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HELP! Blank screen during power up

 
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EdK
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Joined: 23 Aug 2005
Posts: 111

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:33 pm    Post subject: HELP! Blank screen during power up Reply with quote

Hello all,

Hoping someone could help me before I take my Korg Triton Studio 88-key in for service.

During power-up, I am getting a blank screen instead of being greeted with the standard Korg startup screen.

The screen lights up but the keyboard does not seem to complete the boot process.

This occurred intermittently for several months but I didn't think much of it because I was always able to switch the power off then back on again and the boot process would complete.

However for the past couple days, the boot process is not completing at all even after several power-off/on attempts.

Is this something simple that I might be able to correct or will I have to take it in for service?

I have searched the internet to see if anyone else has reported this problem but the only reference I could find that was closest to my situation was for a Korg Triton Extreme. There was also a reference that possibly the main board is bad and the poster contacted Korg who responded that the main board is no longer available and any repairs must be done at the component level by a service tech. I don't know what that means "repair at the component level". There was no further information as to whether that poster had his problem resolved or not.

An image of the screen I'm greeted with can be found below.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated.

Thanks! EdK

[/img]www.groovelinemusic.com/images/CAM00030.jpg[img]
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billbaker
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Joined: 31 May 2006
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Location: Vienna, Virginia, USA

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

img file was not working.

Do you get any sound at all in spite of the blank screen? Have a look at the screen contrast button on the rear panel. That will give you a lit but blank screen at the extreme setting.

Do you have either additional memory or EXB boards installed? Sometimes a fault to one of those components, such as unseated sample RAM, will interrupt and kill the boot-up routine. Try removing any un-needed options and see if that fixes the issue.

Had you been getting any message (i.e., replace battery) when the intermittent fails occurred?

-- - -

Replacement at the component level means looking at the individual chips on the board rather than the board as a whole. Sometimes that is an easy fix like an unseated chip, a faulty power supply, disconnected or pinched wires; all things that you could check prior to a tech looking at it.

However, the simplest fix is to swap out a bad board (all components) for a good one -- something impossible to do at this point because of the age of the instrument; first released in 2002 and now some 7 to 9 years out of production.

However, your tech might be able to tell you if some of the boards for the Triton Rack and Triton Studio are identical. They might be, given their very similar architectures and the engineering maxim not to design anything twice if it works the first time -- a check of part/component numbers would confirm that, in which case a Triton Rack could supply you with used components without the expense of buying another Studio to cannibalize. Going price for Triton Racks is in the $400 range give or take $50 -- remember you're buying guts not cosmetics so a beat up but functional unit would do the trick.

- - - - - - - -

Depending on your market area and the time required to diagnose the problem then perform the actual repair you might want to consider a new keyboard rather than throwing good money at a tough problem.

You might consider it worth $150 to find out if it is even possible to fix, but looking at a combined cost for getting parts (donor unit) and labor you are probably looking at $500-600 or more; money which could be better spent on a new Krome for example, which has an architecture you should find very familiar for only a couple of hundred more than repairing an old and known-to-be faulty unit. Sell yours as a donor unit for a couple of hundred and cost becomes even more reasonable.

Something to consider.


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billbaker

Triton Extreme 88, Triton Classic Pro, Trinity V3 Pro
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EdK
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Joined: 23 Aug 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't quite sure how to insert the image into the posting but if you copy/paste the HTTP address into a browser, you'll the the picture. I've got it in a folder on my bands website. You'll see the screen lights up (all white) as it usually does when I power it up and normally within a second or two, the TRITON logo would appear showing the software version, memory installed, CDRW instllalled, etc then a couple seconds later Combi patch A000 woul be loaded (the default patch). What's happening now is the initial white screen turns on but TRITON logo does not appear nor anything else after that and of course there's no sound either.

I have one extra memory stick installed (been in there for at least 4-5 years) so I'll remove it and see what happens. I only use the memory stick for occasional sampling an can easily replace it if necessary.

No EXB boards installed.

Contrast is definitely not the issue. As I mentioned, the problem was occuring intermittently for a few months and simply turning off the unit and turning it back on again made it work.

No messages received and battery is only about a year old but I'll check it with a multimeter just in case. But again, I doubt that might be it because the battery (as I understand) is only used for the clock/calendar. Even when the original battery went bad, the keyboard still fired up without a problem and I would simply get the message that the battery was no good.

I have the service manual for the Triton. In it is a procedure to run a self-test by holding ENTER + 5 + Power On. I've tried it and the self-test doesn't occur either. I know the self-test procedure is correct as I use it from time-to-time just for kicks. It's always run successfully and showed no errors even when this particular problem was occuring intermittently.

If your suggestions don't make any difference, I'll take it to a tech and see what he has to say. A new Kronos isn't in my budget at this time even if I were to sell the Triton for parts, etc. An 88key Kronos is over $3000. If I can get the Triton fixed for under $1000, it's worth it to me at this time. I've created numerous custom patches over the years which would take me a long time to try to duplicate them on a Kronos as I'm sure I can't simply take a backup of the PCG files from the Triton and load them into a Kronos. Not to mention having to update all of my MIDI/SYSEX commands that I've created to quickly change patches on the Triton and a real old Korg M1 that I use regularly.

FYI- I use unRealbook app on my iPad where I keep my charts and at the same time when I pull up a chart, it sents the MIDI/SYSEX commands to the keyboard to set the patches for that particular song.

Thanks...I'll let you know my progress.

Ed
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billbaker
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was actually suggesting. Krome which has kronos' pianos and ambient drums, a drum track and a very triton-like dual arp architecture... so much so that many of your sounds and combinations should be pretty easy to recreate. That is about 1200 or less for the 73 key version. Only $200 more than your estimated repair value ("worth $1000").

A triton rack, if you add a piano EXB, would be identical to the studio; no patches lost and no incompatibility issues; with or without the EXBs just about all of your legacy voices and combis for studio should work in the rack though there may be some adjustments to make regarding which piano sample is used in some programs.

That would be closer to 1600 not 3000+, and FWIW I picked up a floor model "old" Kronos-x 88 for 2500 (including extended warrantee) from GC so shop that budget a bit.


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EdK
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Bill...

Krome...I stand corrected. Must have misread what you wrote.
They've got so many different models these days. Krome, Karma, Kronos, etc.

I removed the extra memory...no change. Then for some reason, I decided to remove the CDRW drive and voila....the Triton booted up like normal.
I sprayed some electronic cleaner on the contacts (both on the drive and inside the Triton), put the CDRW drive back in and it started up normally again. I tried it about 4-5 times so far to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

I'll give it a few days and see if the problem resurfaces. Hopefully not.
If it does, I'll remove the CDRW drive again and see what happens. Hopefully, it will startup normally without the drive and leave it out for a while and see if the problem resurfaces again. If it doesn't, then it seems like the problem was found. Much easier (and cheaper) to put in a new CDRW drive than having to go the more drastic route of replacing the keyboard entirely.

Thanks for your troubleshooting tips. I'll update this posting with results.

Thanks again...Ed
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EdK
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Bill,

Just wanted to give you a brief update.

I've turned on/off my Triton several times over the past couple days and each time it booted up properly. It appears the CD drive was the problem.
Not sure if cleaning the contacts solved the problem or just simply removing and re-inserting the drive a coupole times did the trick. Perhaps a little bit of both.

I also ran the self-test (Enter - 5 - Power on) a couple times and it ran successully.

If it fails to boot up again, I'll update this post otherwise I'm considering the problem solved.

Thanks for your tips regarding a possible failing hardware component that could keep it from booting up.

Ed
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EdK
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just another update. It's been a month now and no more trouble booting up.
Ed
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EdK
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 2015 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another update on the blank screen issue.

From time-to-time also, the blank screen started occuring again when powering up. Again, I thought my CD drive was going bad again (or wasn't seated properly) as it did the first time I ran into this problem. So I removed the CD drive entirely and again, the blank screen during power-up would occur from time to time which has led me to believe that it's not the CD drive causing the problem.

I believe what I discovered are some bad spots on the hard drive.

Over the years I've been saving sequences, backups, samples, etc that I've created.

Recently, I created some sequences and when I tried to go into Disk mode to save them, the keyboard just froze (and it never entered Disk mode). My only option was to power down and up again.

At first I thought I was changing from Seq mode to Disk mode to quickly (in other words I didn't allow enough time from what I was doing last in Seq mode to complete before going into Disk mode to save) but even when I waited several minutes, the same problem occurred.

Then I discovered when I went into Disk mode to load things into memory, again the keyboard just froze. So this got me to thinking that there might be something wrong with the hard drive.

I then went into the Utility tab in Disk mode and deleted several folders and files I no longer needed.

After doing this, I have been successful in saving things onto the hard drive as well as successly loading things into memory from the hard drive an the blank screen during power up has not occurred again.

So, I suspect the hard drive may be going bad. I have purchased a new hard drive but have not yet swapped it out as I need to purchase adapter cables for my PC in order to hook up two IDE drives so I can clone the drive.

Just thought I'd share this with you all in case anyone else has been running into this problem.

EdK
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EdK
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2017 2:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

HI everyone,

Well, its time to replace the hard drive in my Studio. I'd like to attempt to do this myself but and hoping someone can help me with removing the bottom cover.

I searched this forum to see if anyone else needed to know how to remove the bottom cover and the only reference I found was to a tutorial on a site called BustedGear. Unfortunately, the instructions on the site apply to a Triton Pro or possibly just a Triton where the bottom is made of metal whereas on my studio it is made of wood. I removed numerous screws from the bottom but while attempting to slide it out/off it appears to loosen up more than just the bottom. The wood bottom slips under a metal corner which wraps around the edge and under the keyboard. The sides also appeared to become quite loose. When I saw what was happening, I was reluctant to proceed further and decided to search this forum as well as googling the internet. No luck. All the video's, tutorials are for either the Triton Pro, Classic or Extreme and all of them have a metal bottom.

Is there anyone here that might be able to help me out?

THanks! Ed
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kts88r



Joined: 12 Jan 2018
Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 3:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Ed,

Any development regarding the TS & booting up?

I've just put in a CD-RW into mine (for the first time ever) and got the blank screen upon booting up. So instantly I turned the keyboard off, removed the CD-RW and rebooted - everything seems fine without it.

I'm not sure if it's an OS related problem but my TS is still using the 2.01 version instead of the latest 2.02e which apparently has bugfixes specifically for the CD-RW.

Hope your TS is still alive!
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Jc'Keys



Joined: 10 Aug 2018
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:17 pm    Post subject: HD gone Bad Reply with quote

so, My TS too was hanging, & the culprit was the HD, my enng removed it, n then booted. it started.

So got a IDE to SD card adaptor, instead of going for an IDE HD, but as of now its not recognising. I am trying to troubleshoot it.
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EdK
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi everyone,

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. For some reason I'm not being notified when new posts are made to this thread.

To kts88r.... I know it's been almost a year since you posted. To answer your question, I haven't had time to dive into the Triton. My bootup problem comes and goes. I can go weeks without an issue, then the problem shows up again so I've must been powering off/on several times until it does boot up. I'm going to try to get to it in the next few weeks. Just need time to figure out how to remove the bottom cover. The bottom of mine is made of wood...not metal like the other Triton models. Apparently this is unique to the Studio because all the others (Classic, Pro, Extreme, LE, etc) all have metal plates. I've got the 88 key model. Don't know if the 76 or 61 key versions have a wood bottom. I emailed Korg and they were of no help because it's considered a vintage keyboard. Whenever I do get around to working on it, I'll post again.

I've also got a 2nd project...and that's to repair the buttons on my Korg M1. Believe it or not it still works but a couple of round buttons for selelcting combi/prog mode and the number pad have broken. They push on a tactile switch and those wear out over time making it more difficult to establish contact internally. I've got new tactile switches but finding the plastic buttons is really hard. All standard parts suppliers have none. Can only find used ones on eBay and the sellers want a lot of $$ for them. However, I just found someone who supposedly created new buttons using CAD software and a 3D printer. I've got the CAD software for the buttons but now need to find someone with a 3D printer and print one set to see if it's going to work.


To JC'Keys....thanks for your update. At least I know that the HD was the issue.
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310electro



Joined: 22 Mar 2017
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:40 pm    Post subject: Same problem with Korg Triton Extreme keyboard in 2022 Reply with quote

Hi, I saw this old post and wondered if it was ever solved? I'm having the same exact problem now in August - Sept 2022 with my Korg Triton Extreme where I turn it on and the screen lights up "all white (blank)" but the Korg logo never appears.

This does seem like a hard drive is failing issue. So as far as attempting to replace the internal hard drive, does anyone know if the Korg Triton Extreme can function with a solid state hard drive? And does anyone know if there is a limit to the number of Gigabytes it's internal hard drive can be, and still be compatible as the installed hard drive inside the Korg Triton Extreme?

I also own the Korg Kronos 2 - which is of course way better! But I want to keep my Triton Extreme running as well. This will probably be DIY since I have the money for a new hard drive and the time to do the replacement.
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EdK
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 24, 2022 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HI 310electro,

I recently had my touchscreen replaced in my Triton Studio. Since having it replaced, haven't had the blank screen issue. My hard drive wasn't/isn't the problem as I thought it was. My hard drive still functioning fine. Also had the entire board checked out.

There's another thread in this forum about replacing the HDD with an SSD. Perhaps if you posted a query there you may get a response from those that posted/replied. It discusses the need for a SATA to IDE converter.

Although FAT32 drive can be up to 2 TB, the max file size for FAT32 is 4GB which you wouldn't even come close to with anything you need to do on the Triton.
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