>
> Your two approaches were both enlightening thanks.
> I finally managed to make the floppy work.
>
> the previous owner had told me something like "the floppy is useless with the zip connected", perhaps he meant that the zip this way connected byspasses the floppy... Do think this is possible? However awkward, experience proved him right:
> I disconnected the ZIP completely, including the ribbon cable and the floppy finally worked indeed. Perhaps it was a coincidence due to repeating attempts as suggested by Esynthesist. I haven't tried reconnecting the zip since then anyway.
> It happens to be quite noisy with its power supply's fan, so I'd rather boot from a floppy and then enjoy a quieter external zip.
>
> Phase 2: I located one instantly but once connected, the proceedure to select it as explained in the Emax SCSI istructions addendum did not work as stated, holding the transpose button did not give me access to the SCSI menu, only the... transpose menu, so I couldn't get it recognized.
> My conclusion is that, although the emax is a plus (also with that 333 PCB by the way), none of my floppies carries the plus OS.
> So I ordered one from route66 and we'll see if that works, unless you have other suggestions in the meantime.
>
> Anyway, at the same time I was silly enough to try and replace the backlight myself, with limited soldering skills, but it turned out to be a tricky part when I put it back together.
> I could see the light but needed to hold firmly the LCD so that it shows the entire display. This final operation resulted in some kind of short circuit. Now the LCD is messed up as a whole: light is gone for good, display shows partly, only when corners are firmly pressed and there's a permanent high bip at a noticeable volume, of which the pitch changes when you touch one of the backlight's contacts or the dedicated contacts on the panel PCB...
> I guess i'm in for a repair fee and the delay that comes with it.
> Don't try this at home...
>
>
> --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "alphabyte" <alphabyte@> wrote:
> >
> > Upgrading a rack unit required a new bottom panel.
> >
> > Any luck getting the floppy to work?
> >
> > --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "esynthesist" <esynthesist@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi
> > >
> > > The fact that the Emax doesn't boot from floppy may be caused by the age of the floppy drive. I have some samplers in which I have to insert and eject disks a few times before the drive's heads actually start reading the disks...
> > >
> > > The reason why the ZIP is not connected to the external connector is probably because the previous owner did have a SCSI internal ribbon cable for connection to the IDE/SCSI adapter board within the ZIP external case but not an adapter for transforming it into a SCSI DB25 external terminal.
> > > The fact that it is an internal ZIP (either IDE or SCSI) built into an external case with power supply, instead of a normal external SCSI ZIP drive, is probably because the owner wanted to be able to boot from the ZIP drive. With standard external SCSI ZIP drives this is not possible because they can only be set to SCSI ID 5 or 6, while SCSI ID 0 is required for a bootable HD in the Emax - as alphabyte already mentioned.
> > >
> > > PS: I have an original Emax SE PLUS rack with PC333 rev board (the most recent CPU board); even on that board CN1 is the internal SCSI header and CN2 the floppy connector. But don't rely too much on these specs, because on the other hand my Emax Rack did not have a factory external SCSI DB25 connector, which is - according to all known E-Mu specs - simply impossible for a unit containing a PC333 board :-) The serial number is 0002 though - so it's probably a prototype unit.
> > >
> > > ///E-Synthesist
> > >
> > > --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "pr_simon" <pr_simon@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Wow, I do not mean to pollute everyone's mailbox but before i even read and study the whole thing later, thanks a lot for so many details!
> > > >
> > > > --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "alphabyte" <alphabyte@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Hi Jeremie,
> > > > >
> > > > > First off, congratulations on your Emax purchase. I am quite certain once you get past these early growing pains you will be pleased.
> > > > >
> > > > > The external DB25 connection is typical of Emax Plus units both factory made and upgraded. I can not make a direct correlation between what you are seeing internally vs what I have access to.
> > > > >
> > > > > I have two Emax rack units. I have upgraded one to SCSI very recently. The internal 50-pin SCSI header on my board is CN2. The smaller CN1 header is the floppy drive connection.
> > > > >
> > > > > I should clarify that my boards are pre SCSI. Significant modification was required to add SCSI to these units. Your machine may have a later board revision with different labeling and component locations. That being said, the floppy drive header should be near the edge of the board closest to the drive itself. It does sound like there are some strange things going on with the Zip drive, but, it works so you have that in your favor at the moment.
> > > > >
> > > > > As for a standard, external SCSI Zip drive working with the DB25 connection, yes, this should work. The previous owner may not have been able to locate one. I use one from time to time with my Emax II keyboards. There is really no reason to have a janky drive hanging off the side of you Emax via a ribbon cable.
> > > > >
> > > > > Based on your description, it would seem your board revision has two SCSI headers, a 25-pin to connect the external DB25 input and the standard 50-pin header for an internal drive. There should also be a standard hard drive power harness handing about inside as well.
> > > > >
> > > > > As for the booting procedure, that all sounds rather normal with the exception of not recognizing the floppy drive. The "Diagnostics" period during bootup seems to be normal for SCSI/Plus units. I am basing this purely on my experience after upgrading my own machine.
> > > > >
> > > > > It appears this period recognizes the presence of SCSI and allow time for the drives to spin up while the Emax determines what drives are present and where it should boot from. An internal or boot HD (Zip in your case) has to be set to SCSI ID 0.
> > > > >
> > > > > The Emax can address a total of 36 danks. Bank 00 should be the floppy drive. When you click the "Load All" button, it should bring up the Bank selection screen. Choosing bank 00 should load the bank on the floppy disk you have inserted.
> > > > >
> > > > > It sounds as though most everything is likely working as it should with the exception of the... creative... connection of the external Zip drive. I would suggest locating the SCSI documentation for the Emax if you do not already have it. This will help in understanding how the drives can be connected and properly navigating the OS along with moving from drive to drive.
> > > > >
> > > > > The unit should boot from the floppy without the zip drive connected. Once the "Loading Software" screen appears, the Emax should have figured out that no hard drive is present and it should attempt to load from floppy.
> > > > >
> > > > > Sometimes, my floppies don't seat properly in the drive. This mostly occurs with cheap disks that have flimsy plastic casing. When you insert the floppy, you should the the disk positively engage with the drive and drop slightly below the insertion slot. I usually resolve this issue by reinserting the disk a couple of times, with slight additional force. Don't be too rough. The drives are old and can be a bit on the sticky side with years of dust and neglect.
> > > > >
> > > > > It would be helpful to know what OS version you are running off of the Zip drive, the floppies as well once you are able to get the unit to boot from the a floppy.
> > > > >
> > > > > Keep us up to date and we can try to help as best we can.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Cheers,
> > > > >
> > > > > Trevor
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>