XL Card Reader Drama

fewch wrote:i know this probably sounds stupid but im assuming you can save samples from the mpc onto cf card when the reader is installed?

Ha ha, yes, you can load from CF card AND save to CF card with CF reader.
I don't know why it is called "CF reader", instead of "CF slot" or "CF reader / writer."

convention convenience I guess... actually it is CF Card Reader but of course it is also writes lol

JVC wrote:
I think it does use both 5 and 12V DC.

it does.



ah, sorry I thought you were having difficulty connecting the power for the cf reader and that's why we were talking about it.

OK So I got the Addonics CF Reader, and it doesn't read the card, so Im back to square one. Now I'm thinking its the power supply to the CF reader. Looks like I need more power to boot it.

below is a photo of the connector that I was using to power the Floppy drive previously installed, now when I connect this cable to the CF reader, I can't even see it when the MPC is on. I determined that the IDE cables are working, and that the CF reader is working by trying it in a PC.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Im kinda going nuts over this.

Thanks everyone for their input, much appreciated!

mistamouse wrote:OK So I got the Addonics CF Reader, and it doesn't read the card, so Im back to square one. Now I'm thinking its the power supply to the CF reader. Looks like I need more power to boot it.

below is a photo of the connector that I was using to power the Floppy drive previously installed, now when I connect this cable to the CF reader, I can't even see it when the MPC is on. I determined that the IDE cables are working, and that the CF reader is working by trying it in a PC.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Im kinda going nuts over this.

No, CF reader does not need a lot of power (there is no moving part), floppy drive and ZIP drive uses more wattage. 5V DC is fed to the CF reader, it should be functioning (I know it is hard to tell since there is no power light on the CF reader.)
If you are really in doubt, you should get cheap multimeter to see whether the DIY power cable works or not.

Also, make sure that you got the right CF reader. Make sure the part number is ADIDECF or ADIDECFB, and you are using Sundisk CF card, not cheap generic CF card (current 2GB version also works, which is still sold new and widely available)

Also, the CF card MUST be in the CF reader before booting XL. Remember, this is non-hot-swappable CF reader, 2000XL sees CF card as a head disk. It must be connected during operation all time. Do not disconnect card when XL is on.

Yeah, I also believe could be your DIY power cable, it looks like you have the right connectors in there but I'm in doubt about if you properly put both cables together... because If you already confirm that your IDE cable and CF card readers are working because you tested it in a PC then you only could have 2 options, well actually 3...

1.- Did you checked the IDE port in your MPC if its working with another IDE device like a ZIP drive?
2.- Check your DIY power cable if its providing correct voltage (those CF card readers only need 5V so you should be ok with the power cable that you are showing us)
3.- It is your CF card the correct one? I posted a picture of mine and you never answer which one are you using... like I said I know those CF card readers are very picky and chances are big that could be your CF card if you are not getting the right one...
Could you post some pics of how are you connecting the cables to the CF card reader also a pic of your CF card itself?

mistamouse wrote:Sup heads?

I been going crazy trying to get a card reader to work on my XL. My floppy works fine, but when I connect a CF card reader via IDE to the boards ATAPI/IDE slot, it starts up but wont recognize the drive is connected. The options available in the LOAD screen are only FLOPPY, SCSI 1-7, and F-ROM. I have a Duracell CF card, and the almighty Sandisk 2 GB card...nothing works in this scenario.

So then I got a Floppy drive with multi card reader (Compact Flash included), and connected it to the Floppy slot on the board, and again, won't read my CF card (both Duracell and Sandisk), but it will read the floppy.

I have tried with the 1.14 OS and the 1.2 OS, no luck in any way.

Can anyone shed light on this? Im going bonkers, I can't deal with a floppy drive anymore.

Respect to those who can help me out. Peace.

I just re-read your first post and I can see you have the duracell and the sandisk 2GB card... I can see you were using floppy drive before you installed the CF card reader, now my ?? is, why did you modified your power cable if you were using the right power cable with your floppy drive?? all that you should need to do was unplug the floppy power cable and plugged in to your CF card reader power connector... then disconnect your floppy cable from your mother board then install a 40pin IDE cable from your mobo to your CF card reader, close the MPC, insert your CF card and turn the MPC on... I don't see why you mod your power cable in this scenario...


Also really weird is why you still having floppy as an option when you turn your MPC on... you should not have that option anymore since you already disconnect the floppy drive, On mine option disappeared as soon as I took my floppy drive and I installed the CF card reader.

Hey Locotesmjr and JVC,

Thanks for your input. I am starting to think its the IDE port on my MPC thats not working. I'll take some photos of the installation later and post it.

Locotesmjr, I modified the power cable for the floppy drive, this was done prior to me getting the CF reader...so I just plug the power cable into the CF reader hoping it would work. I haven't modified the power cable at all since getting the CF reader. I have no clue why my MPC will not see the reader, I will have to try and test a ZIP drive from my old MPC 2000 to rule out the IDE on board not functioning.

JVC, I bought the ADIDECF card from Addonics, so I,m using the right one.

I got this MPC 2000XL for $100 off some dude on Craigslist who didn't even know what it was...it needed some repairs to the board because a couple keys weren't working on it (the Shift key and Load key) so maybe something is wrong with the on board IDE slots. Wish this would just work, I'm having withdrawal.

mistamouse wrote:Hey Locotesmjr and JVC,

\ I will have to try and test a ZIP drive from my old MPC 2000 to rule out the IDE on board not functioning.

2000s dont have an IDE port.. nor is that zip drive in your 2000 an ide zip drive. (2000's use scsi as does your 2000xl)

By the way, the OS version must be 1.20 in order to use CF reader.

Yeah, OS 1.2 and check if the pins on your IDE port are not bend, you should have 40 pins in there, if one is missing or bend then there is the answer to your problem... IDK how often IDE ports get corrupted on this boards but I'm pretty sure it is easier to bend or broke pins... so check that...

Also I just found this picture here in the forum...
this guy is using an adapter but nevermind that, look how the floppy power connector it is connected, that's the right way...
notice the red wire position

Hey locotesmjr,

Can you post a pic of where you have the IDE connected on the MB? I just want to confirm my connection, I really can't figure out why it's not recognizing the CF reader, I have ruled out all possible problems.

^^ No reason to post a pic where I connected the IDE cable, there it is only one IDE port, your have 1 34pin Floppy port, one 40pin IDE and one 50 SCSI... if you try to plug a 40 pin connector into a floppy port is going to be impossible, if you try to plug the 40 into the 50 then you are going to have several visible pins... you only have 1 right choice...

Thats what I thought, there is no other choice on the board, it only fits into one slot. Wow, I really don't know what else to do here.

Did you tried to put back your floppy drive and make sure that power cable it is working? if your answer is yes and the floppy drive works, then your IDE port it is broken, because you already tried with the Addonics and Startech CF card readers that we all know they work...