Urgent help please - Kronos X-61 Won't Boot!

Grog96 · Post by **Grog96** » Mon Oct 09, 2017 11:59 pm

Yikes - I'm in a tight spot!

I've had my Kronos X-61 for nearly 3 years and it's been great, but today I found that it won't boot. Good timing,

I was going to run through a couple of things before taking it to band rehearsal this evening. It worked fine yesterday. We have a gig on Saturday! There was nothing special about today or yesterday - I haven't been updating the OS or anything recently (NB: I usually do update whenever there's a new version, but I haven't done that since v3.1.2 came out).

Specific symptoms:
I switch on and it starts normally with the usual KORG / 9 icons / KRONOS / MUSIC WORKSTATION white-on-black splash screen. Half way through comes the Loading bank data... message as usual, but once the red progress bar has reached the end, and the Finishing up... message appears, it just freezes - doesn't go to Set List mode, or Disk mode (depending on where I was when I switched off). Also, I can still hear the fan - which usually switches off once everything has loaded, as I have the fan turned off in Global settings.

Resolution attempts:
I saw suggestions about ensuring the SSD and RAM are firmly seated. So, 26 screws later (as I'm past warranty by now), I got into the innards and checked - the two RAM sticks (they look like laptop memory, more credit-card shaped) are fitted snugly, and the red SATA cable is clipped firmly in at both ends - i.e, the SSD drive and the "SATA 0" connector on the mobo. The power plug was also firmly in place on the SSD drive.
I also saw mention of the test mode which shows some diagnostics info. FYI, this is activated by pressing [MIXER KNOBS] + [RESET CONTROLS] + [ENTER] + [5], but that doesn't work for me. I think it has to have successfully booted before you can enter test mode (which IMHO sounds ridiculous! How can you diagnose it if you can't enter diagnostics mode?!)

I'm all out of ideas now; does anyone out there have any other suggestions of things to try?
Failing that, I have a (fairly recent) back-up copy of my PCG/sequence/sample files & folders, and I'm hoping I can transfer it OK to another keyboard.
So, anyone know where I can temporarily beg/borrow/hire a Kronos X-61 for the weekend, in or around the Sheffield (UK) area? Pretty please?

{flutters eyelids beatifically}

Thanks very much in advance for any help.
- G.

geoelectro · Post by **geoelectro** » Tue Oct 10, 2017 2:07 am

I think one of two possibilities. First, data corruption on the SSD. Something messed up toward the end of the load that is locking up the Kronos. If so, a reload of the original DVD’s might fix it.

Or, a bad power supply. I didn’t think so at first but it is a common failure assembly and the last thing to happen at the conclusion of the boot is turning on the panel lights etc. It could be that a weak or borderline PS fails when the extra lights etc. are being brought online. If so, a replacement PS would be in order.

Tough call though...

Geo

Grog96 · Post by **Grog96** » Tue Oct 10, 2017 12:31 pm

OK Geo, thanks for the advice. So it sounds like I won't get it fixed by Saturday...

I'm borrowing a SATA-to-USB adapter from work today, for two reasons:

* I'll take out the SSD from the Kronos and connect it to the PC, to see if I can read it and maybe salvage a more up-to-date copy of my work (as mentioned above, my latest backup is 3 months old). I saw a guy on YouTube (might even have been KorgForum's own Sharp) who showed how to upgrade the Kronos SSD, he used a particular freeware disk utility to extract his data from the [linux-formatted] SSD.

* I'll try connecting a spare DVD drive I have from an old PC to the Kronos, booting from the Kronos Accessory Disks, and try the options on there (the less destructive options, short of reformatting!)

If all that fails, I'm gonna take it into a repair centre in Sheffield (UK), but it won't likely be ready for the weekend. I'm still open to any most generous offers of a loan Kronos for the gig on Saturday

Liviou2004 · Post by **Liviou2004** » Tue Oct 10, 2017 2:20 pm

I'm really sorry and I wish you to find a quick repair solution for your Kronos.

I had a question : do you use a backup power supply (as this one https://www.amazon.com/OPTI-UPS-VS575CB ... pply&psc=1 or whatever ) for your Kronos ?
This device provide a stable current even in case of micro power cut, especially important as a preventive measure during the boot process.

psionic311 · Post by **psionic311** » Tue Oct 10, 2017 2:36 pm

Just a last ditch suggestion -- have you tried connecting via USB to your PC to see if PCG tools can talk to the Kronos?

Grog96 · Post by **Grog96** » Tue Oct 10, 2017 4:22 pm

Liviou: Thanks for your kind thoughts. I don't use a UPS, I just plug into the domestic mains power wherever I am - home, band practise (@ guitarist's house), or gig venue. I've never had a problem with "power cuts" before (weren't they a '70s thing?) I didn't notice any lights dim or any of my other gear react in any way - but I suppose it could have been a freak one-off event. Oh well, you live & learn...

Psionic: I wasn't aware PCG Tools could communicate directly with a Kronos over USB, I thought you had to open *.PCG;*.SNG files stored on the PC. I've probably missed the comms feature, how do I do that? Is there something in one of the menus?

uhura · Post by **uhura** » Tue Oct 10, 2017 10:26 pm

Hi, i have this problem rather often. You have to boot from a USB DVD drive and select "Initialize Memory". Takes only a few seconds.
http://i.korg.com/uploads/Support/KRONO ... ore_E2.pdf

Grog96 · Post by **Grog96** » Wed Oct 11, 2017 12:42 am

Uhura,

"Rather often" doesn't sound very healthy to me. Is yours still in warranty? If so, I'd take it back if I were you.

This is the first time I've seen this problem in all the time I've had it (actually, I found the receipt - it's 4.5 years, not "nearly 3" as I guessed in my first post). At first, I thought I'd be OK because I've got the accessory DVDs and a backup of my work. How naive I was: I've slogged away at this with little to show for it. BTW for completeness, I document my experience here in case it helps anyone in the future; more brain-dump follows...

I can't get the Kronos to detect my external DVD drive connected via USB, it ignores it and continues to (try to) boot normally - and then freezes. I also tried holding [Enter] + [Pause] when switching on, then connecting the DVD drive; or connecting it first then holding those buttons & switching on - still no luck.

I took the SSD out of the Kronos and connected it to the PC using a SATA-to-USB adapter. I've downloaded and installed the freeware that I saw on YouTube (DiskInternals LinuxReader mentioned on "Korg Kronos X Brain Salad Surgery: How to recover from a damaged upgrade" at the 4:20-ish mark). It sees the disk, but calls it "(empty)" and shows an error if I try to open it. So that looks like the problem - a dead SSD.

On the theory that the button lights are causing a drain a weak PSU, I'm not sure about that. When I switch the Kronos on, several lights come on - the four around the joystick, and a number of buttons light up. While it starts up, the Disk light flickers - as you'd expect. When it freezes, some of the lit buttons change (e.g, Timbre 1-8 goes off and Audio In lights activate - as it was when I last successfully used it) and the tempo light flashes at a steady constant speed, although turning the tempo knob has no effect. If the lights were a drain, wouldn't it fail straight away when I get the first set of lights? Would changing a few lights on/off at the end of boot make any difference?

OK, it's 1:40am, I'm knackered and I should be up early tomorrow for work, so I've thrown in the towel: It's off to the repair centre tomorrow. I think we'll have to cancel Saturday's gig, unless I can find a Kronos to rent - I have irons in the fire.

Thanks to all those who responded.
-G.