Suddenly lost all USB connectivity

Pwrmac7600

Pwrmac7600

Power User
Submitted a ticket already, but wanted to post here incase anyone had any ideas.
Below is the issue submitted to fractal.

I hadn't used my Axe FX III in a few days, and yesterday I powered everything up and had no USB connectivity. Prior to that everything was working fine.
I have tried multiple USB cables, and still no good. On my Mac I used my system profiler to view my USB ports, and the Axe FX doesn't show up in the list. I have checked all ports with the Axe FX with the same results. I have verified all ports are working by plugging other devices into those parts, and they work fine.
I am running firmware version 1.10.
My computer is a mac mini 2.3Ghz 16Gb ram running OS version 10.8.1.

Also when scrolling to the USB tab on the Axe itself, I see the "USB in" meter is constant at about half. When I unplug the USB connector it has no effect, it stays at about half on the meter, I don't know if that means anything.
Unit is stationary, meaning It never leaves my desk, so it doesn't get knocked around.
 
Pwrmac7600 said:
Also when scrolling to the USB tab on the Axe itself, I see the "USB in" meter is constant at about half. When I unplug the USB connector it has no effect, it stays at about half on the meter, I don't know if that means anything.
Click to expand...
The USB input is always receiving something, whether it’s connected or not. Just like an analog input. It’s always sampling the input. Seeing the USB input meter constant at the halfway mark is normal. That’s just the USB buffer dutifully keeping itself half full.
 
Rex said:
The USB input is always receiving something, whether it’s connected or not. Just like an analog input. It’s always sampling the input. Seeing the USB input meter constant at the halfway mark is normal. That’s just the USB buffer dutifully keeping itself half full.
Click to expand...
I figured, but wasn't sure, and I wanted to give as much info as I could lol
 
FractalAudio said:
Try another computer if possible.
Click to expand...
Update: Tried it on my wife's PC, Downloaded the Windows USB drivers and still would not connect via USB.

Also hooked back up my XL+ to my mac using the same USB cable and same USB port and the XL+ worked fine, connected with no issues.
 
atquinn said:
The USB drivers go on the computer, not on the Axe FX. So the suggestion is to make sure you are running the latest USB drivers, https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-iii-usb-firmware-version-1-06.137765/
And if you are, you might want to remove and then reload them.
-
Austin
Click to expand...

Actually, the 1.06 USB firmware that was suggested above does go on the Axe III. Would be good to make sure to have the latest computer drivers as well, like you pointed out though.
 
There are no drivers required for mac use only windows. Just wondering have you booted the III disconnected from any controller and usb, then plug usb in? In the past this issue seems to always come back to the usb cable your using. I personally don't use any antivirus or any kind of protection software on Mac. This could also cause a connection problem if they are blocking usb. Another issue could be like Garageband taking over the connection. By your user name I'm sure your no stranger to the Mac platform. I didn't come on board till the G3.
G3.jpg
 
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Tom Morris said:
There are no drivers required for mac use only windows. Just wondering have you booted the III disconnected from any controller and usb, then plug usb in? In the past this issue seems to always come back to the usb cable your using. I personally don't use any antivirus or any kind of protection software on Mac. This could also cause a connection problem if they are blocking usb. Another issue could be like Garageband taking over the connection. By your user name I'm sure your no stranger to the Mac platform. I didn't come on board till the G3.
View attachment 47943
Click to expand...

Yes I did try and boot it independent of being attached to anything, and then plug it in, but no luck.
I tried about 7 different USB cables I have laying around, and nothing. I know the cables are good because I can plu them into my external drives and they work fine. Matter of fact, when I hooked back up my XL+ I used the same cable that I was using for my III and it worked like a charm.
I too run my mac with no protection software, never needed it. And as for garage band, although it is installed, because it came with my mac, I have never even launched it.
 
atquinn said:
The USB drivers go on the computer, not on the Axe FX. So the suggestion is to make sure you are running the latest USB drivers, https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/axe-fx-iii-usb-firmware-version-1-06.137765/
And if you are, you might want to remove and then reload them.
-
Austin
Click to expand...
guys, that USB link you all keep posting is for USB "firmware" which gets loaded onto the Axe FX itself, it is not a USB driver. I cannot try and reload USB firmware, if I cannot get the Axe to connect to my computer.
And the mac platform has no USB driver.
Don't misunderstand, I appreciate everyone trying to help.
 
Pwrmac7600 said:
Yes I did try and boot it independent of being attached to anything, and then plug it in, but no luck.
I tried about 7 different USB cables I have laying around, and nothing. I know the cables are good because I can plu them into my external drives and they work fine. Matter of fact, when I hooked back up my XL+ I used the same cable that I was using for my III and it worked like a charm.
I too run my mac with no protection software, never needed it. And as for garage band, although it is installed, because it came with my mac, I have never even launched it.
Click to expand...
Damnit man, I'm out of ideas. Guessing time to contact support. Hopefully its simply a lose connection they can walk you through rather than having to ship it back. Speedy recovery mate.
 
Pwrmac7600 said:
guys, that USB link you all keep posting is for USB "firmware" which gets loaded onto the Axe FX itself, it is not a USB driver. I cannot try and reload USB firmware, if I cannot get the Axe to connect to my computer.
And the mac platform has no USB driver.
Don't misunderstand, I appreciate everyone trying to help.
Click to expand...
And you did say you tried on a PC, after loading the proper USB drivers?
One thing I see a lot in my tech business is a PC running Windows does not always remove old devices.
If you go into device manager, view menu and select show hidden devices. Expand each group and remove any grayed devices you have. I personally could not get my AXE FX III to talk to 2 different laptops, that were previously used for my AXE FX II XL+. When I checked my device manager hidden devices, I had 2 old AXE FX II drivers and 2 AXE FX III divers. I uninstalled the grayed out ones and my AXE III connected.
 
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