is using a UPS effective?

[Gargamel314]

Hi there,

I've had my Kronos for 7 years now. Over the past 2 years I've been plagued by the standard "A problem has been detected." I've since replaced the SSD, which solved the problem for about a year. Suddenly I've been getting that message along with startup failures. I have tried reseating the RAM, replacing the SATA cable, and replacing the RAM with a new RAM stick.

I tried reformatting and installing from DVDs again onto yet a new SSD, and I got the "A problem has been detected" error in the middle of the OS install. This confirms that the problem is not the RAM, file system, or SSD.

My question is, has anyone solved their errors by using a UPS? I do keep seeing the recommendation, and it seems less costly than sending it to a repair shop, so I have ordered one.

I'm very frustrated!

[SeedyLee]

I was always dubious of those who claimed that a UPS solved this issue without much experimental evidence.

The issue you are seeing is typically when the ARM subsystem can't communicate with the main x86 system over USB. This can happen for a number of reasons, but at power-on time would occur if the Kronos can't boot, or the USB connection is unreliable.

It could be just about anything from a faulty motherboard or a bad PSU. There is a very small chance bad power could play a part, but both the power supply and motherboard should be able to deal with short blips in power.

My advice would be to plug a VGA monitor into the VGA port on the motherboard and see what's going on. See what the monitor displays when the error occurs.

[Derek Cook]

I cannot say if it would solve your problem, but all the research I did before purchasing my Kronos in 2014 suggested that a UPS was pretty much a necessity for peace of mind on stage.

So I have always gigged with one. In the studio I do not bother but we are blessed with pretty stable power (for now, don't get me started on UK's energy strategy), and have add the odd glitch in ten years but not worth worrying about, but never on stage.

[Falcon2e]

I would occasionally get that error message too. I started using a UPS back in 2015 and it seemed to help. I haven’t had to open it up and do anything, but be sure you’re up to date on the latest OS and subsystem revisions. My UPS was less than $100 USD. It might be worth getting one to see if it eliminates your problem.

[Xenophile]

I have a UPS in my gigging rack and use it most of the time, because people here said that I should, and I'm still plagued by intermittent error messages. Opening the Kronos and re-seating the memory and checking connectors seems to make it happen less frequently. I have cloned and replaced/ugraded the SSD, but have not re-installed the OS. I'm about to try replacing the SODIMM stick.

Interesting idea about connecting a monitor to the motherboard VGA port, but I'm wondering how to get the monitor cable out of the Kronos cabinet. When I take the bottom off my K2-61, they keyboard assembly is basically hanging loose and I can't put the Kronos back on my keyboard stand to use it while waiting for something exciting to happen. I seem to remember someone posting about cutting a hole in the back panel for such hackery. Now that its out of warranty, and I don't see myself ever selling such a cool toy, I'm geeky enough to do something like that.

[Gargamel314]

Thank you for all the replies. I did locate a service center about an hour away (Thankfully I live close enough to a major US city that one even showed up on the map) just in case, but I just picked up a 300W UPS, and so far I was able to reinstall the OS, reenter authorization codes for everything, and I'm listening to the demo sequence right now.

I live in an 80-year old house, and I think the electrical wiring is just as old! I'm hoping that's the cause of all these issues, as all the problems started since this unit has been home (It lived in my classroom for 2 months with no issues whatsoever). Immediately after turning on in my home, I began experiencing issues. I dare say, if the UPS DOES solve the issues, I will be contacting an electrician within the month! Meanwhile, I'll be stress-testing this Kronos like crazy this week. It's far too soon for me to get my hopes up.

EDIT: Nope, just crashed again and rebooted itself. I've emailed an authorized service center.

[voip]

A UPS isn't a solution for every possible cause of the Kronos crashing, but it may at least mitigate against some of the nasties that can come down a powerline (note some UPSs are better than others), and will definitely prevent the total loss of the SSD that could occur if a power brownout happens whilst the Kronos is writing to the SSD.

The move from classroom to house may have moved something just a fraction inside the Kronos, sufficient to make a contact somewhere inside become intermittent. It could be on the RAM connection, or a cable connector, and a UPS is unlikely to help in these cases. Likewise if the internal power supply is starting to go out of spec, a UPS won't help, though it may influence the time that such a problem mainfests itself as a system error.

.

[CliveJ]

A UPS will save you from power issues, the boot time after a short outage, and your SSD if you’re saving when the power goes out. It’ll also smooth out voltage fluctuations to your K if it provides that function.

It won’t fix badly seated RAM, leads etc - much as filling up the petrol tank won’t fix a flat tyre.

[KK]

I live in an 80-year old house, and I think the electrical wiring is just as old! I'm hoping that's the cause of all these issues, as all the problems started since this unit has been home.

Make sure the outlets you plug your sensitive equipment in (Kronos, computer, etc.) are correct. I've seen old homes where the hot and neutral wires were reversed, without ground, etc. You can find such testers in any hardware store, they cost 10 $. Simply plug the tester in all suspected electric outlets and it will tell you right away.

[Xenophile]

Well... The UPS helped yesterday!
We were having a winter storm with very high winds, and the AC power in my home flickered. My Mac complained when the docking station power glitched and the external HDD disappeared momentarily, but Kronos stayed perfectly happy.

[ChrisDuncan]

I think it's important to note the difference between a UPS and power conditioning.

I'm not an electrician (and it's been many years since I had to research this), so others may be able to give a better technical explanation. Nonetheless, here's the general idea.

A UPS will maintain power from the battery if your electricity goes out. As mentioned, it may also smooth out voltage fluctuations but that's a side benefit and only one aspect of power conditioning. The primary job of a UPS is to make sure your devices don't lose power if the lights go out.

In addition to on / off / correct voltage, there there is also a "quality" aspect to power. I vaguely remember reading about "dirty power," transients and spikes, other trash on the line, etc. A power conditioner's job is to address the quality of the power. It may include the battery backup of a UPS, but if so that's a side gig.

Having the power blink on and off a few times can't be good for the Kronos or any other gizmo, so a UPS would help there.

That said, I've also had experiences where a particular UPS added noise and pops. Again, that can't be good for the keyboard. Not all UPSs are created equal.

I know all this is a bit vague, but I don't want to pretend to be smarter than I am. I just know from research and troubleshooting over the years that there's a difference between a UPS and a power conditioner and thought that might be worth taking into consideration.

I've had random boot failures since the first day I got the Kronos new from Sweetwater. The red line gets about 10% - 15 and then there's a generic error about a failure, don't remember the wording. I've never been able to find any way to consistently reproduce it. One thing I've done recently is give the keyboard a minute or so after playing before I power off, working on the theory that maybe there's still disk activity when powering off and that somehow pisses it off. It seems like that's reduced the frequency, but I honestly don't knof if that's the case or not.

[Xenophile]

In addition to on / off / correct voltage, there there is also a "quality" aspect to power. I vaguely remember reading about "dirty power," transients and spikes, other trash on the line, etc. A power conditioner's job is to address the quality of the power. It may include the battery backup of a UPS, but if so that's a side gig.
...
there's a difference between a UPS and a power conditioner and thought that might be worth taking into consideration.

Excellent point.

[Thunder Dump]

I have gigged for over two decades with a UPS running in front of all my gear. It started when I had a Roland Fantom X7 that, with all of my card samples loading, would take 4+ minutes to boot. I was playing an outdoor gig and someone goofing around kept unplugging one of the extension cords powering my side of the stage. It crippled my performance, so never again. A good UPS will protect you from lightning, dirty power, outages, and surges. A lot of clubs have questionable wiring and it's good protection for the gear--especially those UPS units that always run the gear on the battery and charge the battery from the AC lead. Modern keyboards are PCs and I wouldn't gig without one. I've never had an equipment failure or power supply die in all that time.

[wocongming]

Hi there,

I've had my Kronos for 7 years now. Over the past 2 years I've been plagued by the standard "A problem has been detected." I've since replaced the SSD, which solved the problem for about a year. Suddenly I've been getting that message along with startup failures. I have tried reseating the RAM, replacing the SATA cable, and replacing the RAM with a new RAM stick.

I tried reformatting and installing from DVDs again onto yet a new SSD, and I got the "A problem has been detected" error in the middle of the OS install. This confirms that the problem is not the RAM, file system, or SSD.

My question is, has anyone solved their errors by using a UPS? I do keep seeing the recommendation, and it seems less costly than sending it to a repair shop, so I have ordered one.

I'm very frustrated!

YES. i had my tech guy update and reinstall the FIRMWARE. its fixed all error messages and freezing that was happening.