Dear all,

My XS firmware is 1.6 and my Windows is 7 Pro and my message was always “can’t access to host”. I searched the forum for the solution and… the problem does not seem to be solved at all. People continue to post same question every now and then.
Suggestions to get rid of Windows Live 2011 smell like a shamanism, sorry.
Today I did another research in Samba-Windows integration related articles, and I was lucky with true masterpiece I found. Need to say : it works. Here we go:

Windows 7 registry needs TWO small numbers to change. That is ALL!
Run REGEDIT as admin, find node “Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\LanmanServer\Parameters”, and change “Size” value from 1 to 3 ( click in right window and use small dialog box). Then find another node “Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management” and change “LargeSystemCache” from 0 to 1.

Changes will have immediate effect. No reboot required. Motif browses folders on Win7 host, and it mounts/unmounts ones with read/write access enabled for the user which name is set at Motif network setup page.

Alex

Hi,

Thanks for the info!

Will this also fix the issue where the host (Win7 x64 PC) isn’t showing up randomly and can only be accessed when manually entering the host name?

Doesn’t work for me I’m afraid. I’ve never been able to get my XS6 to work to the windows 7 PC. The only way to get anything from the synth to the cubase software is to pump audio from the headphones socket to the line-in on the PC. Works to a degree.

Otherwise, even with an ethernet cable to the router or a USB connection to the PC, I can’t get MIDI across to it and as far as I can see I can’t save MIDI to the memory stick and transfer manually to the PC, cumbersome though that would be. All in all, I find the Yamaha to be a fabulous instrument, completely let down by its user unfriendliness when trying to make it work. How a professsional uses it god only knows. I spent the best part of 3 months trying to find a way round this and to date have totally failed. As far as I know, Yamaha are indifferent to or ignorant of the problem.

DaveG38 - 19 November 2014 02:41 PM

Doesn’t work for me I’m afraid. I’ve never been able to get my XS6 to work to the windows 7 PC. The only way to get anything from the synth to the cubase software is to pump audio from the headphones socket to the line-in on the PC. Works to a degree.

Otherwise, even with an ethernet cable to the router or a USB connection to the PC, I can’t get MIDI across to it and as far as I can see I can’t save MIDI to the memory stick and transfer manually to the PC, cumbersome though that would be. All in all, I find the Yamaha to be a fabulous instrument, completely let down by its user unfriendliness when trying to make it work. How a professsional uses it god only knows. I spent the best part of 3 months trying to find a way round this and to date have totally failed. As far as I know, Yamaha are indifferent to or ignorant of the problem.

I don’t use Windows 7, but with XP I haven’t experienced the problems you seem to be describing.

Let’s start with what should be easy. What MIDI data are you having trouble saving to a USB flash drive? What step of the process seems to be a stumbling block?

You are quite right. For the few months I had my previous PC with windows XP on it, I seem to remember that the PC and Motif could ‘talk’ to each other. It’s entirely different on windows 7.

You ask what MIDI data is causing me trouble saving. The simple answer is that when I plug in a memory stick and open up the screen for this on the Motif, there is nothing in the menu to indicate the option for saving MIDI files, so I assume I can’t do it. Saving via an Ethernet cabe or USB input to the PC is a non-starter, because of the problems of mounting on the PC.

However, I’m a bit unclear about what value there would be in saving MIDI files, since the PC can’t talk to the Motif, nor do I really understand what I could do with the files once on the PC. I have no knowledge of MIDI whatsoever, but it seems to me that the MIDI files on the PC would rely upon the Motif to provide the audio and since the Motif isn’t ‘seen’ by the PC there’s no way to drag audio across between the two. Or am I being too simplistic?

DaveG38 - 20 November 2014 08:50 AM

You are quite right. For the few months I had my previous PC with windows XP on it, I seem to remember that the PC and Motif could ‘talk’ to each other. It’s entirely different on windows 7.

You ask what MIDI data is causing me trouble saving. The simple answer is that when I plug in a memory stick and open up the screen for this on the Motif, there is nothing in the menu to indicate the option for saving MIDI files, so I assume I can’t do it. Saving via an Ethernet cabe or USB input to the PC is a non-starter, because of the problems of mounting on the PC.

However, I’m a bit unclear about what value there would be in saving MIDI files, since the PC can’t talk to the Motif, nor do I really understand what I could do with the files once on the PC. I have no knowledge of MIDI whatsoever, but it seems to me that the MIDI files on the PC would rely upon the Motif to provide the audio and since the Motif isn’t ‘seen’ by the PC there’s no way to drag audio across between the two. Or am I being too simplistic?

Thanks for the honest reply, “I have no knowledge of MIDI whatsoever”. I suspect that may be a factor in why you’re having difficulty.

Just because you didn’t immediately see “in the menu...the option for saving MIDI files” doesn’t mean it’s not available. You still haven’t said what MIDI data it is that you want to save, so here’s the best that I can do so far…

The Motif file system is context sensitive. If, for example, you wanted to save an SMF (Standard MIDI File), that option would only be available from either Song or Pattern modes. If you save an SMF, .MID will be the extension added to the name you enter for the file. That being said…

Since you mention being unclear of the value in saving MIDI files, and wrote about audio as well, it’s evident that you’re interested in more than the files. I presume that you’re trying to use a DAW, or some other application. Please tell us more explicitly what you’re trying to do, so it can be determined what might be necessary to accomplish your goals.

Basically, I’ve got 11 songs that I have written, which I’m trying to learn to sing and record. I’ve got a singing teacher helping me to iron out the issues with the songs, but one of the things she recommended is that I use MIDI rather than the Motif for composing.

I’ve now taken a part of one of my songs, saved it, as you suggested, in SMF format on a memory stick. I’ve then played the piece, which is just a few bars of a guitar playing on the Yamaha and compared that to the sound from opening and playing the MIDI file on the PC. The MIDI file play back was laughable by comparison with the Motif, and since the PC can’t ‘see’ the Motif I’m assuming that there’s no way that the MIDI data can control the output from the Motif to reproduce the sounds of the guitar.

Given this experience, I’m wondering what my singing teacher is on about when she recommends using MIDI. Personally, I can’t see much value in it compared to playing real notes into the Yamaha. Enlighten me by all means, but I don’t get it myself - and that’s before I get into how on earth you use Cubase to make changes to the MIDI data. Even though I imported the MIDI file into Cubase I couldn’t get it to play, so how I can understand what any MIDI data I’ve input actually sounds like, I’ve no idea.

To say I was underwhelmed by MIDI would be an exaggeration.

DaveG38 - 21 November 2014 10:34 AM

Basically, I’ve got 11 songs that I have written, which I’m trying to learn to sing and record. I’ve got a singing teacher helping me to iron out the issues with the songs, but one of the things she recommended is that I use MIDI rather than the Motif for composing.

Sorry, but I don’t know why your teacher recommended that you “use MIDI rather than the Motif for composing”. Perhaps she was thinking that using a DAW such as Cubase would be advantageous for your purposes.

 

DaveG38 -

I’ve now taken a part of one of my songs, saved it, as you suggested, in SMF format on a memory stick. I’ve then played the piece, which is just a few bars of a guitar playing on the Yamaha and compared that to the sound from opening and playing the MIDI file on the PC. The MIDI file play back was laughable by comparison with the Motif,

I did not suggest that you save your song as an SMF. I only explained how an SMF (.MID file) could be saved, since you had assumed it couldn’t be done. Now that you know it can be done, and how to do it, you might find the capability useful under some circumstances.

I won’t get into why an SMF played back on your computer might not sound good.

 

DaveG38 -

and since the PC can’t ‘see’ the Motif I’m assuming that there’s no way that the MIDI data can control the output from the Motif to reproduce the sounds of the guitar.

Given this experience, I’m wondering what my singing teacher is on about when she recommends using MIDI. Personally, I can’t see much value in it compared to playing real notes into the Yamaha. Enlighten me by all means, but I don’t get it myself - and that’s before I get into how on earth you use Cubase to make changes to the MIDI data. Even though I imported the MIDI file into Cubase I couldn’t get it to play, so how I can understand what any MIDI data I’ve input actually sounds like, I’ve no idea.

If you have interest in using Cubase, it will be necessary for you to have installed the proper USB-MIDI driver and the Motif XF Extension appropriate for your computer/OS. They can be found here. That should help resolve the Motif/computer communications. If you’re unable to get Cubase running and “seeing” the Motif, http://www.steinberg.net/forums/ is a place to get help.

This could be helpful once the other issues are dealt with:
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/support/view/motif_xf_song_import

 

DaveG38 -

To say I was underwhelmed by MIDI would be an exaggeration.

Considering the limited manner in which you’ve used MIDI so far, I can understand why you’ve found it underwhelming. I can assure you that with a more positive experience, you’d likely find what can be done using MIDI to be impressive.

This might be a place to gain some insight:
http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/tutorials.php

5pinDIN,

Thank you for your comprehensive reply.

However, I think we are at cross purposes here. I have a Motif XS (not an XF) and as seems to be widely accepted on here this device can’t be mounted on a Windows 7 PC. Yamaha updated the driver a couple of years ago, but this doesn’t solve it. Email and phone discusions with Yamaha don’t solve the problem either. As far as I can judge, Yamaha aren’t interested in sorting this - I’m sure they would rather people buy a new machine.

Based on this, I’m factoring in the fact that my XS can’t work to my PC and the only way to transfer MIDI data is via a USB stick. This works I guess. However, given the immediacy of the keyboard to hear and amend sounds, I can’t quite see how MIDI would help me. If I can’t hear it through the Cubase software then every time I want to hear something composed using MIDI I’d have to export it to a USB stick, extract the stick from the PC and then plug it into the Yamaha and upload the files. If I don’t like the result, then I’d have to reverse this to make the changes. This would be incredibly cumbersome, even if I could take the time to understand how to use MIDI. From the links you sent me, I don’t think I could master this in a dozen lifetimes. I want to compose songs, not spend all my time trying to understand a programming tool and spend days at a time trying to work out how to make one or two simple changes.

So far as Cubase goes, I have used it for some years to record the audio output from the Yamaha, but I can’t say that I find it a user friendly software, not compared to my old Cakewalk, which really was. For instance, when I use the search facility in order to find out how to turn on the metronome in the operation manual, I just get a message to say ‘no results could be found’. How ridiculous is that. Steinberg have never heard of a metronome?? Cakewalk on the other hand had a simple drop down menu to turn it on or off, and was far superior as far as the user is concerned.

Sorry, even though I have both an XS and XF myself, I sometimes subconsciously tend to think “XF”. Downloads for the XS can be found here. The most current USB-MIDI driver for Windows 7 is only about a year old, so if you haven’t installed that one, it might be worth a try.

I’m not trying to convince you to use a DAW (Cubase or any other), nor am I attempting to defend any inadequacies you feel exist in Yamaha and Steinberg products or support. My only interest was in helping you better use what you have. If you’re happy with standalone operation of the Motif XS, then by all means continue to use it that way.

If you’re looking for a place to air your frustrations with Yamaha, you can do so more directly on the forums at yamahasynth.com .

5pinDIN,

Thanks for this. I was aware of the upgrade, but that’s for machines fitted with an mLAN board and mine isn’t. Not airing frustrations with Yamaha particularly, but when paying £2-3k for a machine like this I have this kind of old-fashioned idea that it should be engineered to work properly and I find it incredibly poor that there is no fix for a well-known problem. It’s a bit like buying a new car only to be told that a steering wheel comes as an extra and they can’t guarantee that it will operate the front wheels.

It’s also very poor that in order to solve the problem, customers have to pay out a further hundred pounds or so for an extra. If I was confident this would solve the problem I might be willing to spend the money, but frankly I’m not convinced that it will, and I’ll just be more money out of pocket. Then I’ll waste six months trying to make it work, and will feel like throwing the whole thing in the bin in frustration.

Sorry, but in my view the Motif is a fabulous machine totally let down by it’s software engineering and user friendliness. There’s so much wrong with the way the whole thing works, it’s pretty obvious that the company never consulted an end-user before they went to production.

I appreciate your intentions to help, but I don’t think there is any help available. For me, the only way that the Yamaha can be used is to input its audio to the PC. No other methods work, apart from the use of a USB stick and as I said earlier that’s far too cumbersome to be practical. But if you have any other ideas I’d be happy to try them.

DaveG38 - 21 November 2014 04:47 PM

5pinDIN,

Thanks for this. I was aware of the upgrade, but that’s for machines fitted with an mLAN board and mine isn’t.

The USB-MIDI drivers have nothing to do with mLAN. From the XS download website I linked to…
USB-MIDI Driver V3.1.3 for Win 32-bit (XP SP3 / Vista SP2 / Win7 SP1 / Win8 / Win8.1) | V2.3.3 for Win 32-bit (Win2000 SP4):
http://download.yamaha.com/search/detail/?site=europe.yamaha.com&language=en&category_id1=16277&category_id2=16381&product_id=106375&asset_file_language=EN&asset_id=37205

USB-MIDI Driver V3.1.3 for Win 64-bit (XP SP3 / Vista SP2 / Win7 SP1 / Win8 / Win8.1)
http://download.yamaha.com/search/detail/?site=europe.yamaha.com&language=en&category_id1=16277&category_id2=16381&product_id=106375&asset_file_language=EN&asset_id=37206

If you haven’t installed one of the two USB-MIDI drivers linked above (which one is correct depends on whether your Windows 7 installation is 32-bit or 64-bit), then that might explain why your computer doesn’t see the XS.

I believe that installing the Motif XS Extension is necessary for the importation of XS Songs into Cubase, among other advantages.

5pinDIN,

Good advice, but I’d already tried this earlier in the year. Tried again tonight, but no joy, still get ‘Can’t access to the host’, so no chance of the PC seeing the Motif. Thanks again anyway.

DaveG38 - 21 November 2014 07:23 PM

5pinDIN,

Good advice, but I’d already tried this earlier in the year. Tried again tonight, but no joy, still get ‘Can’t access to the host’, so no chance of the PC seeing the Motif. Thanks again anyway.

“Can’t access to the host” is a Motif error message relating to Ethernet operation, having nothing to do with USB-MIDI. If you’re trying to get Cubase and your computer talking to each other, or if you want to use the Motif XS Editor, etc., that’s where USB-MIDI comes into play. By the way, in Utility Mode, MIDI In/Out has to be set to USB, otherwise even if everything else is correct, the computer and XS won’t see each other.

Ethernet has nothing to do with communication between your computer and, for example, a DAW such as Cubase. Networking via Ethernet is primarily used for file sharing. Some Ethernet issues in Windows 7 have been dealt with via OS updates. Which OS version is installed in your XS?

Perhaps you can find an experienced Motif XS user in your area who can help you in person, or consider joining the yamahasynth.com forums. There might be an updated version of this article, with the latest software versions referenced, there.