Troubleshooting

Some information can also be found in the FAQs section

Additional information is included in the FAQ section

When I install KinskyDesktop (3.1.21) or Konfig on my Vista PC, when I run it, the PC reports "Kinsky Desktop has stopped working. A problem has caused the program to stop working"

This is an issue with the release 3.1.21 release of KinskyDesktop and 3.1.27 release of Konfig.

The solution until that release solution is disable any unused Network adaptors on you PC. This is done by going into the
control panel -> network connections window and disable ALL network connections except the one that you are using

I cannot get Album coverart on the KinskyDesktop?

The Kinskydesktop can either get the artwork from the Metadata or

The on-screen icon will give a better indications:

State 1: The media server is not providing KinskyDesktop with any album art Picture
State 2: KinskyDesktop is currently downloading the artwork Picture
State 3: There was an error downloading the artwork Picture
State 4: Artwork is showing

If you are seeing state 1 then you either dont have artwork for that album or your media server is for some reason not detecting the artwork. Some Media Servers such as Fruppes no not support coverart.

If you are seeing state 3 then there was some error with downloading the artwork, there will be an entry in your 'Debug Console' associated with that bit of artwork and it will give some reason for not being able to download the artwork and the URI to the artwork, hopefully this should help you fix the issue and at the very least try and download the artwork in your browser to see if you media server is providing a valid image!

If you have further problems with this please contact us on the helpline.

Where are the User Manuals for the KinskyDesktop?

There is presently an on-line manual for the in the OSS.Linn.co.uk site for the KinskyDesktop.

[1]

The Jukebox is still in beta release and its manual resides in [2]

The Konfig manual resides in [3]

On CARA KinskyDesktop, the operational speed is VERY slow.

On the PC, if you have IntelliPoint drivers installed, then disable ‘Instant Viewer’ in the mouse settings.

The front panel of the DS is showing a flashing dot and I cannot see it with KinskyDesktop or Konfig.

Computer networks can get very fussy. If you have any problems getting the Linn DS on an Ethernet network, (dot continuously flashing), try the following options:-
Option1

1. Power off the EVERYTHING connected to the Ethernet system, (PC, Printers, DS, Routers/DHCP servers).
2. Leave everything powered off for at least 10seconds.
3. Switch everything back on.
4. Retry the system

You will find that some of the devices in the system get confused and cause system confusion. The power cycling will do a reset of the system and recover most issues.

Option2

1. Use fresh Ethernet cables, (replace existing cables).
2. If the Linn Ds is more than 3M (10ft) from the DHCP/Server. Move the Linn DS right beside the Router/DHCP server and patch using a short Ethernet cable (1M), the Linn DS to the DHCP server/Router
3. Retry the system

Option3

1. Build a totally separate system with only a DHCP/Server and Linn DS.
2. Retry the system

Some networks only have a limited number of DHCP address’s. if you have already connected some PC’s to this system, your Router/DHCP server can remember these devices, (even though no longer connected) and will not allocated these previously assigned IP addresses to newly connected products. So the case of unplugging one device to free up an IP address for the DS to use will NOT work with most Routers/DHCP servers if there are no free DHCP IP addresses available.

This will give a better idea as to what is causing the problem. (98% of the time, this is due to a local network issue).

I cannot find TWONKY V4.4.* to run the Linn DS products.

Twonky have recently changed their website. You can download Twonky V4.4.* from

http://www.twonkyforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=5881

You can also download  from TWONKY V4.4.17 or TWONKY V4.4.18, this is avaliable for differenet NAS device.

Twonky V5is available from [4]

Note: you buy the Twonky Media SERVER licence, NOT the Twonky Media MANAGER licence.

the Media Server Licence can be purchased from Buy Twonky Service

I cannot see the DS on the LINNGUI/Kinsky Desktop

If the LINNGUI cannot see the DS product, check the following:

1. If your PC has multiple network connections, (wired and wireless-WifI). Disable one of them so you are ONLY using wired ethernet or wireless ethernet. Restart the LINNGUI and check operation. (You can tell your LINNGUI to use one network card in the following link [5]

2. Some Network DHCP servers/switches can block UPnP communication. Either check the router settings or use a ethernet router such as the Netgear RP614 to see if this cures the issue.

3. You may have different Anti-Virus & firewall packages from the Windows default, (such as Norton, McAfee, etc) ensure that these have the above files with exceptions as per their Manual, plus check that they UPnP port operation. [6]

4. Try another control device (PC, PDA, etc), to check the operation of your PC

I cannot see any Playlists on the Music listing

Twonky V4.4.9 has a bug and does not like Playlists. We recommend that you update to TWONKY V4.4.11 or above

The LINNGUI/Kinsky Desktop can see the DS, but cannot see any of the Music tracks

This is due to the Media Server (typically TwonkyMedia), not broadcasting the Music available.

• Suspect that you are using an early version of TWONKY MEDIA V5 that does not support FLAC, the current release of Twonky V5.055 does support FLAC at this time.[7]
• This can be due to the Twonky temp licence has run out,

     Licence can be purchased from  Twonky Media SERVER

• The media server is not looking in the folders where the Music is located.

     Check that the Content locations are the actual Music locations.

• The Media server library has been corrupted

    On Twonky, go in to the Setup, Maintainance and select the Rebuild Database button

• The Music is of the wrong type

I can only see some of my Music and the Music keeps pausing

If you are using TwonkyMedia, suspect that the Music Rescan time is too small. The rescan action can take several minutes (>30minutes in large file collections. If you set the Rescan time to be too small, it will start performing another  Rescan before it has finished the first etc, etc, etc.

Ideally the RESCAN time should be set to "0" (zero) and you can create an Internet Desktop shortcut for the URL:

http://your_NAS_IP:8100/rpc/rescan for Netgear ReadyNAS or

http://your_IP:9100/rpc/recan for most other devices

This will tell twonky to only rescan when you have added something new.

[8]

If you are running DS with CARA1 software, update to CARA2 firmware. This is performed by running the KONFIG application and select the Update tab, select CARA2 and press the UPDATE button. Complete

On the LINNGUI, I cannot add anything to the Playlist window

The Windows Firewall must have both the LinnGUI or LinnConfig application files as files exceptions. When you first install these software applications, you PC will ask if you want to grant this application network access. If you haven’t granted access, you will need to grant access, this can be done with the following link:

i.Check the Firewall settings

For Bute
ii. Add C:\Program Files\Linn Products Ltd\LinnConfig\1.x-0.x\LinnConfig_xxx_rx.exe   &
iii. add C:\Program Files\Linn Products Ltd\LinnGui\1.x-0.x\LinnGUI.exe

For Cara

ii add C:\Program Files\Linn\KinskyDesktop\KinskyDesktop.exe &

iii add c:\Program Files\Linn\Kinsky\Konfig\Konfig_xx_rx.exe

You may have different Anti-Virus & firewall packages from the Windows default, (such as Norton, McAfee, etc) ensure that these have the above files with exceptions as per their Manual, plus checkt that they UPnP port operation. //docs.linn.co.uk/wiki/index.php/FAQs#What_are_the_firewall_settings_required_for_LinnGui.2FLinnConfig_operation (If the Anti-Virus/Firewall does not allow the UPnP port operation, the PC screen will constantly be blank and there is no data gatting back to the software)

I cannot play some of my iTunes files

Downloaded iTune Music is DRM protected, (Digital Rights Management). This will ONLY allow playback on iTunes devices.

These Music files will have the M4P extension. To make these files visible to the DS, the DRM must be stripped off these Music files. (This may be done by iTunes or illegal software).

Contact iTunes on the supply of non-DRM files.

A ripped CD is not showing on the Linn GUI/ Kinsky Desktop

Firstly, ensure that the CD has been ripped to the correct location (e.g. to the NAS and not to the PC).

If that is not the cause, it is possible that the metadata is incorrectly applied, or there is no metadata. Tools like Audioshell, which runs as part of Windows Explorer, will show the file properties including the track metadata.

Metadata is a place holder for the track/album/artist information. It can hold much more info, but it is this minimum information that is required by the media server to enable it to find an album and tracks.

In some cases, the FLAC metadata may be incorrectly applied. One common problem is that FLAC files are wrapped in ID3 tags instead of using the standard FLAC/Vorbis tagging. FLAC with ID3 tags is against the FLAC specification, and early versions of DS players reject these files as invalid. When viewing the metadata from MP3Tag ID3 tags will be shown as "FLAC (FLAC ID3V2)" instead of "FLAC (FLAC)". If this has happened the tag data can be removed using MP3Tag, but you will then have to re-add the correct metadata manually using the same tool. Usually, it will be faster to rip the disc again, but before you do so, ensure the ripping software is correctly configured.

The audio is dropping out

Audio drop-out is an intermittant interruption to the audio.

It can have a number of causes:

• excessive load on the NAS drives
• network congestion at the NAS, switch, router, or other network device
• lack of CPU bandwidth on the device running the media server

Drop-out caused by the above will be characterised by a fading out of the audio, shortly followed by the audio fading back in.

To eliminate audio drop-out:

1. Validate that your network throughput and latency is sufficient to run a lossless audio distribution network. Standard network evaluation and diagnostic tools will help you here.
2. Verify that the media server is not competing for CPU or network bandwidth with other applications or servers on the device it is running on. Rescanning the media database can require a lot of processing power and disk-access bandwidth to operate without interrupting other tasks.
3. Ensure there are no wireless 'hops' between the media server, NAS and DS. The connections between these devices should be entirely wired.
4. Check the number of connections to the media server. TwonkyMedia will only allow a maximum of 20 connections at a time.

If the audio does not fade in and out, there is likely to be a problem with your source material (e.g. a badly ripped disc). You will be able to test for this by listening to the track again, and determining if the drop-out occurs in exactly the same place.

The music has stopped and the DS player is unresponsive

It is possible that communication between the DS and the media server has been lost. To fix this you will need to reboot the DS from the Linn Config, or power cycle the DS.

This problem will be apparent if the media server is running on a laptop rather than a NAS, as communication will be lost when the laptop goes to sleep.

Linn GUI is crashing at start-up

If the Linn GUI always crashes when you start it up, or displays the error message, "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.", reinstall the .NET 2.0 release. The installer can be downloaded from Microsoft [9]

Once downloaded the .NET framework can be repaired or reinstalled.

The DS player has forgotten my playlist

If the DS has "lost" a playlist while powered on but not being used, then it is possible that the DS has reset.

The reason for the reset can be obtained from the Linn Config application, from the diagnostics tab. Select "Download DS fail data to file [xxx.data]". Ensure this is the only item selected. Press the "Run" button. A .data file will appear in the install directory (normally "C:\program files\Linn Products Ltd\LinnConfig\"). Send this file to Linn for diagnosis, along with a full bug report. See How to report problems.

You should clear the data on the failure by selecting "Clear Klimax/Akurate DS fail data" on the Linn Config, and hitting the "Run" button.

The Nokia N800/810 is only one track at a time on the Linn DS

The Nokia N800/N810 is probably running Nokia "Media streamer" software, we advise that this is changed to LEIA DS software.

This will work in conjunction with the LINNGUI software.

Click this LINK for instalaltion instructions.

Status of Linn GUI on a wireless control point fades

If you are using a WAP (Wireless Access Point), check to see if it has a Preamble setting. If it does, set it to "long & short" or "automatic" (depending on the manufacturer).

If the WAP has different speed settings (b, g, N), set it to one speed only. "g" should work well with most devices. If the PC/laptop/Nokia in the system can work at different speeds, it may keep breaking and remaking the wireless connection at a stronger signal. This constant changeover can confuse the Linn GUI/Nokia and cause the loss of control.

Check for adjacent WAPs on same channel. If confirmed, log on to the WAP and change to another unused channel. You can check if another wireless device is broadcasting nearby using NETSTUMBLER (http://www.stumbler.net/ ).

The system has been upgraded to Bute, now my Nokia N800 is unable to control the DS

It is likely that the Nokia is running OS2007 firmware. Upgrade the Nokia to OS2008: http://europe.nokia.com/A4305010

If upgrading the firmware does not fix the problems, the WAP may be too close to the Nokia (the wi-fi signal may be too strong). Try moving the WAP further away and set the Nokia's WLAN idle time (in "Connectivity settings") to "unlimited".

When I use the Tablet PC, it does not have the scroll bar as per the PC running LinnGUI

See below...

Using an ASUS EeePC, the LINNGUI, (BUTE) comes up with a screen without a Mouse pointer

The LinnGUI can be configured for different screen sizes, and input methods.

By default the LinnGUI will "guess" the most appropriate options for your computer. (For example, it will attempt to guess if you are running on a Laptop, and provide scroll-bars and a cursor). However, because of the screen size of the ASUS PC the LINNGUI thinks it is a tablet PC with touch screen.

The simple fix is to bypass the GUIs auto detection and force the configuration you would like.

This can be done by modifying the Windows short-cut, and applying the options here: LinnGUI and Kinsky Command Line Options

On the CARA KINSKYDESKTOP, you can go in to the Tools-Options menu and turn the mouse pointer OFF

Internet Radio does not work

Shoutcast have changed their website setup. This has been fixed from Twonky Software verion V4.4.9 [10]