*crisis averted. lesson learned: hold play=Boot Block 1.03*

you're about to read a frightening account of how i nearly lost my mpc1000 after 3.5 years of service.
don't worry - i would have performed the "Guitar Center Shuffle" had my logic board been truly busted.
i put new meaning to the words "chopshop."

i had a tragedy occur today, in which a serious blow to my MPC1000 resulted in broken play/stop buttons and a PC ADDRESS ERROR (the machine was on at the time of injury)

i turned off the MPC and turned it back on, watching in horror as the machine cycled through the bootup screen:

JJOS2
128 mb RAM installed
etc

again and again and again.
i got the screwdriver out and popped open the front plate and reinstalled the HD, hoping that it was a loose HD which was the cause.

booted the machine back up and it loaded fine. i breathed a sigh of relief, until i moved the machine into another room and heard a cluttering thud inside the unit.

removed the back plate to see the ram having fallen out of its home. one of the ram holders has cracked - this is not a problem at all, i can shim it back in place and epoxy the crack, good as new.

i put the ram back in and the MPC1000 went through the bootblock 1.03 test.
this takes a long time. it cycles through
pass 1: ok.
pass 2: ok.
pass 3: (and i'm thinking at arouund 92% it's gonna freeze, but...) ok.

and then the OS loads as usual.
unfortunately, every time i now turn on my mpc, this bootblock occurs.
this is not adequate.

i hope frantically that it is the RAM. i ordered a new RAM stick off Ebay for 15 dollars. i intend to go to Best Buy tomorrow to see if they have any 133 144PIN CL3 SODIMM 256MB so i can buy some right there, test the unit, see if it's a ram issue, and return it on the spot.

does anyone have any calming words or advice for me?

peace
nym

note: my search for a parts or repair MPC1000 is redoubled, no longer for my secondary machine but potentially for my main unit.

ehhhaaaa that sux I hate it when that happens....

Yeah that coulda messed the RAM. Did you try it without it installed? Try to make sure the RAM connector contacts on the board aren't messed up as obviously that will be a problem even with new RAM.

i tried just now without ram.
same thing: boot block, though a much faster pass of all 4 pass checks.

once passed, the MPC loads fine.
what to do? i will continue to work at it.

NOTE: when i booted up the MPC with a flash card w/ akai os 2.12 on the card WHILE HOLDING RECORD, the MPC booted without the bootblock.

removing the card and rebooting the mpc resulted in a bootblock again.
NOTE2: when i had the card in the MPC but DID NOT hold RECORD, i had another bootblock
NOTE3: bootblock ALWAYS passes all 4 checks and ends up loading whatever OS i have installed.

sorry to hear bro.
sounds like your flash rom may be damaged.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wait for it, wait for it......

!!!

call nick tomorrow if you still have no luck.

back up and running.

my problem was this: remember how i said i broke my play/stop buttons?
well, to fix them, i epoxied the button part back onto the button holder.
this worked great- except for an extra dollop of epoxy that was stuck to the side of one of the buttons

i noticed after a long frightened moment that my PLAY button was stuck down.
now, how, do you think, did this cause all my problems?

i tested with the top off. holding down play during boot FORCES THE MPC TO BOOT BLOCK.

all my problems were caused not by a tap to the machine's innards (though the ram did fall out) but instead by a misfixed button.

i took my dremel w/ the saw edge to the epoxy, brushed it off, and popped it back in.

good as new.

2nd question: how hot does ram get? so hot that i shouldn't keep a rubber band near it?

well, i'm out 15 bucks for the ram upgrade.
i'll just hang onto it in case i ever snag that "needs work" mpc1000

glad to see you found the problem.
as far as the ram is concerned, it shouldn't get hot at all. maybe luke-warm at the most. so you're good to go with a rubberband if that'll help hold it in place.

good info to know, and glad the problem wasn't severe

oh good

You could probably hot glue the ram in place too I wouldn't get carried away or anything, but a spot or two just to hold it in place and something you could heat up to remove in a not very important place on the board.

I'm not sure I'd trust a rubber band to hold it in place as they do dry up and break over time. Even though the 1k doesn't get super hot inside, the heat will dry the rubber band out faster and cause it to fail eventually. If you've really got your heart set on tying it in place I'd suggest getting some nylon panty hose and use that instead, it'll last way longer.

EDIT: And yeah... I had never run that before, but yikes does that take a *long* time. It was long enough for me to take a shower, brush my teeth and start having breakfast!

Glad to hear you figured it out. Nothing worse than damaging your equipment. I'm running my BootBlock now... Looks good so far.