Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
By Quentin Falzon Wed Sep 17, 2025 8:03 am
Hey everyone! In need of some guidance here.

MPC 2000 XL owner here. I just bought a second hand SMPTE chip from somebody who is gutting their MPC 2000 XL for parts. Last night I installed the chip, and my MPC refused to boot. When I power the MPC on, all button lights immediately light up (and stay lit) and the screen remains blank with nothing showing. It does not get to the point where it checks memory etc. Completely frozen. See image below.

https://ibb.co/Kjsd59hJ

I’ve tried refitting the chip 3 times and the MPC keeps freezing each time. NOTE: Without the chip installed, the MPC boots up fine.
I'm also quite sure the chip is inserted the correct way. I’m aligning the cutout on the chip with the cutout placeholder in the connection. See images below.

https://ibb.co/TBdvHpH5
https://ibb.co/Txg0QNBz
https://ibb.co/chnqrh81

Any ideas what could be wrong here? Why do you think the MPC is not managing to boot?

Kind regards,
Quentin
By Quentin Falzon Sun Mar 22, 2026 11:13 am
MPC Source wrote:Ever figure out the issue? I just sold one recently and the buyer said the same thing happened. Really strange because I pulled it from a working 2000XL.


Hey sorry I'm just seeing this now. Yes I did manage to figure it out. The SMTPE chip that I bought was dead from the beginning. In fact, the guy I bought it from was selling his MPC for parts because it wasn't booting up. He wasn't aware that it was because of the bad SMPTE chip. So as soon as I realized that it might be a bad SMPTE chip I messaged him and essentially saved his MPC. I then managed to find a different chip from another seller, which this time, worked. FWIW also good to ensure you are installing the chip in the correct way. Check the pics in my original post if you need a reference.
Hope that helps!