MPC 3000 Zip and a PC Help

T

Tohtruck

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I'm a new MPC3000 user. I'm assuming that a PC cannot read MPC formatted zip disks. As I've tried doing this today to throw some sounds and a PGM file onto a zip to load into the 3000.

How can I get the PC to read MPC formatted zips? I'm pretty sure this can be done but I've also heard that reading an MPC formatted zip on the PC can damage the content on the zip.

I've got a USB zip drive connected to my PC and obviously a SCSI zip attached to the MPC. I've formatted a bunch of zip disks on the 3000 but I cannot open them or add snd or pgm files from the PC to the zip. Someone help!!! What am I doing wrong? Do I need a special program?

However, I'm able to read MPC formatted floppy disks on the PC as well as move files back and forth from the floppies on my PC.
 
The MPC3000 uses a modified version of the FAT12 file system. Also, each partition on the ZIP must be 30 MB or less (most ZIPs, will end up with 4 25 MB partitions). When PCs format ZIP disks, they format them using the FAT16 file system, one partition. Make sure you format your ZIPs on the MPC3000, and you will want to have a dedicated MPC-to-PC transfer disk, as the PC can only access the first of the four partitions.

http://www.mpc3000.com/NoVolTrack.htm - The link for how to modify your system so it doesn't make the disks unreadable.

If you are running Windows XP, you can use MPC Editor to read your MPC3000 ZIP disks.

I run Windows 2000 though, so the way I do it is to run Windows 98 on an older computer with a parallel port ZIP drive attached to it. I copy the sound files I need off the ZIP disk (which can be read directly from 98, unlike 2000 and XP) onto the hard drive. Then I convert the SND files to WAV using WAVSND. This is very easy, you basically drag the file (from your hard drive, not the ZIP!!!) onto the wavsnd.exe file and it'll create a WAV file in the same folder as the original SND. Edit your sound in your favorite wave editor, then with the WAV you made, drag it back onto wavsnd.exe and it'll create an SND file which you can put back onto the ZIP.

Important note: Make sure, for the PC's sake, that all of your file names are 8 characters long or less, no spaces. The MPC and Windows do not use the same method for storing long file names.

I hope that helped.
 
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Not sure. Maybe you can run one of those PC emulation programs and emulate Windows 98?
 
farbeezy said:
what if your using a mac?

I have a poermac G4 quicksilver and it has no problem readin the contents of any zip no matter what its formatted on....Macs dont have that problems......I can comfortably back my entire zip to my Mac.....reformat the zip to my 2kXL and more programs and sounds and then put those on the mac and reformat it again and again and again ..no problem........at all......
 
NAB said:
I have a poermac G4 quicksilver and it has no problem readin the contents of any zip no matter what its formatted on....Macs dont have that problems......I can comfortably back my entire zip to my Mac.....reformat the zip to my 2kXL and more programs and sounds and then put those on the mac and reformat it again and again and again ..no problem........at all......

Have you tried it with an MPC3000 disk though? MPC3000s format as FAT12 with Akai's own custom implementation of long file names. Very nonstandard. Not like the MPC2000XL's support for FAT16, which is universal.

I will note this though: Using Rohan's new Vailixi 3.50 OS for the MPC3000, you can format hybrid partitions on your ZIP disks, so you can access the disks from both Mac and PC. (Visit http://www.mansell-labs.com/)
 
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I was having the same problem... HERE IS THE ONLY SOLUTION!! FROM MY MPC 3000 TO REN

I tried for many weeks to solve this problem. I purchased the new MPC REN and wanted to bring over all of my work from my MPC 3000 and MPC 60 but my PC wouldn't read any of the zip disk. (I'm using my MPC REN with my PC BTW) I purchased a SCSI drive for my PC and it still would not see the files. Don't even waste your time trying to read the files on a PC... Here is what I did to resolve it, some of it was covered from the above post but I'm going to make it easier to understand.

1. Turn your MPC on and format another zip drive (for copying)
2. Load up a Program (seq etc) just everything you are trying to copy into the MPC
3. Put in your new formatted disk and copy everything into it's PARTITION #1 (Althought will you formatted the disk you more then likey made it into 4 partitions, even the MAC computer will only see the 1rst PARTITION)
4. Get a USB Zip drive that can read your 100 zips (that's what I was using)
5. Find a MAC Computer, the Mac computer will see the files and you can just copy them over to the MAC. (IT WILL ONLY SEE WHATS ON PARTITION #1)
6. Take the files from the MAC computer and save them to zip or something and your PC will now see them.

(Notes: Yes you are going to have to load all of your sounds, programs, seq etc into the MPC and THEN copy them down to that Partition #1 on the transfer disk)

This is the only solution that I have found and it takes a long time, but having all of my old sounds and songs come up in my new MPC REN is worth it..

Good Luck ..

Spock
 
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