OT did it again, corrupt projects

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

i am fearful of plugging the OT to the computer and using it’s usb disk mode option as it yet again demolished projects (plural!) i’ve been working on.

i saved to a new project beforehand, thinking that this line of events is possible, but the project corrupted was not only the new version, but the old one as well.

this is the third time this happened, and is a rather foul tasting experience. (all the banks and all the parts were used)

i am looking now for alternatives to the octatrack, think i’ll be getting the electribe.

also, i would advise anyone looking at the octatrack as a possibility to steer clear. until this gets sorted out, at least.
the usefulness of the ot is severely limited to sound sketching, any preprograming is prone to disintegration.

for this reason, i regard the OT as a temporary device, yet this still gets to me.

love the possibilities, hate the insecurities.
one should not be afraid of one’s gear.

OT files corrupted
#2

that sounds incredibly frustrating!

what computer/os are you using? i think issues like this are rare, so it could be the computer/usb interface or possibly the CF card that are bad, rather than the OT? just a thought

#3

hmm, happened on different windows machines, always after usb connection…
and i did the “safely remove”…

could be the cf, will try it out, only problem is that i cannot recreate it accurately, since not every usb disk mode results in corruption.

i did the safely remove and then took the cable out.
then it said that the project is corrupted or from a newer os. which in itself is a bit ironic, since i did it to upgrade the os.
the new os didn’t help, the file was still corrupted.

#4

i guess you could try removing the CF card from the OT and connecting it via a card reader?

could also try saving a copy of the OT project (save as new, or use file manager) bvefore removing the card too.

or (a bit drastic) buy a 2nd card and back up to that in the OT before trying a USB connect. not sure if that’s totally possible.

depends how much you dig the OT workflow and facilities, really…

#5

Do you have some sort of security program that alters the cf-card, or can it be an antivirus software that corrupts your card?

#6

It appears FAT32 isn’t that reliable http://www.howtogeek.com/177529/htg-explains-why-are-removable-drives-still-using-fat32-instead-of-ntfs/

I’m not sure if it’s a windows thing: http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-a-USB-Flash-Drive-from-Corrupting-the-Files-and-Folders-Within-It

I use a mac at home and never had problems with transferring files.

1 Like
#7

same here, although not much comfort for mksl :confused:

#8

if it was an OT os issue, we’d all get something perhaps, maybe there’s an issue with the card or there’s a virus attacking mounted drives or issue with OT usb, we understand your woes, but try a new card, alternate cards as backup strategy and test on another computer, good luck, might be tough to find the hardware fault (if any) when it’s intermittent, support should help, so maybe no need to bash the OT given that you like it otherwise

i don’t like taking the card out although i’m very gentle with it, but perhaps try a card reader too

1 Like
#10

Send me the project.

#11

More dodgy reviews…
Agree 100% - I sold mine,
for some people no problems - others: no way can it be trusted.
For me, the latter.
CF card reliability - USB connection to computer reliability? Pffff (on 3 Macs)
Sure the OT does great stuff when it works.
The OT for me, is really the worst piece of unfinished equipment I have ever bought.
The most pathetic manual I have ever encountered in 30 years of owning many synths/samplers/hardware/consoles/tape machines/sequencers/software/iPad apps etc -

Plus the worst company for communication I have ever experienced. They hide behind their many shortcomings : hoping their silence will distill the list of problems.

IMO - Ditch it - they will NEVER fix this problem - or admit to it.
As someone else posted here - OT has always been in permanent beta stage : unfinished.

(bring on the flamin fanboyz that say they have never had a problem : therefore any criticism of these very public faults is unwarranted !!!)

I’m VERY happy with the AKeys though!
It also does what it is advertised to do.

#12

I’d be VERY careful removing the card. Reading elsewhere there seems to be a known issue with pins breaking when the card is removed. The problem with this is the card reader is attached to the main logic board and so requires a complete repair.

I also read that Elektron do not cover this under warranty. I’m surprised to hear this and wonder why CF media is still being used especially with the new batch of units…

With regards to your problem, I use a Mac and haven’t had any issues with corruption.

#14

Thank you for your input to this conversation.

Don’t worry about the self righteous Elektron fanboy club - they have no creative intelligence when it comes to these conversations.

:wink:

I too love my AK!!! My OT used to be very buggy. Not being able to trust your hardware is a pretty big issue as it’s always hanging over you while you work.

#15

if y’all truly believe this is an OT issue, and not a computer/windows one then the creative and intelligent thing would be to use a card reader, simple, but first sort out the computer which is evidently possibly a problem, like most i’ve never had any issues mounting the card on a mac, either way, and i moan plenty so i don’t qualify for fanboy status, but the indulgent moaning is tedious and shows a lack of imagination in my opinion - the analysis is very knee-jerk and hardly rigorous, i.e. neither creative nor intelligent, not to mention positive

as mentioned, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a unique issue with your machine, but on the balance of probability it’s nothing to do with the OT OS !

1 Like
#17

Badder " [/quote]
We’ve been through this. Ranting doesn’t solve anything and just makes for unpleasant reading.

If you would like to contribute to the resolution of any problems with the OT as a responsible and mature community member this is the thread to visit:

http://www.elektronauts.com/t/ot-known-bugs-workarounds-document/8475/74313/

We have had great success so far with this approach!

If you don’t even have an OT why the hell are you here - just to cause trouble?

Really?

Please… go away![/quote] "

Such stunning hypocrisy!

Who are YOU to tell others if they should be here or not???
Check your ego boy… and get down off that horse before you fall again…

I have every right to be here!
I spent good money on an OT this year and then purchasing CF cards / card readers to get around a badly designed product.
I wanted to use my OT with my Macs, and pre recorded tracks from multitracked sessions, in recording studio sessions, and not interested in live sampling through the inputs.
Electron advertised that the USB/CF card to do just this.
It did not work reliably for me - and others confirm this.
I could have kicked up a fuss and used my countries laws to make them refund me - and return the “faulty” goods.
But I sold it and moved on. Cut my losses

For you Badder - Octa Facepalm !

#18

If you don’t mind, I am curious to know more about the issues you were having. Did you have corrupt projects like the OP? Something else?

Thanks in advance.

#19

My problems were the same as the first post here, loss of projects on CF cards - plus the bloody thing kept corrupting new CF cards (proper Kingston cards too) - needing to purchase external CF card readers too

Do you really need me to confirm the USB/CF card design on this machine is dodgy?
Search these forums (and a few others elsewhere) and you will find much evidence of MANY who suffer the same USB-CF card “frustrations”

I want to TRUST my hardware - do not have time to re-do projects from scratch.
More to the point - I have professional sessions with clients involved - paying $ - I cannot have dodgy unreliable gear.
When I do, I need to reimburse the client in time/or money.
I did 6 months with the OT - never screamed so much at a piece of hardware - ever in all my career.

This is MY experience, I appreciate others have no problems at all.

If there is ever a new OT MKII - I will purchase it.

I’ll leave it at that.

#22

thank you all for the replies, especially Rusty (sent the file via pm)

note that this thing happened with different windows machines…

dont see how it can be the cable since the only thing copied to the ot is the new firmware…

leaning (hoping) it’s the cf card

also, before connecting i did the save to new, and both the old and the new project were corrupted… there is a posibility that they were already corrupted in the working memory, ot being able to reproduce it, but not save and recall correctly…

please discuss, don’t argue… when possible.
:slight_smile:

#23

so re-skimming the thread, it seems like everything works fine with the OT and the CF card until the OT is mounted as a drive on your PC?

if so, then a card reader would be a good first step to seeing whether that avoids the issue.

if the same thing happens, then you know it’s likely an issue with your PC/Windows system.

if it doesn’t happen, and card isn’t corrupted when mounted to PC via card reader, then try mounting the OT on a mac and see if the problem persists.

if it does, then you know it’s likely an issue with the OT. and in my experience of elektron support, they would proably accept this evidence as a genuine fault and accept a return.

(all of the this may be stating the obvious and/or not logical - i’m not an engineer!)

certainly a few people have had these sort of problems, but it you consider the amount of OT users on the forum, it’s a small amount, and in all likelyhood is an issue with specific PCs/Windows installations and not the OT. imho.

#24

Those are great suggestions, Bauer. I am very curious to see if that helps the OP.

#25

Seems to me that someone with paying clients would implement a proper backup regimen to their workflow to prevent projects from being lost/corrupted. I know if I didn’t that I would have lost clients everytime protools, logic, ableton, ect. Crashed.

My octatrack works fine with my Mac as does my rytm. I see lots of complaining on this forum, but most of it seems like operator error or carelessness.

CF cards have been used by professional photographers for years. I don’t see them complaining about the cards. Yes sometime the pins get broke but again it tends to be from carelessness. I had to replace my card slot in a camera before.

Windows machines are notorious for problems in a musical setting. I used them for years before I switched to Mac. Too many driver conflicts, hardware compatibility issues to maintain reliable workflow.

First rule of troubleshooting is to replace the cable. Second is to power everything down and walk away for 5 minutes, then come back and try again. Good luck.