Chapter 18· Groove OS 2.0 beta

Troubleshooting

Play along as you read: the FM-1 beside the text is a working one, running the real Groove OS 2.0, and it follows the part of the page you are reading. Tap a control's name in the text to find it on the panel, and press Start on a Try it card to be shown. Sound stays off until you turn it on.

When something looks wrong, start here. This chapter covers the safety nets (rescue mode, the crash log, reinstalling), what to do if the screen stays dark, and a table of the messages and problems you are most likely to meet. Each chapter also ends with a short table for its own screen.

Before anything else

What happens	Why, and what to do
Nothing responds, or the screen is frozen	Switch off, then on. The session resumes from the autosave. If it happens again, see Rescue mode and the crash log.
I am lost	Tap : it goes back one level and, from any view but PERFORM, to TRACKS. It never stops the music. On PERFORM, turn .
A knob ring is dark	That knob has no job on the row the cursor is on. Move the cursor with , or hold for a second row.
A row is dimmed	It cannot act now. Press on it: a toast says why.
I lost a change	Tap (hold , tap ): undo takes back the last thing you did, on any track. On the SAMPLER it takes back the last take, keep or chop. See Recording and undo and Undo, retake and delete.
A card covers the screen	You held for a second: this is the page's help card. Press any control, or again, to put it away.

Try it·On the FM-1

You are in a menu and not sure where. Tap HOME: it goes back one level.

HOME

Rescue mode

Rescue mode is how you get Groove OS back when it cannot run. There is no M-VAVE screen under Groove OS 2.0 to fall back to, so it is not a stock screen: it waits for a computer. A small protected starter runs before Groove OS on every start, and rescue mode is where it stops. There are two ways in.

It comes by itself when Groove OS cannot start. The screen says GROOVE OS RESCUE, the reason, and CONNECT USB, OPEN THE INSTALLER PAGE:

The screen says	What it means
`NO GROOVE OS FOUND`	There is no Groove OS on the FM-1: an install did not get as far as writing it.
`BAD HEADER` or `GROOVE OS DAMAGED`	What is on the FM-1 is incomplete or damaged, for example after an interrupted install.
`NEEDS NEW STAGE 0`	The Groove OS on the FM-1 needs a newer starter (stage 0) than this FM-1 has. Install it again from the Install page.
`DID NOT START`	Groove OS failed to start three times in a row. Switch the FM-1 off and on: that always tries once more. If it fails again, reinstall.
`AN UPDATE STARTED`	An install has begun and the FM-1 is waiting for the Install page. Keep the tab open and let it finish; if the tab was closed, connect again and press Finish install.
`ASKED BY GROOVE OS`	Groove OS asked for rescue mode itself. Connect and open the Install page.

Connect the FM-1 to a computer with a USB data cable and open the Install page in Chrome or Edge, as the screen says. The page reads the FM-1 and tells you what to press. A unit in rescue mode answers as FM-1_701, which the page treats as another custom firmware, so it offers the two steps: M-VAVE's V15 goes back on first, from M-VAVE's own file, then Groove OS installs. See Coming from another custom firmware. Rescue mode writes nothing by itself, and your projects are not touched until you press the button.

You can ask for it with the keys. Switch the FM-1 off, hold and together as you switch it on, and keep them held for a few seconds. Groove OS does not start, and the screen stays dark: the FM-1 is in USB download mode, the chip's own mode for putting firmware on from a computer. The Install page cannot see it there, so this is the last resort, for a computer with the project's tools: see Last resort: USB download mode. SETTINGS > ABOUT lists it as RESCUE: OCT- + OCT+ AT POWER-ON. To leave it, switch the FM-1 off, wait about ten seconds and switch it on again without touching the keys. Nothing is written, and Groove OS stays installed.

If the screen stays dark

Switch the FM-1 off and on again. A dark screen right after an install is common; the first boot takes a moment.
If the screen says GROOVE OS RESCUE, Groove OS could not start: follow Rescue mode.
If nothing appears, plug the FM-1 into a computer with a data cable and open the Install page in Chrome or Edge. Press Connect FM-1. If the page sees the unit it says what it runs. If the unit is waiting in its updater, the button reads Finish install: press it and keep the tab open.
If the page cannot finish, use The way back on the same page to install M-VAVE's V15, from any state. It erases saved Groove projects. See the way back.
The last resort is USB download mode, at the end of Install, update and the way back.

The updater is part of the FM-1 and is always there, so a half-finished install can be finished.

Crash log

If the FM-1 crashes, it restarts by itself, and Groove OS keeps a report. The next boot says so once, in a message at the top that stays for a few seconds:

RESTARTED AFTER A CRASH · REPORT SAVED

Your music is not lost: the autosave is brought back at power-on (set STARTUP to RESUME; see PROJECT), and everything you saved is untouched.

What a report holds. The cause of the crash, the CPU's state, the last 16 controls you used (page and control numbers only), and the state of the transport and engines. It has no notes, sounds, project names or track names, and no audio. The report stays on the FM-1 until someone reads it over USB; nothing is sent anywhere by itself.

Where to find it. SETTINGS > ABOUT shows CRASH LOG n, how many reports the FM-1 holds.

Row	What it does
`CRASH LOG n ↵`	(`SEND OVER USB`) sends the reports over USB MIDI (`SENT 2 REPORTS`).
`CLEAR LOG ↵`	Erases the reports (asks: `CLEAR CRASH LOG?`).

If it keeps crashing, write to us: say what you were doing just before, and the version and build from ABOUT. Keep the reports on the FM-1 until we have helped you: they tell us what went wrong, and we will show you how to send them.

Reinstalling

Reinstalling replaces Groove OS on the FM-1. The install page saves a copy of your projects to your downloads first, then puts them back on the FM-1 and checks them. It also saves your samples and kits in this browser and puts them back.

Open the beta's Install page, connect the FM-1, and read Your FM-1 runs.
If it says Already installed. Nothing to do., the build on the FM-1 is the one the page offers. To reinstall it anyway, use the way back to V15 first and then install again.
If the FM-1 runs an older 2.0 build, press Install: the page updates it.
If it waits in its updater, press Finish install.

Details: Install, update and the way back.

Messages

You see	What it means
`8 TRACKS: NO MORE`	A project holds eight tracks.
`THE LAST TRACK STAYS`	You cannot delete the last track.
`STOP RECORDING FIRST`	Tracks cannot be added, copied or deleted while recording.
`CLEAR THE TRACK FIRST`	A track with notes cannot change between a sound, a kit and a sample. A kit or an instrument from the SAMPLER goes on an empty track, or a drum track for a kit.
`T1 ARP OFF · SEQ ON` or `T1 SEQ OFF · ARP ON`	A track plays its arpeggiator or its sequencer, not both: the button you press wins. on a track whose arp plays switches the arp off and the pattern on, and does the reverse.
`4 NOTES: THE STEP IS FULL`	A step holds four notes.
`C4 OFF THE STEP`	A key pressed again on its step took that note off it (the note's name changes). brings it back.
`LOCKS FULL: 64 IN USE`	Parameter locks are used up. Clear some.
`PATTERNS FULL`	All 16 stored patterns are used.
`FULL`	A track or the project holds as many note events as it can.
`TOO LONG`	The track lengths would take more than 168 bars to line up. On SEQ it also answers the 8 key: a pattern holds up to four bars.
`PLAY, THEN CAPTURE` / `NOTHING TO CAPTURE`	Capture needs the music playing and something played.
`NOTHING TO UNDO` / `NOTHING TO REDO`	The journal holds nothing in that direction.
`NOTHING TO CLEAR ON T2`	The track has no recorded notes and its pattern has none. A CLEAR takes both, the pattern a DICE roll wrote included. See The TRACK menu.
`TEMPO: MIDI CLOCK`	The MIDI clock is `EXT`; the incoming clock sets the tempo.
`KIT STEPS OFF`	on the drum grid switched the kit's steps off and went to TRACKS (the hits stay and play on). See The step grid.
`PADS A 1-8` / `PADS B 9-16`	on a KIT track flipped the pads the black keys play. The tag under the screen says which page you are on.
`TURN AGAIN TO LEAVE` / `LOCKED: PERFORM`	PERFORM guards itself while the music plays (toward KEYS; toward MIX one detent leaves).
`SAVES WHEN YOU STOP`	You pressed while the music plays. It saves at the next stop, and the SAVE light blinks until then. again calls it off (`SAVE CALLED OFF`).
`NAME IT, THEN SAVE`	A song that was never saved asks for its name first. Type it on the keys and press again; leaves without saving (`NOT SAVED`).
`ALL SLOTS FULL: PICK ONE`	Three project slots are used.
`SAVE FAILED: OLD SAVE KEPT`	The write could not finish; the old project is intact.
`LOAD FAILED: NOTHING LOST`	The project in that slot could not be read. The session on the FM-1 is as it was.
`PROJECT TOO BIG`	The song is too big for a slot. Clear a track or a pattern you do not need, and save again.
`A MOMENT: AUTOSAVING`	The autosave is writing. Wait for it.
`RESUME SKIPPED: IT CRASHED`	Resuming the last session crashed the FM-1 the last time, so this start did not resume it. Your saved songs are untouched. See the crash log.
`RESUME FAILED: PROJECT KEPT`	The autosave could not be loaded. It is kept as it was, and your saved songs are untouched.
`LOADING BANK D` / `BANK D LOADED`	The website is loading a sound bank into D, and has finished. See Loading banks from the website.
`BANK D NOT LOADED`	The load stopped (the cable, a closed tab) and bank D is as it was. Load it again.
`2 SAMPLES MISSING`	The project uses samples this FM-1 does not have. Their pads and tracks play a stand-in sound until the samples are on the FM-1 again, and the first says so (`2 MISSING · GROOVE-OS.COM/SAMPLES`). SAMPLES lists what the FM-1 holds: see SAMPLES.
`PROJECT FULL: 32 SAMPLES`	A project holds up to 32 samples. Put a track back on a built-in sound or kit to make room.
`RESTART TO APPLY`	A SETTINGS change, USB AUDIO, takes effect after a restart: switch the FM-1 off and on. See USB AUDIO.
A message about takes, pads, samples or room (`STOP TO SAVE`, `16 PADS FULL · HOME: NEW KIT`, `TOO LONG FOR THE ROOM`)	These come from the SAMPLER. See its Troubleshooting.
`SAVE YOUR PROJECT THEN OPEN LEARN`	You picked a course in SETTINGS > `LEARN`, and the project you have open has unsaved changes. Press , then pick it again. See Learn on your FM-1.
A course's name with `THE MUSIC STOPS`	You picked a course in SETTINGS > `LEARN`: it asks before it starts. Turn to `START` and press , or keep `CANCEL` to stay. Your saved songs stay as they are.
`ADD THE COURSES FROM THE WEBSITE` in `LEARN`	The courses are missing on this FM-1. Connect it on the beta's Install page again and follow what it offers: the six courses go on with the install.
`STEP 03 / 11` and `HOLD GLO: GUIDE` on the bottom line	You are in a course: the step you are on, and a hold of shows its card. `STEP 03 COMPLETE` means you just earned it.

Try it·On the FM-1

Hold HOME and tap SEQ: DICE rolls a beat. Then hold HOME and tap REC: undo takes it back.

HOMESEQHOMEREC

Known issues in the beta

The things you may meet in the beta, plainly. We are finishing them.

What happens	What to do
Bluetooth fails to connect while the FM-1 is working hard	Try again. Stopping the music first helps.
`BLUETOOTH` is off after an install from M-VAVE's V16	V16 clears the setting. Turn `BLUETOOTH` on in SETTINGS (see SETTINGS).
A take you made on the FM-1 while the Samples page was writing is not kept (the screen says `BUSY: WEBSITE` or `COULDN'T SAVE`)	Nothing in your samples is lost. Don't record on the FM-1 while the Samples page is writing: wait for it to finish, then record again.
A take is offered by DELETE UNUSED on the Samples page, but your open SAMPLER uses it	The page cannot see the SAMPLER sheet until you save. Save in the SAMPLER first, then delete.
A sample plays in mono	Samples are mono, in the beta.

Something else? Write to us from the 2.0 beta page: the message carries the build number.

Common problems

What happens	Why, and what to do
No sound from a track	Is it muted or is another track soloed (MIX)? Is its `LEVEL` up? Has it a sound (select it and turn )? Is the pattern switched on () and the music playing? Is the FM-1's volume up?
PRESETS lists only KITS, or a bank has gaps	Those slots are erased or hold data the FM-1 cannot read. Load a sound pack from the Sounds page, or put it back with `SETTINGS > STORAGE > RESET BANK`.
The Sounds page waits and does not load a sound pack	The music is playing or PRESETS is open on the FM-1. Stop the music or close PRESETS: the page carries on by itself.
opens SETTINGS when I wanted the help	A tap of is SETTINGS. Hold it for a second for the page's card (in a course, the step card).
does not save while the music plays	It waits for the stop: `SAVES WHEN YOU STOP`. Press to stop, and it saves.
and do not change the octave on SEQ or KIT	On those grids they move the bar. sets the octave on SEQ, and flips the pads (A and B) on KIT.
and a turn did not clear a recorded lane	and a turn always move a number by tens. A recorded lane clears in the TRACK menu, under `AUTOMATION`: pick the lane and press . brings it back.
Pressing again did not turn the arp off	It takes you back to where you were, and the arp plays on. Turn it off in the ARP menu ( on the ARP page, first row `ARP`).
The black keys play only pads 1 to 8 on a kit	A kit has 16 pads on two pages. The tag under the screen says `PADS A` or `PADS B`; flips the page.
My samples are missing after switching between 1.4 and 2.0	Samples and kits come with you, and the ones you made in 2.0 wait in this browser while 1.4 is on. Connect on the Install page again: if not all of them have come across, the button says Finish the install. See Moving between 1.4 and 2.0.
A song is not on the FM-1 after switching	The page says which one could not go back. It stays in your downloads as a `.groove` file: put it back with upload, see Back up, share and restore on the web.
Bluetooth is off after going back to 1.4	1.4 turns it off when it is installed. Turn it on again in `SETTINGS`.
My unsaved session is not back on 1.4	The autosave does not come back on the way back to 1.4, but the page saved it to your downloads as a `.groove` file before it wrote anything.
A track sounds quiet	MIX `LEVEL`, then the sound's own `LEVEL` macro, then the master.
The keys play wrong notes	`IN KEY` is on `SNAP`: set it to `OFF` in KEYS.
The keys play chords	`CHORDS` is on: switches it off.
A change I made lands late	`LAUNCH` is `BEAT` or `BAR`: it waits for the line. Set it to `OFF` in the TIME menu.
I moved the cursor and pressed a key on the drum grid, and my hit disappeared	Each white key is one step, wherever the cursor is: the first white key is step 1, the second step 2, and the tag says `STEPS`. Pressing a step's key again takes its hit off. Press the key of the step you want; the cursor is only for editing a hit. See The step grid.
I want to delete one note in a sound track's sequencer	Press its key again on the step: it comes off (`C4 OFF THE STEP`) and the step's other notes stay. Or put the cursor on the step, hold and press any key: a rest, the notes gone, the cursor on the next step. (held) clears the step with its settings and locks, and asks first.
The drums are out of time with my notes	`QUANT` is `OFF`, or the track has a `TIMING` offset. Check the TIME row and the TRACK menu.
Notes from a MIDI keyboard do not sound	Send them on a track's channel: see MIDI and sync.
`BLUETOOTH` says `RADIO ERROR`	The radio did not start. Switch the FM-1 off and on again (see SETTINGS).
A project will not load	`LOAD FAILED: NOTHING LOST` means that slot could not be read and nothing changed. Try another slot, or put back a `.groove` file you saved.
My loops are gone after switching off	Only saved projects and the autosave come back. Check `STARTUP` is `RESUME`.
The browser installer says my browser is not supported	Use Chrome or Edge on a computer.
The installer says my FM-1 runs another custom firmware	Groove OS installs over M-VAVE's V15. The page does it in two steps: V15 back on from M-VAVE's own file, then Groove OS. Back up what the other firmware saved first, with its own tools. See Coming from another custom firmware. On an older M-VAVE firmware (V14), the page says the same, and the same two steps work.
The installer says the FM-1 did not answer	Close other programs that use MIDI and connect again. If M-VAVE's updater app is open, quit it so it lets go of the FM-1. If it stays silent, switch the FM-1 off and on.

Try it·On the FM-1

T2 makes no sound: it is muted. Turn K2 one click left to unmute it.

K2

Still stuck?

Write to us. Say what the FM-1 shows and what you did just before, and we will help you get it playing again.