USB communication error + Performance failed etc... solved

[pseudojazzer]

OK, sorry guys, first up havn't been round here for a while, but i wanted to get my Noah EX up and running again with osx.

To cut a very long story short i managed to get a sound out of it via adat in but it was very crackly indeed (sounded like a mismatched sample rate but it wasn't that... )

Contented that the old beast still worked i was then frustrated to find that in the mac software some of the synths were not found ( prodessy etc..)

So plugged it back into my old pc to find that it was working ok and all the synths were there...

Went back to the mac and realised there was no oxe folder so i couldn't install the extra plugs there, so copied them over from the pc and it seemd they were recognised at least the GUIs came up - awesome! but then there were no voices for any of the synths.. no sound at all and midi in not recognised... wanted to update the registry file but there seemed to be nowhere to add the allkeys? ANyway during this i clicked on the registry to find that nothing was there.. no board code, no keys ..nothing - strange.. so i go back to the PC and its all there registered...

Back to the mac and i really wanna get this working with logic as that is my main DAW now.. mess around with the syncroniser once more only to have all hell break loose and suddenly i get the dreaded - loading performance ... failed....

so i read up on here and realise i have to plug the pc back in and run the flashtool.

BUT - i get two errors - first the harware device manager comes up and tells me the noah is not installed and when i run the flashtool it says "cannot find USB" I presume this is because it crashed while it was in mac/linux mode and not windows mode....

so now i have a box that simply says loading performance ... failed. when i load it up...

Please tell me there is something i can do.. Very frustrated!

All the best

Tom

[pseudojazzer]

Sorry just thought i'd add -

Weirdly in the software on the mac all the registry keys are there now!!

but still cannot start up the noah!?

And flashbox just says "can't open USB" when i try and use it... on the PC

[objective]

Have you tried the "mini OS" mode -> startup while pressing utility button. Does usb works that way?

[pseudojazzer]

Hi Objective.

Thanks for the reply!

Yes i have tried that, and unfortunately no joy. I believe you need to start it in that mode for flashbox to work? but i shall try and do it the other way around aswell, and see if flashbox works whilst it says loading failed...

But, i do have one interesting find since i last posted..

On windows, Flashbox is still saying "can't open USB".. However, the hardware device manager comes up when i plug the noah (in mini os mode) saying found new device, which implies to me that Windows can find the Usb, but maybe the software cannot?

Does anyone have a copy of Flashbox that they could P.M/email me? i might have a corrupt version - or the version on the ftp might be dodgy?

I seem to remember a few years ago using it (flashbox) and it was fine....

Still stuggling..

Tom

[objective]

I believe you need to start it in that mode for flashbox to work?

Yes

On windows, Flashbox is still saying "can't open USB".. However, the hardware device manager comes up when i plug the noah (in mini os mode) saying found new device, which implies to me that Windows can find the Usb, but maybe the software cannot?

I had "cannot open usb" error on windows, when something was already using Noah (Remote software) for example.

Does anyone have a copy of Flashbox that they could P.M/email me? i might have a corrupt version - or the version on the ftp might be dodgy?

I was using flashbox from SC FTP to restore my device and it was working fine. I've got "cannot open usb" several times, but in this case flashbox was not able to flash rom.

You can try to reinstall drivers for Noah -> just delete drivers in Device Manger and restart Noah. I had problems with ASIO and that did trick for me.
Moreover, you USB must be supporting 1.1 mode. My ExpressCard controller is supporting only 2.0 mode and Remote software is working, but audio streaming (recording or playback) not.

[pseudojazzer]

Objective - thanks!

Here is my progress...

I noticed that the Noah only came up in the device manager when it wasn't in mini os mode, so tried to use flashbox while it said "loading performance ... failed" - and it worked, eventually ( a few restarts and a long time waiting for "updating flash" to disappear, which it never did!)

Anyway - after that i did an update in the NRS and all seemed well, so onto the mac (leopard BTW)..

NRS works and i can get usb and midi note on messages on the box.

But i get no outputs for the synths in the mixer or via adat/analog

So i plugged in a guitar to test inputs and outputs - and get a signal! and can use inserts! good.. but still no minimax or b-2003 etc..

So my problem has morphed slightly...

1) there is no sound being registered as an output by the devices in the NRS mixer

2) some devices have no voices - edsi and b-2003 ( which would explain no output) but some do - minimax etc...

3) when selecting the b-2003 via NRS it crashes. When selecting it on the unit i get a very weird screen that looks like a memory allocation display or something of the sort.. but all buttons are useless and i have to turn the unit off again to select anything.

So - progress, i can get noise from the inputs (albeit a little noisy) but no sound from any of the synths.. either with or without voices/polyphony

More suggestions would be gladly received!

One thing i will try and do is get a compact flashcard and see if i can back up where i'm at at the moment, and see if i can maybe run off that, it might be that the internal flash is somehow corrupted...

Many Thanks,

Tom

[pseudojazzer]

SOLVED!

Firstly - thanks Objective...

You kept my chin up to try more things!

Here's what went wrong..

I flashed the memory using flashbox while not in mini os mode...

Here's how i fixed it...

after getting frustrated to see lights blinking on the front and getting no sound i went back to my pc and plugged it in in normal mode.. and reinstalled the drivers..

Then i opened it in mini os mode.. and with the hardware manager open i saw that the device was not installled...

So i installed it again, just the Noah Synthesier driver (so that windows would recognise the device in mini os mode)

Then flashed it..

Updated it

Added Oxe files

Updated it again

All good and groovy...


Now i can select all the devices from the box, and was wary of using the software.. but thats fine on the pc

So head off to mac and fingers crossed it will be ok there as well.. and sure enough i still have sound and all the devices change in the NRS from the noah and to the noah!!!

Wahey!

Even the vectron works!

Case closed!

I hope my rantings and findings may be useful to anyone else who experiences this kinda meltdown... (both with the unit and i nearly lost my marbles trying to sort it!)

Interestingly the B-2003 still appears to have no voices in the NRS on both PC and mac but it makes noise and thats all i care about!

BTW ... At the moment i am only testing this using the analog outputs and it wouldn't surprise me if i still have sync issues but at least i don't have a pretty box that won't work.. i've got the old beast working and i'm gonna be back in synth heaven this weekend.. Damn i forgot how good this thing was!

[objective]

Wow!

Glad to hear that your Noah is up and running!
Another happy Noah user - welcome back!

I flashed the memory using flashbox while not in mini os mode...

Try not to flash in normal mode - it can cause unpredictable results Just always use mini OS mode.