Kronos 2 hanging on bootup [solved]

[Ajbbklyn]

Recently picked up a used Kronos 2 61 on Reverb. Encountering problems with the board booting up. Sometimes it will hang while loading the OS - the red progress line will stop short of the "M" in Music. Other times, the hang occurs while the Preload.KSC is loading - sometimes the red line progresses past the "N" in Workstation.

When the hang occurs, I notice that the disk light no longer flickers, but rather turns solid white, indicating that disk activity has been interrupted somehow.

I have not opened the unit. I have taken care to disconnect all USB, audio, MIDI din cables - even disconnected the damper pedal. The board is running OS v 3.1.4. The unit is getting even, filtered, voltage-regulated AC power.

I've only had the board a few weeks. Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated.

[timg11]

Did it boot OK when first received, and this just started? If it never booted, and was sold as working, you should try to return it. I received a used board from Reverb listed as "good condition" with physical damage. They would do nothing, not even refund shipping which was a significant part of the cost. Only option offered return it, and I pay shipping back. Because it was rare, I decided to repair it myself, but will never buy from Reverb again.

The most common issue is the Kronos failing to boot and displaying "System Startup Failed". What this generally means is that the Linux processor has hung up or failed, and the OMAP processor that runs the display eventually times out and displays the message when it doesn't receive anything from the Linux board.

So you are seeing the display just freeze, with the red line still showing, and never change to the error message?

I have intermittent startup failures, but I have never seen that happen. Combined with the solid white Disk LED, it could point to an SSD failure. Maybe it is doing extensive retries on failed sectors, so the Linux processor keeps the OMAP and display from timing out because it is getting some responses? Maybe if you left it for hours, it would eventually display "System Startup Failed"

If you have DIY skills and want to get into it, the first thing would be to replace the SSD disk. If it's a used K2 and you haven't customized anything, you might want to start clean and re-install the factory OS from the CDs. There are threads here about which drives can be used. (You won't find the exact SSD it was built with, and you probably want to buy a bigger one anyway)

[Ajbbklyn]

Thanks for the quick reply.

The board booted just fine when I received it - this, after having been shipped cross-country from Cali to PA. There was one intermittent bootup hang after a couple of days. I've taken it out of the house to our community clubhouse on two occasions. My thought, if I am to go the DIY route, would be first to open the unit up and check that the RAM is properly seated and that the cables from the motherboard to the drive are fully connected.

I've only gotten a "System Startup Failed" error message once. On that occasion, the board booted just fine on second attempt.

Yes, the screen hangs with the red progress line display's progress halted. It happens at various points, usually during loading of the Preload.KSC.

Am certainly open to swapping out the hard drive with an upgrade. But, since this is a used board, I do not have the install CDs, nor do I have a USB disk drive. Can a thumb drive be used in lieu of the CDs? Is there a place on the KORG site to download all the necessary files for install?

Again, thanks for your reply and I welcome your thoughts.

PS - Successfully booted this a.m. on the first try. Went out for about an hour. Came back and the unit, once again, successfully booted on the first try. Go figure.

[Ajbbklyn]

So, I opened up the board and checked all the cables and connections. Even though the data and power cables to the HD *seemed* to be fine, I manipulated them to ensure that they'd be properly connected.

Even though the RAM stick *seemed* to be properly seated, I pulled it out and directed compressed air into the slot. I also used the compressed air on the stick itself. Then I re-seated the stick.

Happy to report that the unit now boots up normally. And even though I haven't timed it, boot time is noticeably quicker - even with the USB>Host, Audio In and MIDI DIN cables plugged in.

If any changes I'll report them here. Thanks.

[average_male]

Appreciate the update and glad it got sorted out (for now?). Always an unsettling feeling when nothing seems to have been obviously wrong and then it started working after reseating some cables and such.

[Xenophile]

So, I opened up the board and checked all the cables and connections. Even though the data and power cables to the HD *seemed* to be fine, I manipulated them to ensure that they'd be properly connected.

Sometimes a swift kick will do the job. But you need a qualified technician to do the kicking. Don't try it at home.

[Ajbbklyn]

Update, 9 days (and one gig) later:
Happy to report that everything’s still rock solid.

[average_male]

Update, 9 days (and one gig) later:
Happy to report that everything’s still rock solid.

Nice, and saved yourself some $ by fixing it yourself. Thanks for the update.

[Derek Cook]

So, I opened up the board and checked all the cables and connections. Even though the data and power cables to the HD *seemed* to be fine, I manipulated them to ensure that they'd be properly connected.

Even though the RAM stick *seemed* to be properly seated, I pulled it out and directed compressed air into the slot. I also used the compressed air on the stick itself. Then I re-seated the stick.

Happy to report that the unit now boots up normally. And even though I haven't timed it, boot time is noticeably quicker - even with the USB>Host, Audio In and MIDI DIN cables plugged in.

If any changes I'll report them here. Thanks.

Thanks for reporting back.

Touch wood, 99% of all the synth problems I have ever had are down to bad connectors, were a little bit of unplugging/re plugging, Servosol (contact cleaner) or compressed air do the trick

Connectors are the weak link in any wiring chain, and they can oxidise/tarnish and even work loose over time due to a phenomena called “thermal creep”.

Also true of socketed integrated circuits (especially in the really cheap sockets). I have in my time as an electronics engineer seen at least a few chips that have completely worked their way out of sockets and only gravity is now helping to make (very intermittent) contact.

A friend of mine many years ago gave me an Amiga 1000 that was not working. He didn't want it any more, so it was mine so long as I got it working. It had a 3rd party 68020 accelerator board fitted, or more to the point, not fitted when I opened it up! It had worked loose as there was no securing mechanism. So all I did was plug it back in and it all came back to life. I was honest and told my mate! But he still said "have it".

We are blessed with extremely good component reliability these days due to surface mount, low voltage and low current, so perhaps it is no surprise that connector issues are dominant as failures?

Just my two penneth/cents worth.

[Jogger]

Sort of related. Good luck so far not having any internal connection problems with my K2 88. But, used it for a gig over the weekend with my amp that was distorting on some frequencies. It's a Traynor K4 and has done it a couple times in the past. I had to look at the speaker connections. A little play was evident on a couple, so this time I put some silicone caulk on them and the amp played like a dream. The Kronos sounded great.