Install a flash cardreader tutorial for 2XL

Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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By subcons Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:51 am
This is already in my bookmarks, but a heads up to anyone who wants to order this and a question to anyone who's already installed theirs: What's the deal with the power cable? Do you have to buy an overpriced cable from VST if you don't want to destroy the OEM one? The PC IDE power connector is available from Radio Shack for ~$2 according to their website, but the 4-pin connector that plugs into the MPCs board doesn't look to be available anywhere. I'm going to go to the store tomorrow and see what I can come up with, but this connector looks unique.

My MCD drive arrived today and I'm anxious to put it in but I want my floppy to stay usable as a fail safe.
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my floppy to zip to mcd on 2kxl

By Lampdog Fri Mar 16, 2007 3:02 am
Red black floppy power wires connect to ide atapi red black wires, do it yourself, use electric tape or twisty cap thingys on the selfmade splice and your done. No need to buy the cable. I spliced the floppy connector off an old computer and the old hard drive power connector and made my own in 5 minutes.
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By subcons Fri Mar 16, 2007 11:21 am
Now to find an old floppy drive somewhere. These things are non-existent in 2007.

I figured this might be the case so I'll see what I can find. Thanks for the input.

By pckt Sat Mar 17, 2007 12:10 pm
i just received this exact drive
quick question, i dont want break anything
does it matter which red and black we cut off the HD power fitting?
(i know one of each is required) are they paired in any specific way?

and what about the ide/atapi cable?
is there a 40-44pin cable that u used or some sort of adapter? :?:

By pckt Sat Mar 17, 2007 12:37 pm
one other thing,
how was the jumper set on the back of the card reader
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By Lampdog Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:17 pm
40 pin data cable is just that, data.

Jumper, try the three different settings and see which one works.

Old floppys can be bought for like $7usd at any computer store.

Black goes to black and red goes to red, how else would you do it? Don't answer that, lol.
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By subcons Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:21 pm
I believe the drive always comes out of the box as Master+Slave. Just move it over one so it's set to Master.

By pckt Sat Mar 17, 2007 4:52 pm
ok, maybe i should have broken it down more

back of the card reader = 44pin
ide slot on mpc motherboard = 40pin

is there a cable that does this or do i need an adapter?

the power question... in the tutorial u can see the power plug has 2 red and 4 black wires.. what i was asking is does it matter which are snipped
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By subcons Sat Mar 17, 2007 6:34 pm
pckt wrote:the power question... in the tutorial u can see the power plug has 2 red and 4 black wires.. what i was asking is does it matter which are snipped


I just said screw it and snipped my OEM cable and made mine last night. I didn't have all the wires in the picture on mine. But just use the red and black to the far edge of the connector and you should be good.

Going to get my IDE ribbon cable now... didn't notice that the pins weren't the same. Hmm.

By pckt Sat Mar 17, 2007 6:41 pm
im in the exact same position
gunna hit up some part stores downtown
we'll see...
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By subcons Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:57 pm
Didn't have a problem with the IDE cable. Where did you get your card reader from? The one I got is 40-pin: link. I think 44-pin is for SCSI because that's the number of pins on the SCSI on the MPC's board. So you can just hook it up there, you just need an SCSI cable instead of IDE.

I installed mine and the MPC is not recognizing it so I'm pretty much screwed until tomorrow. I upgraded to 1.2 from 1.14 before clipping my floppy cable because both my cards are 1GB. I think I remember making a note in my head to not do this but it didn't dawn on me until afterwards. Now I just keep getting a 'NO FLOPPY DEVICE' message from the MPC. It's set to master and it's getting power, just won't read.

This is supposed to be the easiest mod to do, and it looks it. But I'm just frustrated and feel stupid right now. :oops:

EDIT: I think I figured out my problem. I think the IDE ribbon I bought isn't sitting tight enough on the board. Will try another one. I hope this is my problem.

Has anyone installed this and installed OS 1.2 before hand and had success?
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By subcons Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:38 am
Got it! The IDE ribbon was the culprit. It didn't have a tab on it like the one end of the OEM ribbon to hold it down on the board. It was just flopping around in there. I noticed it when I first put it on but didn't think much of it. I just broke the tab off the EOM one and made it a little longer with some electrical tape and plastic and it booted right up.

By pckt Sun Mar 18, 2007 12:50 am
ya, sorry i must be on crack (the bad kind with drain-0 in it)
regular ide cable works fine
but despite the scariness of snipping cables
it worked for me,
im honestly surprised but pleased
im using os 1.20 so i know thats not ur issue
i removed the floppy cable altogether
and used rosette twistie caps (no solder and tape)
very quick loading snd's from compact flash
/me giddy
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By djobserv Sun Mar 18, 2007 5:22 am
so

if im understanding this correctly,

if i have an internal zip, i can just swap the drives???
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