How do i hook up midi equipment?

Dear Armada 500 user:

The previous posts I have seen in response to your question both offer good answers as to USB hardware.

I would like to elaborate a bit on your quest by advising you of some very important facts regarding the total scenario as it relates to MIDI processing for your consideration, before you invest much more time or money in your endeavor.

Not knowing your particular desired "end-result" or ultimate intention is a bit of a challenge because there are some essential O/S, processor, memory and storage requirement limitations you may encounter depending on what you are wanting to accomplish. Current MIDI sequencing application solutions are much more demanding and intended for more current system platforms that support more memory, offer faster processors and larger hard drives.

Having said this, please must consider the following if you have not done so already.

1. You should be at least on XP SP 3, although WIndows 2000 Workstation SP 2 is an acceptable minimum O/S platform though not preferred.
2. The Armada 500 is limited to 512 MB RAM. This is a problem w/XP as a min. of 1GB RAM is recommended for XP SP3. It was introduced in 2002, so it is 7 years old!
3. You'll probably need to upgrade your hard drive as the standard configs for this model maxed out at 30GB. (Note: you will probably only be able to upgrade to maybe an 80 GB HD due to BIOS limitations on supported drive capacities for that unit.) Check Compaq Armada 500 BIOS upgrade specs before you do this. http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?prodNameId=96717&lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=96231&taskId=135

Unless you are planning to use an older (5+ years old)
sequencing application which supports the limitations I have previously cited, you cannot efficiently implement a MIDI sequencing solution without experiencing limited performance, time-outs or possible compatability problems on this system.

Though MIDI data processing itself is NOT processor intensive, the applications associated with current MIDI sequencing solutions may well NOT be very compatible with this system due to the O/S, processor and memory support limitations.

I have addressed this very issue with numerous clients over the years, and it is at best, a frustrating endeavor.

Check this PCMCIA to USB 2 adapter as another option: IOGEAR GPU202 2 Port USB 2.0 PCMCIA CardBus Card You'll also need an A to D convertor/mixer/interface like the M-AUDIO Fast Track Pro 24-bit 96KHz USB Interface 4 x 4 Mobile USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamps. I recommend these interfaces almost exclusively to our home studio clients. Go to www.newegg.com for these and other adapter options.

With some tweaking and a little give and take, this can be perhaps accomplished with what you have, but I would recommend a newer notebook or PC & Windows O/S platform for best results with MIDI sequencing. I wish you well...

hi,

usually it is connected to the midi input of your souncard with the right cable, if your computer doesnt have one you can try a

USB MIDI Input Output Cable Converter PC Notebook

here is a sample, look if it have the same connector to your
midi equipment



hope it suites your Midi equipment, thanks for using Fixya!

you need a MIDI-capable external soundcard, such as the Soundblaster Audigy 2 NX (MIDI I/O via the gameport adapter). Caveat: this card and most others like it will only work with USB2.0, so if you don't have one in your notebook you can get PCMCIA-USB2.0 controllers such as the NEC/Vigor two-port card which run around GBP£8 a pop.