Those right there are the malfunctioning octave keys that are causing so many problems.
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The M-Audio Hammer 88 that I use regularly for creating soundtracks and various music has been suffering recent malfunction of late. The octave keys (the +/- ones) go solid white and the keys don’t work. It seems like this happens more often when the keyboard is connected to power than when it isn’t. Also, very recently, the octave keys have only stayed on for about five or ten seconds and then went off, enabling playing again.
The first step we tried was using a different USB cable. That didn’t do the trick; it immediately malfunctioned again. Then we tried leaving it unplugged overnight, but after half an hour or so of use, it failed again. Right now we are trying a different computer, and the other one’s Windows 10 1909 installation has been wiped away and we are installing a new one. In the beginning, the keyboard was fine, but on the second day, it malfunctioned again, but the octave keys did its thing where it only stayed on for about five or ten seconds. It hasn’t malfunctioned since.
It may be the keyboard itself, which is probably worse than the problem being the computer. That means (since the warranty is out by about three weeks) that our only option is to get a new keyboard, which will be another $450 or so, unfortunately. But before we jump to that, we’ll need to do some more testing.
I’ve started unplugging it whenever I’m not using it, and we’ll see if that will work. Also, the Studio One 4 Professional installation on the new testing computer is a brand-new installation, and the OS is Windows 10 Pro 20H2, even though that shouldn’t have any affect.
We will see what comes of this latest troubleshooting step, and we hope no more malfunctions issue from the keyboard.
Stinky meboard