DMS trouble

[Storm]

Hi,  I hope I'm not asking the same old question again and again here (I've tried search and I've read through a few previous posts).

I've got a Kenwood Keg with 20gig DMS installed in my Audi.  Over time more and more tracks started skipping than occasionally it would fail to find the DMS (usually a quick eject and re-insert sorted it).  However, since last week it can no longer find the DMS at all and nothing I can do seems to help.

I've tried connecting it back to my PC via the cradle and I also get nothing.  In fact I can't even hear/feel the hard drive in the DMS spinning up when I connect it into the cradle (I'm sure used to be able to).

I've read a few posts where people have suggested that a cable may be loose.  Would these posts be referring to the unit installed in my car, or a cable inside the DMS cartidge itself (I don't want to take it apart if there's no need).

If it's not the cable I really suspect it's a failed hard drive which is a pain as again from what I've read I can't replace that without a working DMS.  Does anyone know of a repair/upgrade service?  I'd be willing to pay to get this sorted again as it's totally useless at the moment.  Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Many thanks

Mike

[Evilution]

Inside the DMS is a cable, only short. I suppose it's fesable it is slightly loose.
Alternatively, the connections that you can see on the DMS could be dirty or the worst scenario is the hard drive is dead.

[sbingner]

The cable referenced is inside the Keg -- but what you described sounds more like a bad DMS.    Does it work in the cradle?

If you ship my your Keg and pay shipping both ways I'll unlock it for you.... if you send me your DMS and a new HDD too I'll even replace the drive for you.

NOTE:  This isn't an open offer to anybody to do that, but I'll do it this time if you want

[Storm]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll be sure to double check the DMS to see if the hard drive cable has somehow worked it's way free.

sbingner - thanks a lot for the offer, that could possibly save the day.  I'm guessing your based in the US (I'm from England, so I'd have to check out shipping costs).  Let me know!

[Evilution]

Forget what I said about the cable, there is no cable in the DMS but there is a connection.

[Storm]

Well I've looked into it a little further - I've got a USB Notebook harddrive caddy, so I dismantled the DMS, slapped the drive into the caddy and hooked it up to my PC - Blam, instant MP3s.

So that prove the drive's still working fine - I'll check the cable in the keg tomorrow morning, hopefully that's the source of the problem.

Trust me to fix it just as I'm about to sell the car!

[sbingner]

But does it work in the cradle?

If not, perhaps the board inside the DMS is having issues... but that would be strange since all it does it connect Pin A to Port A etc (no working parts)... definately be worth checking if that cable inside the Keg is seated properly if it works in the cradle but not in the Keg

[Storm]

I can confirm that the DMS is working fine.  It looks like the problem is with the keg box then (I'm still getting "no disc" errors).  I've tried openning her up to take a luck but can't seem to unhinge the front of the outer casing (the bit near the DMS entry slot).  It doesn't appear to be screwed down.  I just can't figure out how to get in there without snapping it!  Any tips?

[Storm]

Hmm... even without taking the outer casing off completely I can see that the ribbon cable is securely in place.

Any other ideas?

[sbingner]

it's hard to say without seeing it myself.   When you put the drive in and turn it on, do any lights come on?   If so, what do they do?

You could have a problem that forcing your system to reflash the CPLD would fix (putting new firmware on it or creating PHTSYS/forceupdate)

Or it could be a million other things

[Storm]

I'm really confused by it now.  Like I said, it gradually ground to a halt whilst using it in my car.  I've tried to connect it to my PC (running XP) via the docking station and I get the "new USB storage device found" message at which point XP looks for drivers (even though I've installed PMM of the CD).  The drivers on the Phatnoise site appear to only be for the likes of ME/98 and the like.  I know the hard drive is physically working because I can connect it via a 2.5HHD>USB adaptor I have and browse the files.   Once connected like this I can run DMS-Repair, which runs all the tests fine until it looks for system files at which point it times out.

I'm about to give up hope with this as I can't identify what's broken - it could be the DMS, cradle or the keg unit, and I won't be able to sort it out without spending a fortune.

[judb]

if you run a chkdisk /r on each of the drive letters for it under windows does the DMS doctor still time out?  it sounds like file system corruption to me based off your last statement.

The fact that you have to hook up using a hdd adaptor instead of using the cradle says something is up ... or am i miss reading you somehow?

[Storm]

I'll try running chkdisk against it tonight - thanks for that tip.

No - you're not misreading, the only way I can see the drive contents is by connecting via a 3rd party USB adaptor.

When I plug in the cradle I get the "USB Mass storage device found - please install driver" message.  Could a corrupt file system be causing this also?  It seems strange that it doesn't recognise it (no drivers are needed, right?).

[markbowen]

When I plug in the cradle I get the "USB Mass storage device found - please install driver" message.  Could a corrupt file system be causing this also?  It seems strange that it doesn't recognise it (no drivers are needed, right?).

Have you got a USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 cradle?  The USB 1.1 cradle does need drivers, the USB 2.0 does not.  If it is a USB 2.0 cradle, it might be hosed.