DSP4000: Random Boot Failures (White Screen)

[siraltus]

Hey Gang,

I have a DSP4000 with ROM set v2.000, no sampler, no cards, serial 42343. On 5 out of 10 power-ups, it shows a blank (white) screen and does not boot. When it boots up, it works fine for hours on end with no hiccups.

Here's what I've done so far:

– Full factory reinit, format internal RAM, format card (several times each).

– Pressed all socketed ICs in to remove chip creep. Yes, they all creaked.

– Cleaned all connectors with DeOXIT 5% spray and reseated them several times.

Interesting observations:

-Having a SRAM card in the slot causes more frequent (6-7 out of every 10) boot failures. Tested with a 2MB Mitsubishi and a 4MB Panasonic SRAM card.

– The unit behaves this way regardless of temperature, i.e. boot failure rate stays steady regardless of whether it's booted cold or power-cycled after having been on for 4 hours.

– I had a single lonely crash that threw a hex error code that I didn't write down unfortunately, it occured when I pulled out the SRAM card (unit spontaneously jumped to preset 0 of the currently selected bank) and pushed it back in (crashed). I was not able to reproduce this crash again, so I'm guessing it's not related (or whatever caused it is in very early stages of electrical death).

So, my question is, should I be worried? Or more precisely, is the hardware dying? Dry caps in the PSU?

It's been working fine for over a month now, except for these boot failures, and the seller said it was recently serviced by Eventide and a new display was installed. I noticed someone wrote "SICK" on the board with a Sharpie near the analog output jacks, which worries me. (Or is this how you guys mark boards that need love before they get fixed?)

What else can I do to troubleshoot it? My next step is to run the internal self-tests. Should I also pry out all socketed chips, clean with DeOXIT, and reseat? Worst case scenario, I'm just across the G.W. bridge, so I'll be paying you guys a visit, my sick DSP4000 in hand…

Lastly, I really, truly appreciate your insight on this!

Cheers,

—Serge

[IDeangelis]

Hi Serge

sending the unit back yo us is the best solution. Maybe the RAM soldered battery needs to be changed? or else…..

Please contact support@eventide.com before anything else.

all the best

I

[siraltus]

OK, so my DSP4000 passed all diagnostics with flying colors.

Then, out ot curiosity, I put its SRAM card into my TC Electronics GoldChannel and it hard-froze the unit (several times in a row, actually) – dodgy SRAM card! Off to the bin it went.

Then….

I did a clear setup and internal RAM format on my DSP4000 and left it off overnight without a card in (I usually left a card in the unit) and it boots properly every single time now. It even boots with the other SRAM card inserted. (However, that card seems to be dodgy as well, as it throws a checksum error on the DSP4000 every other boot and shows up as 4MB on my GoldChannel even thoiugh it's a 2MB card.)

I've rebooted my DSP4000 about 30 times over the weekend and it booted properly every single time. Needless to say, the dodgy SRAM cards landed in the bin, and I'm off to making music!

Hope this information is useful for someone troubleshooting a similar problem in the future 🙂

Cheers,

–Serge 

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