Successful FW 2.10 Updates

[DunedinDragon]

I just completed a successful upgrade to FW 2.10.  No problems at all with the update process or presets.  But I want to outline some specifics of my procedures for folks doing this upgrade so that can maybe choose how to set up the process for their situation and possibly not encounter some of the issues folks are having.  In fact this might be a good place if others want to add in the specifics of their process and setup if they think it might be useful to others.

 

First, I don't use any snapshots, only presets.  I keep all of my presets constantly backed up as individual files, NOT bundles or setlists.  It may take more time to import them this way, but for me it's no problem since I only load the presets I need before each performance.  However this ?may? be a factor in some of the issues folks are running into.  I keep all of my IRs backed up in a separate directory on my PC and have renamed them using 3-digit numbers at the beginning of each IR name which designates the order in which they need to be loaded into the Helix.

 

I followed the procedures outlined in the guides posted here starting with the Helix application.  The Helix downloaded and installed the Line 6 Updater.  However when I went to run the updater, the first time through I got a HTTPS//Invalid Response error on the download page.  I exited and tried again, but I got an HTTPS//Invalid Response when I entered my username and password.  This indicated to me the problem wasn't in the Updater but in the Operating System, which is Windows 8.  I rebooted the laptop and when I re-ran the Line 6 Updater it downloaded and started the install of the FW.

 

After the download of the FW, and the update process completed, I exited the Updater and powered off the Helix unit.  Following the directions I turned on the Helix unit holding down the FS8 and FS9 which then cycled through all of the presets and rebuilt them.  Once that completed I again turned off the Helix Floor unit and rebooted it just to be sure everything was in good shape and reconfigured all of my Global values to the way I normally have them set.

 

I then ran the Helix application and first loaded all of the IRs and followed by a group of presets of varying complexity and verified all of the functionality.  I saw no anomalies in the function of the presets and I tested a variety of editing functions to ensure everything worked fine.

 

I then built a preset from scratch using some amps, IRs, and effects, saved it off to disk, deleted the preset on the Helix and restored the one I'd saved off to disk and found no anomalies.  I then imported  the patches I'll need for the upcoming performances this weekend and verified all of the functionality.

 

That's about it.  Hopefully someone might find the details here useful.

 

[rvroberts]

I'm a big believer in saving individual patches. Then you can bring them back one at a time. This helps solve problems like a corruption in one patch. Also as naming of patches can cause problems, people who don't understand computers, use nemes with !?*\ etc. And so on.

It won't work.

[njglover]

I usually save as bundles, but this time I think they suggested to have them saved as setlists, so I did. While I can see the benefit of having individual patches saved as just-in-case backups, I don't see much other use for doing it that way. Setlists can contain a ton of presets and they are easily reordered, so I use one setlist for each band/function and then a different preset for each song, reordered for whatever the current gig's actual set list is. I have not had problems outside the snapshot expression pedal issue, which was easily fixed.

[silverhead]

.... While I can see the benefit of having individual patches saved as just-in-case backups, I don't see much other use for doing it that way. ....

 

The problem is that if only one preset in a setlist becomes somehow corrupt, you will only notice it when you import the setlist. Your device starts behaving unpredictably and then you face a choice: either abandon the entire setlist and start recreating all presets again from scratch, or figure out which preset is causing the problem. All presets are suspect. If you have them saved individually you can reset to factory presets and then import your custom presets one at a time to find the culprit.

[MonkeyXT]

I'd noted this quite some time back; because the file names of the individual preset files are derived directly from the preset names as shown on the device itself.

For instance, the more recent factory presets have a couple groups of presets which feature the colon ":" character - a nono for any file system.

Exporting those individually errors out and it's not exported whatsoever - the ONLY way to save presets with 'illegal' file system characters is a setlist at a time.

 

As limiting as some might think it is, I believe the preset names might have been better to be restricted to legal file system characters - or at least have a toggle to allow or deny them.

Just a thought...

[Verne-Bunsen]

I backup my presets individually as well. Eliminates a lot of potential headaches. But my list of actively used presets bounces between a dozen or so and maybe 25 tops, so it's not like I've hot hundreds of presets to deal with.

 

After banging my head against the monitor trying to rebuild my IR list after the 2.0 update, I also resorted to keeping copies of the IRs I use in a separate folder, renamed with a 3 digit number for sorting. A pain to put together initially, for sure, but then updates are a breeze.