V2 firmware - can't initialise minitaur

Right, tearing my hair out here. I’m on my second Minitaur - both within a few serial numbers of each other. I can’t get either of them to initialise to download the v2 firmware. I thought the first one was faulty but the second one is the same. I’m following the instructions:
Press and hold down vco 1 and vco 2
Power on keeping them pressed
Still with them pressed press RELEASE
Stop pressing vco1 and vco2

Glide light doesn’t blink at all.

What’s going on? Any suggestions?

Make sure you’re following all the steps -
The firmware upgrade actually involves running two separate EXE’s.
Don’t attach any control cables (USB or MIDI) prior to the update steps.

Here’ the info from the Windows XP/Win 7 version:

Updating Minitaur Firmware w/ PC (XP and Win7)

This procedure will update your Minitaur to firmware version 2.0.0.

To update:

  • Power up the Minitaur while holding down the VCO 1 and 2 Waveform switches,

  • Keep them pressed down and press the Release switch.

  • Now you can release the VCO1 and 2 waveform switches. The Glide switch should be blinking slowly, indicating you are in bootloader mode.

  • Connect the Minitaur to your PC with a USB cable. Wait a moment for it to connect to the computer.

  • Double-click the file, “MINITAUR_ERASE_FW.exe” to start the application.

  • Type the corresponding number to select the Minitaur as the device, and press Enter. On the Minitaur you should see the Glide switch turn off, the MIDI light flash, and the VCO1 switch LED will blink several times while the system file is erased. Press Enter to escape sxio.exe when finished.

  • When the erasing is done, the Glide switch will start blinking slowly again.

  • Now launch the application “Minitaur_Firmware_v2_0_0.exe” ; Type the corresponding number to select the Minitaur as the device, and press Enter. The VCO2 waveform switch LED will blink as the unit receives the new data.

  • When the process is done, the Minitaur reboots itself and you can get back to using the Minitaur normally. Press Enter to escape sxio.exe.


    Change Log

v2.0.0:

  • Added SysEx presets (100 presets internal memory)
  • Panel controls to change presets (hold Glide button, press VCO1/VCO2 button)
  • Independent EG Decay/Release times (hold Release button while turning Decay knob to adjust Release independently)
  • Multiple Knob Modes: Snap, Pass-Thru, Relative
  • Assignable CV Inputs (CV to any parameter, + CV to MIDI)

Also -

Be sure to download the latest version of the manual from the Moog website!!

Thanks for that. The problem is I can’t get it into bootloader mode. I’m following these instructions to the letter and the glide switch doesn’t blink.

Bummer -

I don’t know if this would help or not, but you might need to do a factory reset to get it to cooperate.
I believe there is a SYSEX command available that will help with that -

You might PM Amos on this forum and/or send an e-mail to Moog tech support and see if they can hook you up.

Thanks, I tried a sysex with the last one - I’ll give it another go. Bummer indeed, can’t believe I’ve been unlucky twice with a defective one, hope that’s not the case :frowning:

The sysex doesn’t work, so unless anyone has any suggestions I’ll have to go to the inconvenience of returning it - again :frowning: hard enough to convince the store there was a problem last time!

Before you do that -

Have you contacted Moog tech support for some assistance?
The fix might be a very simple reset procedure they can talk you through.

Two “failures” in a row does sound a bit unusual.

Have you checked things like proper power grounding, proper power supply rating, tried different USB cables, etc.?
Also, any chance you have been using the Minitaur with a DAW or controller that sends MTC (MIDI Time Code) instead of MIDI Clock sync?
(Some of the Moog gear is known to have an issue with that last one…)

These are all good things to know when contacting Tech support -
sometime apparently unrelated details can have a big imapct, as I have discovered the hard way!! :open_mouth:

We are sorry you are having difficulty updating your Minitaur’s firmware.
Please contact our Tech Support via phone or email and we will get you taken care of.

http://moogmusic.com/contact

  • Your friends at Moog

Hi,

I received a white minitaur i am trying to update as you, it seems i can’t get the glide button to blink. Did you find a solution ?

Contacted the support also.

Thank you.

describe in your own words exactly what you’re doing, step by step. maybe it’s something about your technique.

Hi Amos,

  • I unplugged the minitaur.
  • Pressed the VCO 1 AND VCO 2 Wave buttons.
  • Plugged in the power while pressing those two buttons.
  • While kept pressing them i pressed Release.
  • Released the 3 buttons.

I tried with a long press on the release button too.

I tried to see what firmware is on it with the editor and i see a " ? " near the firmware version.

Did i make something wrong ?

EDIT: I had two minitaur before that one and i never had any problem updating it .. tried everything suggested in that topic :frowning:

I don’t think this is a problem with technique - I think it’s a bit more of a quality control issue perhaps? I had to return THREE of these with the same fault. I’ve got one now that updates ok.

That, my cutoff pot moving 3mm off axis, froze some times and high pitched noise when turning vco1/2 lvl or res…

Thank you for your response anyway, i fought with it all night long with no success. :neutral_face:

SAD - Now what to do, my dealer is abroad and don’t carry white minitaur anymore, and Moog i will have to pay for a reparation …

EDIT: The dealer found a solution, and indeed i have to send it back, as it looks like faulty. Moog tech support explaining it was more user error than anything else. I must be STUPID not beeing able to access that bootloader super sayan mode.

What a mess, i just received a new minitaur, and can’t enter boot loader mode again… i’m done with it.

Is there a mode that change the behavior of the release button that prevent me going into boot loader mode ?

there is a mode that changes the behavior of the Release button – you can press and hold the release button for 1second to toggle between modes.
However, this should have no effect on getting into the bootloader or no.

I am not sure what has caused this issue, as we have not yet received any of these troublesome units back at Moog. It seems the problem has not been reported by anyone in the USA, only in UK/EU so far… which makes it more difficult for us to diagnose. I think one such unit is on the way to us now, so I should know more soon.

I will also add a sysex command to enter boot loader mode, so there’s no need to rely on difficult Konami Code type maneuvers in the future.

Hi Amos,
same problems entering bootloader mode. Any news about that topic? Do you already know what the problem is?

My third unit worked as expected. The two first ones bought from the same shop in England didn’t, white versions. The last one is black from Germany, and working as expected.

I had the choice to send those back to moog or get a refund, had to go with the last option since sending them to USA was expensive.

Hope you find a solution.

So far, I haven’t seen any reports of this problem in the USA… have not gotten any such units back here to look at them. So I still don’t know anything about the underlying cause. I won’t until I can examine a unit which has this behavior…

Amos–

I am a USA (New York) based user. Just received my white Minitaur and am having the same problem described above:

  1. Minitaur REV 2 Software doesn’t tell me which version firmware the Minitaur has (“Firmware: ?”)

  2. I tried numerous times and various orders of the following steps in order to try to update firmware:

–– Removed all connections
–– Powered up Minitaur while holding VCO 1 & 2 switches
–– Pressed “Release” switch
–– Released all 3 buttons

To no avail. (Glide button doesn’t blink).

Do the new Minitaurs come preloaded with updated firmware or do I need to figure out this process?

Mine seems to recognize different Decay/Release times, as described in the manual.

However, it won’t load presets when I try to access them through the control panel (disconnected from the computer) – although the Minitaur Editor 2.0 software will save and load presets to and from the Minitaur.

Hoping this has a solution I can apply myself as I’d rather not deal with shipping and testing several units as the previous posters have described.

Here’s report

Hi, here’s another report from the USA. I’m a bit worried as the last post has gone unanswered… I have the same EXACT issue(s). Is there any news on this?

Thank you