Midi/Link Computer Q. Pls help I am 60yrs old

by Trevor
(Cyprus)

Hi all,

I am totally frustrated... I want to play midi files either from a hard or external drive.

I have a PSR 550 - midi connections only - and I have several floppies with MIDI GM & XG files... The 550 recognises these no problem from it's on-board FD drive and plays them. But... I am travelling 3000 miles to see my 91 yr old Mum in January and although she used to play key'bd in the past she is obviously a bit frail now. However she has recently bought a new Yamaha PSR 233 on the basis that I can play it for her friends in the sheltered accommodation when I get there.

The 233 Is the same as my 550 in the sense that it only has MIDI in/out, (no FD drive) and so I am using my 550 as a 'test bed' to try to get things to work before I go over and try to hook up the PSR233 otherwise we will all be very disappointed.

I have a laptop I can take with me, and also a external FDD, but I could just as easily load MIDI data on to the laptop HDD if that is better. My problem is that everything I have read seems to say that I need software on the laptop in order for the PSR550 or E233 to 'read' the MIDI files. So I have been to the Yamaha global download site and put the appropriate file on my laptop... after that I am guessing. My USB (laptop) to MIDI cabing plugged in I try to access the MIDI files on the laptop, but really don't know where to start... I have tried Function/Midi/Recieve, but there is just nothing happening. Furthermore, when I open my computer/FD drive, my VLC prog takes over and lists the contents of the drive. If I then select a song, I am being told that I need an SF2 file and that there is no fix for this problem. In desperation and to short circuit VLC, I downloaded another recommended file transfer prog named winamp. But all that seems to do is read the FDD file list, and play the selected song on my crappy laptop spkrs. The Yamaha manual quite frankly might as well be written in chinese (no offence to our far eastern friends) and is utterly unintelligble to me.... Please can anyone help me. Thank you. Trevor