Error 18

MotherSea

Experienced
I have read the threads on this already, but am having a slightly different problem.

I am using a USB to Midi converter (cheapo ebay buy which has always worked perfectly) and Axe-Edit as my librarian.

The problem seems to be that Axe Edit won't stop sending "update" messages once I set my USB cable as the Midi output.

Therefore, when I boot up the MFC in FW update mode, it receives one of these messages and thinks it's faulty firmware. Immediate says error 18.


I can't seem to find the setting in Axe Edit to not send these messages which are getting in the way of the update. Help?




P.S. I am aware that it is now easy with the Axe II to update the MFC firmware with a 5 pin midi cable. The problem is the only one I have currently is 7!
 
On the Axe II, make sure you set Send Realtime Sysex to None in the MIDI menu. Otherwise, you will get error 18 in firmware update mode on the MFC. (Trust me, I know!) You can change it back after the firmware update on the MFC.

FYI - I have only a 7 pin MIDI cable between the MFC and the Axe II and I have no problem performing MFC firmware updates. Don't forget, though, that you will need to turn USB Adapter Mode to On in the Axe MIDI menu.
 
On the Axe II, make sure you set Send Realtime Sysex to None in the MIDI menu. Otherwise, you will get error 18 in firmware update mode on the MFC. (Trust me, I know!) You can change it back after the firmware update on the MFC.

FYI - I have only a 7 pin MIDI cable between the MFC and the Axe II and I have no problem performing MFC firmware updates. Don't forget, though, that you will need to turn USB Adapter Mode to On in the Axe MIDI menu.
I tired your way and couldn't get it to take. error 2 and 6 would happen. I do not have a 5 pin atm, just a 7. My MFC-101 has to be sent back anyway. Bad ribbon or something, just been so busy haven't had the time to send it off.
Need to do that asap.
 
On the Axe II, make sure you set Send Realtime Sysex to None in the MIDI menu. Otherwise, you will get error 18 in firmware update mode on the MFC. (Trust me, I know!) You can change it back after the firmware update on the MFC.

FYI - I have only a 7 pin MIDI cable between the MFC and the Axe II and I have no problem performing MFC firmware updates. Don't forget, though, that you will need to turn USB Adapter Mode to On in the Axe MIDI menu.


I don't understand how this applies to my situation... I'm not plugged into the Axe at all. At first I was using CAT5 for power, but then I tried just using the MFC power supply and the same thing happened.

The other thing is... how in the world do you update with a 7 pin cable if the Midi In jack on the MFC and Midi Out on the Axe are only 5 pin?
 
I don't understand how this applies to my situation... I'm not plugged into the Axe at all. At first I was using CAT5 for power, but then I tried just using the MFC power supply and the same thing happened.

The other thing is... how in the world do you update with a 7 pin cable if the Midi In jack on the MFC and Midi Out on the Axe are only 5 pin?

Ok, since you are just using a separate MIDI interface then try not running AxeEdit when you are doing the MFC firmware update since that could be sending extra MIDI traffic to cause the error 18. Then just use MIDI-OX or SysEx Librarian to send the firmware.

If using a 7 pin MIDI cable, this gets connected from Axe MIDI IN to MFC MIDI OUT for two-way communication. You can also phantom power the MFC through this cable by connecting the power adapter to the Axe. This is how I am connected and have had no problem updating to MFC firwmare 1.04 and then to firmware 2.01 (with the other Axe MIDI settings change I mentioned above).
 
Ok, since you are just using a separate MIDI interface then try not running AxeEdit when you are doing the MFC firmware update since that could be sending extra MIDI traffic to cause the error 18. Then just use MIDI-OX or SysEx Librarian to send the firmware.

If using a 7 pin MIDI cable, this gets connected from Axe MIDI IN to MFC MIDI OUT for two-way communication. You can also phantom power the MFC through this cable by connecting the power adapter to the Axe. This is how I am connected and have had no problem updating to MFC firwmare 1.04 and then to firmware 2.01 (with the other Axe MIDI settings change I mentioned above).


The thing that confuses me is I have updated the MFC using Axe-Edit before with no problem.

Interesting about the 7-pin. I'll have to try that, because I may have just ordered a 5-pin for no reason.
 
Ok, I tried it your way (following all instructions with 7 pin) and I'm still getting error 18. It happens before I even open Axe Edit. I have tried using CAT5 for power as well as phantom power through midi.
 
Ok, I've managed to avoid error 18 by rebooting the MFC after Axe Edit and the Axe are already turned on.

The problem now is that as soon as I start to send the firmware, I get error 6. I tried re-downloading the file - same thing.
 
Got it to work with MIDI OX instead of Axe Edit. Maybe I could have done it by fiddling with the midi settings in Axe Edit.

Dave, thanks for your help. It is awesome that I can now ditch my POS midi adapter and there's no need to purchase another midi cable.
 
I got lots of Error 18 issues. its happened everytime I try to update :(

However, i got it to work. Power the MFC with a Cat 5 cable NOT a midi cable. Connect a 5 pin Midi cable from PC to MFC (if you need to go through the AFX ???? no idea how to do that bit) then use Midi-OX. Make sure the buffers are ser as per the release notes (I got issues because mine was set to 128bit not 256 bit - needed that for old AFX standard FW updates but it seems too slow for the MFC). Once I had done that I had no issues updating. Always makes me nurvous though.
 
Oh - In my experience, the Error 6 is because its being powered by a 7 pin Midi cable.


I assumed that this was the issue, and I was about to un-cancel my order for a 5 pin cable. Then I tried it in MIDI OX and it worked absolutely perfectly. No hiccups with the 7 pin.
 
Got it to work with MIDI OX instead of Axe Edit. Maybe I could have done it by fiddling with the midi settings in Axe Edit.

Dave, thanks for your help. It is awesome that I can now ditch my POS midi adapter and there's no need to purchase another midi cable.

Awesome, glad you got it working. Good old MIDI - never fails to make things interesting.
 
Hi guys,

I too have gotten the dreaded error 18... The default for the "send realtime sysex" parameter is "all" - anyone know if this bug will be updated? I'm thinking if this is NOT a bug then instructions with the firmware should include an extra step.

In any case on my mac (os X.5.8) using snoize's sysex librarian - sysex librarian only reported a single midi input port. It did not report a midi output port. Thus even without error 18 I was unable to send midi data through the Axe FX to the MFC. Audio Midi control panel on the other hand reported both ports. Strange. I trashed preferences and rebooted to no avail.

Using my Midiman 2x2 with a 5 pin cable the procedure was a simple matter of hooking things up and pressing the send button.
 
Ok, I've managed to avoid error 18 by rebooting the MFC after Axe Edit and the Axe are already turned on.

The above also fixed my error 18. Instead of turning the Axe-Fx II off to turn the MFC off (powering MFC through ethernet and sending info through 5pin midi), I pulled the ethernet cable out (with the Axe-Fx still on) then held button #1 while inserting the ethernet cable back into the MFC. No more error 18 and my MFC is now updated.

Thank!!
Jerry
 
The above also fixed my error 18. Instead of turning the Axe-Fx II off to turn the MFC off (powering MFC through ethernet and sending info through 5pin midi), I pulled the ethernet cable out (with the Axe-Fx still on) then held button #1 while inserting the ethernet cable back into the MFC. No more error 18 and my MFC is now updated.

Thank!!
Jerry
isnt that dangerous -'¡?¡
 
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