Windows 98SE Installation

This procedure was carried out on a PC which had just had a fresh copy of Windows 98SE installed.

1. Insert 'Panasonic Applications and Drivers'  CD in Drive - Initial screen appears.
2. Click on '1. Device Drivers Installation'
3. On the next screen, in the lower section, Double click on the 'setup' Icon.
4. Click on OK in response to 'Install USB Driver'
5. After a short delay, another window will appear - Setup completed - click on OK
6. Close the Installation window and re-start the Computer.
7. Connect the USB lead between the KN and the Computer and switch on the keyboard power.
8. Several installation screens should appear indicating that the USB drivers for the Panasonic Musical Instrument and MIDI and Audio devices.
9. Carry out some tests as detailed in 'Checking out the Installation'  procedure shown below.

10. When I tried the test procedures, I could not establish communication between the KN7000 and the computer, using the Panasonic recorder  or File transfer tests. On further investigation and after a good deal of 'Hair tearing out',  I  thought that there may be conflicts between the normally installed drivers for other devices on the PC and the KN drivers. So I decided to disable all devices in the 'Sound, Video and Game controllers' section of the 'Device Manager', leaving only the Panasonic Devices enabled. 
Having done so and re-booting, everything then worked fine !!  

When I first tried installing the drivers on a Windows 98SE PC, some time ago, I had no problems but that PC did not have a sound card installed so I guess that is why I hadn’t noticed the problem before. 

In case you don't know how to disable the devices, here's how to proceed :

1. Right click on 'My Computer' and click on 'Properties' then on the 'Device Manager' Tab
2. Click on the '+' to the left of 'Sound, Video and Game Controllers' to open a display of devices.
3. One at a time, click to highlight on all devices which are not Panasonic then click on the 'Properties' button.
4. Click on the 'General' Tab ( if it's not already visible )
5. At the bottom of the window, Click the Left mouse button, to place a tick in the box to the left of  'Disable in this Hardware Profile'
6. Also 'Untick' the 'Exists in all Hardware profiles' box.
7. Re-start the computer...... Hopefully, you should now have communication.

A screen shot of the Windows 98SE Device manager, showing disabled devices, is appended at the end of this document

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Checking out the Installation

Some simple checks can be carried out to confirm that there is correct communication between the keyboard and the computer.

Recording Test

1. Switch on the keyboard 

2. Double click on the 'Audio Recorder' Icon on the Desktop and a small representation of a Cassette tape recorder will appear with simulated controls for 'Record, Stop, Playback, Rewind to Start, Fast Rewind and Fast Forward. 

3. Set up your keyboard with a suitable style and voices to carry out a simple recording test.

4. Click on the Record button on the recorder (  Red Dot ) and the recording process will start ( simulated tape spools will turn and the buttons change colour)

5. Start playing a song/tune on the keyboard and you should see the vertical 'Volume Bars' responding to the digital audio input from the keyboard. The timer in the middle of the recorder will also increment, showing the elapsed time for the recording.

6. When you have finished your test recording, click on the Stop button ( Red Square ) 

7. To playback the recording, click on the Play button ( Triangle 3rd from Left ) and the recorder should play back through the sound system on your keyboard.

8. The recording can then be saved, if you wish, by clicking on the Floppy disc Icon in the recorder's toolbar and choosing a location for the file. The file can be saved in one of three formats : .WAV, .WMA, or .MP3 by choosing the appropriate option in the 'Save as type' dialog of the file saving window. When the test is complete, close the recorder window.

File Transfer Test

For data transfers to take place between the keyboard and computer, the keyboard must be displaying the 'Home Screen' i.e. the screen which appears when the keyboard is first switched on. 

1. Double click the 'Song Manager' Icon on the computer desktop - the Song Manager window will open. Apart from the Menu items at the top of the window, the window is split into three basic sections : The KNxxxx section at the top, the Technics file section on the left and the SMF section on the right. 

2. For the purposes of this test, click on the small yellow Folder Icon in the top right corner of the Technics section of the window and in the 'Browse for Folder' dropdown window, click on 'Desktop' at the top of the list and then click on the 'OK' button.

3. Assuming the keyboard is still switched on,  click on the 'Transmission' Option in the top Menu and then click on 'Download Technics'

4. A new window will appear ' Technics Song Naming' comprising several boxes - the top left box being highlighted. 

5. Move the mouse pointer into the highlighted box, ( 01 ), left click once and enter a filename - for example,  Test

6. Click on the 'OK' button and  when 'Transmission may take some time.....' appears, click 'OK' again. 

7. You should then see a 'Data Transmission' progress screen and the display on the keyboard will change to display a warning message. ( Heed the Warning! )

8. When the transmission has finished, a 'Completed' message will appear on the computer screen and the keyboard screen will revert to the Home Page. You will also see a file Icon appear in the 'Technics' area of the window.

9. The above test has transferred the present setup on your keyboard to a set of files on your desktop, under the name '01TEST'. You should be able to see the components of the file on your desktop ( 01TEST.LSW : 01TEST.PMT : 01 TEST.SQT ...... ) This is the same format as files saved to the SD card or Floppy disc. 
The particular transfer which has just been carried out was a 'Performance' transfer, but individual components of the file can be deselected from the transfer by clicking on the 'Option' button in the 'Technics Song Naming' window, before initiating the actual transfer.

10. If  you wish to check the transfer of a file from the computer back to the keyboard, then carry out the following steps. The process will just send back to the keyboard, the setup file which we previously transferred - i.e. the file '01TEST'. 
To prove that the transfer has been successful, carry out an initialisation of your keyboard. For the KN7000 - Program Menus / Control /  Initial / Performance / OK / YES. I expect other keyboards will have a similar procedure.

11. Assuming the Song manager window is still visible and the file '01TEST' is still in the 'Technics' area of the window.............

12. Left click and drag the '01TEST' Icon from the 'Technics' area to the upper area of the window ( KNxxxx and a picture of a keyboard )  As you drag the Icon into the top area, you should see the cursor change from a circle with a diagonal line to two small squares -one dotted and the other with a plus sign inside. When this latter cursor appears, you can release the mouse button.

13. The 'Technics Load' window will then appear - click on OK and the transfer will begin. You should again see a 'Data Transmission' progress screen and the display on the keyboard will change to display a warning message.

14. When the transmission has finished, a 'Completed' message will appear on the computer screen and the keyboard screen will revert to the Home Page. Your keyboard should now be setup as it was,  before you re-initialised.

15. When the test have been completed, you can easily delete the '01TEST' file from the 'Technics' area and also all the components on your desktop.

16. Right click on the '01TEST' Icon and on the pop-up menu, click on 'Delete File' and then confirm 'YES'. The file and all it's components on the desktop will be deleted. Note : They will not be sent to the Recycle Bin.......

Close the Song Manager program.

Windows 98SE Device Manager showing Disabled Sound, Video and Game Controllers