in 1000 watt movie lights, for videos, so that's not it. Kronos and OASYS are plugged into this UPS. The UPS makes no difference.

Kronos2 73, Presonus StudioLive, Cakewalk / Sonar Platinum, Windows 10
How about this...
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-error-message.htm
Scroll down to "Best-practice software development"
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-error-message.htm
Scroll down to "Best-practice software development"
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog
Bob Moog