For some reason my Digitakt 2 decided today that it will not start. I used it yesterday without problems just to have some audio in my studio and did not do any changes with it then (and have not done in weeks). It is on the latest firmware which was updated when it was released some while ago. Now it shows just the Elektron logo right after switched on, but no OS version or anything else. I tried also starting it with Func pressed when switching it on, but that did not make any difference. How do I reset the unit to get it to boot? Are the power supplies switchable from unit to unit, i.e. can I try to use the Digitone power supply in case there is some sort of problem with the power supply?
Your symptoms definitely sound similar to my experience trying to run from an under-specified power bank.
I don’t know to what degree power supplies are swappable though, sorry.
I tried it with the Digitone power supply, but the result is the same. It will not start. I’m getting the Elektron logo (not the animation), but nothing else. Could there be a possibility of it getting past this if I wait long enough, or is the device dead?
is anything connected via usb/midi? i would only connect the powersupply and wait a little
If you have tried 2 different PSU and they fit snugly into the dc socket, the device is not connected to any other peripherals, and you have already tried a different power outlet, then it is likely that you have reached an end to the troubleshooting which you can safely do on your own (with respect to the warranty coverage). I would make a service appointment with elektron’s user care as soon as possible.
If test mode is not coming up when you hold down the func key as you start the machine, something which supercedes the boot loader has caused this freeze behavior and if it’s not a result of the physical connection to a power source or some other auxiallary issue, then something internal must be very wrong.
Just from my experience with other elektron gear, I would imagine that it needs to be serviced.
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Turn it on while holding FUNC to enter test mode, see what’s cracking, see if it reports any errors.
He said it doesn’t verk.
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Ignore me then
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I had a similar issue with a DN back in the day. Turned out to be a fried CPU.
During troubleshooting with support, we tried force updating the firmware with Transfer using MIDI DIN input.
Didn’t work for me, might work for you.
yeah, I was thinking that if you try and sysex it with some random data you might get a reaction, but at this point with something which is covered under warranty, if it’s already having some kind of issue then it’s more likely to happen again even if you can somehow unfreeze it. it’s certainly possible you might get a temporary solution but despite the inconvenience of having it serviced, it may be more beneficial in the long run to just get it done now.
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Now that I remember more, last time I used it a few days ago I was wondering why the kick drum on track 1 was replaced with static. I guess that was an indication that the flash dried or something else has died and it was due to not start again.
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There are some indications in the change log that was released with one of the prior firmware versions that occasionally the wrong samples were loading (on one of the older firmware versions).
I believe that digitakt II had one subsequent firmware update after the public release, where it went from 1.10 to 1.10A, so did you do your firmware update only when the public announcement was made or did you have some reason to later follow up to the further updated version and bring it up to the 1.10A version released on April 15?
Not that I feel this behavior should be happening on any version of the firmware, but simply that they may have you attempt to send a sysex firmware update while troubleshooting, as they did with Fin25, and you’ll want to know which version is currently on your machine.
I do suspect that the problem is bigger than a firmware reload will be able to correct, but if some corrupt data is on the device and it’s causing the disruption, there may be something that they can suggest in an effort to clear it. To me, that would be preferable to a hardware failure because it could potentially still be resolved.
I don’t know though, just brainstorming.
Oh well, I was about to start packing the Digitakt 2 for shipping to retailer and decided to try it one more time this morning. This time it started just fine! I did not do anything different from what I tried yesterday and it was turned off for several hours yesterday between troubleshooting retries. Now it is copying all my samples off it using Transfer as I decided it’s probably best to do a factory reset and full reformat. Is there an easy way to backup all projects, sounds, patterns etc? The Transfer app is copying the samples, but I don’t think it’s doing anything else. Copying the samples will take a while, but I’d like to get a plan ready for copying the rest after this is finally done. I have almost two years of warranty left, so I’m not going to send this off to repairs just yet.
Transfer will do projects and sounds for you, you just need to change the dropdown selection (top right usually) from ‘Samples’ to ‘Projects’ or ‘Sounds’.
No individual pattern backups but they will be in your projects.
No kit backups as yet … but you could always load those into ‘kit backup’ project until Elektron give us that in transfer.
By any chance did you at any point before the issues turn it on and off in quick succession?
There’s some sort of big bastard capacitor they used on the OGs, something to do with the memory, but if you tuned it off and on too quickly it could temporarily Bork the whole unit. I once had to wait a whole day for a digitakt to unfuck itself this way.
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