MPK249 keyboard suddenly stopped working

[tpann]

PLEASE NOTE: I'm breaking this post up into the original post with additions in responses. The interface will not allow me to post it in its entirety. ("Access denied" error)

Windows 10 latest update, PT 2020.5.0, Apollo x4

Apologies for the length of this post -- I'm taking the exhaustive route to eliminate as much need for additional questions as possible. And hopefully I have chose the appropriate forum. I've been scouring the internet and this forum for two days trying to figure out how to solve this problem. Sandra report is at the bottom of the post.

One week ago my Akai MPK249 was working fine with PT on my stereo instrument tracks. Yesterday I fired up PT and suddenly the keyboard cannot communicate with Pro Tools. Using any virtual instrument that can be triggered in the plug-in interface with the mouse (like Mini Grand) I can trigger sounds just fine with my mouse. I can also open the MIDI Editor and pencil in new notes.

Just FYI, I am completely clueless about how MIDI works in general and about how Pro Tools works with MIDI. So I'm flying blind here.

I always start Pro Tools with the MIDI controller plugged in and powered on.

NOTE: I ALSO have an Akai MPD218 drum pad controller. This device worked fine a week ago and STILL works fine. I can use it to trigger any VI that the MPK249 is not able to trigger.

When I open PT with the MPK249 attached and powered on I get this message: "Pro Tools is unable to communicate with M-Audio Keyboard. Power-cycle M-Audio Keyboard and check its connections. [etc.]" (Incidentally, I am not 100% positive but I believe I have seen this error message at times when the keyboard actually worked.)

I have used the guidelines on the Akai web site for setting up the MPK249 (e.g., setting the keyboard's Preset to Pro Tools). I have used, among other things, all of the identical settings that I was using one week ago when the keyboard was working.

I have the following set up in Pro Tools Setup>Peripherals options:

• MIDI Machine Control Remote is enabled.
• Under MIDI Controllers, I made selections based on Akai's guidelines for Type, Receive From, and Send To.
• Based on advice I read on another thread in this forum, I created an instrument in MIDI Studio Setup with "MPK249 [Emulated] as both input and output port. It named itself "Akai 1."
• Under Setup>MIDI>MIDI Input Devices... I have all selections checked. (In this case they are MPK249 [Emulated], MIDIIN2 (MPK249) [Emulated], MIDIIN3 (MPK249) [Emulated], and MIDIIN4 (MPK249) [Emulated].

Incidentally, before today I have NEVER created an instrument in MIDI Studio Setup. I actually don't know if there ever was one listed there when the MPK249 worked.

I installed and ran MIDI-OX. MIDI-OX can find my MPD218 but I cannot get it to work with the MPK249. The error I get is "MKP249: There is not enough memory available for this task. Quit one or more applications to increase available memory, then try again." I made some changes based on suggestions about troubleshooting this problem from a MIDI-OX forum but nothing worked. I have no idea if this has anything to do with the problem. I'm wondering if maybe it's caused by something amiss on the keyboard and maybe that's the actual problem.

continued...

[tpann]

There are several things about the Setup>Peripherals options that confuse me:

• Whether to select "MPK249 [Emulated]" or "MIDIIN2/MIDIOUT2" (or 3 or 4) for the Receive From and Send To options.
• After I created the "Akai 1" instrument in MIDI Studio Setup, it appears as a selectable option under Setup>Peripherals>MIDI Controllers Receive From and Send To. I am not clear if I should select these.

The keyboard appears as "MPK249" under Device Manager > Sound, video, and game controllers, so it appears that the computer is not having an issue seeing it. My computer also issues that little "ah, I see you plugged something in" sound whenever I plug it in.

I have tried the following other troubleshooting ideas:

• Plugged the keyboard into an Anker USB Hub.
• Plugged it directly into my laptop. (My MPD218 works fine for both direct and hub.)
• Uninstalled Google Chrome (I have read that it can hijack MIDI.)
• Upgraded to PT 2020.5.0. (The MPK249 worked, and then stopped working, while I was using PT 2019.)
• Ran PT as Administrator.
• Ran PT with internet (wireless router) disabled.
• Tried every combination of Receive From/Send To entries under Setup>Peripherals>MIDI Controller.
• Reset the MPK249 to original factory settings and then set the Preset back to Pro Tools.
• In Windows Device Manager I disabled the MPK249 driver and then restarted the computer. (The MPK249 is plug and play and there is no way to update or reinstall the driver.)

I appreciate any advice that can help me get my keyboard back into service!

Sandra output next...

[tpann]

SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : DESKTOP-O1JAR50
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : Notebook P7xxTM1 Not Applicable
Serial Number : Not App*******
Chassis : No Enclosure Notebook
Mainboard : Notebook P7xxTM1
Serial Number : Not App*******
BIOS : AMI (OEM) 1.07.27aNS2 09/27/2019
TPM - Trusted Platform Module : IFX SLB9665 2.0 (PCR 24)
Intel vPro : 11.8.65.3590
Total Memory : 32GB DIMM DDR4

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8700K CPU @ 3.70GHz (6C 12T 4.4GHz/4.7GHz, 3.7GHz IMC, 6x 256kB L2, 12MB L3)

Chipset
Memory Controller : Clevo Core8S (CofeeLake-S 6C) Host Bridge/DRAM Registers 100MHz, 2x 16GB DIMM DDR4 2.4GHz 128-bit

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Crucial/Micron CT16G4SFD824AC16FDD 16GB SO-DIMM DDR4 PC4-19200SO DDR4-2400 (17-17-17-40 4-57-19-6)
Memory Module : Crucial/Micron CT16G4SFD824AC16FDD 16GB SO-DIMM DDR4 PC4-19200SO DDR4-2400 (17-17-17-40 4-57-19-6)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : ACR Acer CB281HK
(3840x2160, 27.9")
Monitor/Panel : LG Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080, LP173WF4-SPF5, 17.3")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (10CU 1280SP SM6.0 1.48GHz/1.77GHz, 6GB 8GHz, PCIe 3.0 x16)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (1280SP 10C 1.48GHz/1.77GHz, 6GB 8GHz)
D3D 11 : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (1280SP 10C 1.48GHz/1.77GHz, 6GB 8GHz)
OpenGL : GeForce GTX 1060/PCIe/SSE2 (6GB)

Storage Devices
WDC WD10JPLX-00MBPT0 (1TB, SATA600, 2.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache) : 932GB (E:)
WDC WD10JPLX-00MBPT0 (1TB, SATA600, 2.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache) : 932GB (D:)
Samsung SSD 860 EVO M.2 500GB (500.1GB, SATA600, M.2, SSD, OPAL) : 466GB (C:)

Logical Storage Devices
Sounds (E:) : 931GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD10JPLX-00MBPT0 (1TB, SATA600, 2.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache)
Main (D:) : 931GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ WDC WD10JPLX-00MBPT0 (1TB, SATA600, 2.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache)
Recovery : 499MB (NTFS, 4kB) @ Samsung SSD 860 EVO M.2 500GB (500.1GB, SATA600, M.2, SSD, OPAL)
Hard Disk (C:) : 464GB (NTFS, 4kB) @ Samsung SSD 860 EVO M.2 500GB (500.1GB, SATA600, M.2, SSD, OPAL)
Hard Disk : 862MB (NTFS, 4kB) @ Samsung SSD 860 EVO M.2 500GB (500.1GB, SATA600, M.2, SSD, OPAL)
Hard Disk : 95MB (FAT32, 1kB) @ Samsung SSD 860 EVO M.2 500GB (500.1GB, SATA600, M.2, SSD, OPAL)
pCloud Drive (P:) : 5GB (exFAT, 4kB) @ WDC WD10JPLX-00MBPT0 (1TB, SATA600, 2.5", 7200rpm, 32MB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller #1 : Clevo Z370 Chipset LPC/eSPI Controller
Audio Device : Clevo 200 Series PCH HD Audio
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Audio Device : Clevo GP106 High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : nVidia nForce MCP2S PCI System Management
Disk Controller : Clevo 200 Series PCH SATA controller [AHCI mode]
Disk Controller : Clevo 200 Series PCH PMC
Disk Controller : Clevo RTS5250 PCI Express Card Reader
USB Controller #1 : Clevo 200 Series PCH USB 3.0 xHCI Controller
USB Controller #2 : 8738 JHL6540 Thunderbolt 3 USB Controller (C step) [Alpine Ridge 4C 2016]
SMBus/i2c Controller #1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Snagit 12 Printer (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Samsung Universal Print Driver 3 (1200x1200)
Printer : Microsoft Software Printer Driver (300x300, Colour)
Printer : Send to Microsoft OneNote 16 Driver (1200x1200, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer v4 (600x600, Colour)
Printer : Microsoft Print To PDF (600x600, Colour)
Printer : HP OfficeJet 5200 series PCL-3 (300x300, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Printer : Adobe PDF Converter (4000x4000, Colour)

Scanners & Cameras
Scanner : Microsoft HP59CC94 (HP OfficeJet 5200 series) (Scanner, USB)

Network Services
Network Adapter : TAP-NordVPN Windows Adapter V9 (Ethernet)
Network Adapter : Killer E2500 Gigabit Ethernet Controller #2 (Ethernet)
Wireless Adapter : Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 #2 (802.11ac (VHT), AES-CCMP, 866.7Mbps)

Power Management
Battery #1 : Notebook BAT 82.88Wh/4.88Ah

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 10.0.19041
Platform Compliance : x64

[albee1952]

Some things to look into:
#1-Windows updates MIGHT reset USB Power Management, so make sure it is still disabled on all USB ports(aka USB Root Hub) in Device Manager.
#2-Peripherals is NOT where you set up midi keyboards, unless the keyboard offers transport controls. For the moment, let's stick to basic midi for recording with VI's(Virtual Instruments).
#3-on a windows setup(I know zip about Macs), go to(in Pro Tools) Setup>Midi>Midi Studio. In this window, create a new Instrument and name it whatever makes sense to you. Mine is named Akai. The model and brand are not required. The crucial setting is the Input Port(so PT knows where to "look for" incoming midi data). Mine connects via a midi cable to the midi input port of my interface. If you are using the USB connection, then it would probably be something like "Akai MPK249 USB[Emulated]"(should be an obvious choice from a list). Make sure all 16 Send channels are in blue. Since its only a controller, the returning path settings are not required(you would set those for feeding midi out to a sound module or synth).
#4-if all above fails, you could try to run a Midi cable into your interface(if it has a Midi input) like I did. For me, the USB connection was not dependable(but I need it to power the keyboard), which is why I went with a Midi cable.
#5-once you do get it working for playing VI's, then check with Akai on how to get the transport functions to work. That probably does get setup under the Peripherals menu/Midi section. With Pro Tools being as persnickety as it is, be prepared for that part to maybe not work(but the keyboard part should work fine).
#6-for testing once you have done the setup, create a stereo Instrument track and insert MiniGrand in the top insert slot(slot A). Give the plugin a moment to load(red bar on the plugin) and mouse-click some keys on the plugin to make sure its loaded. If mousing the keys makes sound, hit the R button on the track and play the Akai keyboard. Hopefully, you will hear piano

[tpann]

Thank you sir!

I'll take a crack at this this weekend and let you know how it goes.

Tim

[tpann]

No go on that. I have an Apollo x4 so no midi input unfortunately.

I did need to disable USB power management but that didn't help.

I can see the keyboard in Devices and Printers, and it's called "MPK249" so it seems like the computer's not having a problem finding it.

[albee1952]

It still needs to be setup in the Midi Studio section. Please re-read that section and implement.

[tpann]

Yes I did the studio setup too. Still no go.

[albee1952]

Hmmm, I can't think of anything. Are there any local Pro Tools users that might be able to make a house call? I'm all out of ideas

[tpann]

Thanks either way. :)