Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By james503 Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:43 pm
I have an MPC 4000 which I haven't used since 2009. The problem is that when I power it up now, all the small LED's stay on, the LCD powers up, the internal fan powers up but that`s pretty much it. No software loads. I tried connecting it to my computer in order to re-soft it, but windows is unable to install the drivers, therefore I can not get the Akai Software Updater running. Any thoughts? P.S. It has a Western Digital 80GB HDD + CD-RW ROM installed.
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By Metatron72 Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:52 pm
Mine did that when I tried to upgrade the RAM. The second stick was the exact necessary specs but it just wouldn't work.

Arkyve's HD suggestion seems like a good place to start troubleshooting.
By james503 Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:29 pm
I tried powering it up like so:
- without HDD
- without CD ROM
- without both HDD and CD ROM
- with only one of the two RAM pieces placed in different slots

All of these I did before posting my problem here. What i haven.t tried and perhaps i should is to try with a RAM piece different from the two that my MPC is equiped with. Any thoughts on the RAM tech specs so that i get it before i open it up?
Thanks.
By james503 Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:10 pm
So,

*Removed both memory sticks --> same "will not boot" state;
*Replaced the two memory sticks with only one 512MB stick --> same "will not boot" state;
*Replaced the CR2032 battery on the main board --> same "will not boot" state;

Any thoughts?
By james503 Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:15 am
Hi,

Thank you dryad-66 for taking the time, i tried what you suggested but there's no change in the MPC's behavior. Windows returns Error Code 43 (Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems.). When i try to force the install by selecting the .inf driver from http://www.akaipro.com/mpc4000, it returns The folder you specified doesn't contain a compatible software driver for your device. If the folder contains a driver, make sure it is designed to work with Windows for 32-bit systems.. I've tried this method with the HDD & CD ROM installed & without them; with the RAM sticks in & without them; with only one 512MB memory stick installed (different from the ones the MPC comes with).
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By gertie Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:56 am
the 512mb memory chip wont work....it only takes 256mb chips or less. i think it has 16mb default ram so you should be able to boot without any ram chips installed

is it a blue mpc or white one.....theres some old posts in here about blue ones having issues with the chip which the OS is flashed to on the motherboard....bruce forat at forat.com may be able to help you if this is the case

usually when you get just a white screen on bootup its normally fixed by reseating the cable connections between the boards.

does error 43 happen when you turn the mpc on? it maybe be your driver is not correctly installed....
By james503 Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:59 am
@gertie: after I read your post, I tried with one 256MB memory piece (different from the ones the MPC come with) and nothing changed. My MPC is the white version. I also tried resetting the cable connections and still nothing changed. The problem is that for me to send the machine to forat.com it's a crap-load of money just for the shipping (I am located in Romania) so before sending it to them, I have to try fixing this on my own.
@TheUnfcukwithable: i`m using win7 32bit, but I got the same results on win xp sp2.

Thanks for your time but it seems I`m heading towards a dead end.