Kronos not booting on startup

communitybfc · Post by **communitybfc** » Fri May 22, 2015 3:22 pm

Hi. I have a Kronos 1 88 key with v.3 OS. It sits in my studio at home and has worked flawlessly since I got it a couple years ago. Yesterday I had a boot error message instructing me to turn off, wait, then reboot. I did and everything was fine. When I turned on today, I got a startup failed message and told to turn off and reboot. The red boot line would get as far as under the K then would stop and an error message would show. I tried this several times. I searched forums and tried a couple of suggestions (unplugging usb devices; re plugging everything the way it was the last time I shut down, etc) but nothing worked. Any ideas? Is there a way to boot from an external drive with the latest OS or reinstall os3? I don't remember getting DVDs with my Kronos but how would the machine read them if it can't finish booting? I understand that the K is basically a computer and that computers can be booted externally but how do I do this with the Kronos. Thanks.

voip · Post by **voip** » Fri May 22, 2015 3:36 pm

Reseating the DDR2 RAM has helped others in the same situation, plus reseating the multiway connectors to the motherboard. It's likely one of the DDR2 address lines is not making connection, so the system loads until it gets to the memory address at which the error occurs. Have a look for the other related threads.

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communitybfc · Post by **communitybfc** » Sat May 23, 2015 4:01 am

I have looked at other threads. My question is how could any of the parts become unseated if it's never been moved since I got it. And I'm loathe to open it up. Tonight it booted normally so I left it on while I did a couple of other things. When I came back to the Kronos, it was still turned on but the screen was blank. I turned it off then on again only to get the start up error message. Frustrating.

Derek Cook · Post by **Derek Cook** » Sat May 23, 2015 6:28 am

Hi,

Even systems that have not moved can suffer from bad connections. Think about audio leads that have sat for years in jack sockets, which suddenly get scratchy, so you have to get your can of deoxit out?

Connections can oxidise/tarnish over time which can result in intermittent connections, even internal ones.

The Kronos generates heat, and a heating/cooling cycle as the system is on and then off will cause mechanical items like connectors to heat up and cool down, which we all know causes expansion and contraction. This can lead to a phenomena known as "thermal creep" which can cause non-latched connectors and socketed chips to slowly work their way out of their sockets.

As a hardware engineer, you'd be amazed at what I have seen over the years that is the result of thermal creep. I've seen components all the way out of their sockets and only still working (intermittently) due to gravity pulling them towards the socket!

If ever I have a case open, as a matter of routine, I will give all socketed ICs a firm push.

The first thing I would do in your case is (as already suggested) is to check all of the connections and socketed components. If you are not comfortable with doing that, then any competent electronics repair business could do it for you.

danmusician · Post by **danmusician** » Sat May 23, 2015 10:56 am

Derek Cook wrote:Hi,

Even systems that have not moved can suffer from bad connections. Think about audio leads that have sat for years in jack sockets, which suddenly get scratchy, so you have to get your can of deoxit out?

Connections can oxidise/tarnish over time which can result in intermittent connections, even internal ones.

The Kronos generates heat, and a heating/cooling cycle as the system is on and then off will cause mechanical items like connectors to heat up and cool down, which we all know causes expansion and contraction. This can lead to a phenomena known as "thermal creep" which can cause non-latched connectors and socketed chips to slowly work their way out of their sockets.

As a hardware engineer, you'd be amazed at what I have seen over the years that is the cause of thermal creep. I've seen components all the way out of their sockets and only still working (intermittently) due to gravity pulling them towards the socket! If ever I have a case open, as a matter of routine, I will give all socketed ICs a firm push.

The first thing I would do in your case is (as already suggested) is to check all of the connections and socketed components. If you are not comfortable with doing that, then any competent electronics repair business could do it for you.

In addition, being a musical instrument, it's subject to quite a bit of vibration from playing. Even if you're not heavy-handed when you play, you're still putting a lot of energy into the keys over time that vibrates the instrument.

communitybfc · Post by **communitybfc** » Sun May 24, 2015 6:08 pm

Good points both Dan and Derek. Ok, I'm sold. It certainly is possible that vibration unseating components could be the culprit. This has also been an intermittent problem although more problem than not lately - it started normally a couple of times yesterday but today, not. Can anyone suggest the best way to open it up since there is the joystick and bender that need to be protected. Thanks.

alland · Post by **alland** » Sun May 24, 2015 6:34 pm

communitybfc wrote:Can anyone suggest the best way to open it up since there is the joystick and bender that need to be protected. Thanks.

I had similar problems. Put couple pillows on table, Kronos on it and opened bottom lid. Reseated memory and now it works OK again.

communitybfc · Post by **communitybfc** » Mon May 25, 2015 3:15 am

Thanks Alland. I'll give it a try. Hopefully I'll have the same success as you did.