MPC 3000 Vailixi 3.50 CF card not reading, help please !

What's up, I have an mpc 3000 LE with vailixi 3.50 with startech Cf card reader, and i just inserted
a CF card (sandisk 1.0 GB) (standard blue and red one, not the ultra II etc.)
when i go to format the card, i chose
FORMAT A SCSI HARD DISK
Select SCSI unit of hard disk: AUTO
(i've tried auto 0,1,2,3,4,5 and 6, after i click next screen it says:

No SCSI device was found, etc...

is it safe to say that there's a hardware issue? or am i missing something. does the CF card have to be preformatted with a pc? or is this the way to format with the mpc 3000?

i read about hybrid formatting but it seems like an option i didn't get to yet due to the card not reading properly i'm assuming. i tried my best to add every detail in this post, but if there's any other info i can give, let me know.

the files that are on the card were from an mpc 2000xl, but i wanna format it using the mpc 3000. any help would be greatly appreciated.

I don't think the Startech CF card reader is hotswappable. You have to insert the Compact Flash card into the reader before you turn on the MPC for the card to be recognized.

@mpc hunter, i figured it was, that's how i've been trying to do it, does anyone know what format the card has to be formatted as, if i were to format it with a computer? and what program can i use to do so ?

If you want to use the card in the MPC, format it in the MPC.

MPCHunter is correct. Startech reader is not hotswap so cf card must be in reader before turning on MPC3000. Card cannot be removed. Also, I think, not sure though, but that Sandisk card you are using might not be compatible or not recognized. Keep reading below.

Also, I do not know if you know this already but I will say it anyway, might be useful information to you:

With respect to the Vailixi 3.50 os, when formatting a compact flash card, you will get up to 26 partitions of 30MB each, total 780MB, so it makes sense to use smaller size cf cards 1GB-2GB, and also recommended brands of compact flash card are Sandisk Ultra II and Ultra III. Some 3.50 users have recommended using the hybrid partitions when formatting and setting multi-sector to OFF in scsi options, so that the partitions can be seen on a computer. Keep in mind to keep your filenames to 8 character or less, if you will be using the cf card on your computer. Computer truncates file names to 8 characters when accessing partitions

thanks for the info, i tried both the sandisk 1gb, and the sandisk ultra II 2 gb, and i have inserted the card always with the power off, and nothing.

You still can't format the card, after powering up the MPC with the card inserted in the reader?

Are you sure the card reader is hooked up and powered correctly?

Have you checked what SCSI ID the reader is set to?

yes i tried turning power off, inserting card, and turning back on, the mpc was working when it was sold to me, according to the seller, but perhaps some cables are loose inside. there's no power light in the card unit to be able to tell, can you explain to me what the SCSI ID is?

here's a video i made to the seller to explain what i'm going thru with the machine,
but maybe one of you guys can help me once you see this video...

HERE'S A YOUTUBE VIDEO EXPLAINING WHAT IM TRYING TO DO (except i also tried with a 2gb sandisk ultra II)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDRgeXWfEUg

thank you guys for making the efforts to help

vertygo2k14 wrote: but perhaps some cables are loose inside.

Have you opened up the unit yet to verify that the cables are seated? This would have been one of the first things I would have checked. It is possible that something has shaken loose during transit to you.

Also, inspect the pins on the card reader to make sure none of them have been bent or damaged from inserting a CF card incorrectly.

The SCSI ID is a separate number (0-7) assigned to each device on a SCSI bus/chain.

Each device connected to the same SCSI bus/chain must have a different SCSI ID.

It will make it easier when you go to format the memory card to know exactly which SCSI ID the card reader is set to, so you can choose that SCSI ID as the device to format from the MPC format screen.

This is usually set by changing the position of jumpers on the card reader circuit board.

If opening up your MPC to check cabling, it might be worth finding the card reader manual, and determining which SCSI ID it is set to, as well as whether it has SCSI termination enabled or not.

SCSI termination is required at each end of the SCSI bus/chain for correct operation, and is set on by default on the MPC SCSI interface, and the other end of the SCSI bus/chain/cable should also be terminated.

Might be worth having a look to see if you can work out exactly how everything is connected inside the MPC, and post some photos if not sure for us to check.

I will try to open the mpc and make sure the cables are connected, it was brought
to my attention that the OS in this machine is not the legit copy, but the mpc was sold
to me as if it had a legit copy. I figure i'd let everyone know, because I wanna
be completely transparent on the entire situation.

The sandisk ultra2 1gb will work with this drive type, providing it is connected before power up.

The fault is either
¤ a loose molex to bridge
¤ a loose molex to drive
¤ a loose bridge connection on ide or idc
¤ a loose scsi cable

Or maybe the scsi fuse has blown?

If you are in the uk, you can click the link below my post for assistance

Also regarding the drive id... in my experience the mpc doesnt need its bridge jumpered as will find 0 unless settings are changed

Your Sandisk card may be corrupted / defectve.

I recently bought 6 identical Sandisk 1GB original blue and red cards and one of them doesn't work.
I even ripped it apart to inspect the chips and sure enough, it is an authentic Sandisk card.

Test other cards. (Ah, I see you already did test an Ultra II as well. I'll leave this info here anyway).

Does reading problem by cf reader on 3k concerns with reading speed of cards?
Almost cf cards can read/write safely are 52x speed (7.8MB/s) to read I guess.
San Disk Ultra2 1GB and Trancend x52 1GB are completely working and these are 52x all.
I just got 3k and installed CF reader tho, I still cant save my datas cos Ive never found good cf cards....
I read the forum topics bout CF tho, thats like a myth....