Help...Ive Screwed up my Midibox Seq V4

[phillwilson]

I am so sorry to have to ask the forum for help,

 

I have owned my midibox for quite a lot of years, I did not build it myself, I was built one very kindly by Synthman…

Last night, I saved my project before closing ( may be worth noting that the screens have been , on occasion, going blank if moved , I don;t know if this has any baring)

When I then rebooted, instead of being in my own normal layout and midi channel setup… I have the “default” ( a C note on each quater note) pattern … I tried to change everything back to my own setup, but then I went to save I got the error on the left hand screen SD Card Error !!! E131 (FatFs: D 0)

I assumed that there was an issue with my save, so i opened my midi box and took out the SD card and popped it into my laptop, oddly all the main files seemed present  there was one save with 0 kb which I assumed may have been corrupted..I copied all of the above over to my laptop , formatted the card to fat 32, (which seemed to work fine ) placed everything back n the card and placed it back into the Midibox… however nothing was solved…The SD card DID seem to be accessible as I could see my two SESSIONS with their unique names…but I could still not save anything and the defaults where loaded in rather than my own settings etc.

I then decided to try a completely different card, so I copied everything back to the new card , swapped that in , and it was exactly the same result… SESSIONS seem to be visible, but I could not save or load my usual session.

HERE IS WHERE I PROBABLY MADE THINGS WORSE>>>>

What I WANTED to do  was update my firmware within MIOS Studio ( I had done this before so I thougth I knew what i was doing…however, it not looks like I have uploaded the latest BOOTLOADER rather than the firmware update that I THOUGHT i was doing… now my whole MIDIBOX seems ot be stuck on a screen that reads Bootloader is up-to-date! ;-)  and LCD#2.1 READY.

I have TRIED to get out of this hole myself.. I grabbed a copy of the zip file midibox_seq_v4_096 and upzipped it , loaded up mios studio and set the midi in and out to MIOS 32 and browsed to the folder MBHP_CORE_STM32F4 ( which I believe it the correct core…) but when I  click start it always comes back to Warning@ no response form core ..etc..  I have tried rebooting many times but it never seems to work.

 

I would be SO appreciative if anyone can help point me in the right direction… I have tried the beginner guide, but I cant seem to match up what I am seeing with its steps.

 

thanks

 

Phill 

[latigid_on]

Hi Phill, 

What hardware are you using? Please take a picture of the control PCB and the core.

For uploading, you have to restart MIOS Studio each time the MCU is reset. If you have bricked your core, you should try to reflash it. How you do this depends on the hardware you have.

Best,
Andy

[Rio]

Please use another SD card!! Terminal output would be nice too.

[Rio]

On 3/6/2022 at 2:52 AM, phillwilson said:

What I WANTED to do  was update my firmware within MIOS Studio ( I had done this before so I thougth I knew what i was doing…however, it not looks like I have uploaded the latest BOOTLOADER rather than the firmware update that I THOUGHT i was doing… now my whole MIDIBOX seems ot be stuck on a screen that reads Bootloader is up-to-date! ;-)  and LCD#2.1 READY.

This is a standard message when the bootloader/mios32 is on. It is good that it is running. After that, you can safely upload the MBSEQ, but for the right core! - which is not quite clear here yet (probably STM32 core).. but MIOS Studio should already give you the info back with the USB midi connection.

 

more infos here:

http://www.ucapps.de/mios32_bootstrap_newbies.html

and here:

http://www.ucapps.de/index.html?page=mios32_bootstrap_newbies.html

Mios Studio 2:

http://www.ucapps.de/index.html?page=mios32_bootstrap_newbies.html

[Phatline]

you may also need to put the hardware config file on the root of your new sd-card:

 

i guess its a wilba without track-position LED-Matrix?

then this is the hdwg-file:

/midibox_seq_v4_096/hwcfg/wilba/MBSEQ_HW.V4

(is in the zipped firmware)

[phillwilson]

thanks for the help so far…i hope the following helps…

it looks like the module is cslled STM23F4 .. so which files would I need to get back up and running?

it might also be worth noting that the little board has like an SD to Micro SD adapter soldered onto it ..i think the issue I had in the first place was that the 

write protect tab had become a bit closed.

the board has a little blue and a little black switch.. I did see these mentioned in some help pages…dl either of these need to be pressed / held whilst the files are transfered?

a

also..just to qualify… can the files in question be transferred using the regular USB input (  believe this is midi-over-usb?!?) of do I need a seperate interface going into the 

hardware midi in and out ports? i cant fathom that bit out.

 

thank you all so much

[phillwilson]

1 hour ago, Phatline said:

you may also need to put the hardware config file on the root of your new sd-card:

 

i guess its a wilba without track-position LED-Matrix?

then this is the hdwg-file:

/midibox_seq_v4_096/hwcfg/wilba/MBSEQ_HW.V4

(is in the zipped firmware)

im really sorry…im not sure what this means… i assumed this was a link, but where is this  /midibox_seq_v4_096/hwcfg/wilba/MBSEQ_HW.V4 ? on the card?on the site? sorry if im not understanding.

[latigid_on]

MIOS upload shouldn’t depend on the SD card but you can try to remove it when flashing. You could try the following steps and see what works:

0. Restart MIOS Studio
1. Configure USB ports and try to upload
2. Hold and keep the blue button pressed. Now you should be able to bypass any faulty code and jump straight to the bootloader. Try to upload the SEQ app.
3. If you can’t flash properly with the boot hold button pressed, reflash the bootloader using the miniUSB connector on the other side of the Discovery board and ST LINK Utility. If necessary, first update your STLINK firmware.

You can find HWCFG files here (first get the firmware flashed):
https://github.com/midibox/mios32/tree/master/apps/sequencers/midibox_seq_v4/hwcfg

[phillwilson]

Hi folks. 

 

 the links suggested above.. but there is still something i am probably not understanding or a step I am missing…

as I feel confident that I have the bootloader showing up to date…  I proceeded to download the folder " midibox_seq_v4_096 " within that I identified the folder MBHP_CORE_STM32F4 as the one that relates to my core ( im making that call from the info in Mios studio in the previous screen shots…

So, accorind to the guide… and the fact that normally, I am just seeing “MIOS32” in the Midi in and Midi Out drop downs of Mios studio.. I have booted up by resetting the core, then holding down the blue button.. then keeping this held down with my finger, as alluded to in the above newbies guide, whilst i start up MIOS STUDIO, this gives me the drop down “MIOS32 Bootloader” instead of just “MIOS32” …I then ( whilst all the time keeping the blue button held ) … browse to the "project " file in the folder MBHP_CORE_STM32F4 and hit “start”  however, I am recieving the response below… ( no reponse from core) I have repeated this multiple times each time restarting the MIOS stdio, but to no avail.

 

 

[latigid_on]

Seems like the bootloader is also corrupted, so the next step is to connect through ST-LINK and try to reflash that way.

Please see here:
http://ucapps.de/mios32_bootstrap_experts.html

[phillwilson]

it may also be worth adding that my SD card contains all the following files… these are currently not accessible from within the midibox itself, but i cen eject the micro sd card. put it in my reader on the laptop and ge the following files.

[Phatline]

Just now, phillwilson said:

im really sorry…im not sure what this means… i assumed this was a link, but where is this  /midibox_seq_v4_096/hwcfg/wilba/MBSEQ_HW.V4 ? on the card?on the site? sorry if im not understanding.

"

you may also need to put the hardware config file on the root of your new sd-card:

 

i guess its a wilba without track-position LED-Matrix?

then this is the hdwg-file:

/midibox_seq_v4_096/hwcfg/wilba/MBSEQ_HW.V4

(is in the zipped firmware)

"

i already wrote where it is (read! and take it serios), it seems that you dont have a Wilba-Interface, looks like a standard DIY-Interface?

 

 

i would first try to go into bootload mode via.:

http://wiki.midibox.org/doku.php?id=home:mbhp:module:bootloader-switch

build this switch, set the switch  to bootload mode, reboot the core, then open mios studio, upload new SEQV4 code.

 

[phillwilson]

im really sorry, if I am causing stress with my replies, but i really don’t have any prior knowledge in the midibox beyond using it as a musical tool, so it is hard to comprehend the meaning of the words that are new to me… for instance, I do not know what a “wilba” is or isn’t, I am really sorry if I am asking sill things, I am just very lost in the language of all of this.

If I am coming across wrong, I sincerely apologies, I will start again from the top and try to research each term more fully.

 

[Rio]

I don‘t think, that you have  care about a SD card for uploading mios32 app or (in the worst case) flashing bootloader by a linker. 

[Phatline]

@RIO linker? this is not a software swich/link… its a hardwareswitch, and if he had that switch in the firstcase, he might have solved the problem already.

Since he was talking about a new SD-Card, and of corrupted Files, i thought there is maybe no hardware-config file (or 0kb file) on the new card. — later on he posted a picture of the SD-Cards filestructure… and yes i now see there is a 22kb File on it > so yes he dont need the Hardwarefile because there is one - congrats!

wilba: http://wiki.midibox.org/doku.php?id=wilba_mb_seq&s[]=wilba

[Rio]

4 hours ago, Phatline said:

this is not a software swich/link… its a hardwareswitch

I never said it shouldn’t be a hardware link.  Maybe the right term is „debug Interface“, …

…but I don’t have STM32F4 in use for my mbseq.

[Rio]

5 hours ago, phillwilson said:

it may also be worth adding that my SD card contains all the following files… these are currently not accessible from within the midibox itself, but i cen eject the micro sd card. put it in my reader on the laptop and ge the following files.

You should backup these files as long as they can be read on the PC.

[phillwilson]

Hi all, 

Thank you for all your advice and input… this was one of those times where doing the same thing multiple times yielded different results , and I still don’t really know why, but I will explain the steps I took below just for anyone else’s future reference…( Its worth noting that I had a couple of days when the forum was down, so I was kind of scrambling around outside of the steps recommended here )

 

I got to thinking maybe my USB drivers were causing the connection issues between my midibox and the MIOS Studio …so I downloaded and attepmted to install the drivers (however I note that they say they are NOT related to the F4 board that I seem to have… and they didnt seem to like to install on my Windows 10 PC ( install ended in an error) BUT I do wonder if this action may have caused the native drivers to refresh somehow… as the next time that I plugged in I did it in this exact order

1. laptop on

2. hold down blue bootloader button on the board ( I had to physically continue to hold this blue button throughout ALL steps below…maybe get someone else to do this )

3. insert USB form Midibox  to laptop (get the ding dong noise on the laptop)

4. select MIOS32 Bootloader on MIDI in and MIDI out dropdowns within Mios Studio

5. This finally showed up the bootloaders details vrsion, board etc in theLEFT hand box below the input dropdown..

6. clicked on browse   and located the unzipped midibox_seq_v4_096. folder and found the stm32f4  sub folder inside it…and the project.hex file inside THAT

7. clicked start and let it upload  ( this took a bit of time and to be honest I get it a bit longer at the end just cos I was worried about unplugging early 

8. I then released the blue button, unplugged the usb to my midi box and closed mios studio

9. plugged the Midibox back into the USB

10. restarted Mios studio ( squeal with delight that the default hardware config file is now showing and I am finally passed the bootloader screen ) at this point I was back to the Midibox starting up but pressing my onmidi box save button was still coming up with the SD card Error…

11. I then typed ‘help’ into the terminal on MIOS STUDIO to get a list of command, I spotted that you can create a new session with the words new ‘namehere’

12. I then created a brang new Session via the MIOS terminal ..this took quite an unexpected long while…all the time I had two progress bars on the screen of my midi box, it may have taken around five minutes to complete…I just let it run

13. I powered off the midibox once completed and changed to powering it via the wall plug rather than my laptop  and lo

my new session (named “apple”) was now the active session upon startup and it SOULD be read to / saved to etc.

 

 

after that it was just a matter of putting all the midi channels , ports, bookmarks etc back to how I like them and saving as I go … and since then I have taken the unit out and performed last night and it was back to working perfectly ( except the screens turn off when bumped..but I am sure thats a physical issue with a cable somewhere that Ican fix)

 

 

thank you all for all your support and help , I know I am thick as two short planks when it comes to diagnosis and repair , but you where all very helpful.

 

Phill 

[Rio]

Quote

5. This finally showed up the bootloaders details vrsion, board etc in theLEFT hand box below the input dropdown..

fine

Quote

 

13. I powered off the midibox once completed and changed to powering it via the wall plug rather than my laptop  and lo

my new session (named “apple”) was now the active session upon startup and it SOULD be read to / saved to etc.

 

If you end up uploading the Midibox SEQ app via midi, you should be able to manage sessions from the midibox options menu. You do not need to make sessions via the terminal - but it is possible.

If you have the feeling that something in your ‘old’ session is stored incorrectly or is corrupt, then you can also try to load this session and copy certain things (patterns etc.) into your new (cleanly created) session - all this directly on the unit. And maybe in future just make a backup of the SD more often. no corrupt files have happened to me in all that time, but I always make chronological backups on the PC.

Quote

12. I then created a brang new Session via the MIOS terminal ..this took quite an unexpected long while…all the time I had two progress bars on the screen of my midi box, it may have taken around five minutes to complete…I just let it run

That’s tooo long! So my suggestion: please test a new SD Card <= 4GB! I also had problems in the past with SD cards of different types.

Maybe my old thread helps out (but note, I use a LPC17 core - but the conclusion is to use a smaller SD card, which I have already mentioned):

< base_url >/topic/21197-searching-sd-card-hangs-more-often-on-bootup/?do=embed&comment=185074&embedComment=185074&embedDo=findComment#comment-185074

Perhaps as a tip for the future: I can’t say anything about the hardware problems, but you should also check all the connections to the SD card - in case you soldered together your own SD card board (or the previous owner). Otherwise, test another SD card).

 

[latigid_on]

Great that you got it to work!