2488neo HD Swap Instructions?

KenHR

New member
Does anyone have the instructions from the old tascamforums.com on how to replace the 2488neo's hard drive?

I don't have an immediate need to do this, but thought it would be good to have the instructions in my file cabinet, just in case....
 
This text I've copied anytime. Perhaps it helps:

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Important...

There have been reports of lock-ups and other errors after upgrading the drive. These problems might be related to bad clusters on the hard disk and can be addressed by doing a zero-fill or low level format on the drive before installing it in your 2488.

To low level format your drive, install it in a PC and run utility like Seagate's "Disk Wizard" (available on their web site) to initiate a low level format. Please note: Utilities like "Disk Wizard" are dangerous - and yes, I am trying to scare you! They allow you do all sorts of destructive things to your drive, so it is important that you know what you are doing. If you don't, then find a friend who does to give you a hand.


Many thanks to Kent, a moderator of this forum, for coming up with this solution.


That said... On with the upgrade!


Step by step instructions for upgrading the drive in your 2488


Parts

First things first: you'll need a hard drive.

The 2488 ships with an Seagate ST340014A Barracuda 7200.2 40gig hard drive. The Barracuda 7200 series drives are 7200 rpm, 8.5 ms seek Ultra ATA/100 drives which Seagate represents as having "Superior performance, quiet operation and outstanding reliability." They also have a three year warranty.

It seems that the 2488 will only support four partitions, with a max partition size of size of 32gig. Given this I suggest any of the following drives: •ST380011A - 80 GB
•ST380013A - 80 GB
•ST3120022A - 120 GB
•ST3120026A - 120 GB
•ST3160023A - 160 GB
This is not to say that these are the only drives that will work - drives from other manufacturers with specs similar to the Barracuda 7200.7 drives should work as well. But as the Barracuda 7200.7 drives are readily available and relatively inexpensive, there isn't a compelling reason to choose another manufacturer.


Tools & Workspace

A #1 philips head screwdriver
A large flat surface (e.g. Table)
A blanket or a couple of towels


Preparation

Back up your songs! You will be removing the existing hard drive from your 2488. Once removed, you will not be able to access any of the data on the old drive. So, if you have any songs on your 2488, you will have to back them up.

After backing up, Unplug your 2488! Opening up the 2488 will expose the power supply, making the potential to get shocked that much greater.

Fold the blanket (or towels) and place them on the table. This will provide a nice soft 'bed' for the face of the 2488.


Disassembly

Remove the two screws from the panel on the left side of the unit and set them aside.

Flip the 2488 over, face down, with the I/O jacks at the top.

Remove the top two screws located directly under the I/O jacks. Set them aside with the two screws from the side panel.

Remove the Bottom three screws.

Remove the left and right side center screws.

Remove the top left, center and right screws.

Set these eight screws aside, separate from the previous four. The two sets are different sizes and should not be mixed up.

Grasp the metal base - lifting and folding back over the top of the unit - so that the feet on the base are on the table. You will now have the base with the power supply, CD drive and hard drive on the table above the 'top' of the 2488 with some cabled connecting the two.


Remove the Drive

Locate the hard drive. It will be on the right with two cables attached: a grey ribbon cable and four wire power cable.

Disconnect the power cable, grasping the sides of the white power connector.

Disconnect the ribbon cable - you'll probable gave to grasp the cable, close to the connector and gently 'rock' it out of the socket.

Press on the left side of the drive towards the right side of the case. The drive is mounted on a plate which, with a bit of force, will slide out of the side of the base.


Configure and Mount the New Drive

Look at the back of the drive. You will see a small connector with eight pins - two of which are connected by a jumper. This sets the drive as the 'master' in the system. Unpack your new drive and make sure it is jumpered the same way (if you are not using one of the suggested drives, make sure your new drive is set as the master.)

Flip over the 2488 drive and mounting plate (noting the orientation of the drive on the plate) and remove the four screws mounting the drive to the plate.

Set aside the old drive and mount the new drive on the plate (same orientation as the old drive.)


Install the New Drive

Slide the mounting plate back in the right side of the case until is pops into place.

Reconnect the ribbon cable - Do not force it! It is keyed to go on only one way so, if it doesn't connect easily, try flipping it around.

Reconnect the power cable - Do not force it! It is keyed to go on only one way so, if it doesn't connect easily, try flipping it around.

Check that the cables are properly seated in their sockets and the drive bracket is properly seated in the base of the 2488.


Reassembly

Lift up the base and flip it back over and seat it onto the top of the 2488.

Replace the top left, center and right screws.

Replace the left and right side center screws.

Replace the bottom three screws.

Replace the top two screws located directly under the I/O jacks.

Flip the 2488 over, face up, with the I/O jacks at the top.

Replace the two screws on the panel on the left side of the unit.


Power It Up

Reconnect the power cord.

Turn the 2488 on.

If the planets are aligned correctly and gods of hardware are in a good mood, your 2488 should tell you it is finding the drive, creating partitions, creating a song and finally reading the song.

If you've gotten this far, congrats! You can check the number and size of the partitions by pressing MENU, selecting the DISK menu and selecting REFORM. After viewing, press HOME to exit back to the main track display.

If you backed up any songs, restore them.

Reconnect all your cables and you're all set.

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According to Tascam, newer machines with a firmware of 1.10 contain a SATA drive. Thus, hoarding a few pATA drives as a backup precaution isn't going to work if your firmware is above 1.00. Here is Tascam's response to my inquiry:

"The 1.10 firmware update was created because the 2488Neo no longer uses a Parallel ATA drive, it now uses a SATA drive. In order to make the unit compatible with the new type of Hard drive we had to create a new firmware. As far as the OS itself and improvements you should be okay with the 1.00 firmware."

When I asked about upgrading a machine with 1.00 software I was told the following:

"This firmware is only used internally and by authorized Service Center personnel
The reason being, is that it is more involved than simply updating the 2488neo firmware, installing the drive and having the unit work properly.
Thank you for your interest in TASCAM products."
 
I installed a new drive. The old one plugged into a card. This one i had to plug in directly into the drive with the ribbon cord and the power.
Error message cannot recognize hard drive.
Jumper is all the way to the left. Going off of a video i saw. So. I just read do a basic format on a computer. Not sure i could do that for certain. Is that the most likely solution?
Thanks
Also just read where firmware needs upgrade.
But not sure if thats the case with mine.
I am just guessing shipping and upgrade from tascam, would be expensive. I bought a used machine and stole the drive from that one when my other failed. Now i have a machine with no drive. Would be nice to have both working.
Thanks for any help.
Brett
 
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