61e module CF card problem - error code $04

[Niemand Niemand]

Hello All,

I build Karl's 61e Serial and CF card module and have a problem getting the CF card to work. I am pretty sure that the problem is not the CF card. I am using a 128MB CISCO CF card and also tried with a working CF card from another working Z80 CP/M system.

I ran SCM_CF_Test_code8000.hex and it reports:

Card at address $10:
Number of sectors on card: $0003D400
Card size: 128MB
Card's self diagnostic test passed

WARNING: This will erase all data from the card
Do you wish to continue? (Y/N)

Sector: $00000000 failed: code $04

So.... what does "failed: code $04" mean and what can be done to resolve this?

Any hints and tips are most welcome!

Regards,

Eric

 

[Niemand Niemand]

I also ran the Compact flash card information program and it reports:

*g 8000
Compact flash card information v1.1 by Stephen C Cousins

Card at address $10:
Number of sectors on card: $5503D400
Card size: 1TB

Card model:       "UMARU CFU   U   U   U   U   U   U   U   "
Serial number:    "000U011U151U102U947U"
Firmware version: "U006U221"

Default number of cylinders:  $55D4
Default number of heads:      $5508
Default sectors per track:    $0020

Card's self diagnostic test passed

The card size is now reported to be 1TB which is wrong since it is a 128MB card...

Regards, Eric

Op zaterdag 1 juni 2024 om 14:49:31 UTC+2 schreef Niemand Niemand:

[Steve Cousins]

Hi Eric,

It has been a while since I wrote those programs and I can't remember the details but a quick looks suggests error 0x04 is either:

ECC Circuitry Error, or

Abort (card not ready, write fault, and more...)

The error codes are pretty useless I think.

If you are not using the latest version of the test program (v1.2) you can find it here:

https://smallcomputercentral.com/scm-apps/scm-app-compact-flash-test/

I have seen cards do what you are seeing, specifically the wrong card size report and the odd looking card model etc. strings. Unfortunately I can't remember the conclusion to that.

It is worth noting that the design of Compact Flash interface modules has evolved over the years to greatly improve compatibility with different CF cards. Karl's 61e module does not include any of the later refinements. Perhaps that explains the problems you are seeing.

Steve

[Wayne Warthen]

The results of the CF Information program exactly match the issue that has been seen before.  It is what you see when there is a data transfer integrity problem between the RC2014 Bus and the CF Module.  As Steve mentioned, newer CF Modules largely mitigate the problem.  You can do two things to try and resolve the issue on your existing CF Module: 1) try different CF Media, and 2) move the module to a different slot.  These actions may or may not resolve the issue.

Thanks, Wayne