HW VII - Midi assignments jumbled up

Today I load my PAB V3 and my Midi-Panel (my HW-Frontend) and I found that, as has happened in the past, the midi codes in the sample set have become misaligned. Now wrong stops are activated. With Midi-OX I checked that my Panel sends the stored NoteOnOff codes.

In Hauptwerk only the midi channels are correct, but not the midi code. How can this be?

For example, for one stop I set channel 13 with NoteOnOff code 118 in HW. Now the value is suddenly 111. Another stop instead of 123 now 122.

If the setting is no longer correct for any sample set, then I have to reassign several hundred registers. This is a disaster. Many months have passed since the last occurrence of the error which I have reported here before.

[mdyde]

Hello vpo-organist,

[Topic moved here.]

Sorry to hear that you're having a problem. I promise you that Hauptwerk (v7 or any other version) won't change any controls' MIDI settings in itself. If the MIDI settings for that organ have changed then something must have caused that to happen. For example:

- An organ's MIDI settings are stored according to the OrganID that the sample set developer assigned to the organ. OrganIDs are allocated uniquely to sample set developers by MDA upon request, since they must be globally unique. Hence if another organ definition that you loaded had incorrectly used the same OrganID as the PAB V3 then its MIDI settings would overwrite/corrupt those of the PAB.

- Perhaps you accidentally managed to launch two instances of Hauptwerk simultaneously at some recent point in time. Hauptwerk tries to prevent more than one instance being launched, since files from a second instance are likely to overwrite/corrupt those from the first, but if multiple instances are launched very quickly in succession (e.g. by unintentionally double-clicking on the Hauptwerk icon more than once in rapid succession), then sometimes it can't prevent the additional instances launching.

- If an organ's settings file is found to be corrupted/unreadable on disc when Hauptwerk tries to load it then it will restore it from the last-known-good backup that it has of the file (which will usually be from the last time the organ was loaded successfully).

- If Windows does an automatic 'system restore' for some reason (which may happen if it installs some Windows updates and they fail, or if it finds any Windows files corrupted) then occasionally Windows System Restore also reverts Hauptwerk's settings (XML) files to older copies that it may have stored internally.

- (Using "File | Restore your Hauptwerk settings..." to restore a settings backup would of course also potentially revert MIDI settings to whatever was in the backup.)

- Of course, if any other external software (such as a virus scanner) had changed/edited Hauptwerk's settings XML files for some reason then that too would affect Hauptwerk's settings.

- RAM corruption (e.g. due to an unreliable memory board) or drive corruption, could cause settings/files to be corrupted. It would be worth running a memory test and drive test for good measure.

- Likewise, if the computer or a driver or Hauptwerk had crashed, or if the computer had lost power without having been shut down properly, then that could potentially have corrupted memory/files.

If the above doesn't explain it, and if you'd like us to try to see whether we can spot what might have caused it then please:

- Load the relevant organ.

- Without changing any of its MIDI settings from their (currently-incorrect) settings, use "Help | Create a diagnostic file" and send the resulting file to Francois at [support [at] hauptwerk.com.

- To that same email, also attach the Hauptwerk backup file from the most recent point in time at which you are certain the organ's MIDI settings were correct. By default, Hauptwerk makes full settings backups once per week, and automatic backups get made into the following folder: C:\Users\<your-Windows-account-name>\Hauptwerk\AutomaticBackups

We could then compare your current (=incorrect) settings for that organ from your previous (=correct) settings, and go through your Hauptwerk logs since that backup was made to try to see if anything had happened during that time (e.g. things from the above list, such as loading a different organ that incorrectly uses the same OrganID) that might have caused them to change.

If the setting is no longer correct for any sample set, then I have to reassign several hundred registers.

As log as you have a settings backup (whether an automatic backup, or one you made explicitly) from when it was configured how you wanted it, then you should be able to get the organ's settings back to how they were at the point in time that the backup was made.

Many months have passed since the last occurrence of the error which I have reported here before.

I've had a look back through your previous forum posts, and the only one I can find is this one (from about a month ago) -- is that what you're referring to?:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20243&p=151704#p151704

From the 11 installed sample sets it still went wrong with the Jeux d'orgues3. The assignment of the manuals was gone.
When assigning the first manual, a message came up that was higher than the screen. All combinations were assigned to the midi event of the 1st manual. I could only close the dialog with Escape and assign the manual via the Keyboards menu. I had to delete the midi setting for the combinations all manually. Strangely enough, I didn't use the combinations at all on this set. There HW has mixed up something.

Do you mean that MIDI settings for the keyboards for that particular organ were definitely configured correctly in Hauptwerk v6?

Note that in v6+ control panel functions (e.g. master combination pistons) can be configured on a per-organ basis, and/or on a global basis. Hence if you had configured some master combinations on a global basis then they would potentially apply to a sample set even if you hadn't specifically configured any combinations for that sample set.

Another small possibility is that that organ has the same internal OrganID in its organ definition file as some other organ. Settings and combinations are stored relative to the OrganID, which is meant to be unique across all sample sets but there have been a couple of cases in the past where people have accidentally used the same OrganID for two different sample sets, resulting in settings and combinations from one affecting/corrupting those from the other.

Probably the quickest option would be for you to create a diagnostic file ('Help | Create a diagnostic file') and then send the resulting file to support [at] hauptwerk.com, including a note in the email so that Francois (who handles that email address) knows to pass the file on to me. I can then go through it to see whether it gives any clue as to what might have happened with that sample set's settings.

As fas I know you didn't actually reply to that, or send us a diagnostic file?