emusonacid! legacy

So, just bought an E4X (from another board member, in fact). First thing I did when I got it home was to try and update EOS to the latest version that will run on a 'classic' E4. I thought I could do this with the same Flash Prep and EOS 4.62 update floppies I used to update my E4 (they're both 'Classic' E4s, right?). Unfortunately, when I try to update the Flash, I get a checksum error, and the sampler will now no longer boot. Anyone know where I went wrong, and anything I can do to get the E4X up-and-running again?

Incidentally, the specs of the machine when I got it were:

eos 3b
channels: 64
sample ram: 128mb
CPU ram: 4mb
CPU flash: 1mb
effects: yes (std)
digital i/o: yes
midi option: no
output option: no

Help!

a|x

The floppies would be fine, going from your specs you need the 2 MB CPU-Flash to hold higher EOS-versions (a module like Sample-Ram you need to put where the 1 MB module is now), that's why it doesn't work. Have you tried EOS 3 floppy, that should work, so you have at least working machine again.

Ah... that explains it! Thanks Rascal Revenge. Any idea where I might get that? Is it a standard RAM chip type? I'm guessing not any more.. :(

a|x

I don't have an EOS 3 floppy, unfortunately :(

a|x

One should make a EOS backup-copy from the sampler to a floppy, but c'est la vie.
Do you have a floppy drive in your computer by chance ? It has to be an internal one.

This board has a download-section, there you find 3.0:

http://www.ezman.ukfsn.org/downloads.htm

Guess this was the EOS on there made with Roland S-Disk Utility, don't get confused about it, it will make a working EOS 3.o floppy.

Otherwise you need to find someone sending you it, or there are guys selling EOS floppies on ebay,
think I saw EOS 3.0 also there.

Ah, thanks again Rascal. I don't actually own a PC- I'm a lifetime Mac user, I'm afraid. I do have access to a PC at work though, and it does have a builtin floppy drive. I've used it in the past to create floppies for my Ensoniq Mirage. The E4X is brand new in comparison to that dinosaur!

In the meantime, I've swapped the CPU RAM chips from the E4 into the E4X, and now it seems to boot fine!

Do you think there's any chance of finding the 2MB CPU RAM upgrade?

a|x

toneburst wrote:Ah... that explains it! Thanks Rascal Revenge. Any idea where I might get that? Is it a standard RAM chip type? I'm guessing not any more.. :(

a|x

Nah,that was a module from E-mu (it came with one EOS 4 upgrade). One guy kinda copied it, and was selling these, here on board/ebay, guess he is no more. Think you def. had to pay 100 € for this 2 MB Flash if it ever pops up (that was the original price back then btw.), so idea is to buy a classic-sampler with EOS 4.x, exchange the 2 MB Flash for your 1 MB, install back EOS 3.0 and get rid of the sampler you bought. Huh ?

Rascal Revenge wrote:Nah,that was a module from E-mu (it came with one EOS 4 upgrade). One guy kinda copied it, and was selling these, here on board/ebay, guess he is no more. Think you def. had to pay 100 € for this 2 MB Flash if it ever pops up (that was the original price back then btw.), so idea is to buy a classic-sampler with EOS 4.x, exchange the 2 MB Flash for your 1 MB, install back EOS 3.0 and get rid of the sampler you bought. Huh ?

Well, that wasn't originally the idea, but I think it might be, now. I actually had an original E4 ('non-x') before (you replied to my posts on possibly trashing the display). I guess the previous owner had upgraded the CPU RAM at some point before he abandoned it for 10 years in his ex girlfriend's attic- must have done, in fact, since it had EOS 4.1b on it, as I remember. I bought the E4X because I wanted to FX, even though it's in some ways a downgrade, as the E4X only has 64 channels, no XLR Main Outs, only one SCSI etc. I was kinda hoping the FX chip on the E4X might be removable, so I could put it in the E4, but it doesn't look as though that's the case, sadly. So, it looks like it's going to be the E4, with downgraded CPU Flash and EOS 3 installed that's going to go on eBay.

Not sure I'll get much for it :(

a|x

Managed to reinstall EOS 3.00b onto the 1MB, so now have two working samplers again! To be on the safe side, I put the EOS software onto two floppies while I was at work. I'm glad I did, because only one of the two worked! Brings back memories of failing ESI-32 floppies, when floppy disk was the only means of storing my banks.

a|x