Boss GT100/ Tone Studio Connection Failure after Win 10 Update 1/6/18 - Answer found 4/6/18.

Alnico

I've had my GT100 since last summer and I mostly love it.

It's always run fine on Win 10 until yesterday when it suddenly stopped talking to the laptop.

Right before I started using it, Adobe 'Air', which it needs to run wanted an update and so did Windows so I did that and now it simply won't connect.

The first thing you see is this and it's normal, this means it's recognising the GT100..

https://i.imgur.com/3KCN5WX.jpg

But then, which is not normal, it gives you a screen to select MIDI In/Out and Audio In/Out, all of which have 'GT100 Primary' as an option but it doesn't matter what you select there, when you hit "Ok" or "Refresh" it just loops you back to that screen again and if you hit "Close" it will do so and leave you in Tone Studio's "Offline Mode" where no matter what you do, it won't have any effect on the unit itself.

https://i.imgur.com/J6BXCaU.jpg

Nothing I do will get me past that screen.

We have an old laptop with Win 7 on it and it installed fine and works fine on that, the problem being it's an old laptop with HDD and runs slows as hell, plus none of my music is on there etc and whilst I can still edit the GT100 that way, it's a pain in the arse and it's not even my laptop.

Is there anyone who knows how to get around this?

I've checked and quadruple checked stuff like the USB cable, the driver and it's all correct. It was working a few days ago as it always has done, no problem.

I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling Adobe Air but obviously, that latest version is what might be the problem and it's just reinstalled that one.

Running windows recovery won't work (I don't think so anyway) because that's not going to take me back to a previous version of Adobe Air.

I'd love a Helix or a GT1000 or whatever but I've got no gear money at all so it's this GT100 or nothing.

I'm grateful for any help.

I've emailed Boss but they won't reply until next week.

TheBigDipper

I'm a GT100 and MacBook Pro user, so I can't help you from personal experience, but... 

Try downloading new/latest copies of the drivers and software from the Boss website and reinstalling? Just in case? 

Alnico

TheBigDipper said:

I'm a GT100 and MacBook Pro user, so I can't help you from personal experience, but... 

Try downloading new/latest copies of the drivers and software from the Boss website and reinstalling? Just in case? 

Did that fairly early on yesterday.

I've even had the driver open in a text editor and checked it against what it should say, derived from posts on forums etc and it's all fine. It's the Version 2.1 Driver and allows Win 10.

The driver and Tone Studio are fresh installs.

Adobe Air and Win 10 are recent updates and somehow, one of them (I think) has caused the issue.

Even the GT says "USB Connected" on its own (Left hand) screen as you plug the USB in so it's not the physical connection.

I've checked the 'Sound' settings on the laptop and they're all fine, the GT100 even shows up in device manager and is apparently working just fine,...except it's not.

My money is on it being Adobe and not Microsoft but I guess I'll find out at some point.

In the meantime, it's driving me mad and the workaround using the other laptop is more to prove that the GT isn't at fault and it can be tweaked that way, albeit not very convenient.

There's no way I'm going forward like that, this needs to be fixed at some point.

I'd be a Macbook pro user if I could afford one.

I'm no fan of Microsoft, especially not right now.

flying_pie

I don't think I've updated Air for a while and my GT 100 works okay albeit painfully slowly with Windows 10 and Tone Studio. 

Maybe you should uninstall Air then find the previous version from Adobe and install that instead 

Alnico

flying_pie said:

I don't think I've updated Air for a while and my GT 100 works okay albeit painfully slowly with Windows 10 and Tone Studio. 

Maybe you should uninstall Air then find the previous version from Adobe and install that instead 

I wasn't aware that I could do that with Adobe or anything else for that matter?
I thought you just get the latest version. 

Do you know how I'd go about getting the previous version?

flying_pie

@Alnico I can't get to a link just now (using my phone) due to the way their page works but usually the download page will have links to the most recent version and also older ones. 

I often go as long as possible before updating software of something is stable. I've done it loads of times with my phone too when updated apps are dreadful.

Funkfingers

Is the GT-100 connected directly to the computer or via an audio/MIDI interface device?

In either case, how many cables are you running between the GT-100 and whatever it is connected to? One or two? My thought here is that there is a handshaking process that has not occurred properly. 

flying_pie

If all else fails there's a third party app available. It's not as versatile as tune studio but works fine for backing up 

https://fxfloorboard.sourceforge.io/info.php?model=gt-100

bingefeller

Uninstall and choose an older version from here http://www.oldversion.com/windows/adobe-air/

just hope it doesn't want to auto update.  

darthed1981

You tried uninstalling and reinstalling everything?  Uninstall drivers, tone studio and adobe air then reinstall first Air, then drivers, then tone studio.

Windows 10 has a slightly odd bug where it just goes screw it, and refuses to recognise USB devices it already has installed.

The usual fix is to unplug the device, restart the PC properly (hold down shift while you press restart so it actually does) and then re-plug the device in.

The last bit (a "proper" reboot) is worth trying first in any case.

TTony

Alnico said:

My money is on it being Adobe and not Microsoft 

That's where I'd put my money too.

Alnico said:

I'm no fan of Microsoft, especially not right now.

Possibly undeserved, given where you're putting your money

Alnico

flying_pie said:

@Alnico I can't get to a link just now (using my phone) due to the way their page works but usually the download page will have links to the most recent version and also older ones. 

I often go as long as possible before updating software of something is stable. I've done it loads of times with my phone too when updated apps are dreadful.

bingefeller said:

Uninstall and choose an older version from here http://www.oldversion.com/windows/adobe-air/

just hope it doesn't want to auto update.  

Thank you guys.

I'll try this first.

darthed1981 said:

You tried uninstalling and reinstalling everything?  Uninstall drivers, tone studio and adobe air then reinstall first Air, then drivers, then tone studio.

Windows 10 has a slightly odd bug where it just goes screw it, and refuses to recognise USB devices it already has installed.

The usual fix is to unplug the device, restart the PC properly (hold down shift while you press restart so it actually does) and then re-plug the device in.

The last bit (a "proper" reboot) is worth trying first in any case.

I didn't know that about restarting so I guess I'll try that first THEN the above but yes I did resintall everything.

Thanks Ed.

flying_pie said:

If all else fails there's a third party app available. It's not as versatile as tune studio but works fine for backing up 

https://fxfloorboard.sourceforge.io/info.php?model=gt-100

That's really useful to remember as a back up, thanks.

bingefeller

Let us know how you get on, Alnico.  

Alnico

Ok,

Found version 25 of Adobe Air from March 2017 and installed that (Uninstalled new one first).

Didn't work and then wanted to update to version 29, the current one.

Tried system restore to a month ago, when I know the GT was working and that didn't work either, still get that second screen saying connection failure.

TTony said:

Alnico said:

My money is on it being Adobe and not Microsoft 

That's where I'd put my money too.

Alnico said:

I'm no fan of Microsoft, especially not right now.

Possibly undeserved, given where you're putting your money

Not sure what would have happened to my money but I suspect I would have lost it.

I've not been a fan of Microsoft for a while, this only makes it worse.

It might be undeserved and it's almost certainly my own fault for just letting things update or clicking "ok" but it's still less than impressive when it all suddenly won't work.

A new SSD for the other laptop is £28 and I've got an official CD ROM copy of Win 7 plus an offer to let me use that laptop for just my music stuff if I leave my newer Win 10 machine at home for general household use.

There's only the two of us here and at the moment, that last solution is winning.

I'll try any ideas to get it working on my own machine if there is anything else I can do but I've reached the limits of my own experience with this.

darthed1981

Before you go too drastic I'd try a different USB cable as well.

Always check the cable, they do go, I had one someone had yanked (I presume) at work the other month.  I looked like it was connected, but it didn't work right.  Cable swap fixed it.

Alnico

darthed1981 said:

Before you go too drastic I'd try a different USB cable as well.

Always check the cable, they do go, I had one someone had yanked (I presume) at work the other month.  I looked like it was connected, but it didn't work right.  Cable swap fixed it.

Tried both here.

Both work on the older laptop but not on my newer one.

Both also succesfully run the printer.

darthed1981

Alnico said:

darthed1981 said:

Before you go too drastic I'd try a different USB cable as well.

Always check the cable, they do go, I had one someone had yanked (I presume) at work the other month.  I looked like it was connected, but it didn't work right.  Cable swap fixed it.

Tried both here.

Both work on the older laptop but not on my newer one.

Both also succesfully run the printer.

Not the cables then.

If everything else didn't fix it, bit of a puzzle.  Possible you aren't alone, in which case Boss will likely issue a fix.

If I remember correctly for a while you couldn't download tone studio for the Katana because of a problem they were fixing with it.

Alnico

I suspect you're right.

In the meantime swapping laptops for music is the only real solution I have.

If anything more transpires I'll post it here. 

Thanks for your help so far everyone.

TheBigDipper

Funkfingers said:

Is the GT-100 connected directly to the computer or via an audio/MIDI interface device?

In either case, how many cables are you running between the GT-100 and whatever it is connected to? One or two? My thought here is that there is a handshaking process that has not occurred properly. 

For those who want to help but don't have one, the GT100 is the audio interface for many people, so it connects using a single USB cable. Boss don't recommend using a USB hub. 

If you're recording, it's the audio interface. If you're editing patches, backing up or restoring the unit, it's using MIDI over USB using the Boss Tone Studio app. 

FWIW, I only use MIDI over USB for Tone Studio and don't use it as an audio interface, but only because I like the one I already had. The GT one works fine too.

ecc83

Have you tried Restore? I doubt that will defeat the driver clucking Ms updates but it is worth a try.

Next get your problem over to www.soundonsound.com where this sort of thing with Ms forced updates is common now. Pete Kaine of Scan gives unstintingly of his time there and can probably tell you if there is a fix, very often there isn't!

I think a lot of people with W10 and some serious studio kit have "frozen" the OS and no longer connect the music computer to the web, that being about the only way it seems to stop these updates.

I have a 'mothballed' W10 desktop and it has not had the last round of UDs so I hope to fire it up in a day or so and see what's 'kd!

I have a Native Instruments KA6, a Focusrite 8i6 (obsolete so little hope there!) and some other kit that is "generic" USB audio...Such Fun!

Dave.

Alnico

ecc83 said:

Have you tried Restore? I doubt that will defeat the driver clucking Ms updates but it is worth a try.

Next get your problem over to www.soundonsound.com where this sort of thing with Ms forced updates is common now. Pete Kaine of Scan gives unstintingly of his time there and can probably tell you if there is a fix, very often there isn't!

I think a lot of people with W10 and some serious studio kit have "frozen" the OS and no longer connect the music computer to the web, that being about the only way it seems to stop these updates.

I have a 'mothballed' W10 desktop and it has not had the last round of UDs so I hope to fire it up in a day or so and see what's 'kd!

I have a Native Instruments KA6, a Focusrite 8i6 (obsolete so little hope there!) and some other kit that is "generic" USB audio...Such Fun!

Dave.

Thanks Dave. 
Tried system restore last night and still won't work.

I will go over to the website you mention and ask.
The more I look into this the more I see others suffering and I'm glad it's only my GT100 that's screwed.

It's really annoying because before this month everything worked really well.

New SSD for the older laptop will be here in a day or so and that's the most viable solution so far.