Continuous 'This disk is unusable" messages when formatting.

Hi ya'll,

So, here's my latest issue. I've tried formatting about 40 different floppy disks and everytime I get the 'This disk is unusable' message. Some even begin the formatting process but stop at some point to reveal that special message.

Is it that the disk drive is faulty or do I just need some brand new disks with nothing on them?

Please let me know.

Thanks.

sounds like the drive is failing obviously..either that or all your disks are obviously no good...

Which MPC?

Try using the tape over the hole trick if you're using an MPC-60.

hundredproofmusic wrote:Which MPC?

Try using the tape over the hole trick if you're using an MPC-60.

It's the 3k. And I'm starting to realize there's a lot of things wrong with this 3k I just bought.



Funny thing is, it loads from disks just fine.

Edit:

Well, I just tried to load sounds from a disk and that didn't work either. I'm guessing I must have blown the drive yesterday. I was attempting to load OS 3.16 from floppy and, upon start up, I got a message that all memory was going to be deleted, etc.. (can't remember the exact terminology). At this point, I just turned off the 3000 due to fear.

Well, since then, the floppy drive has been of no use to me.

Anyone have any idea what I did wrong?

Remedial wrote:
Well, I just tried to load sounds from a disk and that didn't work either. I'm guessing I must have blown the drive yesterday. I was attempting to load OS 3.16 from floppy and, upon start up, I got a message that all memory was going to be deleted, etc.. (can't remember the exact terminology). At this point, I just turned off the 3000 due to fear.

Well, since then, the floppy drive has been of no use to me.

Anyone have any idea what I did wrong?

The message about the memory being deleted is letting you know that any samples that you have in memory will be gone after your OS load.

Are these new disks that you're trying to use or have they been sitting around in your house for years? If the discs were really dirty, you may have contaminated your drive -- the MPC is a lot more finicky about reading discs than a computer.

You can try buying one of those floppy drive cleaning kits to see if if helps you salvage the drive.

You may get more milage out of the 3k by putting an internal SCSI Zip drive inside and get rid of the floppies all together.

MPCHunter wrote:

Remedial wrote:
You may get more milage out of the 3k by putting an internal SCSI Zip drive inside and get rid of the floppies all together.

True, but, then I wouldn't be able to load OS 3.16, which is what I was trying to do. As far as knowledge serves me, it can't be loaded from zips (at least not external ones, as far as I know).

You think I'll be able to get 3.16 to boot on startup from a zip disk?

no 3.16 only from floppy, at least for what i know and try in the past...

psoul wrote:no 3.16 only from floppy, at least for what i know and try in the past...

Cool, thanks for the info.

Here' another question, though:

Can I install an IDE zip drive in place of the floppy?

I saw instructions for installing a SCSI zip drive on mpc3000.com, but no mention of IDE drives.

I have an extra one laying around, so, I had to ask.

MPCHunter wrote:
The message about the memory being deleted is letting you know that any samples that you have in memory will be gone after your OS load.

Are these new disks that you're trying to use or have they been sitting around in your house for years? If the discs were really dirty, you may have contaminated your drive -- the MPC is a lot more finicky about reading discs than a computer.

You can try buying one of those floppy drive cleaning kits to see if if helps you salvage the drive.

Turning off the 3000 at the point of that message would be a cause for the drive acting haywire, right? Also, it wouldn't cause any problems with my current OS installation of 3.11?

Yeah, all the disks were pretty old.

I'm guessing I'll have to try finding one of those floppy drive cleaning kits that you mentioned. I just checked all of the online pages of the usual suspectes (Staples, Office Max and Office Depot) and none of them have it. Guess it'll have to be special order.

Remedial wrote:Here' another question, though:

Can I install an IDE zip drive in place of the floppy?

I saw instructions for installing a SCSI zip drive on mpc3000.com, but no mention of IDE drives.

I have an extra one laying around, so, I had to ask.

Sorry but only SCSI drives will work with the MPC3000. IDE drives only work with the MPC2000XL, the S5000/S6000 and the Z8.

Remedial wrote:I was attempting to load OS 3.16 from floppy and, upon start up, I got a message that all memory was going to be deleted, etc.. (can't remember the exact terminology). At this point, I just turned off the 3000 due to fear.

Considering the MPC3000 has nothing in its memory while in a powered off state...
...and that it needs to be powered on to load an OS via floppy...
...then why did you get scared about losing memory that was never filled with samples/sequence/sounds in the first place

By your "can't remember" statement it sounds to me like OS 3.16 would not load on your machine.

IE: You saw the "Sorry but an error of XX" followed by some instructions on what to do next and a statement about what will happen.

The various reasons behind why a floppy bootable OS may have trouble loading have been discussed many times on this forum in time past.

I think your MPC3000 has a faulty or incorrectly configured floppy disk drive.

Maybe start by attempting to clean the drive head mechanism with a floppy disk cleaning kit.

What OS is loaded in the ROM of your MPC3000

Rohan.

mpc3000le wrote:

Remedial wrote:I was attempting to load OS 3.16 from floppy and, upon start up, I got a message that all memory was going to be deleted, etc.. (can't remember the exact terminology). At this point, I just turned off the 3000 due to fear.

Considering the MPC3000 has nothing in its memory while in a powered off state...
...and that it needs to be powered on to load an OS via floppy...
...then why did you get scared about losing memory that was never filled with samples/sequence/sounds in the first place

By your "can't remember" statement it sounds to me like OS 3.16 would not load on your machine.

IE: You saw the "Sorry but an error of XX" followed by some instructions on what to do next and a statement about what will happen.

The various reasons behind why a floppy bootable OS may have trouble loading have been discussed many times on this forum in time past.

I think your MPC3000 has a faulty or incorrectly configured floppy disk drive.

Maybe start by attempting to clean the drive head mechanism with a floppy disk cleaning kit.

What OS is loaded in the ROM of your MPC3000



Rohan.

I have OS 3.11 on my machine.

I did see on mpc3000.com that version 3.11 has to be loaded in the ROM before attempting to load OS 3.16.

The reason I got scared was, although logic dictates that nothing is on the 3k as of yet when I'm just starting it up, I'm just a little paranoid due to it's being my newest piece of gear.

I'm gonna try to get my hands on a floppy disk cleaning kit and see if that helps.

It's starting to feel like the upkeep on a 3k is quite considerable.

Thanks again.

Remedial wrote:
It's starting to feel like the upkeep on a 3k is quite considerable.

Thanks again.

The MPC 3000 was made around 15 years ago. You would have to expect a least a little upkeep to keep it running strong. In the past five years, I've replaced the backlight, all the tact switches, and the floppy drive. It's similiar to upkeep on a classic car -- but like fixing a classic car, it's well worth it.

I can understand your disappointment with having to buy a new floppy -- especially if you just purchased this second hand -- but get some new disks and a cleaning kit and see if it works any better. If not there's some other routes you can take -- it may not be in your best interest to buy a new floppy drive when you could get a Zip and Vallixi for not much more...

MPCHunter wrote:

Remedial wrote:
It's starting to feel like the upkeep on a 3k is quite considerable.

Thanks again.

The MPC 3000 was made around 15 years ago. You would have to expect a least a little upkeep to keep it running strong. In the past five years, I've replaced the backlight, all the tact switches, and the floppy drive. It's similiar to upkeep on a classic car -- but like fixing a classic car, it's well worth it.

I can understand your disappointment with having to buy a new floppy -- especially if you just purchased this second hand -- but get some new disks and a cleaning kit and see if it works any better. If not there's some other routes you can take -- it may not be in your best interest to buy a new floppy drive when you could get a Zip and Vallixi for not much more...

Thanks for the positive outlook, MPCHunter. I guess you're right. I can't expect everything to be working on a piece of gear that is 15 years old. I can actually deal with the floppy being out of whack, but, there's also a pad issue that behooves me right now, but I'm just gonna midi my MPD24 to the 3k and use that to trigger sounds.

Pads too? Geez.... I can understand your frustration. Were all these problems disclosed when you bought it? Hopefully the pads and sensors just need a good cleaning...

Sounds like a good rainy day project to get everything up and running again.