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Post by JohnnyBlue on Sept 16, 2011 6:25:01 GMT
As I have to regularly run the update software, I use whatever USB A to USB B (not mini-B) cable I have to hand: any of them works fine.
Still curious as to what the USB mini-B socket on the rear of the Mini APE is for, but I suppose we'll never know...
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 16, 2011 8:54:48 GMT
It must be something wrong with the machine, you should have sent it back on day one... I haven't had to "update" my APE once
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Post by dicky on Sept 16, 2011 9:11:27 GMT
Mike, is your APE from the same litter? That is, was it part of the Group Buy or was it sent to you in advance? I'm just wondering if it is a pre-production version or at least different in some way.
I think most of the APE GBers have had some problem or other with the machine.
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Post by dicky on Sept 29, 2011 18:06:15 GMT
Hi Mike, did you manage to contact Candy about the 64-bit O/S firmware reset?
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Sept 30, 2011 15:36:03 GMT
John.
The mini USB port gives access to a USB emulated serial port. This will also allow for low level firmware upgrade. I got confused thinking this was the way to reboot the Mini APE when I was trying to get mine working. I have come across this type of port inside a box a a method of reinstalling firmware when the kit has been "bricked" when an error has occurred during a firmware update.
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Sept 30, 2011 15:56:44 GMT
John. The mini USB port gives access to a USB emulated serial port. This will also allow for low level firmware upgrade. I got confused thinking this was the way to reboot the Mini APE when I was trying to get mine working. I have come across this type of port inside a box a a method of reinstalling firmware when the kit has been "bricked" when an error has occurred during a firmware update. Thanks Freddy. Did you open yours up to work that out, or have you read it somewhere on the web? I wonder what firmware-updating software one would run through that USB mini-B socket, if it were deemed necessary? Presumably not the same as the regular Mini APE update software, which I have to run every couple of weeks, via the normal USB B socket? If it was the same program, I'd be tempted (and nervous) to try it and see what happened. Did you ever get yours runnning properly?
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Oct 2, 2011 13:22:36 GMT
I plugged it in - looked up the USB device name and did a quick google search. I have a NASBOX (network storage) which I had repaired a couple of months before, so I was (sort of) thinking about it. The windows drivers replicate a serial port and a dos program will then flash the firmware. By doing it this way a small hardware I/O can be used (in the APE) which can be accessed even if the firmware has become corrupted. I don't expect it to do any more that the windows version and its a final repair option or sometimes allows for bios updates to specific bits (say the USB controller).
I never got mine working but Candy says they did in China. They may have used the serial port. I never had the does program to run it. I am awaiting the new model which I have said I will review. I am certainly going to give it a good test and comparison to the QA-550.
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chris1967
Been here a while!
Double dip recession, Humous and taramosalata are off the menu!
Posts: 185
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Post by chris1967 on Oct 9, 2011 9:23:35 GMT
Hi to everyone!
I have sold my mini ape via e-bay, and the person who got it is having problems.
I must say that i never had problems with mine, and the firmware "c" that Mick and Johnny sent me worked perfectly.
Please can someone send me the latest firmware, and could you be so kind to give instrusctions for firmware upgrade, to send to the buyer...
Also can you give me Candy's e-mail please!
Thank you so much, sorry for the trouble...
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Post by dicky on Oct 9, 2011 14:02:22 GMT
Hi Chris, Candy's email is: sales@hifidiy.net. I believe version C is the latest so you should send that on to the buyer. I feel we are on our own now and I suspect there will be no further support for this device - very dissapointing! I've been in contact with Candy today regarding the 'reset' file. The bottom line is that the Mini APE will only work with 32-bit systems - so when my work laptop gets upgraded in the next couple of weeks I'll have a nice paper-weight as I need to reset the thing every month or so. Perhaps I'll buy a gash laptop to use just for resetting the APE . Regards, Dicky
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Oct 9, 2011 16:08:42 GMT
Yup, what ^ he said, except mine's every week!
Here's my, slightly rewritten, instructions for the Mini APE update:
Instructions :
0. Plug into mains, turn on the Mini APE.
1. Hold down the right button of the Mini APE, until the screen is blank.
2. Connect to the computer via the USB port at the back of the Mini APE (PC will find the new hardware, first time only).
3. Install the Mini APE Drive, using the Driver program in the folder where the RAR file was unpacked (only for the first time).
4. Double-click “update.bat”, allow the program upgrade by allowing the CMD.exe program to run and finish (circa 1 min.)
5. Shut off the power after update.
6. Hold down the middle button of the top row, do not release.
7. Turn on the switch of the power supply of the Mini APE, the screen will not light up.
8. After 4-5 seconds, the screen will light up, now you can release the middle button.
9. The Mini APE will upgrade and restart by itself. Then the Upgrade is finished.
Good luck! As Dicky said, we're on our own!
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chris1967
Been here a while!
Double dip recession, Humous and taramosalata are off the menu!
Posts: 185
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Post by chris1967 on Oct 9, 2011 20:13:51 GMT
Thank you very much! graetly obliged!!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2011 23:10:57 GMT
John,
Was it you that sent yours back to Candy for fix/replace? What was the result? Did you get the new version.
My work one had started this lock out malarchy, needing frequent resets.
I think it's down to mains supply nasties that it may be sensitive to coming through they're supplied smps. If I leave mine plugged in but switched off, it will need a reset quite quickly, if when not in use I remember to unplug, there is no problem. Add to that the one at home is on one of Mikes Pinkie PSUs and has not had problems to date (...wood, WOOD! I need to touch some wood).
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2011 23:20:10 GMT
Try that with the early A.M. P. ;D
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Nov 19, 2011 9:32:24 GMT
John, Was it you that sent yours back to Candy for fix/replace? What was the result? Did you get the new version. My work one had started this lock out malarchy, needing frequent resets. I think it's down to mains supply nasties that it may be sensitive to coming through they're supplied smps. If I leave mine plugged in but switched off, it will need a reset quite quickly, if when not in use I remember to unplug, there is no problem. Add to that the one at home is on one of Mikes Pinkie PSUs and has not had problems to date (...wood, WOOD! I need to touch some wood). No, I never sent my Mini APE back, because I decided I'd rather put up with the weekly/fortnightly hassle of re-updating the software than run the risk of losing the item by sending it back to China (not to mention the expense). Yours is an interesting suggestion, and one I shall test out. Whatever it is, it can't just be the SMPS that comes with the Mini APE that's the problem, because I've had the same issue with a different PS (an old one from a Texas Instruments laptop, now long defunct). I'd been using it because I was under the impression (because of its size and weight) that it was a Linear PS, rather than SMPS, but now I'm not so sure (there wasn't any appreciable difference in SQ when using it). In either case (I'm currently using the one that came with the Mini APE) I have always left the APE switched off (at the back), after exiting and powering-off using the remote, but left it plugged into the mains. I shall try your suggestion of unplugging the PS from the mains, and see if this helps (it might be days or even a couple of weeks before I respond, because it can be that long between re-sets).
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Nov 22, 2011 14:32:44 GMT
It was me who sent mine back. Now theres a sentence to be proud of. I'm currently awaiting a firm price (extra money) on the new model (probably by the end of the month). Candy said they got mine working. I was running mine off a pinkie but I never managed to flash it anyway so I don't think the PSU was an issue in my case. Back in the old BBC computer days Eproms (Erasable, programmable roms) had a certain number of cycles so I would wonder if all the rewriting will create a problem at some point.
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Nov 22, 2011 16:16:38 GMT
It was me who sent mine back. Now theres a sentence to be proud of. I'm currently awaiting a firm price (extra money) on the new model (probably by the end of the month). Candy said they got mine working. I was running mine off a pinkie but I never managed to flash it anyway so I don't think the PSU was an issue in my case. Back in the old BBC computer days Eproms (Erasable, programmable roms) had a certain number of cycles so I would wonder if all the rewriting will create a problem at some point. .....aaargh!
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Dec 4, 2011 18:16:20 GMT
John, Was it you that sent yours back to Candy for fix/replace? What was the result? Did you get the new version. My work one had started this lock out malarchy, needing frequent resets. I think it's down to mains supply nasties that it may be sensitive to coming through they're supplied smps. If I leave mine plugged in but switched off, it will need a reset quite quickly, if when not in use I remember to unplug, there is no problem.[/color] Add to that the one at home is on one of Mikes Pinkie PSUs and has not had problems to date (...wood, WOOD! I need to touch some wood).[/quote] Unfortunately, this suggestion doesn't seem to have worked for me. I had my Mini APE turned off and unplugged from the mains for about a week, and when I came to use it the other day, it required a re-boot. God knows what I'll do when 32-bit computers aren't around any more...
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Post by tushma on Dec 6, 2011 12:48:45 GMT
Hello everybody from Croatia! I was reading this forum about ape player and kinda like this stuff (like most of you)! I would like to buy this thing but i have some questions. I saw on their web site and hdd ape player with internal hdd for 600$. Are there any reviews on that player? Is difference between mini and hdd ape only in hdd and price? Are there any news about big ape player? Is ape mini support cues for vaws and flacs? Before i thank you in advance, im curios has anyone had experience with teac wap v-6000? Thnx very much in advance!!
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Dec 6, 2011 14:15:25 GMT
Hello everybody from Croatia! I was reading this forum about ape player and kinda like this stuff (like most of you)! I would like to buy this thing but i have some questions. I saw on their web site and hdd ape player with internal hdd for 600$. Are there any reviews on that player? Is difference between mini and hdd ape only in hdd and price? Are there any news about big ape player? Is ape mini support cues for vaws and flacs? Before i thank you in advance, im curios has anyone had experience with teac wap v-6000? Thnx very much in advance!! Welcome, Tushma I don't know anything about the big APE, and there's nothing any longer on the hllyhifi website, so it might have been withdrawn. I can confirm that the Mini APE plays from *.CUE, *.FLAC, *.APE and *.WAV files (your 'vaws' had me going for while!).
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Post by tushma on Dec 6, 2011 19:16:28 GMT
Sorry on my vaw and thnx on replay. Im little bit confused here. I read on this thread so i see that some people have troubles with ape in terms of firmware, upgrade or something. So do i need pc running for playing ape? I dont quite understand.
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Dec 6, 2011 19:23:34 GMT
Some people (me included) have found that their Mini APE player needs re-setting every so often (in my case every week or two), because the Mini APE stops in its boot-up procedure, and then does not play anything. The resetting takes about 3 minutes to do, but needs a computer running a Windows 32-bit OS (XP, Vista or W7, X86) and a USB A to USB B connecting lead (which comes with the Mini APE player). You will also need the reset program, available from Candy at HiFiDIY. Once it has been reset, the Mini APE does not need a PC running. EDIT: The HDD APE player is still available, sorry!
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Post by tushma on Dec 7, 2011 8:42:34 GMT
Thnx jonny you ve been very helpfull!!
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Post by orson1956 on Dec 7, 2011 16:19:47 GMT
I have received my MINI APE yesterday... switch on... dead on copyright screen... aaaarrrgh!!! switch on, switch on, switch on, switch on, nothing... only copyright. please can someone send me by email the newest firmware and the resetting .exe thanx a lot! c.orsettigh@alice.it
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Post by JohnnyBlue on Dec 7, 2011 17:04:32 GMT
You have PM.
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Post by orson1956 on Dec 9, 2011 0:09:49 GMT
Thank you very very much Johnny!!! now my mini APE works fine.
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