MX150 wont fully power on. Help!
 

Hey Everyone!

I have been away from the site for a LONG time... Glad to be back but was greeted with my subscription being lapsed... DOH!!!

I have an issue with an MX150 I am hoping someone here can help. I tried searching on the forum here as well as out on the greater internet and didnt see this issue addressed anywhere.

My MX150 is hooked up to a PurePower 2000. The batteries are old (I have replacements, just dont have them installed yet) and unfortunately, I had a short power sag/spike/something happen while I was using the system. The PurePower didnt keep the equipment running; everything immediately turned off, then came back on. The MX150 did the reboot count down, but got stuck with the display saying "McIntosh MX150" and the power standby light flashing. I let it sit like this for about 5 minutes with no change. I unplugged the unit and let it sit unplugged for ~20 hours. I plugged it back in, it did the count down, and is stuck again with the display saying "McIntosh MX150" and the power standby light flashing.

I tried doing a MCU Reset, but it wont let me do it in its current state. Of all the issues I have ever run into with the two MX150's I have, this is a new one.

Anyone have any ideas on what I should try? I have a Mc dealer locally and will contact them tomorrow, but they arent the most knowledgeable on this sort of thing.

Thanks!

Try setting to factory defaults through the web interface if you can't access the OSD.

There is a Compact Flash Memory Card on the back that SHOULD NOT BE REMOVED unless instructed by McIntosh Labs that could be the problem. There was another thread one user reported "This is the card that recently got blitzed in my MX150 during a power surge. Mc sent a replacement to my dealer the next day and I was up and running the day following."

I suggest contacting McIntosh Technical Support via there website for proper procedure recommendations.

Good Luck!
Ron

Craig.......Good to see you visiting AA again. Sorry to hear about your MX150 dilemma. You should get the fresh batteries installed in your PurePower 2000 ASAP. That would have saved the MX150 from ever seeing the power glitch. I replaced my PurePower 2000 batteries a year ago. You might want to read my PurePower 2000 AC Regenerator gets new batteries thread.

Definitely good advice Dan.. I am going to get it done today. I have 4 Puerpower 2000's and a few 1000's and they all need replacing. I got a couple of them done now, but still have a ways to go. And awesome instruction video BTW!

I have good news to report. I was able to resurrect the MX-150 from the dead!!

I reached out to the local Mc dealer and they contacted McIntosh on my behalf via email. While he didnt provide me the email, he did read it to me verbatim. Here are the steps they said to do:

1) Try to get to the MX-150 via the Web Interface and do a reset
2) Reseat the compact flash card
3) Swap the compact flash card for a known good one
4) Reseat the CPU board

I tried to get to the web interface on mine, but it was a no-go. Mine was not even showing up on the network whatsoever, so had nothing to even attempt a connection to. I re-seated the compact flash card for kicks; no shocker in that not doing anything. I happen to have a second MX-150, so I tried the compact flash swap. That too did not work. Only option I had left was to open the case and re-seat the CPU board. Believe it or not, but re-seating the board worked!

Let me know if people want me to document exactly what to do just in case this happens to someone else. The overall process is not that hard, but I am used to working on electronics (used to be an airplane electronics guy, have built computer systems for over 20 years, and worked at Microsoft for 10 years) it seriously is not that hard. I did use a couple tricks to get the top cover off (mine would have been near impossible to get off without using the method I used) and you need an H2 hex screwdriver as well as a #2 Philips.

Let this be a lesson to all PurePower users out there to change their batteries so you dont have something like this happen to you!!!!!

Craig.......:applause:

Happy Day Craig! :banana:

Craig: Will be great to hear more details on your fix. My MX-150 (with the MX-151 firmware) is getting long in years but I hope it lasts another 20. Has always been a faithful friend and the mainstay of the hone theater. Thanks for the thread. Jim

Thanks for reporting back as this may help others with the same problem. It is strange that the CPU board had to be re-seated unless the unit was recently moved.
Way-to-go and Happy Listening! :banana:

Ron

Here are the instructions to reseat the CPU daughter board:

1) Make sure you power down your MX-150 and unplug it. Move it to an area where you have plenty of light and space to work.

2) I would also recommend you wear a grounding strap to ensure you have no static electricity stored in your bnody:
https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Anti...rounding+strap

Another option is to touch a grounded metal case. While its not perfect, it should be sufficient for what we are doing.

3) There are 4 Philips head screws holding the top cover on. Two are on top near the front display while the other two are on the back of the unit. I dont have pictures of the location, but it should be obvious which ones you need to take out.

4) Once the screws from step 3 are removed, the top cover can be removed by sliding it away from the front display. Mine happened to be EXTREMELY tight and I was unable to remove it with just my hands. I ended up using car trim removal tools which are designed not to mar the surface. I put them into the vents on the top of the MX-150 and used it as leverage to slide the top case off.
https://www.amazon.com/KINGLAKE-Pane...m+removal+tool

5) Now that you have the top off, we need to locate the CPU daughter board. I have it shaded in blue in the picture. The board is in the lower right of of the MX-150 (if you have the front panel facing away from you).

https://postimg.org/image/3t8ma7gor/
https://s9.postimg.org/3t8ma7gor/MX-150.jpg

6) You need to remove the 4 surface mount screws holding this board in place. They are H6 Allen head and are marked with the red arrows in the picture above.

7) Now that you have the surface mount screws removed, we need to unplug the CPU board from the main board. It is attached via two sockets **underneath** the CPU board.. I have the two areas marked in purple in the picture above, but they are located in the top left and bottom right areas of the CPU board. You need to gently pry those areas until they separate from the main motherboard. Keep in mind that there are ribbon cables also attached to the CPU board. I did not remove the ribbon cables on mine and I suggest you leave your in place as well, but you only need to detach and re-attach the CPU board; we are **NOT** taking the CPU board out of the case. Tip: Do one socket position at a time. Grab the CPU board near the purple area and gently rock the CPU board from front display to back while pulling CPU board away from motherboard. It should detach at each location without using too much force.

8) Once you have the CPU board detached from the motherboard, you need to re-attach it. The connectors have pins on one side and a female connector on the other and they must line up! One easy way to make sure they line up is to use the surface mounting hole screws at a guide. If those all line up, then the sockets should also line up. Once you are certain of the board alignment, firmly press the CPU board back into the motherboard by pushing down in the purple areas marked in the picture.

9) Slide the top cover panel back into place. Mine went on a lot easier than taking it off and I had no issues getting it to seat back on all the way.

10) Screw back in the 4 Philips head screws you removed from step 3.

Thats it! Plug your MX-150 back in and it should (hopefully) be back to life!!! :)