robberns Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Weird issue with my Helix Effects. Running current firmware, everything behaving as it should. Then I select a preset I wrote quite a while ago, haven't used it in a while. Preset selects, and the unit hangs. Can't do anything. Power off, power back on, and the unit hangs right after the firmware booting screen. Stuck in that boot screen. Had to do a full reset, reload the factory patches. Unit behaves as normal. Load in the last backup I did of my presets, select that preset again to see what happens and... unit bricks again. Finally wrote over that preset with one I know is good, and things back to normal. I can't imagine what I would have done if I was on a gig. Anyone else experience this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Yes. Exactly as you say. Had to restore everything from scratch, and then loaded in presets one by one until I figured out which one was the corrupt one. Luckily, I haven't had the same issue since, and I gig regularly. I can't remember which firmware/software I was using, but perhaps there was an issue with earlier stuff that was written into the preset(s). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 10 hours ago, robberns said: Weird issue with my Helix Effects. Running current firmware, everything behaving as it should. Then I select a preset I wrote quite a while ago, haven't used it in a while. Preset selects, and the unit hangs. Can't do anything. Power off, power back on, and the unit hangs right after the firmware booting screen. Stuck in that boot screen. Had to do a full reset, reload the factory patches. Unit behaves as normal. Load in the last backup I did of my presets, select that preset again to see what happens and... unit bricks again. Finally wrote over that preset with one I know is good, and things back to normal. I can't imagine what I would have done if I was on a gig. Anyone else experience this before? It happens. Not frequently, but it happens. It's a computer... and like every other computer on earth, sooner or later it'll do weird $hit. I realize that's not terribly comforting, but that's the risk you take with complex gear like this. Then again, I've had tube amps fry 5 minutes before showtime too... nothing's perfect. Play live long enough, and eventually it's your turn for a trainwreck "Spinal Tap" moment. Don't lose any sleep over it... eventually some sort of gear failure will befall you at the worst possible time, whether you like it or not...ask any working pro. Have a backup. Always. And if you're on the road for any length of time, a backup for the backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lungho Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Everything Crusin said with the addition.....test your backup(s). A backup is worthless if it doesn't work when you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robberns Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 Did some experimenting, and I can get the unit to lock up if I put an IR block in the chain, even if there aren't any IR's loaded into the unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 1 hour ago, robberns said: Did some experimenting, and I can get the unit to lock up if I put an IR block in the chain, even if there aren't any IR's loaded into the unit. When in doubt, reload the firmware... it's really the only recourse you've got. If it continues to behave oddly, open a service ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 3 hours ago, robberns said: Did some experimenting, and I can get the unit to lock up if I put an IR block in the chain, even if there aren't any IR's loaded into the unit. Is that with one particular "older" preset that you made? If so, try writing down the settings for the preset, reload the firmware, then build a fresh version of the preset. See if that fixes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robberns Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 So I have confirmed, this behavior happens even after a hard reset of the factory presets. If I try to add an IR block, the unit freezes, and won't reboot. Gets stuck in the boot screen. Have to do another hard reset. Support ticket opened, will ship unit back. One of the scribble strip screens has 2 vertical lines in it anyway, so that needs to be dealt with. Thanks for everyone's comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moehuh Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Had a corruped preset on my HX Stomp. Caused it to freeze when receiving a MIDI clock signal. The problematic preset wasn't even selected once, and it still froze. Only realized it when I couldn't do a full backup. Somehow found out that one preset was bad, replaced it and the Stomp has worked perfectly ever since... On software V2.81 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Easier said than done Im sure, but (if not done already) the software needs to be rewritten so that if it see's a bad code (IR/setting/etc.) instead of accepting it and then locking up, to reject it completely. This may already be in there and maybe it just needs tweaked some. OTOH, it may not be the IR or setting at all and the whole executable/code itself needs more fixing and debugging. If so, someone needs to grab the QA dept, bean counters and time restraints & Contract dates Lawyers by the short-hairs and go HEEEEEYYYY let um fix me before you ship me (I know- fat chance)... Of course then you just have to ignore the masses going "why hasn't it shipped yet". ; ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 3 hours ago, spikey said: Easier said than done Im sure, but (if not done already) the software needs to be rewritten so that if it see's a bad code (IR/setting/etc.) instead of accepting it and then locking up, to reject it completely. The Helix has the ability to rebuild a preset if it's an older version.... therefore it is partially doing this already. I can't imagine that a "verify presets" sequence would be too hard to create. I can understand if there is no way to correct a bad preset... but it should be able to identify one without locking up. Another consideration.... The big helix units have a start up sequence that allows you to clear the existing preset... (6. Helix can now restore by clearing only the current preset instead of wiping out all presets. While holding footswitches 11 + 12) When a preset becomes corrupt and won't allow you to start the unit applying that sequence will clear the bad preset and put you back on track - minus that preset. Even if that were added to the Stomp and Effects it would save the user from complete restores and troubleshooting. The bad preset is just removed! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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