Help: Amiga 2000 does not see harddrive??
I-Hate-Spam
My friend recently gave me his Amiga 2000 computer. It has a harddrive
evidently hooked up to it. However, when I turn on the computer, it ONLY
boots from the floppy drive.
The ONLY disk I have is workbench 2.1. When I get to the desktop it does NOT
show the harddrive.
Is there someway to get the harddrive to work? I am 99.99% sure it works
fine -- but might need a driver or something. the problem is -- even if I
download the amiga driver on my ibm comuter, I'm not sure how to get the
file onto the amiga computer since I have yet to find an ibm program that
will allow me to format/copy a disc in amiga format.
ANY HELP WOULD BE ENORMOUSLY APPRECIATED.
PS: In the event anybody is interested in buying it, feel free to make me an
offer. I also have the Amiga 1300 Genlock whatever that does.
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Burt
> fine -- but might need a driver or something. the problem is -- even if I
Driver lol - thats pc world. No driver needed.
The reason it won't show up is b/c its not formatted as an Amiga drive.
To fix it you should insert your 2091 disk and format the drive using that disk.
(my case i used gvp 030 disk). Once formatted in amiga dos youll be able to see
it.
Btw, whereabouts r u located and what version is the motherboard - reply to my
email pls.
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Ryan Callaghan
> If anybody can solve this problem, I would be GRATEFUL!
>
> My friend recently gave me his Amiga 2000 computer. It has a harddrive
> evidently hooked up to it. However, when I turn on the computer, it ONLY
> boots from the floppy drive.
>
> The ONLY disk I have is workbench 2.1. When I get to the desktop it does NOT
> show the harddrive.
>
> Is there someway to get the harddrive to work? I am 99.99% sure it works
> fine -- but might need a driver or something. the problem is -- even if I
> download the amiga driver on my ibm comuter, I'm not sure how to get the
> file onto the amiga computer since I have yet to find an ibm program that
> will allow me to format/copy a disc in amiga format.
>
> ANY HELP WOULD BE ENORMOUSLY APPRECIATED.
You don't tell us what Drive interface you're using, which makes help a
little difficult.
If it's an A2091, or any newer autoconfiguring card then either there's
something wrong with it, or the drive hasn't been properly partitioned
and formatted.
If, however, it's an older card, such as an A2090 (fairly common in
older machines) you will need a boot floppy with the driver for the card
on it, and, if it doesn't support RDB (the 2090 doesn't) you will also
need a mountlist (or the files that we use these days, I forget what
they're called...) for the drive in question.
For getting the driver to your Amiga from a PC (if needed), you would
either have to set up crossdos to read PC formatted 720k floppies (tough
on a floppy only machine) set up a serial transfer between the two (but
how do you get the transfer program onto the Amiga?) or buy a catweasel
card for your PC. Or, hope a friendly Amiga user knows what disks you
need, and can send a copy through the post...
--
Ryan Callaghan icq: 20957015 email callagrm<at>aston.ac.uk
Amiga 2000 040/27 | A1200 040/33 | PowerMac dual G4/500 512MB/40GB
40MB, 1GB, CD-ROM | 16MB, 1GB, CD-ROM | PowerBook G3/250 192MB/4GB
Retina, Multiface | LS-120 | SparcStations, and other stuff
I-Hate-Spam
possibly tell me what software I need and/or where I can get it so I can
begin using the harddrive, I would be enormously appreciative. Here goes...
One of the only other disks I have that came with the computer is a disk
labeled "Amiga 2090A Hard Disk Software." So this is what I do:
1. I put workbench 1.2 in the drive and turn on the computer. It then gets
me to the desktop screen.
2. I put the Amiga 2090A hard disk software in the drive and click on the
"HDInstall" Icon. I then click on the Install program.
3. The computer says, "Setting up for first ..." and then it begins copying
various files.
4. The computer asks me if I want to continue since it will delete
everything on the harddrive." I typed in yes.
5. The computer says "checking your mountlist" and copies more files
6. The computer days "Mounting hard disk and initializing."
7. The computer asks me if this is a SCSI hard disk. (I don't know -- so I
have tried typing both yes and no, but I get the same result -- please see
#8 below for what happens)
8. The computer says "Error -1 on open device of hddisk.device."
Accordingly, if you can suggest how the heck I can get the harddrive to work
and/or where I can get the necessary software from, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
tell me.
Thank you enormously in advance for your time/assistance.
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"Burt" <c64du...@nospamyahoo.com> wrote in message
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Burt
2090:
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/a2090.html
2090A:
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/a2090.html
Things to check:
- that the hd is properly terminated. 2090A is a SCSI controller.
- size of the SCSI hard disk you are using. (is it ULTRA 2?)
anything larger than 1 gig might give u problems with the vintage C= software
(might not cover larger than 1 gb hd capacities)
- the scsi cable? (maybe its at fault?)
- the jumpers on the controller must be set correctly (see the two links above)
Concerns:
- even if you get it to work, why would u want to stick to 2090A or 2090? 2091
is way better and much better - i'm sure others might agree with me on this.
- for installation the 2090 or 2090a floppy disk should do the trick
- the controller is perhaps busted? (before you do anything await others help or
input on this)
Drivers (software for the controller):
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/cgi-bin/showdriverforum.pl
- i can download those and put them on floppy and for postage fee (ie you pay
just the postage) have it send out to you.
Ryan Callaghan
> Info about 2090:
> 2090:
> http://www.amiga-hardware.com/a2090.html
>
> 2090A:
> http://www.amiga-hardware.com/a2090.html
>
> Things to check: - that the hd is properly terminated. 2090A is a SCSI
> controller. - size of the SCSI hard disk you are using. (is it ULTRA 2?)
> anything larger than 1 gig might give u problems with the vintage C=
> software (might not cover larger than 1 gb hd capacities)
More importantly the 2090 won't handle more than 256MB, without using
patched firmware (also, it's SCSI/MFM, it's fairly likely to be a stock
20MB MFM disk, the way to tell is open the machine and look at the
cables, if there's one 50 pin one it's scsi, if it's 20 and 34 pin
cables, it's MFM, you'll need to know a bit about the drive later on
anyway.)
> - the scsi cable? (maybe its at fault?) jumpers on the controller must be
> - the set correctly (see the two links above)
>
> Concerns: - even if you get it to work, why would u want to stick to 2090A
> or 2090? 2091 is way better and much better - i'm sure others might agree
> with me on this. - for installation the 2090 or 2090a floppy disk should
> do the trick - the controller is perhaps busted? (before you do anything
> await others help or input on this)
probably works, but... I've used one of these, and it isn't impossible
to set up using the instructions here
http://peach.mie.utoronto.ca/people/tsangc/a2090-10.guide I never had a
setup disk for it, just a boot disk with hddisk.device on it (I think it
lives in expansion) what you need is the datasheet for the drive you
have fitted, which isn't going to be easy unless it's from a still
living brand like Seagate, and some time to screw about with it.
Important: make copies of the boot disk and setup disk before doing
anything to them, they're the only ones you have.
Mike Leavitt
> Here is a description of exactly what I have/what I'm doing. If you could
> possibly tell me what software I need and/or where I can get it so I can
> begin using the harddrive, I would be enormously appreciative. Here goes...
>
> One of the only other disks I have that came with the computer is a disk
> labeled "Amiga 2090A Hard Disk Software." So this is what I do:
>
> 1. I put workbench 1.2 in the drive and turn on the computer. It then gets
> me to the desktop screen.
> 2. I put the Amiga 2090A hard disk software in the drive and click on the
> "HDInstall" Icon. I then click on the Install program.
> 3. The computer says, "Setting up for first ..." and then it begins copying
> various files.
> 4. The computer asks me if I want to continue since it will delete
> everything on the harddrive." I typed in yes.
> 5. The computer says "checking your mountlist" and copies more files
> 6. The computer days "Mounting hard disk and initializing."
> 7. The computer asks me if this is a SCSI hard disk. (I don't know -- so I
> have tried typing both yes and no, but I get the same result -- please see
> 8. The computer says "Error -1 on open device of hddisk.device."
>
> Accordingly, if you can suggest how the heck I can get the harddrive to work
> and/or where I can get the necessary software from, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
> tell me.
>
> Thank you enormously in advance for your time/assistance.
Well you have the right software, and it is most probably an SCSI
drive. My guess would be that either the hard-drive or the controller
or both are bad. They are really ancient. The 2090a will not boot
from a hard-disk and neither will OS 1.2, they require a boot floppy.
Frankly, you can get a self booting 2091 for around $10.00, and you
could probably get 1.3 or 2.04 roms that will boot from a hard disk
for around the same price. 3.1 roms might cost you $25 or $30.
Anyway, replace that controller, and get at least 1.3 roms if you want
it to work. Probably the controller and maybe the hard-disk are
toast. First check and see if there is a program called something
like HDToolbox on one of your 1.2 disks. It could also be what the
guy who responded said, the hard-drive may not be prepped. A similar
message will be given even by OS 3.9 if you try to install it on an
unprepped hard-disk. HDToolbox may have first appeared with the 1.3
rom and OS though, I started with 1.3.3, and never used 1.2, so I
don't know. Anyone?
--
Mike Leavitt ac...@lafn.org
Ryan Callaghan
I'm not sure, but it's academic in this case as HDtoolbox is useless on
an A2090 (no support for RDB, odd partitioning scheme in general).
Now, I just had a thought.
As the error is on opening hddisk.device, it's possible that it isn't on
the boot floppy, I can't remember how you're supposed to do it, but I
think the system either needs to be booted from the HD install disk, or
you need to put the hddisk.device file in the expansion drawer of your
boot disk. as I said before, work on copies, it'll be a lot easier to
fix if/when you screw up.
I echo what Mike says though, you'll find life much easier with an A2091
(though I'm more of a GVP person, they tend to be a tad more expensive)
and more recent roms.
I-Hate-Spam
the harddrive to work,I would be grateful. I shall of course also reimburse
you for the shipping charges.
ANY help would be much appreciated.
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"Ryan Callaghan" <r...@chunkynet.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1fmmv5j.2uryexzauji2N%r...@chunkynet.demon.co.uk...
I-Hate-Spam
IF ANYBODY CAN MAIL ME THE NECESSARY AMIGA DISKS TO GET MY HARDDRIVE
WORKING, I WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY GRATEFUL. HERE IS MY MAILING ADDRESS:
CHRIS PUZZELE
9 DANIEL DRIVE
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ 08844
PS: I am more than willing to reimburse you for your shipping charges.
"I-Hate-Spam" <I-Hat...@att.net> wrote in message
news:VHiG9.32013$vM1.2...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Paul Gable
I think it might be a better idea to just get a new SCSI board and hard
drive rather
than get this setup to work You don't even know for a fact that either
the drive or the board is good.
Paul
"I-Hate-Spam" <I-Hat...@att.net> wrote:
> 222 149913 <gEfH9.42334$hK4.3...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>
Conny Enström
http://www.l8r.net/install/hdc.html
if you find something useful.
Conny
"I-Hate-Spam" <I-Hat...@att.net> skrev i meddelandet
news:1XcH9.37063$vM1.2...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
I-Hate-Spam
disk and get that a shot.. heck.. certainly seems a LOT easier to insert a
disk and see if it works then begin replacing hardware -- espescially since
I don't know if there is anything wrong with the hardware.
Unfortunately, however, I can't seem to get anybody to mail me the amiga
disk(s) that I need for my harddrive. Go Figure.
In the event anybody gets a chance, PLEASE mail me the likely amiga disks I
need. I'll be more than happy to pay the shipping costs. My address is:
chris puzzele
9 daniel drive
hillsborough, NJ 08844
Thanks!
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"Paul Gable" <greml...@bbigfoot.com> wrote in message
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Jeff Morris
> In the event anybody gets a chance, PLEASE mail me the likely amiga
> disks I need. I'll be more than happy to pay the shipping costs.
Hi Chris,
I'd be happy to send you a disk or two, but looking over all of the
messages in this thread, it doesn't appear that you ever determined
conclusively which model of hard drive controller and which type of hard
drive you have in your system (unless I missed a post that is), so I don't
know which one to send you.
There were quite a few different controllers available for the Amiga, from
many different companies, and for at least three different types of hard
drives (MFM, SCSI, and IDE.) Many of them can be set up using the
hdtoolbox utility that comes with AmigaDOS, but some (like the common
2090/2090A for instance) can not, and require their own special setup
utility. And, even for the ones that can use hdtoolbox, you will still
need a device driver for your particular controller model. (Despite what
someone else posted, Amiga devices DO need device drivers so that the
operating system can talk to them, just like any device for any computer
system does. Unlike the x86 PC world however, Amiga device drivers are
often built right in to the ROM on the card, rather than supplied on disk.
This may be why the person who posted that message believes that Amigas
don't use device drivers.)
In any event, if you could take a quick look inside your 2000 and try to
identify which controller and type of drive you have, I can create the
appropriate disk and mail it to you.
Fortunately, most Amiga hard drive controllers I've seen have their model
number clearly printed on them in big letters (again unlike the x86 PC
world), so identifying the controller should be pretty easy to do - just
unscrew the lid, and look for the board with the ribbon cable(s) connected
to it, and read the letters/numbers on it.
Identifying the type of hard drive is fairly easy as well, even if you're
not familiar with different drive types. Just look at the ribbon cable(s)
that attach it to the controller card: if it's a single cable with 40 wires
in it, it's IDE. If it's a single cable with 50 wires, it's SCSI, and if
it's two cables, one wide one and one narrow one, then it's MFM.
Anyway, once you've done this, let me know what type of card and drive
you've got, and I'll see if I can find the right disk and mail it to you.
It may turn out that your hard drive is simply bad - we are talking about a
potentially 15 year old system after all, and hard drives are the most
common component in any computer system to fail, even when new. (I actually
killed one just the other day simply by banging it into the case of the
computer while trying to unplug it from the power supply), but as you said,
it's worth a shot before you start replacing hardware.
(By the way, I once found myself in a similar pickle while setting up an
old Commodore 128 to play with - all the software I could ever want for it
was available on the 'net, but not having any way to transfer that first
transfer utility to it, I had kind of a chicken and egg problem, so I know
what you're going through. Fortunately, a kind gentleman on comp.sys.cbm
sent me a disk to get me started, for which I'll always be grateful.) :-)
- Jeff
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I-Hate-Spam
Ok... I took a look at the harddrive inside the computer. In fact, I did
one step better and took a picture of exactly what it looks like. Evidently
the board & harddrive are both together. To see EXACTLY what I mean, check
out the picture of the board/harddrive at:
http://home.att.net/~puzzele1/pics/hd1.jpg
Sorry for the bad quality of the photograph but at least now you will have
an idea of what we are dealing with. Here is EVERYTHING that I could find
written/typed on the harddrive (which is connected to the board):
HARDDRIVE:
Kyocera
Rated voltage 12v, 5v
Model KC-30A
Serial No. 70903119
On the back of the harddrive it has: B40E31D
There is absolutely no other information I could find on the harddrive
THE BOARD:
Unfortunately there is no information on the board itself other than "FAB
0005478 REV B". For example, it does NOT say anything like "hard disk
controller" or anything like that whatsoever. However the board itself
(which is approximately the same size as the harddrive as you can tell from
the provided picture) does have several black colored chips attached to it.
Therefore, here is what the various chips attached to the board say:
OMTI 5527A
ASSY 0005498-C
1002565-C
(C)
GC4.21-0600
OMTI 20513
2214-001
Also.. as you can hopefully tell from the picture, the harddrive has 2
ribbons coming out of it. One is a wide ribbon, and the second ribon is
approximately half the size. Both ribbons connect directly into the
attached board that you can see in the picture.
When I turn on the computer, the harddrive does sound like its working.
Hopefully I just need the necessary software to start using it.
In that regard, if you could possibly MAIL me whatever disks you think I
need to start using the harddrive, I would be absolutely grateful.
Unfortunatley, even my workbench 1.2 disk now is getting errors. Therefore,
I basically have absolutely NO software whatseover for my amiga 2000
computer and/or harddrive. Accordingly, if you could send me the necessary
software, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do so.
Lastly, if possible, please also send me a program that will enable me to
transfer software between my PC computer and Amiga cmputer. I believe I
have the necessary cable (the same cable I use to transfer software via the
parallel port between two PC computers). However, I do not have the
software for the Amiga computer to do so.
In a nutshell, if anybody could send me ANY software that you think I could
use for my Amiga 2000 computer I would be absolutely grateful. I will also
be more than happy to reimburse you for your shipping expenses.
My mailing address is:
Chris Puzzele
9 Daniel Drive
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
Thank you once again & Happy Holidays!
PS: If you are have a TON of amiga software that you might be willing to
sell as well, please let me know approximately disks you have any how much
you want for everything.
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"I-Hate-Spam" wrote:
Hi Chris,
- Jeff
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"Jeff Morris" <xen...@ziggzigg.speedbump.quincy.ma.us> wrote in message
news:Xns92DB9D2CC652...@216.166.71.230...
Jeff Morris
> THE BOARD:
> Unfortunately there is no information on the board itself other than
> "FAB 0005478 REV B". For example, it does NOT say anything like "hard
> disk controller" or anything like that whatsoever.
Hi again Chris,
As the old saying goes, a picture really is worth a thousand words. :-)
Looking at the photo you posted, I see instantly what's wrong... The
controller in the photo actually isn't an Amiga hard drive controller at
all... it's a regular (albiet old) IBM PC hard driver controller. You can
tell by the card-edge connector (the part of the card that fits in to the
slot in the motherboard). Amiga cards always have the card edge connector
at the front of the card, i.e. the end that doesn't have the metal
faceplate. IBM PC cards have just the opposite - their card edge
connectors are at the back of the card, right by the metal faceplate.
(That also explains why the card isn't clearly marked, since as I said
before, in my experience Amiga controllers almost always are.) :-)
So you're probably asking yourself what the heck that would be doing in
your Amiga, since it's not an Amiga hard drive controller. There are
actually two possible answers:
(1) All the high-end Amigas (i.e. the 2000, 2500, 3000(T), 4000(T)) had
both Amiga ("Zorro") slots in them, and IBM PC ("ISA") slots in them. The
ISA slots couldn't be used by the Amiga directly, but by putting a special
card called a bridgeboard in to the Amiga (basically just an IBM PC on a
card), you could run MS-DOS on the Amiga, and thus MS-DOS software. Such
cards really were like a computer in a computer though - they would use the
Amiga's monitor and keyboard, but the Amiga itself wouldn't be able to
access the hard drive, or any of the other IBM cards plugged in to the
system, only the bridgeboard could. You'd usually have a separate drive
for the Amiga side of things. At least I beleive that's how they worked, I
never had one myself. Perhaps someone else could back me up on that. This
is most likely the setup you have, as they were quite popular back in the
day.
(2) The other possibility is that you have a special compatability card,
that allows your Amiga to directly access cards in it's ISA slots. Unlike
the bridgeboards I mentioned above, these cards didn't have an IBM
compatible microprocessor on them, and did not allow you to run MS-DOS or
any MS-DOS software. They simply connected the ISA slots in the Amiga to
the Zorro slots, so you could use (inexpensive) IBM PC cards in your Amiga,
assuming you had the right Amiga device drivers for them (such
compatability cards usually came with drivers for popular IBM PC cards such
as hard drive controllers and serial ports.) The GoldenGate II was one
such card, and I believe there were a couple of others.
In any event, this would explain why that 2090A disk that you have couldn't
see the controller and hard drive - it's DEFINATELY not a 2090A controller.
So, the next step is to find out what sort of bridge card you have. That
will tell us if you can in fact use that controller with the Amiga directy,
or only from the bridgeboard. This again should be easy, as it will be the
only card in the system that has BOTH Zorro and ISA card-edge connectors.
If you could see what's written on that card, then we should know where to
go from there. If by some chance you don't have any sort of bridgecard
(i.e. if someone took it out before giving you that Amiga), then you
definately won't be able to use taht hard drive and controller, since it's
not natively Amiga compatible.)
> Also.. as you can hopefully tell from the picture, the harddrive has 2
> ribbons coming out of it. One is a wide ribbon, and the second ribon
> is approximately half the size.
That would make it an MFM drive. They were popular back in the XT and AT
days of the IBM PC. Commodore made the 2090A controller, which as someone
else already mentioned supported both MFM and SCSI. Another company,
Spirit Technologies, also made an MFM controller for the Amiga. (I
actually had one of these.) There were probably others as well.
Given that it's MFM, it's probably only a 20, 30, or 40MB (not GB!) drive.
Toward the end of MFM's lifespan, There were larger MFM drives
manufactuered, but they weren't very popular, since by then most people
were buying SCSI or IDE drives. MFM drives are also really, really slow.
(I don't mean to sound pessimistic, I just want you to know what you're
getting in to. Best case is that this will be a very small, very slow hard
drive, so if it does end up being a bear to get working, you may decide
it's not worth the bother.)
> When I turn on the computer, the harddrive does sound like its
> working. Hopefully I just need the necessary software to start using
> it.
That's probably the case. As I said, that 2090A disk is definately the
wrong software, and this is also definately not a standard setup that will
work with the AmigaDOS hdtoolbox utility, so we can't yet say that the
drive is bad.
> In that regard, if you could possibly MAIL me whatever disks you think
> I need to start using the harddrive, I would be absolutely grateful.
> Unfortunatley, even my workbench 1.2 disk now is getting errors.
> Therefore, I basically have absolutely NO software whatseover for my
> amiga 2000 computer and/or harddrive. Accordingly, if you could send
> me the necessary software, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do so.
>
> Lastly, if possible, please also send me a program that will enable me
> to transfer software between my PC computer and Amiga cmputer. I
> believe I have the necessary cable (the same cable I use to transfer
> software via the parallel port between two PC computers). However, I
> do not have the software for the Amiga computer to do so.
I'll send you a set of AmigaDOS disks with a utility called MessyDOS set up
on them. This is basically a driver that lets you read and write MS-DOS
formatted double density floppy disks in the Amiga directly, without any
special drives or hardware. It's very handy. I don't have any software
that will work with a parallel cable connection (such software does exist,
I just don't have it), but you'll probably find MessyDOS more convienient
anyway. You can just download whatever you need on to a floppy on your PC,
then chuck the floppy disk in to the Amiga and access it like a regular
Amiga disk. I use it all the time. Then you can just download whatever
else you want from the net.
I still don't know exactly what software you'll need to get that hard drive
working, again if it's even possible to use it from the Amiga itself, and
not just from a bridgeboard, but I'll get the AmigaDOS/MessyDOS disks ready
for you and mail them out tomorrow.
Jeff Morris
> THE BOARD:
> Unfortunately there is no information on the board itself other than
> "FAB 0005478 REV B". For example, it does NOT say anything like "hard
> disk controller" or anything like that whatsoever.
Hi again Chris,
As the old saying goes, a picture really is worth a thousand words. :-)
Looking at the photo you posted, I see instantly what's wrong... The
controller in the photo actually isn't an Amiga hard drive controller at
all... it's a regular (albiet old) IBM PC hard driver controller. You can
tell by the card-edge connector (the part of the card that fits in to the
slot in the motherboard). Amiga cards always have the card edge connector
at the front of the card, i.e. the end that doesn't have the metal
faceplate. IBM PC cards have just the opposite - their card edge
connectors are at the back of the card, right by the metal faceplate.
(That also explains why the card isn't clearly marked, since as I said
before, in my experience Amiga controllers almost always are.) :-)
So you're probably asking yourself what the heck that would be doing in
your Amiga, since it's not an Amiga hard drive controller. There are
actually two possible answers:
(1) All the high-end Amigas (i.e. the 2000, 2500, 3000(T), 4000(T)) had
both Amiga ("Zorro") slots in them, and IBM PC ("ISA") slots in them. The
ISA slots couldn't be used by the Amiga directly, but by putting a special
card called a bridgeboard in to the Amiga (basically just an IBM PC on a
card), you could run MS-DOS on the Amiga, and thus MS-DOS software. Such
cards really were like a computer in a computer though - they would use the
Amiga's monitor and keyboard, but the Amiga itself wouldn't be able to
access the hard drive, or any of the other IBM cards plugged in to the
system, only the bridgeboard could. You'd usually have a separate drive
for the Amiga side of things. (At least I believe that's how the drives
worked, I never had one myself. Perhaps someone else could back me up on
that.) This is most likely the setup you have, as they were quite popular
back in the day.
(2) The other possibility is that you have a special compatability card,
that allows your Amiga to directly access cards in it's ISA slots. Unlike
the bridgeboards I mentioned above, these cards didn't have an IBM
compatible microprocessor on them, and did not allow you to run MS-DOS or
any MS-DOS software. They simply connected the ISA slots in the Amiga to
the Zorro slots, so you could use (inexpensive) IBM PC cards in your Amiga,
assuming you had the right Amiga device drivers for them (such
compatability cards usually came with drivers for popular IBM PC cards such
as hard drive controllers and serial ports.) The GoldenGate II was one
such card, and I believe there were a couple of others. These were pretty
rare. I actually wanted one a few years ago, but never managed to find one
for sale, at any price.
In any event, this would explain why the software on that 2090A disk that
you have couldn't see the controller and hard drive - it's DEFINATELY not a
2090A controller.
So, the next step is to find out what sort of bridge card you have. That
will tell us if you can in fact use that controller with the Amiga directy,
or only from the bridgeboard. This again should be easy, as it will be the
only card in the system that has BOTH Zorro and ISA card-edge connectors.
If you could see what's written on that card, then we should know where to
go from there. If by some chance you don't have any sort of bridgecard
(i.e. if someone took it out before giving you that Amiga), then you
definately won't be able to use that hard drive and controller, since it's
not natively Amiga compatible.)
> Also.. as you can hopefully tell from the picture, the harddrive has 2
> ribbons coming out of it. One is a wide ribbon, and the second ribon
> is approximately half the size.
That would make it an MFM drive. They were popular back in the XT and AT
days of the IBM PC. Commodore made the 2090A controller, which as someone
else already mentioned supported both MFM and SCSI. Another company,
Spirit Technologies, also made an MFM controller for the Amiga. (I
actually had one of these.) There were probably others as well.
Given that it's MFM, it's probably only a 20, 30, or 40MB (not GB!) drive.
Toward the end of MFM's lifespan, There were larger MFM drives
manufactuered, but they weren't very popular, since by then most people
were buying SCSI or IDE drives. MFM drives are also really, really slow.
(I don't mean to sound pessimistic, I just want you to know what you're
getting in to. Best case is that this will be a very small, very slow hard
drive, so if it does end up being a bear to get working, you may decide
it's not worth the bother.)
> When I turn on the computer, the harddrive does sound like its
> working. Hopefully I just need the necessary software to start using
> it.
That's probably the case. As I said, that 2090A disk is definately the
wrong software, and this is also definately not a standard setup that will
work with the AmigaDOS hdtoolbox utility, so we can't yet say that the
drive is bad.
> In that regard, if you could possibly MAIL me whatever disks you think
> I need to start using the harddrive, I would be absolutely grateful.
> Unfortunatley, even my workbench 1.2 disk now is getting errors.
> Therefore, I basically have absolutely NO software whatseover for my
> amiga 2000 computer and/or harddrive. Accordingly, if you could send
> me the necessary software, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do so.
>
> Lastly, if possible, please also send me a program that will enable me
> to transfer software between my PC computer and Amiga cmputer. I
> believe I have the necessary cable (the same cable I use to transfer
> software via the parallel port between two PC computers). However, I
> do not have the software for the Amiga computer to do so.
I'll send you a set of AmigaDOS disks with a utility called MessyDOS set up
on them. This is basically a driver that lets you read and write MS-DOS
formatted double density floppy disks in the Amiga directly, without any
special drives or hardware. It's very handy. I don't have any software
that will work with a parallel cable connection (such software does exist,
I just don't have it), but you'll probably find MessyDOS more convienient
anyway. You can just download whatever you need on to a floppy on your PC,
then chuck the floppy disk in to the Amiga and access it like a regular
Amiga disk. I use it all the time. Then you can just download whatever
else you may need from the net.
Which version of AmigaDOS do you currently have? In one post you said
v2.1, but in another you said v1.2. It's important that the AmigaDOS
version match your KickStart version or things won't work right, so I want
to be sure I send the right one.
I still don't know exactly what software you'll need to get that hard drive
working, again if it's even possible to use it from the Amiga itself, and
not just from a bridgeboard, but I'll get the AmigaDOS/MessyDOS disks ready
for you and mail them out tomorrow if you let me know which version you
need.
Hope this helps out. Amigas are a lot of fun and are usually pretty easy
to set up, you just have some rather odd hardware there. Don't let it
discourage you. :-)
Burt
> all... it's a regular (albiet old) IBM PC hard driver controller. You can
He's right about that. Looks like MFM controller of some sort (ISA 8 bit card)
This was likely used with the bridgeboard...
> card called a bridgeboard in to the Amiga (basically just an IBM PC on a
which i have :)
Not sure if i'd want to sell it though.
> (2) The other possibility is that you have a special compatability card,
> that allows your Amiga to directly access cards in it's ISA slots. Unlike
that be newsflash to me... never seen any of those working and booting amiga
os from isa 8bit slot...
> see the controller and hard drive - it's DEFINATELY not a 2090A controller.
yup.
www.amiga-hardware.com had the pics that i send you...
you should have compared it with those... and saved yourself and others the
time & misery...
BTW, forget playing with that piece of junk (the controller) and begin looking
for 2091 HD controller - they can come quite cheap sometimes. Last time i had
one i sold mine for $50-60 US - if u r interested in can get one for ya.
Jeff Morris
>> (2) The other possibility is that you have a special compatability
>> card, that allows your Amiga to directly access cards in it's ISA
>> slots. Unlike
>
> that be newsflash to me... never seen any of those working and
> booting amiga os from isa 8bit slot...
True, I don't imagine an Amiga could be booted from one, unless the bridge-
card had a rom that supported it somehow, but I don't think any of those
cards did anything that exotic - they basically just literally bridged the
ZII & ISA busses, possibly adding some electrical buffering.
But then again, Chris never said in any of his posts that his Amiga ever
had been booted from the hard drive, which is why I suggested the
possibility. I didn't want to make any assumptions. Everyone had already
assumed he had a 2090A, and it turned out he didn't. :-)
He also replied to me via e-mail - it turns out he does have an 8088
bridgeboard in the machine, complete with the 5 1/4" drive and everything,
no Amiga hard drive.