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Post by stratomaster on May 21, 2010 13:17:34 GMT
My cheapo €7.99 including P&P midi adapter arrived this morning, so loading EFTP onto my Alesis Q20 was the overriding task of the day   After reading Charlie's excellent instructions, I got the process under way. I had some trepidation about using the cheap Chinese adaptor, which incidentally installed itself and drivers without a hitch, after reading how the stories of how these cheap adaptors do not work. My computer is running Windows 7 Ultimate, so I expected a few issues with the older Sysex dump tools. The first one I tried which was the Stec, crashed within seconds of pressing the send data button, reporting a 'This program is not responding' message and shutting down. I then tried the SyxLibEd tool which refused to do anything. I resigned myself to chucking the cheapo adaptor, and either buying the expensive real thing, or scrounging the Eridol that is on loan by Tony. I then thought I would try the Win 7's compatibility feature, and loaded the Stec dump tool again with win XP service pack 2 compatibility mode. This time I thought , great, the blue midi transfer light started flashing, however it was short lived and the program stalled and crashed several times so I gave up with it, and tried the SyxLibEd tool in Win XP mode, as before this program just sat there and did nothing at all. As a last resort, I went online and searched for sysex tools and found another freeware program called Systex97. The data transfer didn't work under Win 7, so I applied the Win XP compatibility mode. The adaptors blue transfer light started flashing, and the Q20 screen lit up with 'Programs being Installed'. This little dump tool is just fantastic.   With the programs loaded I plugged in the Strat and selected user prog 0-00 EMTC 1 1 on the Q20 and put on the backing track. My first impression was "Surely that's not me playing" followed by an ear to ear grin. I quickly flipped through the echo effects playing a few bars from each tune........... Absolutely fantastic, the echoes are so truly perfect. I can just see hours of pleasure ahead learning and re-learning those old Shadows numbers. Thanks so much Charlie for producing such a remarkable program. James. |
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Post by Charlie Hall on May 21, 2010 16:19:12 GMT
Hi James,
Thanks for posting about your experience with installing the programs with Windows 7. I will have a look at the Sysex 97 tool.
Glad to know that you are pleased with the programs.
Regards,
Charlie
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Post by tonybiker on May 21, 2010 17:30:46 GMT
Just to add to this. I have tried the above. I have exactly the same midi unit as James plus others and tried sysex 97 and the same problems exists as before - buffer overflow and then crash. The edirol works fine when used. The Alesis I used was a Quad Plus, so it maybe the Q20 is better able to take the programme download and not the earlier Quads?
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Post by Charlie Hall on May 21, 2010 17:34:31 GMT
Hi Tony,
Although the file size is far larger for a Q2 or Q20, it seems that the earlier units do suffer more from buffer overflow.
Regards,
Charlie
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Post by stratomaster on May 21, 2010 19:20:39 GMT
Tony, maybe computer performance plays a little part in the scheme of things.
I do a lot of graphics work on my PC which involve very large files that I prefer to render very quickly rather than sit and wait. To that end I use a very high spec PC using an Intel Q9650 multi-core processor and 4Gb RAM.
My two sons in their early 20's keep hi-jacking my PC to process data and burn DVDs because their slower machines crash.
All that said, an Eridol adaptor must be cheaper than a bells and whistles PC ;D
James.
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Post by tonybiker on May 21, 2010 20:54:30 GMT
Tony, maybe computer performance plays a little part in the scheme of things. I do a lot of graphics work on my PC which involve very large files that I prefer to render very quickly rather than sit and wait. To that end I use a very high spec PC using an Intel Q9650 multi-core processor and 4Gb RAM. My two sons in their early 20's keep hi-jacking my PC to process data and burn DVDs because their slower machines crash. All that said, an Eridol adaptor must be cheaper than a bells and whistles PC ;D James. Hi James. Not sure about the PC, I run XP SP3 with 1k ram. Maybe an IT guru could advise? |
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Post by grip on May 21, 2010 21:12:01 GMT
Hi Charlie, Hi Tony, Although the file size is far larger for a Q2 or Q20, it seems that the earlier units do suffer more from buffer overflow. Regards, Charlie Wouldn't the buffer overflow be more of a function of the data transfer speed than the type of MIDI cable used? I never really looked very hard at any options of Data transfer speeds when my Maplins cable failed to do the job. Kind regards, Chris |
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Post by stratomaster on May 21, 2010 21:40:37 GMT
Just to test the point, I reset the Q20 (program/compare/block) and tried to install EFTP from an old LG laptop running Win XP SP2, 512Mb RAM Intel Centrino 1.9 M processor.
It was still only the Systex 97 that would respond to the cheapo adaptor, however it missed installing quite a few of the programs.
I did another Q20 reset and plugged into my desktop PC and double clicked on the Systex97 .exe file.
At first I thought I had done something wrong as there was no dialogue box with any transfer options, all that happened was the midi adapter was flashing.
It turned out that Win7 had remembered everything and just sent the file to the Q20. It all happened so quickly I hadn't noticed the files were being loaded. They were all there with none missing.
From this I assume that PC spec. does have something to do with transferring the data very quickly before the buffer can overload.
It reminds me of the old days when burning CD's with slow old PC's and ending up with countless CD beermats ;D
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Post by Charlie Hall on May 21, 2010 22:16:01 GMT
Hi Chris,
I think it has a lot to do with the data transfer speed. This in turn is mainly controlled by the type of drivers that are installed with whatever type of USB to MIDI adaptor. Many cheap adaptors use generic Windows drivers that are not fast enough.
Regards,
Charlie
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Post by sheendigs on May 21, 2010 22:34:07 GMT
Hi James
To download the Files into Q2 or Q20,using 'SYSEX97'..one only needs the Universal Sysex Manager?
The software is free for 28 days..after that on has to pay 5 pounds or 10 dollars per module...
I have an adapter like yours and it never worked with other software.
I am going to try it with the Sysex97 and see what happens..
If it works..horray! ;DI did not lose any money then..
Sheendigs
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Post by stratomaster on May 22, 2010 0:17:20 GMT
I've just made a fabulous find....(I think) Scouring the internet I've found another sysex dump tool which is more up to date than the others and it's free. I cleared the memory of the Q20 again and re-installed EFTP with this software www.ucapps.de/howto_tools_syxloader_18f.htmlStill with the Chinese adaptor, this app. handled the transfer without any hitches at all. If it is significant, the data transfer rate was very slow (the transfer LED on the Midi adaptor was blinking very slowly) compared with the other app. I used today, and also the app. dialogue box shows the data bytes counting down, so you can see what is happening. My apologies if this thread is getting a little technical, but if it helps to get the EFTP program installed with any old midi adapter, it's worth it. With my saving on an expensive midi adaptor, I'm going to invest in some UB Hank Cds |
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Post by Charlie Hall on May 22, 2010 12:09:09 GMT
Hi James,
Thanks for that, I'll have a look.
Regards,
Charlie
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Post by tonybiker on May 22, 2010 12:22:33 GMT
Interesting debate this and great to see some useful experiments. My only concern is that members wasted money (myself included!) buying cheapo midi units. The 'loan out' edirol has been around the country countless times programming GT's, Quad plus, Q2 and Q20's, maybe being used over 50 times and it has a 100% record of programming with out problems. Bit of caution required before going with cheap midi units.
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Post by barryk on May 27, 2010 14:12:44 GMT
:)Hi guys
Just wanted to tell you that the cheap Chinese midi adaptor works with the Zoom RFX-2000 using the Stec program on a pc running Windows XP. Mine cost less than a fiver, from Hong Kong via the well known auction site! You have watch the plug connections as they are not easy to read. The one marked 'out' goes to the socket on the Zoom marked 'midi in', and vice-versa. I have sucessfully dumped the entire memory to a file, and also individual files.
barryk
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2016 7:07:18 GMT
Hello,
Please help me load EFTP onto the quad plus. I have the same cable as you but cant do it. I have even tried with charlies help and we are just stuck! I have windows 10 its possible the cable wont work with it.
Please PM me if you have intructions or can help me.
Thank you
Joe
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