Virus b problems - OS won't boot, LCD glitches, LFO led's light up - common problem

[azone]

OK, I have an issue with my Virus b.
I was checking on Ebay for broken Virus b's and found 2 people in the last month selling them with the exact same problem.

1. Turn it on
2. The LCD comes up with the startup screen (OS 4.1 etc...). Then it starts glitching and resetting continuously. The brightness of the LCD also sort of glitches birghter/darker etc..
3. The LFO LED's are lit. Nothing else works/lights up.
4. It never boots, so there's no way to reset the Virus etc..
5. Turn it off/on again and does it all over again. One out of 40 times it actually starts up and works.

I figure it's something about the power supply not getting the DSP good power, or it's not getting a good clock signal and it keeps trying to re-boot. Or I guess sonem other bad connecton somewhere.
Since I've seen two people with the exact same problem in the last month alone this must be hapenning to a lot of people so it must be a flaw somewhere, maybe a component in the power supply going bad or something.

Here's what I've tried.
1. Powered the unit with a bench supply up to 15v to see if it works when given clean power up to 15v DC. Didn't help.
2. Checked the connectors. This is not the problem since it should boot-up without the front panel board or LCD even hooked up. The problem is on the mainboard somewhere. Everything there looks fine. No visually bad parts or connections.

If anyone has any experience with this or can offer any suggestions I'd be grateful. Access didn't offer any advise aside from referring me to my local repair shop:

Advanced Musical Electronics
8665 Venice Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 559-3157

I'd like to fix it myself before paying someone else.

Brian.

[marc]

brian,

you could try to open it up and check all connections. apart from that, there is not much you can do. what you describe is not a common problem and close to impossible to trouble shoot with the relatively little info given.

it shouldn't be the battery, the virus boots, even if the battery is low. the unfortunate truth is that hardware can get damaged over the years. i assume that you know that.

Advanced is one of the two certified repair centers in the US. we had good results with them over the years. our support team is not designed to assist with hardware problems, that's why they won't be able to give you clues on how you could attempt to fix the problem yourself.

good luck, marc
access music

[azone]

thanks very much for the reply.
I'm certaintly aware the support group can't assist with these problems. I did get a quick reply and a few things to check so it was nice they even replied.

I'm an EE so I'll take into the lab at work and check it out. There's really not much to check on dsp-based stuff like the virus. There is hope since I can get it to boot up and work every once in a while.

[azone]

so I bought it over to Advanced Musical Electronics this morning. They were very fast getting it on the bench and got back with an estimate already. Unfortunately it's not the power supply or crystals or anything obvious so there would be a good deal of labor troubleshooting. They estimated $250 to $500. Makes no sense at all to go through with it, it's only worth $500 working, and you can get $200 for a broken one on Ebay.

[audioman]

Problem Solved !!!
After contacting official repair center and ask in vane for the service manual i have changed all the electrolytics (schematics attached) and all the 3 voltage regulator.
all is working perfect now
If you have the same problem do the job and you solved !!
Thank you all
Fabio

[omnesilere]

i was just setting up a session when i looked over and my virus b just started acting weird. i did a restart and it acts similar.. i let it rest for a while and it'll get to this knob turn test which it responds to if you do it manually only it starts over and over.. if it doesnt work after being off and unplugged for a while i guess changing the capacitors and voltage regulator is the next step. this is the only thing i found online that is relevent.

[elior77]

Hey !

I had the same problem with endless reset - now it is SOLVED !

caps and new psu

Now all ok !

[timotije2000]

I got a Virus Rack B and a month ago the LCD started flickering and dimming. I opened the unit by unscrewing the bottom lid. Then switched the power on and touched the white LCD ribbon cable a few times, and guess what? The LCD started flickering every time I touched the cable. It wasn't the solder joints but it was due to ACCESS bending the hell out of the cable, almost 360 degrees . So to fix the issue I unbent the cable by counter-creasing it and then I twisted it in a circle so that the bends are very obtuse. Closed the unit up and now it runs very bright. I hope this helps many who are having the same problem.

[DJ:HAUNEBU]

HI, i wasn't so lucky... mine boots up now but soundbank A and B is history and it freezes after 20 sec. do you have the servicemanual as a PDF? If you do would you be so kind and sen it to my mail djhaunebu@gmail.com it was such a blow when it froze.

[W.C. Fields]

I have a dead Virus Indigo (B with a keyboard)

I too would be really interested in a service manual.

I took it to Advanced and they quoted the same, costs more to repair than the thing is worth.

email: brock.fansler@gmail.com