Mark IV Disklavier SSD Conversion Or Hard Disk Replacement

Richard Zajac originally contributed this guide to converting a Yamaha Disklavier Mark IV to an SSD. It applies to DIO-100-based Mark IV and Mark IV PRO systems whose original hard drive is being cloned or replaced.

The Mark IV was originally equipped with an 80GB mechanical hard drive, which was more than sufficient for the technology of its time. Even advanced systems like the Yamaha Disklavier don’t demand exceptionally fast read speeds. However, spinning hard disks do come with inherent drawbacks:

Because they are mechanical, these drives can become noisy and eventually fail. Additionally, during system updates, the limitations of their read and write speeds become evident, resulting in updates that can take nearly an hour to complete.

Whether you’ve chosen to upgrade because of the improved read/write speed, or you’ve simply arrived here because the hard drive or an update has failed, read on!

First, you’ll need a new solid-state drive with a capacity of 80 GB or larger, as well as an SATA-SSD-to-IDE-host bridge. This adapter is a bridge that connects a SATA SSD to the Mark IV’s 40-pin IDE/PATA interface. The drive can be larger than 80 GB—for instance, I nearly always use 120 GB drives, as they’re readily available.

A raw restoration reproduces the original partition layout. Installing a 120GB SSD therefore does not ordinarily provide 120GB of usable Disklavier storage; the additional space will remain unallocated unless the partitions are separately expanded. Optionally, I’ve received multiple reports that resizing the large data partition can be done safely, and the Disklavier does recognize the additional space.

The 120 GB OWC Mercury Pro Legacy comes with all necessary components. (Note that, although Richard used this, and it fit neatly into the system, I installed mine using a 120 GB Patriot Burst drive and Kingwin SATA-SSD-to-IDE-host bridge, so my pictures differ. His OWC product is a neat, all-in-one solution.)

Removing the Old HDD

1. Remove the I/O Center from the Piano

Yamaha calls the Mark IV unit the I/O Center, model DIO-100. The ENSPIRE uses a differently named Control Center. This procedure concerns the Mark IV DIO-100.

Before disconnecting anything, perform the normal Mark IV shutdown procedure and wait until the system is completely off. Turn off the power-supply unit and unplug it from AC power. Photograph and label every cable before disconnecting the I/O Center.

In Mark IV systems, the I/O Center is the DIO-100 unit mounted underneath the piano. This is the large black box with several RCA-style audio cables attached. Do not remove the power supply. That’s another large black box that’s plugged directly into the wall. Do not open the power-supply unit for this procedure; the hard drive is inside the I/O Center.

Remove the I/O Center from the piano by first unscrewing the large D-sub system connector using the two flat blade nuts on the sides of the port. The RCA cables may be locking cables that need to be unscrewed.

Unplug all the cables and then carefully unscrew the I/O Center from the piano. Support the I/O Center while removing its mounting screws, then lower it carefully.

2. Open the I/O Center

Unscrew all the black screws on the top face of the control unit that would normally be against your piano. This surface is the unpainted, silver surface.

3. Remove the Old HDD

Carefully remove the two plugs from the hard drive. Using firm downward pressure with the correct-size Phillips screwdriver, remove the drive-mounting screws, taking care not to strip them.

Making an Image of the Old HDD

At this point, you’ll need to copy the contents of the old hard drive into an image file.

If the original hard drive is unreadable, contact me for a Mark IV v4.26 disk image. Please include the piano’s serial number.

Caution: Do not initialize, partition, repair, or format the original Mark IV drive if Windows or macOS says it cannot read it. Cancel any such prompt. Initializing a disk erases its existing data.

If the original drive is failing: If it clicks, repeatedly disconnects, produces read errors, or causes an imaging program to stall, stop using ordinary dd or repeated conventional cloning attempts. GNU ddrescue is designed to copy readable areas first and record progress in a mapfile so recovery can be resumed. Consider professional recovery when the owner’s recordings are irreplaceable.

Make certain you have enough space to store a complete image. A raw image will be approximately the full capacity of the original drive, so allow more than 80GB of free space.

Windows

If you’re using Windows, you can use Win32 Disk Imager to take an image of the old disk.

Connect the original hard drive using a powered USB adapter that supports 3.5-inch IDE/PATA drives. In Win32 Disk Imager, choose a location and filename for the image, select the original hard drive under Device, and click Read. Do not click Write while the original drive is selected.

Mac

To create your own backup on Mac, you can use the dd command in a terminal. Note that you’ll need to adjust /dev/sdX to be whatever the location of your hard disk is! On Mac, this will be similar to /dev/rdiskX. Press Ctrl-T while dd is running to show progress.

sudo dd if=/dev/rdiskX of=backup.img

Linux

You can use dd on Linux just like on macOS. The only difference is that, on Linux, you can request status=progress to display ongoing progress.

sudo dd if=/dev/sdX of=backup.img status=progress

Applying the Image to your New SSD

Take your new SSD and plug it into your computer using a USB adapter such as this one. Unplug the red adapter on the back of the hard drive and then plug the following cables into the hard drive itself.

Windows

You can write IMG files to a disk using Win32 Disk Imager. As mentioned above, I’ve also had people recommend Balena Etcher.

Mac

Using the terminal, enter “diskutil list” then press “Enter” to list all the disks in your Mac computer. Note the device identifier assigned to the target SSD.

For example, it might be /dev/disk2. The following examples assume that it is, but replace it with the appropriate path for your drive.

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk2

Then press “Enter” to unmount it.

Type in the following command. Replace “/path/to/your.img” by dragging the image file from the Finder into terminal.

Then press “Enter” to write the image file to the drive. On macOS, press Ctrl-T while dd is running to show progress.

sudo dd if=/path/to/your.img of=/dev/rdisk2 bs=4k
sync
diskutil eject /dev/disk2

Linux

On Linux, you can write an .img file using dd. First, identify the correct device name:

lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,MODEL,TRAN,TYPE,MOUNTPOINTS

Look for your USB drive. It will usually be something like /dev/sde, /dev/sdf, etc.

Unmount any mounted partitions on the SSD. For example, if the SSD is /dev/sde:

sudo umount /dev/sde1

Then write the image to the whole device, not to a partition:

sudo dd if=/path/to/your.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

Replace /path/to/your.img with the path to your image file, and replace /dev/sdX with the actual USB device, such as /dev/sde.

Afterward, run sync to flush any remaining disk writes.

Do not write to /dev/sdX1. That is a partition. Write to the whole device, such as /dev/sde.

Install the SSD: Conversion Complete!

Unmount your USB drive, put the red adapter back on, and screw it into your Disklavier top assembly. You will need to use the middle screws to give it enough room to be able to have the cable attached and close it.

Before installing the plate, verify that all connections are secure, and that the adapter is securely connected to the SSD.

Voilà! You have now updated your system and changed your drive to solid-state!