Installing an internal Zip drive in a 2000xl

Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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Installing an internal Zip drive in a 2000xl

By apeks Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:42 pm
Hi,

I'd like to install an internal zip drive in place of my floppy drive.
Obviously I'd prefer a flash card reader but I can't find any IDE/ATAPI drives in the UK, and don't want to pay $150 + postage + customs from MPCstuff or VST.

Few questions i have before i buy one:

1-Is it relatively easy to install and get a zip drive working? I have searched and it seems people have had mixed successes.
2-Do Iomega drives work? i have heard that when akai sold the 2kxl with internal zip already installed they used NEC drives.
3-Do 250mb drives work or just 100mb?
4-What cables will i need to buy?

Thanks for your help.
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By d_avellee Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:11 pm
ASSUMING THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 2000xl

1. its easy to install... you tube has some tutorials.... IT takes longer to unscrew the exterior than install the drive...
2 and 3 .The 2000xl was delivered with NEC drive...
i bought a brand new Iomega zip Drive 250mb
Long story short. it didnt work....
The guys at VST just say its not compatable.. Id numbers dont match ...
for more info.... you should check out
www.mpc2000xl.com.

i think that web site even lists the MCD drives that are "compatable"
and the chords needed as well

my suggestion.. if your able to find an MCD drive... it is worth the money..
check some of the posts on this sight........

By Chromek Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:15 pm
yo I installed my internal zip easy,

but i had some spare computer parts available
and use this link:

http://www.mpc2000xl.com/zip_install.htm

first I used a Iomega 100mb and it worked sweet.
then i found a Iomega 250mb and that works sweet.

I've also got the 2000 model with external zip

I believe that zip disks are perfect for these models
as they perhaps weren't designed for large storage devices like memory cards,
well the 2000 model anyway

By apeks Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:48 pm
Thanks ppl.

Two contradicting opinions there! One person saying the Iomega 250 worked one saying it didn't.

Not sure what to do, have seen a 100mb NEC drive i could buy but would rather have a 250mb drive...

By Chromek Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:30 am
I have a usb powered 250mb on my pc

a 250mb Iomega internal in my 2000xl

a 250mb scsi external on my 2000

they all work great. they seem to work better if i DON'T format the disk at all

also
they are old, like around 5 years old maybe, so that might be why they work.

By _Stilo_ Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:02 pm
Iomega drives work fine, I have one in my 2000XL as well. Note that the 250MB drives write much, much slower to 100MB disks (guess Iomega wants to force you to buy the expensive 250MB disks), so if you plan to use a lot of 100MB disks as well, a 100MB drive could be better.
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By d_avellee Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:03 pm
apeks wrote:Thanks ppl.

Two contradicting opinions there! One person saying the Iomega 250 worked one saying it didn't.


I think it all depends on the drive. Thats the weird thing about MPC's
it's all Trial and error.. The 250zip drive i bought, was a newer Drive($60bucks)... I think thats why it didnt work....

It may be a brand new drive, but not manufactured quite the same as an older model///......

I think thats why there are so many threads regarding this topic.... THE PERFECT Zip DRIVE

Its Stressful believe me, But its worth it when you find a compatible drive....
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By d_avellee Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:05 pm
apeks wrote:Thanks ppl.

Two contradicting opinions there! One person saying the Iomega 250 worked one saying it didn't.


I think it all depends on the drive. Thats the weird thing about MPC's
it's all Trial and error.. The 250zip drive i bought, was a newer Drive($60bucks)... I think thats why it didnt work....

It may be a brand new drive, but not manufactured quite the same as an older model///......

I think thats why there are so many threads regarding this topic.... THE PERFECT Zip DRIVE

Its Stressful believe me, But its worth it when you find a compatible drive....

Re: Installing an internal Zip drive in a 2000xl

By Mxlvxnn Tue May 20, 2014 11:47 pm
can anyone let me know what power cable they used? When I opened up my 2xl I noticed that only two wires were plugged in out of the 4. I know its because the zip drive doesn't require all four to be plugged in.

Re: Installing an internal Zip drive in a 2000xl

By beat around the bush Wed May 21, 2014 3:27 am
yeah nothing going in there should need all 4 power wires, the 2 wire harness it came with connects the ground and +5V the drives need to run on, from floppies to zips to mcds and ide to cf bridges
the other two wites would supply +12V and idr what tech needed that but it wasnt anything inside a 2kxl
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Re: Installing an internal Zip drive in a 2000xl

By ziekefons Wed May 21, 2014 2:54 pm
With the internal zip drives, do you also have different versions like with the external drives and the scsi switch etc. Or can you just use any internal zip drive from iomega?

Also whats that cable called to connect the internal drive?
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Re: Installing an internal Zip drive in a 2000xl

By LVIII Mon Jul 28, 2014 12:37 pm
Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone could recommend a step-by-step guides for installing an internal ZIP drive?? The one at mpc2000xl.com, while mentioning some of the protocol around installing an ATAPI-based Zip Guide, doesn't go into much detail.

I can't seem to find any youtube videos on this either, although there are quite a few step-by-step installation guides for MCD.

Anyways, I'll keep looking - but thought I'd check!
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