Helix crashes PC

[oxladed]

Hi all,

 

I've just become the proud new owner of a brand new Helix and I was hoping to update it from the current version (2.30) to the most recent version to make use of the additional effects / amps etc.  I've downloaded both the most up to date version of HX Edit (v. 3.15) and version 2.30 (to match the firmware on the unit) but, no matter what I try, as soon as the driver is installed and the unit is connected via USB, my PC gets a BSOD every single time.

 

I've been doing a bit of reading around and understood that there some problems with Logitech G-Hub and, whilst i can see that an older version of the drivers seemed to fix that, I've uninstalled G-Hub anyway but had no luck.  It even blue screened from Safe Mode with networking.  Interestingly, if the HX Edit / driver software isn't installed, the Helix can be connected without any issue but, of course, it isn't recognised by the PC.

 

My PC is running Windows 11 with all up to date patches etc.  Is anyone aware of any work arounds or ways to get this to work as I'm at a complete loss.  I can, of course, give specs of the machine if that's useful but I'm not sure what would be helpful to share and what isn't relevant.  A few that may be useful though - Windows 11 Pro 64 bit, version 21H2; NVidia GeForce RTX 2070 - driver 30.0.14.9676, Asus STRIX Z390 mother board, Intel Core i9 9900K CPU.

 

If anyone could help or at least point me in a direction, that would be massively appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Dave

[silverhead]

Sounds to me there may be different and incompatible versions of the Line 6 drivers in play. I would proceed as follows:

- register your new Helix to your Line 6 account (not really necessary but helpful for any subsequent support issues)

- uninstall all Line 6 stuff on your PC. You will find an uninstaller package on your PC

- if you want to make backups of your existing setlists download and install HX Edit v2.30. Don’t install v3.15 yet. Make your v2.30 backups.

- download and install HX Edit v3.15 and follow the detailed installation instructions, including the factory reset and backup file restoration

- if necessary manually import the setlists saved from v2.30 

- restart your Helix to force a rebuild of all presets to ensure compatibility with the latest firmware

 

 

[spaceatl]

Make sure your motherboard BIOS & firmware is up to date. Also check for chipset drivers. One thing to also check is that you are not using something like front ports that come off a header...Thats generally a built-in hub. Line 6 drivers historically have not played well with hubs...Homerun to port on the back is usually the best bet...That seems like a fairly new system...Not sure if you checked Asus for that low level stuff directly...Windows update lags behind on that stuff.

[somebodyelse]

It used to be you had to update to v2.80 first, before going for the latest update, if you were on older than v2.80. Is that not the case, anymore?

[datacommando]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:14 AM, somebodyelse said:

It used to be you had to update to v2.80 first, before going for the latest update, if you were on older than v2.80. Is that not the case, anymore?

Hi,

 

Yes, that used to be correct. The Core operating system of the Helix “brain” was seriously modified and improved in version 2.80. The installation would appear to experience a “boot failure” mid way though the update, while the new core was loading. This prompted many posts here along the lines of “update bricked my Helix”. Essentially this was because people had failed to read the Release Notes which pointed out this occurrence.

 

Since then the firmware update installation has been “almost” fully automated, and since v.3.0 the release note have included this statement:

 

My Helix/HX is at version X.XX. Can I go straight to 3.15?

Yes, but note that if you're starting from 2.80 or lower, the update will appear to happen twice. This is normal.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

[oxladed]

Thanks all for the really quick responses.  I've uninstalled and reinstalled Line 6 software (version 3.15 - thanks for confirming that this should work with the older 2.30 version of Helix), updated the BIOS (always a bit of a "fingers crossed" moment :-) ), firmware, all MB drivers I can find and plugged the unit in to a USB socked coming straight off of the motherboard (I was previously using a hub) but I'm still getting exactly the same issue.  My usual thinking for BSODs is that they tend to come from video drivers but they are up to date so I'm at a complete loss here.  I'll keep exploring but any other suggestions would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

[silverhead]

It's time to open a support ticket to work directly with Line 6 tech support.

 

https://line6.com/support/tickets/add.html

 

[oxladed]

Thanks for the advice.  Really appreciated.  I'll follow-up if there is anything that can be fixed so knowledge can be shared. :-)

[oxladed]

As an update, I didn’t really get anywhere with the support ticket but I tried yet another USB socket and that one seemed to work.  The update crashed the PC which then meant the Helix was in an error state (not the one as described in the instructions) but I managed to reinstall the firmware using the separate update software and downloading the firmware file separately instead of using HX Edit.  Thanks to everyone again for your help.

[datacommando]

On 3/14/2022 at 7:06 PM, oxladed said:

As an update, I didn’t really get anywhere with the support ticket but I tried yet another USB socket and that one seemed to work.  The update crashed the PC which then meant the Helix was in an error state (not the one as described in the instructions) but I managed to reinstall the firmware using the separate update software and downloading the firmware file separately instead of using HX Edit.  Thanks to everyone again for your help.

Good to know that you are up and running - hopefully from now on you can update without incident.

[somebodyelse]

On 3/14/2022 at 10:13 AM, datacommando said:

Hi,

 

Yes, that used to be correct. The Core operating system of the Helix “brain” was seriously modified and improved in version 2.80. The installation would appear to experience a “boot failure” mid way though the update, while the new core was loading. This prompted many posts here along the lines of “update bricked my Helix”. Essentially this was because people had failed to read the Release Notes which pointed out this occurrence.

 

Since then the firmware update installation has been “almost” fully automated, and since v.3.0 the release note have included this statement:

 

 

My Helix/HX is at version X.XX. Can I go straight to 3.15?

Yes, but note that if you're starting from 2.80 or lower, the update will appear to happen twice. This is normal.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.

Okidoki.

When I got mine, it was on v2.30, around the time v3.00 was released. I had the same error when I went through the v2.80 update, but it also crashed my PC, so I just set it all going again and crossed my fingers. All went well.

If it had failed, I'd have just sent it back to the retailer - UK Law obliges them to repair or replace it if it's defective in the first 12 months.

Not had any problems since.