Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
By pupo Fri Jun 29, 2012 4:42 am
I don't think that one really help me i don't really know much about this so i need some who will explain it the right way. i don't really know where to get the cables needed.


anyways thanks so much psoul and the other guys who helped.
By powercut Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:45 am
psoul wrote:try both compact flash and SD.... all ok


Have you guys come up across any other problems with the reader yet other than what you've described? Also, is it picky of what SD cards it accepts?
By JVC Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:50 pm
DJJC wrote:...
You think this will work With the MPC2000 Classic,
and what else what i need to get it working with the 2000 CLassic

This will NOT work with MPC-2000 Classic, it doesn't have IDE port to begin with (only internal SCSI port, there is no internal ports, except for a floppy drive.) Plus, SCSI to IDE converter is not easy to find for reasonable price.
If you want to go that route, it is cheaper (or at least easier) to upgrade to MPC-2000XL (which I did.)
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By chrisrob101 Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:57 pm
Hey all - just wanting to say a big ups to everyone who contributed to this thread which has been most informative and useful. I just installed the CF card reader so I thought it would be nice to throw in my two cents:

You will need:

Addonics ADIDECF or ADIDECFB CF adapter
40 pin IDE cable
OS 1.20 on floppy
A drill (yes, an f'ing drill)
Sandisk 512MB CF card
A lot of patience

The easy bit:

1.) Update to OS 1.20 (from Akai website)
2.) Open her up (you don't need the drill yet)
3.) Sack off the floppy and reserve or stomp on the ZIP (mine didn't have one but I stomped on one anyway.)

Now for the crazy bit:

4.) Don't drill holes. Trust me, don't drill any holes.I did what JVC did and mis-measured the hole but in a much, much worse fashion than he did. I didn't use a vice and broke the drill bit. I also bent the mounting bracket out of shape. Damn!!!

5.) So I f'ed it up right? Not exactly. I bent the mounting bracket back into shape. And drilled two more holes (nice ones this time.) However, the holes were slightly too big. So I took some superglue and glued the Akai mounting bracket and the loose screws in place. Perfect!!!

6.) I hooked up the flat cable and the power cable and fixed it all in place, screwed everything down and hooked up the ol' death trap to the mains. Here goes...

7.) Magic! Loaded up some sounds from the Sandisk 512MB CF, made a little beat, saved it, checked out the data on the PC etc. It works like a dream.

Conclusion - don't bother drilling if you're as inept as me. It could have been much, much worse than it was. It's actually a very easy job if you do what I did and use some very, very strong glue (what I should have done in the first place.) Sandisk 512MB cards work. Aesthetically, it looks a bit wonky (only a bit) in the hub because I bent the mounting bracket out of shape (I'll get another one day) but to be honest it really doesn't matter because it does the job perfectly.

Thanks to everyone for the tips. This is an excellent forum!!!

Chris

Last edited by chrisrob101 on Thu Sep 27, 2012 1:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
By JVC Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:30 pm
Chrisrob101,

I'm glad that you've succeeded installing the CF reader, despite the difficultly you've encountered.

Drilling the case is the most time consuming part, and most critical part (I made the mistake too!) of this installation process. I have to admit that I could've done better job. However, I would avoid using glue as substitute.

Here's what I should have done;

1. put masking take on the CF reader where you'll make holes. (CF reader unit must be removed from the chassis beforehand.)

2. Attach the "bar bracket" (I don't know what's called, it the bracket that comes with 2000XL for floppy drive or Zip drive) on the CF reader's chassis, find the right position, then use masking tape to securely attach it, temporarily. YOU have to find the right position where the two holes should be!

3. now make two marks on the masking tape on the CF reader's chassis. (Make marks with the bar bracket)

4. Now make holes, but start with small bit. Use vise!

5. use the screw to see if the hole is the right size. if not proceed with larger bit.

Image

Note, CF reader's chassis is not easy one to drill holes. It is a very hard metal plate. Use new bits and good drill, if you can. And you must use vise!
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By chrisrob101 Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:05 pm
Hey man,

Thanks for the tip. I've already ordered another chassis to give it another go. Luckily they only cost a few bucks from Addonics. As far as the card reader itself is concerned - so much better. It has speeded up my workflow beyond belief. It hardly needs saying so but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOD.

Chris
By arise78 Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:56 pm
so i just installed the addonics CF card reader into my 2000xl without any problems.

i used a sandisk 1 gig and a kodak 256mb card and they both work very well.

my problem now is mounting the damn bay into the slot....
By Maestro88 Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:46 am
I purchased the Atapi 741 multi card reader, and I'm having issues. After all connections are made (40 pin flat IDE cable, power supply) and 1.20 installed, it only reads as Flash Rom on the MPC load screen. I thought it was supposed to read 'ATAPI'. I tried to insert a 2gb Sandisk SD card and format, but the error message that pops up reads "No F Rom !". Do SD cards not work ? If I order CF cards, what brand & model should I get, and what size ? Do you have to somehow reformat them to read as fixed drives ? Do any SD cards work with this drive ?

Would really appreciate any guidance, been an MZpC user for over 10 years, and I gotta lose the unreliable zip disks
By JVC Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:34 pm
pumpinpads wrote:Is it possible that this could work with my 2kXL?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-Pin-IDE-CF-C ... 19d4bf67b7

If not, do you have any reader to recommend?
It doesn have to be plug and play system to me. But if you know a good deal of ready made sledge please share.

I'm pretty sure that that CF reader would work with XL (non-swappable), however, you'll need mounting chassis. You'll have hard time mounting that CF reader in your 2000XL. So, I don't recommend the CF reader, although it is cheap.

The compatibility is directly depended to which CF cards you use. The CF reader is just a connector between IDE and CF cards. Not all CF cards are compatible with 2000XL (there are more incompatible CF cards than compatible ones.)
The one I recommend is 1GB or 2GB Sandisk CF cards. 1GB is the maximum partition size with 2000XL, but 2GB Sandisk CF card is still available (much easier & cheaper to find than the 1GB version), and works fine with 2000XL, just make sure to make partition on 2000XL.