Strange issues when dealing with snapshots [Solved]

Using Zynthian
1

Hi everybody,
I am facing two really strange issues since a few days with my Zynthian. One has disappeared by itself (I will explain just after what I did), but the second one is becoming a real pain.

Issue #1 : each time my Zynthian was started (or rebooted), the sound preset for channel 14 (FluidSynth using GM bank) was disappearing. The Zynthian was only displaying “Fluid R3/GM” but no preset name. And there is really no preset loaded (no sound produced on this channel) :unamused:
When I was trying to enter the layer, I was unable to go inside the preset list. I was seeing the SF2 files list, but if I selected again Fluid R3/GM", I was going directly to the parameter page, not the list of programs within the SF2.
The problem disappeared when I made a new snapshot from the same configuration :thinking:
Since I did that, the Zynthian loads correctly the selected program when it starts and displays “14#FS > FluidR3 GM/Synth Drum” as expected.

Issue #2 : if I try to add any effect to any layer, I get an red triangle warning while the Zynthian logo moves. As soon as the red triangle appears, the logo stops moving and the Zynthian UI stays on the effect list. And no effect is loaded at all in the layer…

Here is the snapshot file I use :
003.zss (21.6 KB)

The Zynthian firmware is up to date, CPU load is 25% and CPU temperature is 54°C, so the machine is very far from reaching its limits

Does any of you has an idea of what can explain that ?

Thanks

Benoit

2

Have you deactivated the feature that loads the latest snapshot? And delete that snapshot file and the default.zss

3

And there was an issue with sf2 in the past. Have you created a recent image?

4

Hi Markus,

the problem did not only occur at startup, when Zynthian loads the latest snapshot, but also when I wanted to load it manually.

5

Everything depends on what you call a “recent” image :wink:

The image I use in my Zynthian is 6 or 7 months old, if I remember well

6

By the way, I just made a simple test : I have removed all layers, then added a single one and I get the same result : impossible to add any effect
Maybe my image is corrupted (it was working before), so I will make a test using a fresh image and see what happens.

Benoit

7

Thats not recent and most probably contains the faulty fluidsynth.

8
9

Do you mean that I should try using a “night build image” ?
The image I use is the one available on the wiki, and it is dated from 24th September 2019. I don’t see a more recent one on this page

https://wiki.zynthian.org/index.php/Zynthian_Software

Benoit

10

The ones in the wiki are outdated.
os.zynthian.org is the way to go.

11

Hello Markus,
I did as you recommend and took the last image from the nightly builds

Consequence : my Zynthian does not start anymore. I just get a huge ERROR message in red under the Zynthian logo with an IP address under it… :unamused:

I tried to reflash twice the SD card with the last image : same result. Flashing the “outdated” one still works, so using the latest images from os.zynthian.org is not necessarily a good idea.

12

Did you set the correct kit version in the webconf. The buster default is different to the aruk.

2 Likes
13

Ouch !!!
You idea is correct, Baggypants. This image starts with V3-Pro rather than V3. After changing it to V3, my Zynthian came back to life.

However, having a huge red ERROR message on the display is not very good, in my humble opinion. This would lead many users to “panic mode” as there is no explanation about the possible cause of the problem.
Would it not be better to have something like “ERROR : check HW configuration ?” on the splash screen ?
Just my two cents…

Thanks for your help anyway (I will try tomorrow to see if FluidSynth in this version has the same bug about the snapshot - which is the original topic of this post)

Benoit

2 Likes
14

Not a bad idea. Add it as a feature request to the issue tracker on GitHub. This is a common issue so it would be good to provide a more intuitive solution.

15

It’s been always “more or less” like that. At this stage, your zynthian don’t know where is the problem, so it simply say “ERROR” (that you should translate as “there is a problem”), this is the IP where you can connect to solve it …

Of course, it can be more verbose, but there is little we can say about the error, and the procedure to solve it has been explained lot of times:

1.) Connect to the webconf with your web browser and check your configuration.
2.) If it’s not a configuration problem, check the UI logs and open an issue.

All these steps are documented in the wiki and have been repeated in the forum many many times.

Anyway, i will try to improve the error screen, of course … :wink:

Regards,

16

Snapshot issue seems to be solved at Zynthian level. I have tried a few times to load the snapshot which includes an instance of FluidSynth, and :

  • it loads the programmed preset each time (name correctly displayed on Layer List page)
  • I am now able to browse back the presets list as expected

Just a small issue noted with the webconf : when I sent back the .zss files, the browser remained with the “processing” mouse cursor (spinning wheel). The .zss file is correctly uploaded, and refreshing manually the page on the browser makes it visible (unable to say for now if the issue is on server or browser side)

Benoit

17

Or we could introduce something like an installation.ini file we are copying into the root of the image.
It contains the 4 settings for kit, audio, wiring, screen.
Jenkins can build images for each kit with the appropriate installation.ini file.
The custom-kit users have to copy their file before starting for the first time.
when the zynthian has started the first time, the ini file will be deleted.

I would write a download button that creates the ini file in the webconf…

18

The build is quite long running with large images. It may be better to have a method of selecting something at initial boot.

19

isn’t the build itself the long running process? not the archiving or creation of the .img?