Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
By alexwoodhouse Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:33 pm
hey. i have recently tried upgrading mpc 2000xl floppy drive to cf card reader. i bought the addonics ide cf adaptor and have installed it as instructed. the ide ribbon cable is in, the power from the floppy drive is in but when i boot up the mpc it refuses to recognise that it is there. i have os version 1.2. every time i go into the load/save window it tells me no scsi and no floppy but there is no option for atapi. is getting really frustrating so if anyone can help would be awesome thanks
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By logick Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:22 pm
make sure the card reader is set to master, but i would say it's your cf card what kind of card you usin ?.

use a Sandisk cf card there the only one's that work on my card reader, and most people that have installed a card reader on their machines use them.
By MPCHunter Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:25 pm
It's not the Card Reader. It's the Compact Flash card you are using. Not all Sandisk branded cards are the same.

Your card is identifying itself as "Removable" while the MPC can only use cards that are identified as "Fixed."

This information is stored in the header of the compact flash card and you will have to find a utility to run on a desktop computer to change this setting on the card.

Some have had success using the utilities atcfwchg.com or ndcfwchg.com to change the setting in the header.
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By tapedeck Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:59 pm
MPCHunter wrote:It's not the Card Reader. It's the Compact Flash card you are using. Not all Sandisk branded cards are the same.

Your card is identifying itself as "Removable" while the MPC can only use cards that are identified as "Fixed."

This information is stored in the header of the compact flash card and you will have to find a utility to run on a desktop computer to change this setting on the card.

Some have had success using the utilities atcfwchg.com or ndcfwchg.com to change the setting in the header.

:!: KNOWLEDGE :!:
By alexwoodhouse Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:08 pm
Hey Guys. i bought the card u said to get and my mpc is still wont recognise that thier is anything their the only thing i get when going into the Load/save/format screen is either a no floppy or no scsi warning. is really annoying. any reason why u think this is
By JVC Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:36 pm
alexwoodhouse wrote:Hey Guys. i bought the card u said to get and my mpc is still wont recognise that thier is anything their the only thing i get when going into the Load/save/format screen is either a no floppy or no scsi warning. is really annoying. any reason why u think this is


After reading the thread so far, I guess is that your CF reader is not really connected to IDE port or power supply. Since the CF reader you are using (I think you have the same CF reader as mine) doesn't have LED light, so it is hard to tell whether or not the CF reader is getting power from the power supply.
(I think you know this already, but) CF card must be inserted before booting MPC-2000XL, and it must not be removed during operation. Just think of it as a small IDE hard drive.

IF the CF reader is indeed connected to XL (IDE ribbon and power cord) and a CF card is inserted, then at least XL will mount the CF card (as ATAPI device) or XL will hung up during booting process, if CF card is not compatible.
The symptom you are having with your XL is that, your XL does not see any IDE or ATAPI device connected. You should check the connection again (ribbon cable and power connector.)
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By logick Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:46 pm
alexwoodhouse wrote:Hey Guys. i bought the card u said to get and my mpc is still wont recognise that thier is anything their the only thing i get when going into the Load/save/format screen is either a no floppy or no scsi warning. is really annoying. any reason why u think this is



which Addonics card reader are you using ?. there are two different ones, one will work and the other wont.

check the link to see which one you're usin 4th post down.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=140216
By ratsnake Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:25 am
Hmm, using this thread as a lead to fix the same exact problem here - but i have OS 1.44 . I can flip the IDE cable until it does make the mpc hang. JVC, is the hang you describe a white screen with all lights lit up on the mpc? Perhaps all my sandisk cards are "Removable" and do not work. I am going to try to switch them to fix and report here.

edit: Damn I didnt expect this to get more complicated.

From what i've read (mostly from mpc hunter) the
    CF card needs to be in FIXED mode
    not all cards can be switched from removeable to fixed mode
    you need to use the right utility to format the card

I've already booted into DOS and tried "atcfwchg.com" with my Addonics IDECF reader mounted as a primary IDE disk. Tried all my cards ( SDCFH-002G, SDCFB-512 & 1024) and have had no luck. Perhaps I can get it to work by using the "ndcfwchg.com" utility but I am having doubts.
By papachund Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:37 pm
I am having similar issues with my addonics cf reader for my 2000xl. i make a wholes sequence or try to save a sound and in the load/save window under device it says "atapi" and under type it says"??????" and i cannot save my sounds songs or sequences. im using a sandisk ultra 4gb and i don't know what model addonics cf reader i have but any help would be appreciated.