2488 Neo "Can't do this in transport " Error message

[Mypur]

Portastudio 2488 Neo "Can't do this in transport. Stop the transport press exit" message. I press exit it does not stop the transport. I press stop, it does not get me out of transport. The round spin knob does nothing. I can playback nothing. I can't shut power down or I will lose the track. How do I get out of transport mode? Now what?

 

[shredd]

Though I spent mannnny years running a series of 2488's, I've now been on an OG DP-32 for a few years.
But I do recall seeing this message many times. It was always when attempting any operation that requires the transport to be stopped to execute (and there are many).
IIRC, you must [Exit] the error message before your transport (Stop) button (or any other control) will work.
If it's not working, chances are that your exit button's function is degrading, as is painfully common on '88's. There's maaany threads on the forum here addressing that, but basically, you'll probably wanna look into some DeOxit.
Good luck -

 

[Mypur]

Shredd,

Thank you. I keep pressing the exit button and it clears the error screen but sadly transport is not stopped as nothing works, playback, the spinner dial, the shut down button. After I exit, I press play and it does nothing but blinks the green light at me. Fristrating. I can't save and shut down. If I power off, I feel I might loose all the work.

 

[shredd]

Hm! That’s pretty b-zarre all right.
Curious: what IS showing on the display once you've exited out of the error-message screen?

Another flailing suggestion: it’s possible your 88’s firmware is scrambled/corrupted; reinstalling it (using latest available version of course) might be a starting point…though if you have ‘bad’/malfunctioning buttons, that’s unlikely to resolve it.
And yes, you’re probably gonna lose any unsaved/un-backed-up work .

 

[arct]

After my first 2488 buttons no longer worked after about 5 years, I had similar issues with my second 2488, also a Neo, after about two years. That transport error was a lot. It was all because the buttons were just failing and basically nothing worked. I spent about 3 months fooling with it, having successful sessions, having fails, finally literally threw it into the dump, for the second time. DP-32SD for years now, very happy with it. Good luck, I hope you can get out of it.

rct

 

[shredd]

Like @arct (and I did, above) sez: the 2488's are notorious for having their buttons 'go bad', particularly the heavily-used ones like transport, menu, exit, yada...
I wuz lucky - I had all 3 '88's (original flavor, MkII, and 'neo) and never had this problem. Either I was gentler on the buttons, or perhaps just born under a good sign. But even my 'neo - which I ran for more than 10 years - was still working pretty well when I located a mint-condition O/G DP-32, and have been using that without a hitch. I've since retired the 'neo, and the DP is serving well!

Hopefully you can do something with your buttons - I've read here of people getting results w/DeOxit, even without disassembly...guess it depends on how 'far gone' your buttons are...
Good luck!!!