I’ve never tried this, can you put your SD card in a usb reader and access the tape files that way? at least to get them off the card before reflash?

Unfortunately I have no clue about this stuff, I just started using it when I got it with almost zero problems!

I’m also a painful n00b, for example, I can’t even get sidehack installed on mine. I can open a terminal in windows, just… yeah, doesn’t seem to work because I’m probably doing something wrong.

So, if there’s an insanely baby-step method of the above solution…

For a fresh start, this readme should get you going:

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Won’t work on a Mac, dunno about Windows. Linux you can. Problem is only the boot partition fromt he SD card shows up on MacOS, not the linux partition where the TAPE data files are located.


@FleetingBreath you might want to get TAPE files and everything you want to save via SFTP or SAMBA networking, then reflash from the disk image.

There’s likely some problem with supercollider not launching which could be due to a bad script or something. If you want to try and solve that, there’s a bunch of debugging you would want to try - see the norns docs for more on that. (like go read ALL the norns docs just so you know more about how everything works)

Could it be that you’re out of disk space? If connected via SSH, you can use the command df -h to get the space used on device. If you have craploads of TAPE files, this could be the problem and you would want to remove some and free up space.


FWIW - Fates USB-C jack is DUMB. It’s just for power and does not do USB-PD or QuickCharge.

I’d suggest a dead simple USB-C power adapter which is recommended for use with Raspberry Pi 4. Anything other than that and you just don’t know.

I’ve had at least one person with a big honkin european mains power supply that blew up the voltage regulator on Fates. No idea exactly why, but it could be related to what the USB-PD (power delivery) or QuickCharge do to push more Amps.

Go read the raspberry pi documentation for more info on how much power each of the USB ports will support.

3 Likes

Unfortunately disk space is not the problem, I just did a backup and cleanup of my tape files…
I probably just deleted something I shouldn’t have. I will use the above method and let everyone know how it goes! Appreciate all the help.

Okay, this is where I get lost:
" Open a terminal, SSH to the Pi
The default norns user is we
The default password is sleep
Thus to connect you will use ssh we@norns.local (or the IP address of the device) and enter sleep"

every time I would attempt to do this previously to attempt to install Sidehack or Mother, I was not able. I can open a terminal (cmd in Windows) and even tried Putty… I’m clearly doing something incorrectly. This is where my total n00bness causes me to hit a roadblock.

Thanks! Was looking for a 1-plug for all solution but better play it safe then.

Cheers

A $15 USB ground isolator works great too. No hum. The problem is with ground loops.

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Update 210114 now available

As always - If you are on 200218 or later
use SYSTEM > UPDATE while connected to the internet.
(please report back if you have problems with this)


If you are running a version prior to 200218, DO NOT USE SYSTEM > UPDATE .
You must update manually via SSH. Instructions are on the release page: Release norns-fates 210114 · fates-project/norns · GitHub


See Norns: update 210114 for change log.


If you have a new rev pi4 (rev 1.2 I think) or an 8GB pi4, please DM me - I have a new disk image for pi4 for testing.

16 Likes

No issues so far on a pi3b+ fates! Thanks for the update.

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So, my Fates is starting to act very weird. No sound from apps (just tapes) and refusing to connect to wifi.
I am so terrible at tech-related stuff I’m amazed I even got this far… but now I’m positive it needs to be re-flashed.

Wondering if it’s possible for someone to, in the dumbest, kindest way possible, to walk me through this hard reset of my Fates? Or even if I could simply MAIL it to you, have you fix it, and send it back? I hit a roadblock using a terminal to try and install Sidehack… so that’s why I’m not very confident in following the GitHub instructions…

I haven’t had it very long but it’s become a vital and incredibly useful part of my set-up and recording process. ANY help is incredibly appreciative.

Hi

thanks for reaching out…I’m assuming you’ve tried the soft reset in the menu under SYSTEM, when you did what happened?

Also can you think of any reason it’s acting up (a spill, dropped the device, or been having problem with the psu?)

As far as I know, I just deleted something in Maiden that I shouldn’t have, no drops or spills, etc.

It used to be the soft System Reset would fix the lack of audio problem, then it started happening more and more often and requiring multiple resets. Saturday I tried to do some recording and could get zero sound out of it (except tape files) and it refused to connect to wifi.

Just to check, do you “sleep” your fates and wait for the flashing green? Led to stop blinking before disconnecting power? Just thought I’d mention it as many weird Norns/Fates issues stem from this…

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Typically yes, I can think of maybe one time I accidentally shut off the power strip before the light or without “sleeping” first.

Hi, have you recently changed your power source? Are you sure it’s getting enough power?

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Nope, using the recommended power supply. It didn’t come with one so I read the “friends of Norns” thread and purchased from that knowledge.

The disk flashing process is documented here and should be self explanatory - just be sure to read and follow ALL the steps.

and it’s pretty much the same as with norns shield - documented here

Again, I’ve failed to install sidehack before, I hit a roadblock after opening the terminal. Just… talk to me like I’m stupid, please, because I am.

I just open a terminal and type “ssh we@(IP address)” then “sleep”?

Yes - that’s what you need to do. Unfortunately I can’t really walk you thru this process right now.

I’d suggest it would be useful for you to look up this information and find some guides or videos on connecting to remote computers using SSH.

For example

Perfect! Thanks so much.