Programs won't load

Hi been a while since i was on here in fact i had to re register it's been that long...

Anyways i'm having problems loading Programs- When I load a whole folder as in songs/sequences & programs/samples- all in one which is how i save (i dont save entire memory i save all seq & songs and the save all programs with samples in the same folder), every now and then it will load the samples but not the program, I then have to go into the folder and just load the program. Is this because i'm lazy and don't alter the name of the program in that folder?? But it shouldn't matter if it is in it's own folder, right?

This hasn't been a major issue until recently, when on one particular program file, when i go to load it, it comes up with "WRONG FILE". i've checked the file out via USB and it seems to have the proper extension. Not sure what to do??

Should i try going over to JJ?? I havent yet because i have not had any problems.

any help is very appreciated. Thanks

save entire memory from now on.

So You would say that the file is corrupted?? Out of curiosity whats the difference between doing what i do and saving entire memory? It still puts it all into 1 folder.

BTW i installed JJ, didn't help.

Can anyone answer my question?? or shed anymore light on this subject?

saving the entire memory as a way of keeping your project together seems like the most foolproof method of project maintenance and recall. i would recommend you do this for everything.

that said, your wayward .pgm file might be worth recompiling with whatever package you use to make program files (mpcmaid, etc). i had one project get weird on me, and that (somewhat tedious) process fixed the issue.

Ok I'll start saving it this way from now on, so it doesnt matter if I dont rename the program? Obviously it is good practice but if everything is in its own folder then it shouldn't matter right?

Thanks must admit havn't looked into MPCmaid much at all, what are the benfits besides the, some might say, easier interface?

I mean i just compiled the program on the MPC so yeah i could recompile it by going thru step edit for every track but there isn't much point as i have already bounced down every individual track into ProTools. I was more so just trying figure out a few of the gliches.

While i'm on this subject, I've been told that the 8 Mono outputs are a better way to bounce your audio out from, and this is what i use for convenience but also because there is more gain. But I've also been told that the stereo out is better? Any ideas¿

Thanks

it won't matter what you rename as all the samples/sequences/etc will be saved in your current project folder. i save a new project folder for each song. organization-wise, i have two main folders on my card - one for kits and one for songs. it archives programs in the kits section and everything else on a per-track basis in the songs section.

mpcmaid is fast and stable. i like it. don't know what you're using now to make programs.

as for the outs, i've only used the stereo. i can't imagine there's much of a difference unless you're running the compressor - which would indeed sound louder, which often means "better" these days - but i haven't tested this.

Cool, i'll try that out.

As for making programs, not sure what you are referring to? I just hit mode- Program and assign which ever sample i want to any pad, this then becomes part of that program. Which is why when my .PGM file got corrupted i no longer have the pad destination for specific samples. The step edit still has record of what pad was hit when but the PGM is missing or won't load so i have to manually go back in and use step edit and my own memory to re-do the PGM.

Well the 8 outs obviously enable you to bounce out up to 8 tracks at a time, and when used with an 8 track interface i get all my tracks solo into PT, which saves time, and is far better for mixing, and i know that in the mixer section once you have selected 1 of the 8 outputs as an output if you dont lower the volume by at least 50% it is drastically louder, which makes me think that it has a lot more gain than the stereo out. But i think the stereo volume knob becomes obselete so i guess it is so much louder because the track mixer level is at 100%. If that makes sense? But yeah louder is not better by any means, and i guess at the end of the day it is still an analogue signal.

Thanks again

ahh, yeah, that sucks. the upside to using mpcmaid or another computer-based program maker is that you always have a backup of your program on your computer somewhere. i back up the memory card every two months or so just in case.

and that does make sense re: the outs.

I recently bought a tutorial from mpc samples.com and I loaded some of the kits. Now randomly my cf card automaticlly loads random programs samples and sequences upon start up. All of which are randomized no programs match the named sequence. further more if i load a project it displays as if it is loading correctly yet once complete the load is random samples with no sequence data. I have tried everything backing up, reformating the disk, disk repair, everything. Please help 4gbs of samples and sequences over a year of work.

Hi - I got your emails about this and have responded to your emails this morning. Just to give people here some more info on the situation, you mention getting random sequences, samples and programs auto loading, even though autoload is turned off. You've re-formatted your CF card within your Mac, run a Mac repair utility, but it doesn't fix things.

First thing I did this morning was to try to recreate your problem. I download your two purchases directly from your actual download links to my Mac, then extracted them and transferred them to my MPC2500 via USB and then loaded some of the files. I loaded 'BEATS.PRJ' from the Pete Rock pack, all the individual snare programs from that same pack, and then I loaded up the first few programs from the ebook folders. All loaded without any problem, there were no issues at all - basically, there is no way any sample or program files can cause the type of OS-wide issues you are experiencing - it has to be either hardware related, or an issue with the operating system itself.

The common thread to any issues like this are 99% related to the media you are using to load/store your samples, so swapping that with a new disk will normally fix it. I also note that you mention Disk Utility in one of your emails - I would never format or run disk utilities from the Mac on any disk I wanted to use in my MPC, as the Mac adds a number of hidden folders and in the past I have had issues with Mac formatted CF cards not working correctly in my MPC. So instead of formatting the card in your Mac, format it in your MPC2500, connect via USB to your Mac and transfer files that way. If this doesn't work, you should try with a completely new 'virgin' CF card plugged into your MPC first and formatted in the MPC.

If that doesn't solve it, the next issue is related to bad system memory - if your memory is faulty, it can cause all manner of random problems, as it isn't able to correctly handle the data it is being asked to store. If you have more than the default 16MB of memory in your MPC2500, you could power down, discharge static by touching a metal radiator, carefully remove the extra memory sticks touching only the plastic sides, and turn back on so the MPC only uses the original 16MB of memory it came with. Only do this if you feel comfortable installing memory.

You could also try re-installing the OS using the file currently available on the Akai web site. However, if your CF card is faulty, this may not work correctly.

I also assume you have completely shut down the MPC and turned it back on? Also, if it been running for a long time, i.e. days without turning off, perhaps turn off and let it cool down for a few hours, overheating may cause issues with some components.

If none of the above solve the problem, I can only think it may be related to another hardware issue within the MPC - the autoload issue may indicate an issue with the flash memory. Hopefully other people can chip in some further ideas. But as I say, it's just not possible for sounds or MPC format files to cause such odd problems - if a sound or PGM file is corrupted, the MPC simply says 'wrong file type'. However, corrupted or badly formated disks or bad memory can definitely cause pretty random issues.

It will also help if you could give some more details on your system - MPC OS version, CF card make and brand, the exact method of transfer you are using (USB or do you have a separate CF card reader in your Mac etc).