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Topic: XP upgrade and MIDI problems (Read 6015 times) previous topic - next topic

XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Any suggestions to solve this one, please?
We've recently upgraded from WinME to WinXP and have a Roland PC-300 USB keyboard. I've downloaded a new driver from www.edirol.com/support/drivers.html, part of Roland and have installed them. I've set the MIDI in and out settings and it all seems to play OK but when I shut down and restart the keyboard doesn't work. Is there a special sequence needed on startup, or a reset process, or some setting that I'm missing?

Frustratedly yours in supplication!

George

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #1 –
Some further developments............................
It seems that the system is 'dropping' the driver when it powers down. I find it hard to believe that Roland drivers are not MS-XP compatible given their standing. anysugestions as tohow to load up the driveron opening the system?

many thanks
George

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #2 –
I can't specifically offer advice on that hardware, but... The concept of USB is that the driver doesn't have to be preloaded.

If the peripheral is connected on power-up, or if the peripheral is subsequently connected to powered machine, the system is supposed to auto-detect the presense, and auto-load the driver. On my XP, there's a little message box that pops up in the lower right corner of the screen, telling me that a device of type (whatever) had been detected, then that its driver has been loaded and is ready.

I suggest that you right-click the "my computer" icon on your desktop. Then properties, hardwar, device manager. Look down the list to see if there are any problem devices. If not, I've run out of suggestions.

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #3 –
Thanks for the input. Yes, you are completely right in saying that it should be recognised. The keyboard is not a plug-and-play device and hence has to be set up manually. Also, the driver that is available (fron Roland) has not been 'signed' by microsoft as being compatible. I've looked in the Device managers list in the control panel but can't find the driver there even when I reinstall it so am flummoxed. Why it looses the driver, I just don't know.

George

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #4 –
Have you tried simply unplugging, then reconnecting, the keyboard? This sometimes helps with USB devices after a reboot (we have a USB printer that requires a similar procedure after every reboot).

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #5 –
Yes, have tried all permeations of this. Unplugged at startup, plugged in but switched off etc. Every time it seems to have lost the driver and when you hit the little keyboard icon it brings up the 'record' window to check details. If you click on the '1. roland ... ' input device it clears it and it then doesn't appear in the list of available inputs. :-(

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #6 –
Still fishing, rather than knowing...

The fact that the driver is not "signed" for XP doesn't automatically mean that it won't work OK.

Try this: Find out which files the driver uses (if necessary, use My Computer's device manager). Now, in which folders are they located?

Also do that for some USB device that has no problem. Are the same folders used, or not?

Windows XP is more like Windows NT, in terms of where things go, than it is like Windows 98. Many non-signed drivers were set up to install themselves for Windows 98 compatibility.

Try using the compatibility mode (you sound knowledgeable enough to figure out how to use it) and set for NT4 compatibility, rather than 98. Any help? Or, try re-installing the driver with NT compatibility mode set.

I have one device (Canon scanner) which doesn't work ulness the compatiblity is set to NT. It's a 98-era scanner. Once compatibility is set, all is OK. But it is a parallel port device, not USB. On the other hand, 98 does have USB mode.

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #7 –
My problem looks very similar to that described under the thread 'Midi mapper malfunctioning'. I install the driver, the installation procedure places it into the same folder as all the other drivers, I open Noteworthy and it looses the driver. If I go to the control panel and look for the device it appears not to be there and if I try to reinstall it I get the message saying it has already been installed! Is this a bug within Noteworthy?

Many thanks for the input so far.

George

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #8 –
NWC works with hundreds, if not thousands, of devices across all of the Microsoft Windows releases, including XP. When the devices are supported and configured properly on a system, NWC will not have problems. As pointed out in this case, NWC worked fine until the upgrade to XP. Although NWC works fine after upgrading to XP (assuming you are using the latest release of NWC), the same is NOT always true for hardware devices. Motherboards, add-in USB controllers, printers, displays, graphics cards, sound cards, scanners, modems, NICs, etc. all require software drivers that match the Microsoft operating system installed on the computer. It is quite common for problems to occur after upgrading a machine to XP, due to driver issues. Not all hardware that works with Windows ME is supported in Windows XP.

There is some past discussion on alt.music.midi about this particular USB hardware on Windows XP. A user reply suggested that the problem might be with the USB Controller on your PC not being compatible with the driver for the USB keyboard.

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #9 –
All very well, but the driver used is the one provided by the manufacturer of the keyboard and stated as being suitable for WinXP. I've contacted them and their reply is along the lines of 'its someone else's fault', the software says its the hardware's fault, the hardware says its the OS's fault, the OS says its software's fault and the poor old customer is left dissatisfied with a non-functioning device. Where does one go from here?

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #10 –
My reply 8 specifically does not blame the hardware. You stated quite clearly via e-mail that the hardware worked well in Windows ME (the software, too, for that matter). Your problem is with software, specifically the software drivers for your hardware. The problem could be with the USB keyboard's XP driver, or it could be with the USB controller's driver. You might try looking for driver updates for your USB controller.

In the end, though, it is a fact that some hardware combinations simply cannot be made to work when upgrading an older system to Windows XP. We have a Windows 98 system here in our office that cannot be upgraded because its graphics card, as well as its scanner, do not have working drivers for Windows 2000 and XP. If we wanted to upgrade it to XP, we would have to buy a new scanner and graphics card.

Re: XP upgrade and MIDI problems

Reply #11 –
One more bit of advice:

I just finished reviewing the readme for your keyboard's XP driver. If you have not done so, pay careful attention to the Cautions and Limitations, Installation, and Troubleshooting sections. Your problem might be resolvable by following the variety of complex instructions in this file.