Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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By JUKE 179r Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:29 pm
Good luck with that StarTech/Adonics drive.
The SCSI2SD card is way better no matter its 3x the price of the StarTech.



Aaaaaaaaand welcome to the forum.
By Mr Fingers Thu Feb 06, 2020 11:23 pm
JUKE 179r wrote:Good luck with that StarTech/Adonics drive.
The SCSI2SD card is way better no matter its 3x the price of the StarTech.



Aaaaaaaaand welcome to the forum.

aye yeah the scsi2sd IS better.

but a non hot swap IDE is fine for me, just a case of finding the right CF card for the job, must be fixed a fixed disk style one, older sandisk ultras or possibly any industrial cf card should do, a few people in the retro computer sphere have lists of what works and what doesn't which is handy. Unfortunately my ZIP was DOA so i had to nab a cheap floppy to update which added on to the cost, i might be going through a sunk cost phallacy :lol:
By Multipreach Sun Feb 16, 2020 6:09 pm
Advice needed, I'm about to give up with mine.

Ive purchased a 2kxl it came with a floppy drive and os 1.1. I've recently uploaded os 1.2 and gone for startech Ide cf reader from amazon. I've only tried 1 card so far which is a Transcend 4gb 133x which I have partionioned to 1gb. I've checked all connections thoroughly, jumper set to master. But still no Atapi in my load/save menu's.

1st question, is it OK to use the power load which was used for the floppy drive, as this only uses 2 wires (red and black) the supplied cable had all 4 wires used including an extra black and a yellow wire. Is this correct or do I need another cable to the motherboard?

Can anyone confirm any known cards to work with this drive so I can order a few and hope 1 works?

Also the ide cable I got from a computer store has an extra connection for a slave drive, is this OK to use or do I need a cable with just 2 connections rather than 3? I've tried it in both plugs, no joy with either.

Any help would be much appreciated I've not yet used the machine properly since I bought it 3 weeks ago. Thanks
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By JUKE 179r Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:27 pm
Depending which StarTech you bought, I bet your problem has something to do with the combination of jumpers.
It's been a while since I dealt with a StarTech drive but I think the StarTech drive requires the 5VDC red wire and not the 12VDC yellow wire.
That IDE cable should be good as long as you use the first and last IDE connector and not the middle.
By Multipreach Sun Feb 16, 2020 8:35 pm
Thanks, it's this one
StarTech.com 3.5in Drive Bay IDE to Single CF SSD Adapter Card Reader (35BAYCF2IDE)

There are 2 more jumpers on the board, one is marked RST and the other DMA, both have the jumpers on. There is one more marked LED with no jumpers on.

I'll try some different combinations.
By Organicmax Fri Mar 13, 2020 12:02 am
Just wondering if someone could clear this up for me! Would be really grateful. I want to create an external memory drive for my 2000xl as I currently have a Zip drive and it’s just a pain. I’m considering getting either startech cf reader or the SCSI2SD v5.1 and both seem to have a 40 pin male scsi connection yet the rear SCSI port on the machine is 50 pin. What cable do I need to connect either of the aforementioned readers to the mpc. I’ve read through this forum and I’m a bit confused as some people mention 40 pin and others 50. Cheers to anyone who can help!
By 2Mb Wed Apr 22, 2020 4:48 am
Organicmax wrote:Just wondering if someone could clear this up for me! Would be really grateful. I want to create an external memory drive for my 2000xl as I currently have a Zip drive and it’s just a pain. I’m considering getting either startech cf reader or the SCSI2SD v5.1 and both seem to have a 40 pin male scsi connection yet the rear SCSI port on the machine is 50 pin. What cable do I need to connect either of the aforementioned readers to the mpc. I’ve read through this forum and I’m a bit confused as some people mention 40 pin and others 50. Cheers to anyone who can help!

There are multiple sizes scsi connectors. They are all compatible with one another. All you need to do is find the cables or adapters that make it all plug into each other. You will be able to find a single cable that has both ends you need.
Image
By 2Mb Wed Apr 22, 2020 4:51 am
Non hotswap, but you can't beat this price. just unscrew the metal bracket.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32910111547.html

NOTE of you have a Zip drive in your akai and need to splice the power cable to fit? just get some pin headers.
Red goes to the one closest to the front where the compact flash is inserted.
Black goes to the next farthest back.

I understand the point about scsi2sd. But $3 for the adapter plus another $5 for a compactflash card versus $65 shipped for the scsi2sd plus whatever a scsi cable cost just for hotswap? no thanks lol I never touch the card anyway since the first time i put wavs on it.
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By richie Wed Apr 22, 2020 7:11 am
2Mb wrote: I understand the point about scsi2sd. But $3 for the adapter plus another $5 for a compactflash card versus $65 shipped for the scsi2sd plus whatever a scsi cable cost just for hotswap? no thanks lol I never touch the card anyway since the first time i put wavs on it.


Some people are fine with Hungryman Microwavable meals and some actually want more out of life.
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By NearTao Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:46 am
richie wrote:
2Mb wrote: I understand the point about scsi2sd. But $3 for the adapter plus another $5 for a compactflash card versus $65 shipped for the scsi2sd plus whatever a scsi cable cost just for hotswap? no thanks lol I never touch the card anyway since the first time i put wavs on it.


Some people are fine with Hungryman Microwavable meals and some actually want more out of life.


Ish man... lol

Still... 2mb is dropping fire today...
By KillWill Tue May 19, 2020 6:36 pm
Certified Beatz wrote:You find a cheaper way but mpcstuff card reader is the way to go for the mpc 2000


That MPC Stuff card reader is crazy expensive; what makes it the best solution? It says in the description it's NOT hot-swappable. I'm not sure how not being able to hot-swap would be a bad thing, but it would suck if I spent all that money just to realize I can't do something pretty major.

Also what are the other cheaper options you mentioned for the 2000 classic?

Right now I'm using a zip drive but I don't trust it. I looked into MO drives, but it seems like they've gone way up in price too.

SCSI2SD, does this work with the 2000 classic or just the 2000XL?
By KillWill Tue May 19, 2020 6:45 pm
2Mb wrote:Non hotswap, but you can't beat this price. just unscrew the metal bracket.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32910111547.html

NOTE of you have a Zip drive in your akai and need to splice the power cable to fit? just get some pin headers.
Red goes to the one closest to the front where the compact flash is inserted.
Black goes to the next farthest back.

I understand the point about scsi2sd. But $3 for the adapter plus another $5 for a compactflash card versus $65 shipped for the scsi2sd plus whatever a scsi cable cost just for hotswap? no thanks lol I never touch the card anyway since the first time i put wavs on it.


Hey 2Mb, any idea if this would work on a 2000 classic? I'm finding lots of info about the 2000XL but I know the two are different beasts...

Also when would not being able to hot-swap be a problem? I do plan to record in a few bars of stereo beats or sounds from time to time, if possible...
By arnou Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:52 am
Hi All,

I have bought the Startech reader. OS v.1.2 installed, but It still doesn't work.

I had a zip drive installed with 2-wire powering. (Other two is cut off).
Can i use the same 2 wire solution to power the cf card reader? Or i have to find a four wire connection?

At the moment i don't know why my MPC doesn't see the CF card reader. The power wire is the reason or a wrong CF card inserted maybe?

Question is if a not working CF card inserted the MPC will still see the reader? Showing up in display as Atapi driver? Or only when a working CF inserted?
A Sandisk on the way to change the Kingston.