Can't Load PCM Data From Hard Drive

[cfurlin]

I'm having a problem with my USB hard drive as my primary device.

The unit recognizes the hard drive but will not autoload the KEP files. The HD is attached to the top USB connector and the KEPs are in the root directory.

If I put them on a USB stick and attach it to the M3 they autoload fine, but not if the hard drive is attached to the same connector.

I really would like to avoid using a stick considering their short lifespan.

[Rob Sherratt]

Was your hard drive formatted on the M3 as FAT-32? If so it should be OK.

If your hard drive was formatted with a system boot partition, or using NTFS, then it won't work properly with the M3.

Regards,
Rob

[r12]

I had some problems with pre-formated fat32 HD, so I formated it with the M3 (fat32 too), and it work fine now

[mocando]

Every USB storage device is prone to failure if not removed safely. This is due to open files retained in memory and not being correctly committed to the device.
So it looks like some kind of corruption on the files.
I don't own an M3, so I don't really know how you disconnect your drive, but I assume there should be a disconnect or safe remove feature. Check it out.

[cfurlin]

Thanks for all the help, however nothing worked.

I think the issue is with the hard drive. I noticed that when I use a stick, the device "gets power" (light comes on) about half-way through the boot process, which means its recognized by the system when its time to load the KEPs.

When the hard drive is used, however, it doesn't get power until the boot process is at the end, which I think is too late to be recognized and kick off the loading of the KEPs. I think it might be because the hard drive is powered by the USB port. I'm going to try another hard drive that is self-powered.

[mocando]

I think you are on the right track. One question, is it a Laptop hard drive or a regular PC drive with an external housing? Sometimes the USB power is not enough to juice up a regular PC drive but works on Laptop disks.

[cfurlin]

I think you are on the right track. One question, is it a Laptop hard drive or a regular PC drive with an external housing? Sometimes the USB power is not enough to juice up a regular PC drive but works on Laptop disks.

It's a laptop HD, one of those Toshiba ultra portable hard drives.

I'm going to get a self-powered housing on Monday and put in one of my PC hard drives I have lying around and see if that does the trick.

[Mariox81]

Mr. Rob do you know maybe what could be the problem? After i turn my korg pa800 it only apprars on the screen loading pcm data and nothing else happens. It stays like that forever, it never gets to the main page. I tried to turn it of and on many times but it never downloads properly?

[Rob Sherratt]

Mr. Rob do you know maybe what could be the problem? After i turn my korg pa800 it only appears on the screen loading pcm data and nothing else happens. It stays like that forever, it never gets to the main page. I tried to turn it of and on many times but it never downloads properly?

In future, please send me a Private Message if you want my help because I don't normally participate in the forum "in public" any more. I do still respond to email messages and to PM's.

Anyway, what you are describing can happen if the USB stick or internal SSD memory containing the PCM data has failed.

Test which one has failed by removing the USB stick and seeing if your M3 starts normally. If it starts normally then we can fix the problem easily, ...

Case 1: External USB device failure

... just buy yourself a new 2G USB stick (about $10, get the cheapest one available), then prepare the PCM data content on it using your PC, in accordance with these guides I wrote on the Karma Labs site Wiki pages.

http://karma-lab.wikidot.com/korg-m3:lo ... mple-files
http://karma-lab.wikidot.com/korg-m3:lo ... s-programs

If you have the Radias card fitted then you will need to configure the Radias files onto the USB stick as well. There are separate Wiki pages telling you how to do that. Check all Wiki page references on the page links I sent you above.

Case 2: Internal SSD card failure

If removing the USB stick does not allow the M3 to start up normally, then the internal SSD drive has failed. This is slightly more of a problem but I can help you fix it. It will involve you buying a new 2G SSD card (again about $10). Then I will upload the content of my own M3's SSD card to my web server and send you a private link so you can download it and program your new SSD card with the data. You will have to liaise with me by private email messages because I will not publish a download link in public, because the ownership and responsibility is with Korg, not me.

I wrote the following article describing how to upgrade and reprogram the internal SSD, but it does rely in step 7 on the current SSD card still working so you can copy the operating system files. If your current SSD has failed then you will need to get the operating system files another way.

http://karma-lab.wikidot.com/korg-m3:ex ... to-2-gbyte

If you do need me to help you fix an internal SSD card fault, then I will ask you to make an offer to compensate me for the time I will have to spend dismantling my M3, removing the internal SSD card, and uploading the files to my web server. It would take me about 4 hours. If you have a friend with an M3 living near you it would be cheaper for you to persuade them to dismantle their M3 and let you copy the SSD from them.

A polite request for Korg to respond

I said earlier that the ownership and responsibility for the operating system files etc. is with Korg. I believe it to be Korg's responsibility to publish a download link to assist M3 owners whose internal SSD's may have failed. I hope Korg will respond on this thread by publishing an "official" download link. I am all out of lobbying. so if members of the forum want Korg to respond, then you will have to do any lobbying that may be required.

Best regards,
Rob

[Bald Eagle]

I had the same problem. The M3 USB port wasn't supplying enough power for some hard disks. I added a powered usb hub and everything worked ok.

Many drives will also go into a sleep mode after some time of non use and will not be recognized by the M3. You can wake it up using the Scan USB Device menu command in Media Mode.