Model 12 displays "cannot record file" error and freezes

[baddestbrain]

Hello friends,

I've been enjoying my M12, but ran into an issue a couple times over the weekend and am wondering if anyone can provide some insight. I skimmed the thread search results but didn't find anything about the unit freezing. It happened first while I was tracking drums at the practice space, about an hour into the session. When I stopped the track while recording, it said something like "cannot record file." I pressed enter and did the take again and it worked fine. Not long later, this same error happened again, but also the device locked up, and none of the transport controls on the interface were functioning. I had to turn off the power switch and reboot the device. The only things that I can think of that were different about this session were that the recording was over 20 minutes in length when it started having these issues, and also I was using phantom power.

After rebooting, I was able to finish the recording session, although I forgot to re-engage phantom power for most of that time. Later at home, I was adding some guitar tracks and encountered the same "cannot record file" error and had to turn the unit off and back on. It was connected to my MAC as an interface in this instance. Again, after rebooting I was able to finish my recording, but I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this, and if I should utilize my 1 year warranty. I've been using a SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO SDXC.

Thanks gang,

 

[shredd]

Hm!
Have found many threads mentioning recording-time problems on ModelXX’s, including mentioning freeze-ups or recording stoppages…

I don’t own a ModelXX (and wouldn’t, even at gunpoint!)…
But seems like a good place to start is assuring you’re running latest firmware, and trying a different SD card (from Tascam’s “tested SD cards” list, AND properly formatted IN the unit)…

 

[baddestbrain]

Thanks, but I took another look on my desktop and still haven't found what I'm looking for, which is instances of the Model 12 crashing when used as a stand alone unit. Happy to delete my thread if needed though.

I confirmed that my SD card is on the tested media list and I know that I formatted it. I've recorded several songs on it previously and only just encountered the "cannot record" error this last session. (I wish I took a photo of the exact error message, but we were focused on the work)

I am stumped as to what I could be doing differently to avoid this error in the future. My guess about what is different this time is that the file size is much larger since I have 20+ minutes of takes recorded. I am saving after every take now because I am worried that I'll get the error again and have to flip the power switch off.

 

[shredd]

No need to delete the thread - on the contrary, users documenting their experiences in as much detail as possible helps future users to find threads with info relevant to their own problem/s.

It's a stumper fer sher - but IIRC, there's been quite a few threads about recording being cut off unintentionally, w or w/o crash/freezing. Seems to be a common/ongoing issue w ModelXX's, and seems likely has to do with the difficulty in getting its' OS/firmware to play nice w a myriad of computers, O/S's, and vastly varied hardware setups.
One of a fistful of reasons I'd never rely on one as a creative tool...but they surely do provide lots of technical challenges and gear-maintenance issues - this area of the forum is easily the most-used/read, with lots of problems (including some that seem pretty universal)...

 

[Max Relic]

I can think of two main reasons that could be causing the OP issues:
• one is a faulty or damaged SD card ("cannot record file"), which can be verified formatting the current SD card on the Model 12 and/or replacing it with an approved one (again, formatted on the Model 12 before use) ;
• the other is an USB glitch or abruptly broken connection (system freeze), which can be troubleshooted the usual way (change cable, check settings, blablabla).

Worth mentioning that sampling rate mismatch between the Model and host computer is a blocking error, but I wouldn't consider it in this case as such an error appears from the start and not middle of the road.

Recording time is not an issue with the Models as they are perfectly able to fill a card with a single looooong song. I personally verified this on my Model 12 and a SanDisk 64GB card, IIRC the recorder creates many 2 GB chunks per track until the recording stops then takes some time to save/close the session on disk.
It's understood that the longer the recording session, the more vulnerable it is in case of defective media, power instability or bad USB connection.

@shredd , never had a tape chewed by the recorder in the good ol' days?
Or take a reel out of its box an find that most of that nice recording you made years before became ferro-magnetic ash? Times change, problems remain...

 

[Mark Richards]

...When I stopped the track while recording, it said something like "cannot record file." I pressed enter and did the take again and it worked fine...

Not long later, this same error happened again, but also the device locked up, and none of the transport controls on the interface were functioning. I had to turn off the power switch and reboot the device...

...I was adding some guitar tracks and encountered the same "cannot record file" error and had to turn the unit off and back on. It was connected to my MAC as an interface in this instance. Again, after rebooting I was able to finish my recording...

...I confirmed that my SD card is on the tested media list and I know that I formatted it...

@baddestbrain
I'm not an owner of the Model series, but I agree with Max and shredd: a file error seems to point first to a faulty SD card.

1. Does your owner manual indicate if the the Model 12 *always* writes to the SD card automatically? That would account for the problem in both stand-alone and interface operation.

2. Does your owner manual have an error message section, and if so, are any messages in that section similar to what you recall seeing when the problem occurred?

 

[baddestbrain]

Thanks Max, Shredd, and Mark. My SD card is listed on the tested media page and I'm certain I formatted it. I've only encountered this error a couple times, and only recently. Maybe one of my cables or power source is faulty. I don't use the machine every day, but I'll report back if I encounter the issue again or have any new info to share.