[mess1207]

I am having floppy drive problems with my Proto Trak MX2. Everytime I try to boot my machine, I get the error "no bootable disk" I thought that the disk drive itself was bad but I have replaced it with a known working one and I still get the same message. I have also tried several disks that are supose to be the correct program. Any help is appreciated.

[jaybird22]

I've been having the same problem with mine. I also replaced the disk drive. I find that if I try to boot it over and over, after 30 or 40 times, it will catch. It's a real PITA. I went to leaving the machine on and booted once I got it to catch, but then had to replace a burned out power supply, so I guess that's not a fix either. I'll be watching this post to see if anyone has any ideas. I sure would like to have it like it used to be, there when I needed it without having to fight with getting it to boot.

Jay

[eddmead]

Has anyone found a solution to this problem, I am having the same issues.

[DMF_TomB]

Has anyone found a solution to this problem, I am having the same issues.

if i remember most MX2 Prototraks use 720Kb floppy discs. There is a hole on the floppy disc that can have tape put over it so computer reads it as a 720 kb disc.
.... a 1.44 floppy disc if tape is put over hole can be formatted as 720kb if you got a old computer that can format a disc as 720kb
.
i believe this is mentioned on SWI web site at one time and is probably mentioned in the MX2 manual

[eddmead]

Yes I am aware of that, and you can also format to 720 in xp if you know how, (cant remember off the top of my head, but it can be done) This is not the problem though. I am currently testing the floppy drive in mine because it simply isnt running during bootup. Not sure if storms have burnt something lately or what. I have had this problem before and the fix was just simply rebooting several times until it takes but its not working this time. Anyone know what the symptoms of a bad power supply would be on these. I mean to say would I have anything happening on the screen at all?? Thanks for the reply!!

[wizard]

Floppy drives, even magnetic hard drives, are notoriously unreliable in machine tools. We have almost monthly failures at work. Of course that is a lot of different "tools' but the point remains these storage devices are unreliable on a production floor.

Yeah I know this is expensive but the other reality is floppy drives are very old technology by the standards of the electronics industry. Getting parts and support will only get harder in the future as many manufactures transition away from installing floppies in their systems.

[eddmead]

All very good points wizard sadly I dont have unlimited funds. This is a garage machine so I must keep patching this thing back together. I did take the drive and have it tested and was told it was bad....bought one from him that was supposed to be good and it still wont boot up. Its odd , if I put the disk in my pc straight outta the machine, it wont read it....so I reformat it and reload the boot software, then the pc will read it. Put it back in the machine then the same problem..wont boot then the pc wont read it again. Hoping the disk drive is the problem. Has anyone tried these in a prototrak yet?? Upgrade 3.5" floppy drive to USB flash drive | eBay

[wizard]

My thought was that if you have access to the drives you could then split off the old controller and have an NC program running on your PC drive the machine. Unfortunately I dont have in depth knowledge of how this controller works but if it uses step and direction signals to the amps it could be an easy upgrade. Yes famous last words.

All very good points wizard sadly I dont have unlimited funds. This is a garage machine so I must keep patching this thing back together. I did take the drive and have it tested and was told it was bad....bought one from him that was supposed to be good and it still wont boot up. Its odd , if I put the disk in my pc straight outta the machine, it wont read it....so I reformat it and reload the boot software, then the pc will read it. Put it back in the machine then the same problem..wont boot then the pc wont read it again. Hoping the disk drive is the problem. Has anyone tried these in a prototrak yet?? Upgrade 3.5" floppy drive to USB flash drive | eBay

My suggestion is to avoid Zip / Jaz drives!!

As to the floppy drive I wouldn't even want to guess as to what is happening there. Frankly I would look for an alternative solution.

[rtsplace]

Hello, I'm also going thru the same issues, on board computer lost power so I replaced power supply and it came back. Now when I try to load programs it would lock up. So I tried different floppies, nothing newly programed would load. Base problem now is machine controller won't fully boot up stalls saying it's loading MX2?
I have contacted SWI to see how much a upgrade is for the controller hopefully with a USB port. But I to have a small shop in garage and can't afford much. Has any one tried that A: drive convertor to USB ?
Thanks Ray

[mgberry]

Did anyone try the USB to Floppy drive that was previously posted?

[rtsplace]

I have ordered 2 of the 3.5 emulators to convert the floppy to USB, SW tech guys were very helpful with a few different choices but I decided to try these cheap convertors they did say they should work. It maybe a month or so literally a slow boat from China, delivery between 09/09 to 09/24 .
Will post results.
Ray

[rtsplace]

Hello All, Emulators came in earlier than expected, they are not plug and play that didn't work that easy. After talking with some people at work (electronic engineers) and computer guys as I'm not real good at it, there're saying all I should have to do is format the drive or the emulator on a different PC then plug into the MX2 and it should work. I hope I Hope fingers crossed will find out tonight.
Ray

[rtsplace]

Hello, Here's an update on the emulators, if you check amazon forums they have more information on how to make them work. I just can't seem to find the time to get them to work, machine doesn't recognize it but getting closer I hope.
Ray

[rtsplace]

Hello, Well it's been a frustrating ride, bottom line DON'T buy that junk (a: drive emulators )
from China!!! there no support, bad instructions and the part didn't match the instructions. You get what you pay for.

[mgberry]

That sucks to hear. Thanks for trying, Im hoping we can find a cost effective way to maintain these older controllers without doing a full retrofit. Ive been giving more thought to diving into it as a project to see if I can come up w a solution.

[rtsplace]

mgberry, On my 2 axis machine I do have a portable floppy drive that is working now, it came from prototrack when I bought my machine new many years ago. I was having the start up trouble, but called prototrack and they sent me a boot up disk no charge. So protrack really stands behind their products. It's just that I wanted to update to flash drive and get away from the floppies. If you check around and spend about $150 for a better model, I guess they do work. Tech support at prototrack does recommend an option like the emulators but it's around $500.00 but they say it works really good plug and play. It's not their product, just what they recommend. Hope it helps.................Ray

[Cityfrontsailor]

Hello, I'm also going thru the same issues, on board computer lost power so I replaced power supply and it came back. Now when I try to load programs it would lock up. So I tried different floppies, nothing newly programed would load. Base problem now is machine controller won't fully boot up stalls saying it's loading MX2?
I have contacted SWI to see how much a upgrade is for the controller hopefully with a USB port. But I to have a small shop in garage and can't afford much. Has any one tried that A: drive convertor to USB ?
Thanks Ray

Dumb question. But can you just get a power supply from SWI? If not where did you get your power supply. My machines board is not getting power, so I am hoping that it is just the power supply...