Editor glitch locked up preset, un-assigned controllers

[Verne-Bunsen]

In preparation for sending my Helix off for repairs (failed joystick/rotary knob, bummer...), I plugged into the editor to back everything up. I was exporting presets one-at-a-time, as is my way of doing such things, and didn't encounter any difficulty initially. How ever at one point I switched presets from within the editor and it hung up and ultimately crashed with the "Helix has closed unexpectedly" error. For reference, all presets were built from the ground up in Helix, no downloaded patches or anything. This particular patch wasn't even loaded from a backup, it had just been put together. I re-started the editor and it opened, however it reported that there was no Helix connected. I re-started the computer and the helix and tried again. The first time the editor crashed immediately, the second time it again opened but reported that Helix was not connected. I tried different USB ports and cables to no avail, but this very setup had been working fine just moments before. I attempted this several more times while spitting profanity and the results were always the same: editor crashes immediately, then editor opens and reports no Helix. I re-installed the editor, but there was no change. With the Helix connected but un-recognized, I attempted to change presets on the Helix itself. The Helix froze solid. I disconnected Helix and re-started, then successfully changed patches on the Helix. I loaded the patch in question without any difficulty and re-saved it in another slot for grins. I connected to the computer and loaded the editor and it immediately crashed again. I disconnected and re-started Helix again and loaded a different patch then connected Helix to the computer again and loaded the editor and it opened and established communication with Helix as per normal. I was able to navigate between patches in the editor without any difficulty until selecting the one that initially started the grief and, again, the editor crashed. Here's where it get's interesting. I disconnected and restarted the Helix, loaded the troublesome patch and noticed that the selector was saved on the output block. This struck me as odd as I generally save with it on the amp block, really not sure why it would have been saved there of all places. I moved the selector back to the amp and hooked Helix back up to the computer and the editor loaded up just fine. It appeared that everything was suddenly back in order, but a bit more investigating showed that all controller assignments (with the exception of bypass) had been removed. Just gone like they'd never been set up.

 

Which sucks, because there were a lot of them.

 

So at this point I'm not really sure which is the chicken and which is the egg: did a corrupt preset crash the editor or did an editor glitch corrupt the preset? It seems unlikely to me that the preset was corrupt since it was built from scratch all within the Helix itself, but who knows. I'm not sure what to expect when I get my machine back and re-load this preset, but either way this has been my first run-in with the editor gremlins that I've been reading so much about. I didn't like it. The fact that my Helix was already broken and that I encountered all of this while preparing to send it back didn't help.

 

I guess the moral of the story is that if a preset is crashing your editor, try moving the cursor on Helix and maybe it will then be able to load it at the cost of erasing all of your controller assignments. Does this string of events sound familiar to anybody else?

[HonestOpinion]

In preparation for sending my Helix off for repairs (failed joystick/rotary knob, bummer...), I plugged into the editor to back everything up. I was exporting presets one-at-a-time, as is my way of doing such things, and didn't encounter any difficulty initially. How ever at one point I switched presets from within the editor and it hung up and ultimately crashed with the "Helix has closed unexpectedly" error. For reference, all presets were built from the ground up in Helix, no downloaded patches or anything. This particular patch wasn't even loaded from a backup, it had just been put together. I re-started the editor and it opened, however it reported that there was no Helix connected. I re-started the computer and the helix and tried again. The first time the editor crashed immediately, the second time it again opened but reported that Helix was not connected. I tried different USB ports and cables to no avail, but this very setup had been working fine just moments before. I attempted this several more times while spitting profanity and the results were always the same: editor crashes immediately, then editor opens and reports no Helix. I re-installed the editor, but there was no change. With the Helix connected but un-recognized, I attempted to change presets on the Helix itself. The Helix froze solid. I disconnected Helix and re-started, then successfully changed patches on the Helix. I loaded the patch in question without any difficulty and re-saved it in another slot for grins. I connected to the computer and loaded the editor and it immediately crashed again. I disconnected and re-started Helix again and loaded a different patch then connected Helix to the computer again and loaded the editor and it opened and established communication with Helix as per normal. I was able to navigate between patches in the editor without any difficulty until selecting the one that initially started the grief and, again, the editor crashed. Here's where it get's interesting. I disconnected and restarted the Helix, loaded the troublesome patch and noticed that the selector was saved on the output block. This struck me as odd as I generally save with it on the amp block, really not sure why it would have been saved there of all places. I moved the selector back to the amp and hooked Helix back up to the computer and the editor loaded up just fine. It appeared that everything was suddenly back in order, but a bit more investigating showed that all controller assignments (with the exception of bypass) had been removed. Just gone like they'd never been set up.

 

Which sucks, because there were a lot of them.

 

So at this point I'm not really sure which is the chicken and which is the egg: did a corrupt preset crash the editor or did an editor glitch corrupt the preset? It seems unlikely to me that the preset was corrupt since it was built from scratch all within the Helix itself, but who knows. I'm not sure what to expect when I get my machine back and re-load this preset, but either way this has been my first run-in with the editor gremlins that I've been reading so much about. I didn't like it. The fact that my Helix was already broken and that I encountered all of this while preparing to send it back didn't help.

 

I guess the moral of the story is that if a preset is crashing your editor, try moving the cursor on Helix and maybe it will then be able to load it at the cost of erasing all of your controller assignments. Does this string of events sound familiar to anybody else?

 

Sorry to hear about the failed joystick. I have not experienced this particular Editor issue. Maybe you tried it but I wonder if rebooting the computer and perhaps trying other USB ports might have been a less destructive way of getting things working normally again and completing the backups. I know one thing, I am grateful to you for sharing a potential bug in the Editor (assuming a busted joystick does not potentially impact it, seems unlikely), as well as the results of a method for working around it that I will not be using, chuckle. Thanks!  :D

[Verne-Bunsen]

Sorry to hear about the failed joystick. I have not experienced this particular Editor issue. Maybe you tried it but I wonder if rebooting the computer and perhaps trying other USB ports might have been a less destructive way of getting things working normally again and completing the backups. I know one thing, I am grateful to you for sharing a potential bug in the Editor (assuming a busted joystick does not potentially impact it, seems unlikely), as well as the results of a method for working around it that I will not be using, chuckle. Thanks! :D

Yeah, I'm not sure I'd have agreed to it if I'd known the terms. I did re-start the computer and tried different USB ports, and different cables, and re-started Helix, and re-installed the editor, I was grasping at straws. At the very least I'm glad I was able to get the editor recognizing the Helix again, that had me in a bit of a panic...