Having trouble with usb/flash in octatrack

ben_lodge · 2015-01-22T07:41:42.000Z

hi everyone,

i’m just getting started with my octatrack here and having some trouble with the usb/flash connection. i’m using the kingston 16gb supplied by elektron.
this is my first piece of elektron gear, so i’m brand new to all this

whenever i try to move the audio samples to my set (as shown in the 1st tutorial) or transfer wav files from my computer to the flash i get error messages saying that the samples are already in use, or my mac will suddenly say that the flash was ejected improperly. sometimes after that the octatrack is frozen and i have to reboot.

i’ve tried copying the latest binary os update onto the card but i get the same message “The operation can’t be completed because the item “DPS-1_OS1.25D.bin” is in use.” i don’t see why it’s in use.

i’ve tried two different usb cables and i haven’t had any usb problems with my mac before.
i also did a factory reset on the octa but it didn’t change anything.

perhaps tomorro i’ll get a card reader and try transfering files from my computer to the card like that first

any ideas or suggestions are much appreciated.

thx.
lookin forward to getting into this thing!

avantronica · 2015-01-22T18:38:25.000Z

[quote=““ben lodge””]
i’m just getting started with my octatrack here and having some trouble with the usb/flash connection. i’m using the kingston 16gb supplied by elektron.
this is my first piece of elektron gear, so i’m brand new to all this

whenever i try to move the audio samples to my set (as shown in the 1st tutorial) or transfer wav files from my computer to the flash i get error messages saying that the samples are already in use, or my mac will suddenly say that the flash was ejected improperly. sometimes after that the octatrack is frozen and i have to reboot.

i’ve tried copying the latest binary os update onto the card but i get the same message “The operation can’t be completed because the item “DPS-1_OS1.25D.bin” is in use.” i don’t see why it’s in use.

i’ve tried two different usb cables and i haven’t had any usb problems with my mac before.
i also did a factory reset on the octa but it didn’t change anything.

perhaps tomorro i’ll get a card reader and try transfering files from my computer to the card like that first

any ideas or suggestions are much appreciated.

[/quote]

Resorting to card readers may be an unwise step, there’s been one or two issues with card use that way. The usb mode ought to work fine for you, maybe if you spell out your os it may provide clues. Files in use … sounds like you need to double check all other mac apps that may have access are closed. As for the erratic behaviour i’m not sure, try formatting the card to ensure it’s not containing corrupt files still, do it via octa if possible or search here for formatting advice (after you back up the content of course), keep things simple to begin with, on file at a time til it works as expected, card reader may work out, but be gentle with card insertion/eject etc. if it’s a new unit, use the elektron branded usb cable

reptilazio · 2015-01-22T23:35:13.000Z

just buy a card reader since i buy one all the compact flash problems gone

Giuseppe_Magnatti · 2015-01-22T23:42:48.000Z

I have 2 Octatrack and now way I can use them in USB mode with my 2 MAC !!! unbelievable…

I always get code error 36…and everything get stuck…

So i bought an USB card reader to transfer samples… But I am really pissed off about this problem, every time I would like to transfer new samples is a drama…

ben_lodge · 2015-01-23T06:29:17.000Z

hey guys,

thx so much for the input. i’ll try these things out and see if it makes a difference. if nothing then i’ll get a card reader.

i’m still using os x 10.8.5.

maybe i should also update to yosemite?

.

Hans_Olo · 2015-01-23T07:23:22.000Z

Hi Ben,

as others have pointed out already there have been issues with folks bending the CF pins in their OTs. I strongly advise against using a card reader and removing the card regularly. I vaguely recall that the OT’s reader is soldered directly onto the PCB, which means that ruining one of the pins is a costly affair. For this very reason I got a 64 GB card which will stay in my OT.

If I were you I’d definitely check with another computer to rule out it’s an OT issue. If none is at hand you can always boot your Mac from some Linux live CD just to check.

Just my 2ct
Hans

ben_lodge · 2015-01-23T18:20:13.000Z

thx hans,

its a brand new octatrack, these are the first times i’ve used it, the card and the usb.

i can’t think of what other apps would be using the files. they were only downloaded and reside in the download folder.

thx for the advice on trying it with another computer also.

i’ll let you all know wen i get some time to do this and some results…

ben_lodge · 2015-01-26T03:04:25.000Z

yes! finally figured it out. its all working great hooked up to my mac.

a newbie mistake.

the problem was when i selected the usb disk mode ,i thought the enabled message that tellls you to “safely eject using your computer os” was just a simple message window, so i had been closing it, which of course turned the usb mode off. the thing was that the octatrack icon was on my desktop so i kept thinking it was hooked up. i could get into the folders but as i tried to move anything it tried and then choked, and after a bit i’d get the message about octa being ejected improperly.

the way i figured it out was hooking it up to a windows computer, everytime i exited usb mode the explorer window in windows was immediately closed. it became very obvious.

yippee! now making my first beats and on to more tutorials.

thx again everyone for your input!

ben

Tlindenmuth · 2016-12-30T12:18:59.504Z

Thank you for figuring this out. I was closing that window too! Such a simple fix.

jfk1976 · 2017-06-15T04:50:16.262Z

wow. i am so glad i found this thread. just got the OT yesterday, had the identical problem and was starting to lose my mind.

it really does appear to be a message window, and hitting EXIT, i assumed, was exiting that message window.

thanks so much for posting this.

kiko · 2017-11-28T22:09:30.918Z

Hi all, I just got my OT and now trying to update the OS but with USB it’s not working, so I got a card reader, but now the card reader doesn’t work on my mac lol
Now is this because I have to get a certain type of card reader for the Kingston CF card or was this just bad luck and I should get a card reader that works?

kiko · 2017-11-29T17:08:21.287Z

Hi,
ok so I managed to get access to the CF card, so I dropped the new OS1.30c onto the CF but the OT now says:

No OS upgrade found on card! Please download from www.elektron.se

What am I doing wrong here? I also looked up the forum but couldn’t find any hints to get the OS installed

Any help is much appreciated!

kiko · 2017-11-29T17:35:21.836Z

oh got it now

edit: turned out that I put the OS1.30c into a folder. The trick is to not put it into a folder so that the OT can recognize the file for updating the OS