How to solve a malfunctioning Komplete Kontrol S88?

ahcvankampen · 2022-08-18T06:14:22+00:00

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Problem: I start Komplete Kontrol. Next I turn on the Komplete Kontrol S88 but it gets stuck at the 'Komplete Kontrol; Smart Keyboard Controller screen'. The S88 buttons are inresponive ((see https://youtu.be/D4VLAxASz6w)). When I then disconnect and reconnect the usb cable, it will go to the general midi screen. However, but again the buttons don't function. For example, when I press 'Setup' on the S88, the screen will stay at the general midi screen. However, the strange thing is that the lighted buttons on top of the screen do change (see https://youtu.be/mJp-xQJjoXk). For example, when I press 'Instance' then I see the most right button lighting up (which normally showed 'Select' on the screen if I am not mistaken). If I press Browser, I can even select an Virtual Instrument but it just does not show up in the S88 screen (but I can see it in the Komplete Kontrol software). Is this a software problem, of is the S88 broken?

I use Windows 10 With Komplete Ultimate 13 (all updated to the latest versions).

I tried to reinstall (several times) following this procedure:

Uninstall (from Settings --> Apps)

-Komplete Kontrol

-Drivers

-Bome midi

In Windows Device Manager:

Remove all NI devices

- NI

- Bome Virtual Midi Enumerator

Reboot

Reinstall Komplete Kontrol via Native Access

Reboot

Now in Device Manager under Sound, video and game controllers the "BorneMIDI: Komplete Kontrol DAW - 1 (1)" appears

Start Komplete Kontrol as Administrator

Stop Komplete Kontrol

In Windows Services:

Check if all services are running; if not then start them

Turn on Komplete Kontrol S88 (I used USB2 port)

In the Device Manager the following now appears

Under software devices:

Komplete Kontrol DAW - 1

KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT In - 1

KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT Out - 1

KOMPLETE KONTROL In - 1

KOMPLETE KONTROL Out - 1

Under NI USB devices:

Komplete Kontrol S88 MK2

Start Komplete Kontrol

In KK Preferences in MIDI the KOMPLETE KONTROL (EXT) -1 and Komplete Kontrol DAW - 1 ports are now

selected.

Keyboard still unresponsive.......

From Task Manager I also started NIHardwareAccessibilityHelper (in Startup tab) since this was also disabled.

Stop Komplete Kontrol

Turn off S88

Turn on S88

Start Komplete Kontrol

S88 shows up in the menu "Controller" in the Komplete Kontrol software

Find more posts tagged with

S88 MK2

Komplete Kontrol Keyboards

Accepted answers

ahcvankampen

Hi All,

My problem seems to be solved. Below I iterate the problem I had, the things that I tried, and the solution. Hopefully this is helpful to some of you.

Antoine

I encountered the strange problem that the display of the S88 was not responding while all other functions seemed to be working as usual:

If I turn on the S88 the screen is stuck at the initial startup screen (“smart keyboard controller)
If I then disconnect and reconnect the USB cable, the display will switch to the Midi screen and gets stuck at this screen.
Pressing the “Setup” button does not show the corresponding screen (but the S88 is, however, switching to the Setup mode, which I can see from the yellow buttons that light up; it is just not showing on the display that keeps on showing the Midi screen.
Next I start the Komplete Kontrol software
Now from the S88 hardware controls I can browse, select, edit, and play instruments: I see this happening on the computer screen in the KK software and I also see the buttons on top of the screens lighting up; also the leds above the keyboard are working. However the two S88 displays remain stuck at the Midi screen.

I contacted NI support who were very helpful trying to resolve this issue. Based on there suggestions I tried many things. To summarize:

Reinstalling Komplete Kontrol
- Uninstall (from Settings –> Apps)
- -Komplete Kontrol
- -Drivers
- -Bome Midi
- From Windows Device Manager removed all NI devices
- – NI
- – Bome Virtual Midi Enumerator
I confirmed that the following devices showed up in the Windows Device Manager and that the corresponding MIDI ports were showing and selected in the Preferences of the Komplete Kontrol software:
- Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1
- Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT In – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT Out – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL In – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL Out – 1
Next I enabled all Midi devices again.
- Only the ‘BomeMIDI: Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1 (1)’ and ‘Bome Virtual Midi Enumerator’ device had completely disappeared from the Device manager and therefore I could not Enable them. Thus, I manually reinstalled it from https://www.bome.com/products/bmidi
- I now noticed in the Windows Device manager the three NI USB Devices:
  - Komplete Kontrol S88 MK2
  - Komplete Kontrol S88 MK2 BD
  - Komplete Kontrol S88 MK2 DFU
- I am not completely sure but I think the BD and DFU were not there before. There was also a warning sign in front of the device name thus I manually updated the drivers from the Windows device manager.
NI Support suggested to make sure that no other application was running that could ‘steel’ the S88 midi device. This had me disabling all Midi devices in the Windows Device manager (which were over 25 devices) except for the S88 devices. This also didn’t help. Then I disabled the ‘BomeMIDI: Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1 (1)’ and ‘Bome Virtual Midi Enumerator’ device. Also this didn’t make a difference. Note that I also rebooted after disabling the devices (and in fact I did after many of the actions described above).
Another suggestion from NI Support was to disable all Midi out ports in Preferences of Komplete Kontrol. This didn’t make a difference.
Next I installed the Komplete Kontrol on my laptop and connected the S88. Everything worked fine. Thus, this excluded a hardware failure.
I ran the NI Support Tool. Support pointed me to various Windows errors that appeared. I looked into these but they didn’t seem related to my S88 problem. 99% of these errors were related to my Avid S1 (windows gives an error if the device is not turned on), HDD led application that monitors drive activity, and sometimes Dropbox. There were some other errors but for me difficult to understand. However, based on this I also scanned many other Windows logs for errors but was not able to find anything that could cause this problem. Because of the Windows errors NI support also proposed to do a fresh Windows 10 install. I didn’t do this because I was afraid that it would mess up my complete system (although it would probably help to get rid of many of these errors/warnings that appear in the Windows logs and would speed up the system again).
- You can check yourself in the msinfo tool, under “Windows Error Reporting”
- You can also take a look at the Windows Reliability Monitor, which also provides valuable information regarding the operation of your system
I checked that the latest latest S88 firmware was installed.
Disconnecting all other Midi and audio devices except the S88 (this included, for example, my SSL UC1, Softube Fader, X32, CC121, StreamDeck, but also my webcam, a Rode usb microphone, etc)
I tried different USB ports (USB2 and USB3), and (not) connecting to an USB hub
- Magically, this brought the Displays of the S88 back to life and everything seems to be working again.
- One final note from NI Suport:
  - Not sure though what the cause might have been. We have seen some issues in the past regarding the Bome MIDI Driver, not in the exact way you have described your fix but actually quite similar. The Bome MIDI Driver is the “extension” of the NIHostIntegrationAgent, responsible to transmit everything from A to B. My assumption was that in case any other application gets first access to the Bome MIDI Driver it will not available for other applications (Komplete Kontrol) anymore.
Anyway, thanks again to NI support for their help and very quick responses.

All comments

Honorpro

Following, have this EXCACT issue…

ahcvankampen

I submitted at ticket to support. The responded within few minutes for more information....hopefully this issue can be resolved (and is software related)

Nico_NI

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/28008#Comment_28008

Feel free to share here if you learn more 🙌

Honorpro

Any news from support?

ahcvankampen

Yes, they were very helpful but the problem is not solved yet.

I tested on a different computer, and there everything works ok.

It is probably a windows issue. Support proposed a fresh Windows 10 install but at this moment I am very reluctant to do so because it will probably mess up a lot of things and I am in the middle of a few project.

Anyway, I will explore some of the windows issues the coming days... hopefully I can get it back to work.

Jeremy_NI

@ahcvankampen Just checking on your issue, did you make any progress?

ahcvankampen

Hi Jeremy,

I tried many things based on suggestions from Support but without success. The final thing to try is a fresh install of Windows, which I will do in 2 or 3 weeks after finalizing a current project that I am working on.

However, we have established that it isn't a hardware problem since the S88 works perfectly with one of my other computers.

Anyway, I will report back here once I made a next step.

ahcvankampen

Hi All,

My problem seems to be solved. Below I iterate the problem I had, the things that I tried, and the solution. Hopefully this is helpful to some of you.

Antoine

I encountered the strange problem that the display of the S88 was not responding while all other functions seemed to be working as usual:

If I turn on the S88 the screen is stuck at the initial startup screen (“smart keyboard controller)
If I then disconnect and reconnect the USB cable, the display will switch to the Midi screen and gets stuck at this screen.
Pressing the “Setup” button does not show the corresponding screen (but the S88 is, however, switching to the Setup mode, which I can see from the yellow buttons that light up; it is just not showing on the display that keeps on showing the Midi screen.
Next I start the Komplete Kontrol software
Now from the S88 hardware controls I can browse, select, edit, and play instruments: I see this happening on the computer screen in the KK software and I also see the buttons on top of the screens lighting up; also the leds above the keyboard are working. However the two S88 displays remain stuck at the Midi screen.

I contacted NI support who were very helpful trying to resolve this issue. Based on there suggestions I tried many things. To summarize:

Reinstalling Komplete Kontrol
- Uninstall (from Settings –> Apps)
- -Komplete Kontrol
- -Drivers
- -Bome Midi
- From Windows Device Manager removed all NI devices
- – NI
- – Bome Virtual Midi Enumerator
I confirmed that the following devices showed up in the Windows Device Manager and that the corresponding MIDI ports were showing and selected in the Preferences of the Komplete Kontrol software:
- Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1
- Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT In – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT Out – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL In – 1
- KOMPLETE KONTROL Out – 1
Next I enabled all Midi devices again.
- Only the ‘BomeMIDI: Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1 (1)’ and ‘Bome Virtual Midi Enumerator’ device had completely disappeared from the Device manager and therefore I could not Enable them. Thus, I manually reinstalled it from https://www.bome.com/products/bmidi
- I now noticed in the Windows Device manager the three NI USB Devices:
  - Komplete Kontrol S88 MK2
  - Komplete Kontrol S88 MK2 BD
  - Komplete Kontrol S88 MK2 DFU
- I am not completely sure but I think the BD and DFU were not there before. There was also a warning sign in front of the device name thus I manually updated the drivers from the Windows device manager.
NI Support suggested to make sure that no other application was running that could ‘steel’ the S88 midi device. This had me disabling all Midi devices in the Windows Device manager (which were over 25 devices) except for the S88 devices. This also didn’t help. Then I disabled the ‘BomeMIDI: Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1 (1)’ and ‘Bome Virtual Midi Enumerator’ device. Also this didn’t make a difference. Note that I also rebooted after disabling the devices (and in fact I did after many of the actions described above).
Another suggestion from NI Support was to disable all Midi out ports in Preferences of Komplete Kontrol. This didn’t make a difference.
Next I installed the Komplete Kontrol on my laptop and connected the S88. Everything worked fine. Thus, this excluded a hardware failure.
I ran the NI Support Tool. Support pointed me to various Windows errors that appeared. I looked into these but they didn’t seem related to my S88 problem. 99% of these errors were related to my Avid S1 (windows gives an error if the device is not turned on), HDD led application that monitors drive activity, and sometimes Dropbox. There were some other errors but for me difficult to understand. However, based on this I also scanned many other Windows logs for errors but was not able to find anything that could cause this problem. Because of the Windows errors NI support also proposed to do a fresh Windows 10 install. I didn’t do this because I was afraid that it would mess up my complete system (although it would probably help to get rid of many of these errors/warnings that appear in the Windows logs and would speed up the system again).
- You can check yourself in the msinfo tool, under “Windows Error Reporting”
- You can also take a look at the Windows Reliability Monitor, which also provides valuable information regarding the operation of your system
I checked that the latest latest S88 firmware was installed.
Disconnecting all other Midi and audio devices except the S88 (this included, for example, my SSL UC1, Softube Fader, X32, CC121, StreamDeck, but also my webcam, a Rode usb microphone, etc)
I tried different USB ports (USB2 and USB3), and (not) connecting to an USB hub
- Magically, this brought the Displays of the S88 back to life and everything seems to be working again.
- One final note from NI Suport:
  - Not sure though what the cause might have been. We have seen some issues in the past regarding the Bome MIDI Driver, not in the exact way you have described your fix but actually quite similar. The Bome MIDI Driver is the “extension” of the NIHostIntegrationAgent, responsible to transmit everything from A to B. My assumption was that in case any other application gets first access to the Bome MIDI Driver it will not available for other applications (Komplete Kontrol) anymore.
Anyway, thanks again to NI support for their help and very quick responses.

Jeremy_NI

@ahcvankampen Thanks for the heads up! Glad that everything works now!

Hans45

Had the same kind of problem, and looked at this page to check hardware failures:

My Native Instruments Hardware Device is Not Recognized – Native Instruments (native-instruments.com)

The problem, by my side, was that the NIHostIntegrationAgent was not started (I still don't know the reason for this...).

You must have 2 background services running to get your S## running properly :

NIHardwareService
NIHostIntegrationAgent

After having started it, everything is immediately fine, Keyboard up, ready to play... :)

DjRenigade

my s88mk1 shows up under USB devices. DFU/IAD. It does not show up under NI USB Devices. Win 11 pro. My Native stuff went dead in Cakewalk buts work great in stand alone mode. All midi ticks are checked.

Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1
Komplete Kontrol DAW – 1
KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT In – 1
KOMPLETE KONTROL EXT Out – 1
KOMPLETE KONTROL In – 1
KOMPLETE KONTROL Out – 1

Works great but need it in Cakewalk as it is my main DAW. It also works in Reaper.

Jeremy_NI

@DjRenigade Can you give more details on what happens exactly? Are you able to load a Komplete Kontrol plug-in in Cakewalk? Can you play the keyboard on other plug-ins? Did that happen after an update?

DjRenigade

Lose total midi capabilities on KK s88 in Cakewalk. Works in Stand Alone mode. Reaper it works as well. I have tried different USB ports and hubs. Turned off devices. It is an intermittent issue. Some days it works well andothers it is just dead. Cakewalk is getting MIDI signa.

DjRenigade

I even reinstalled the Bome MIDI Driver and that worked for a bit.

Win 11 Pro

Intel i7 9th gen

32gigs ddr4 3200 corsair vengance

1tb wd black sn770 m.2

Gear: S88, Mk3, Virusti2 Desktop, Korg Wavestate, Behringer Deepmind 12, D, Neutron, Pro1, TD3, Kurzweil 2000vx, Motu Audio Express as the interface. Various other USB bulk storage and 3 other HDD on computer where data/VSTi are stored.

DjRenigade

@Jeremy_NI So in device manager i see NI Usb Devices Maschine MK3, MK3 BD, MK3 DFU My s88 is not listed in that heading. It is listed under US Devices as Komplete Kontrol DFu and IAD. Can/could this be the problem that windows doesn't see it as a NI instrument?

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