I went to an afternoon show at a nursing home. They forgot to put me on the schedule, and I forgot to confirm, but the A.D. told me to perform anyway.

When I was all set up, after a few seconds, all of the lights went out on the keyboard, and the only button that worked was the ON/OFF button.

I tried a system reset which has worked in the past for things like this, but nothing doing.

I could have played the keyboard as a piano and sang along which I would have done in an Alzheimer's unit, but these were mentally ill middle aged adults, and I'd rather do a great job. So the activity director rescheduled me for next Thursday.

BTW, as you might recall, my other PSR-S910 just came out of the shop with a loose solder on the mic input. That one was just $59 to fix, and I filed a claim with the credit card extended warranty service.

This repair is likely to be much more costly, but who knows?

I've been practicing the piano a lot lately with my Casio PX-330, but my left hand needs more training for me to be comfortable playing solo.

That sounds like you have been mightily unlucky there.

BeakyBird, it sounds like you play out alot. Has your keyboard taken a fall, or maybe moved around in your car?

Anyhow, that sucks, and I worry about that kind of thing happening to me too. I'm very sorry to hear that and it must be a horrible feeling.

Larry,

The keyboard will turn on and play as a piano, is that correct? If that is correct it sounds like a motherboard failer of some sort. The power supply seems to be working. Are the internal amps working? If that is the case, it is a good thing you have that extended credit card warranty.

Tom

I hope I get reimbursed. Now the screen works.

We'll see. I hope it doesn't take months to get parts.

Beakybird,

I ALWAYS carry my laptop with me and should my keyboard fail I have hundreds of songs from 1920-1960 ready to play if needed. All I need to do is plug my laptop into my Bose speakers and I am off and running. I have actually done a gig like that just to see how well it would be accepted and they loved it -- originals just like the real vinyl. I have in fact been asked to repeat the gig. Kind of makes you wonder doesn't it?

Hammer

That sound smart. I was definitely caught flat-footed.

Now I want to ask some of you Yammy experts a couple of questions.

I did system reset which according to my understanding is to power up the keyboard while pressing high C.

Does anyone think that reloading or upgrading the OS would have any benefit? Could it be a software thing?

Is there any other way to fully reset the keyboard?

larry...record as an Mp3 backing tracks without vocals
"every song" you perform and save it in a folder on your Laptop...if an emergency occurs just pick up your mic and start singing against them ...the show must go on...!

What DNJ said!

Gary

This weekend I started thinking, "What if the problem with the keyboard is a software problem. Maybe if I reload the OS it will work."

So I went to the repair shop and took my keyboard home. When I got home and turned it on, everything works properly! It looks like I have one of those intermittent problems on my hands.

I upgraded the firmware while I was at it.

I called Yamaha tech support. I want to ask them what might be causing this problem. Maybe a loose wire. Maybe a hairline crack on the circuit board. Remember, the problem was that the buttons weren't lighting up or working, but the LCD was on and the mic and keys worked.

Very mysterious.

Larry,

The best way to isolate the problem is to first do a System Reset by pressing Function/Utility/System Reset, then be sure that all the boxes on the lower left corner of the display are checked, and press FACTORY RESET EXECUTE and finally YES.

CAUTION: THIS WILL WIPE OUT ALL INFORMATION STORED IN THE KEYBOARD'S ONBOARD MEMORY. BE SURE TO BACK ALL YOUR REGISTRATIONS, MFD, ETC.., UP ON YOUR USB DRIVE BEFORE DOING A FACTORY RESET. AND JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE, REMOVE THE USB DRIVE AFTER PERFORMING THE BACKUP.

If the problem persists, the next step would be to open the keyboard, then carefully disconnect and reconnect each of the plugs going to the various circuit boards. If there's a loose connection, which sometimes happens when the keyboard is constantly being transported and jarred around, this often solves the problem. While all of the connectors are lock-type connectors, sometimes the locking latch is not fully engaged.

If there's a cold solder joint or a hairline crack in one of the circuit boards, the problem is nearly impossible to diagnose and find. I only know of one individual in the United States that is good at this and he is located in Westminster, Maryland. He is one of the few techs that will actually replace defective parts on a circuit board instead of replacing the entire board. He is in very high demand and every independent music store in the area relies heavily on his expertise and services.

Good Luck,

Gary