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Pooched XW-P1


Jokeyman123
Go to solution Solved by Brad Saucier,

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Looks like Casio has updated their EULA anyway...

 

 


 

4 Limitation of Liability  
1) This Software is provided "as is," and CASIO makes no express warranty concerning the Software's ability to operate properly or to be free of defects, or concerning the correction of defects in the future, or the suitability of the Software functions for any particular purpose.
2) In no event shall CASIO be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of profits, business interruption, loss of information) arising out of the use of or inability to use this software, even if CASIO has been adviced of the possibility of such damages. spacer.gif
5 Other
  1) Items not covered by the Agreement or items that require further negotiation shall be settled by mutual agreement between you and CASIO.
2) Any claim arising under or relating to this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of Japan.
3) Any dispute arising under or relating to this Agreement shall come under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court.

 

 

 

 

 

Typical lawyer weasel words absolving them of all legal liability, but at least they leave an opening to negotiate a settlement in unusual cases.

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When I have a free moment, I will call customer service directly and see if I can get a repair quote out of them. I will post my results. I have never owned a keyboard that could be "crapped out" like this without being recoverable, and I've owned many. Maybe I need to communicate directly with someone from Casio Japan that might be knowledgeable about a firmware restore routine that can be re-applied through the USB port. I've done this with smartphones and tablets via "rooting" and these devices all use "embedded" firmware to boot the device up for recovery or installing custom "roms". If the XW ram is static (SRAM) it should still be capable of writing and reading data. Older "eeproms" were designed to have software "burned" into place. This firmware failure looks suspiciously similar to someone "bricking" their tablet or smartphone-suddenly no power, no screen etc. Even these can be restored if one has the right firmware. I'll be da***ed if I'm going to let this instrument become a doorstop, or pay an exorbitant repair fee simply because I was trying to update the instrument, followed directions and was blindsided by antivirus interrupting the update. If updating is this fragile and capable of completely shutting down the instrument, I'm sure I won't be the only one having this problem. 

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If it makes you feel any better, I sold a Toshiba Tablet to one of my cousins literally two weeks before the warranty ran out.

 

Within a week she managed to brick it and even a hard reset wouldn't bring it back.

 

I phoned Toshiba literally the day before the warranty ran out and sent it back for repair.

 

You have no idea how hard they tried to weasel out of the warranty but I stood firm and insisted that they repair it under warranty.

 

They finally did but it just goes to show that when the tech dept. are blockheads you escalate to the customer satisfaction dept.

 

My advice is if they stonewall you at Casio escalate to level two at the very least and customer satisfaction if you have to on this one.

 

Let them know exactly how big a stink this is causing on the internet and how common and catastrophic this problem has been worldwide.

 

Believe me, the last thing any big company wants or needs is bad press about their products.

 

Mention the fact that in North America they offer a three year warranty on their boards and how in the Eurozone customers are getting screwed.

 

Hopefully they'll relent and fix it on their own dime.

 

Ancient proverb says "Squeaky wheel gets the grease." ;)

 

Gary

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I agree happyrat. I am not disparaging Casio, I take responsibility that I did this to my keyboard. I am stunned though, that there is no technical solution other than replacing an entire circuitboard if this is the case, I'm not sure it is until I speak directly with Casio which I will do. I will follow up and hope I can hold out for a cost effective solution, one than can be remediated simply. In case there are suddenly or gradually thousands of XW-P1s and possibly XW-G1s that become "bricked", it would seem prudent on Casio's part to come up with an easier fix for their sake and their customer's sake rather than using their legal team to say, so sorry not our problem. We may live in a"disposable" economy but I don't think the XW-P1 should fall in that category. I still paid close to 400 bucks for an (almost new and unused) XW-P1. I understand the need to keep their OS and chips under wraps, thus all the more reason to port a software solution which in the long run would cost alot less, in hardware and bad PR.  There are many classic Casios out there worth using, a legacy of CZs, FZs and many others that still work well. This is a landmark instrument, they will sell many more. At least my post will prevent many others from making the same mistake, warranty or not. Enough said.

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Jokeyman

 

I check into this thread every day or so to see how you are doing on getting your XW going again.  I have not updated mine yet, but that has more to do with the fact that I don't have room to rack it up here in the studio at the moment.  Anyway, this evening I was remembering that I had just recently updated the OS on both of my Roland keyboards.  You download the update from the Roland site, copy it into the root directory of a USB flash drive, plug that into the keyboard and power it on as you hold down the correct buttons to start the process.  That's it.  No problems with PC crashes or anti-virus software interference, etc.  The only risk I had with the Jupiter 50 was a possible power failure.  (My UPS gave up the ghost a couple of months ago, and I haven't replaced it yet.), but the Juno-Gi is battery powered, so for it, I didn't even need to worry about power.  Then I remembered that some years ago, when I bought my Yamaha PSR-3000, I had the option to update its OS from a PC download (like the XW's) or by copying the update file into the root directory of a Smart Media Card and update it from there, similar to the Rolands.  When they rolled out Version 6, due to the growing scarcity of Smart Media Cards, Version 6 added the option to upgrade from a USB flash drive (The 3000 had both kinds of connectors.).  Now, this is the important point in this.  That should tell us that the method of update is determined by the Operating System, not by the hardware.  If Yamaha could do it, why can't Casio. We need to get on their case to include in the next update the added option to update from the SD Card.  Since the XW's are battery powered, that should allow for almost 100% safe updates.

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I took a look at the Casio website on the firmware download page, after you click the "I Agree" button.

 

The firmware instructions now include a new warning.

 

Take notice of the last line in RED.

 

The problem may not have been the antivirus at all but rather the Windows version.  Since Casio didn't warn about this originally there may well be grounds for them to repair the units out of their own pocket.

 

 


 

spacer.gif
Operating System
    spacer.gif

•For Windows
Windows®XP Home Edition/XP Professional(32-bit),(SP2 or later)
Windows Vista®(32-bit)
Windows ®7(32-bit/64-bit)
Windows ®8(32-bit/64-bit)
* About Windows ®8.1, this firmware is now incompatible, and it is under construction.

 

 

 

 

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I was running Windows XP pro 32-bit SP III, I now recall installing first firmware update with antivirus scanning on and it worked without a hitch (wouldn't do that again though!) I agree about being able to update and boot with SD card. Would eliminate this problem. Contacting Casio today on phone, will update here ASAP. Hell, I can drive to Dover, NJ when I'm back on my feet, not that far. I always try to act in good faith and hope the other end will respond reasonably. Part of the benefit of the new technology is improved communication (and new fun music toys!) Disadvantage is "bugs" like this. I will be real happy if I end up being part of a solution that may prevent new or existing buyers (over the holidays there will be many) from having this problem. As I am listening to Joey DeFrancesco on his Hammond blowing my doors off while writing this, I am reminded of quantum leaps in music tech. If my Leslie went belly-up or worse the B-3 coughed up a hairball during a gig, you finished if you were lucky and rich, with your other "roaded" B-3 which cost as much to repair as the buying a new XW, if you could find a good tech to do it without turning your stuff into a gumball machine with keys. Humbly submitted for your approval...................

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  • 4 weeks later...

I thought about that immediately-most new products that are firmware upgradeable follow that technique and it would have prevented my problem. I still have not gotten a chance to contact Casio about this. XW is certainly worth bringing back to life, but at what cost? In their rush to market, I suppose this blind spot can be forgiven, but shouldn't be overlooked on their part. I was suitably impressed with the XW ( having played and programmed the CZs many years before) as to want to upgrade the firmware. I have flashed and re-flashed phones, tablets and other keyboards and was aware of the potential failure but have always been able to recover these devices with the appropriate flashing software and .img or .bin files. I can't believe the XW is incapable of this. If it is, Casio needs to make this available to "end users". If I'm smart enough to disable it in software, I should be able to fix it the same way IMO! Meanwhile, I'm giving them another chance product-wise. I just purchased the Privia PX-350 which seems to have gotten alot of positive reviews. I will stay alive on the XW forum when I am able to restore it.

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I thought about that immediately-most new products that are firmware upgradeable follow that technique and it would have prevented my problem. I still have not gotten a chance to contact Casio about this. XW is certainly worth bringing back to life, but at what cost? In their rush to market, I suppose this blind spot can be forgiven, but shouldn't be overlooked on their part. I was suitably impressed with the XW ( having played and programmed the CZs many years before) as to want to upgrade the firmware. I have flashed and re-flashed phones, tablets and other keyboards and was aware of the potential failure but have always been able to recover these devices with the appropriate flashing software and .img or .bin files. I can't believe the XW is incapable of this. If it is, Casio needs to make this available to "end users". If I'm smart enough to disable it in software, I should be able to fix it the same way IMO! Meanwhile, I'm giving them another chance product-wise. I just purchased the Privia PX-350 which seems to have gotten alot of positive reviews. I will stay alive on the XW forum when I am able to restore it.

 

 

Yeah, I sure won't try to update mine. Even if they did warranty it, I'm sure I would have to cover shipping and the hassel of finding a box, getting it packed up, and then sent out. Not to mention not being able to use it for who knows how long.

 

Don't need the grief.

 

Don't know if I would purchase another Casio.

 

 

Let us know how it comes out with you Jokeyman.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Mike Martin the pro guy that he is, is working with me on this. I have complete confidence he will help me solve this problem. I just need to get the keyboard to Casio which due to personal stuff I can't right now not Casio's fault, the delay is mine. But  I'm hoping there may be a software solution to this that Casio Japan might come up with without compromising the XW's OS security so if others run into this firmware glitch it can be solved "in-house" by the user rather than having to replace a circuitboard or reflash at the factory. Just itching to get this working again, it is an impressive kit and stands up well to anything I've played. I just miss being able to play it!

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Hello Ted-Mike Martin has checked in with me and I am confident he will be helping me get this fixed-I am limited due to an injury I've dealing with which is why I haven't  gotten this done yet, no fault of Casio's. Thanks for taking an interest and I will update here ASAP. What I am hoping for is a more convenient solution for any XW (or future Casio keyboard owners) who wish to benefit from firmware upgrades without fear of causing an "unrecoverable error". I have dealt with worse technical catastrophes than this by far, without benefit of an easily accessible forum full of knowledgable people and a support person like Mike Martin. Meanwhile, I just purchased a PX-350 and am having a ball playing it, so I guess I haven't lost much faith in Casio products!

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  • 4 weeks later...

well since I had tried to update the firmware of my P1 end October 2013, I had brought it to my dealer (early nov 2013).
They could not fix it and had send it to casio-service.....  I got it back last Saturday 8 February 2014..
They had replaced the motherboard. It has now firmware 1.10, and it works. I had only to pay the postage because it took so long.
And now updating the firmware to 1.11 .... I think I will forget that. no more firmware updates for me.

Installing a backup gives only noize
And installing of my own "instruments" is not easy, it is better to rewrite them.....



 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Finally with a little help from my friends personally delivered my XW-P1 to Dover, NJ (I live about 30 miles away).  I mentioned it was the firmware "bug" that pooched it, I will know in a day or two what the damages will be. Debating whether to make a big deal of this. I have been able to restore and repair alot of equipment in my not overly exciting life, computers, phones, keyboards, tablet pcs, toasters, socks with holes. This is the first "techno-thing" that stupified me with armageddon firmware. Not overly excited about paying a large service charge for this. I could understand spending repair money if I had used it as a workbench for repairing roller-blades or carving pumpkins, but.........oh well. At least I haven't wiped the PX-350 (yet) and my CZs never had this problem but then no firmware was needed, only an occasional food particle in the keyboard easily removed without tech support. Pipe cleaners, toothpicks, tweezers, a soldering gun and band-aids are my friends along with occasional pain medication whilst working. :P

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Mike Martin is one truly classy guy-going to the Dover facility personally was actually very cool! He assured me they will repair XW-P1 free of charge, I am very happy.

 

Closing out-this was a classy thing for Casio and Mike to do-they owed me nothing, I did this myself, had no warranty so I might have had to pick up my cookies, shut my mouth and tough noogies. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it) But as cynical as I usually am about acting in good faith and good will as Willy Wonka said "so shines a good deed in a weary world". I can once more drive everybody nuts here with impossible questions and ridiculous experiments.

 

Thanks to everyone at this forum and also to Hugh O'Kelly for turning me into a "Father Ted" fan, a remarkable look into Irish whatever it is they were doing there, (I married a Murtaugh/Dempsey this has helped me understand her but only a little). :P A little nonsense every now and then....................

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  • 2 weeks later...

It is sweet to have my working XW-P1 back in business, it is a very cool piece of kit. I am continuing my PX-350 experiments by using the XW now as a controller to see if I can get some CC change messages into the PX-350 to change its DSP settings, volume levels for the song recorder and other things I'm not supposed to be able to do, what fun! If it works, I will post in the PX forums.

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