Amiga 500 SCSI Hard Drive Formatting Issues

Tony Gunk · 28 January 2021, 19:40

Hello again.

So I've got an Impact Series 2 A500 HDD+, and I got a new scsi hard drive for it which I would like to format (the old drive is a 12mb, the new drive is 1gb). So I installed the drive into the Impact, and booted the machine using the bootable floppy that comes with it. I used the FaaastPrep formatting program, as instructed, but I cannot seem to format the drive, as the program claims that the file "gvpscsi.device" is missing. Despite this message, I found that the file was in the "Expansions" drawer. Is there a way to amend this issue, and format my drive? If so, any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

nogginthenog · 28 January 2021, 19:52

gvpscsi.device is in the ROM of the GVP. FaaastPrep isn't great but should cope with a 1gb drive (I think).

If you boot with both mouse buttons held can you see the GVP controller from the early boot menu under Expansion Boards?

Tony Gunk · 28 January 2021, 22:28

I looked back at the error message, and it tells me that it cannot open gvpscsi.device, rather than the file being missing. it also questions if the EPROM is in, if Autobooting is enabled, or something about binddrivers. I've tried formatting it with autobooting enabled, without any change in behavior. Also, I'm not sure what you meant about holding down the mouse buttons on boot, but I did it, and nothing happened

Jope · 29 January 2021, 09:06

If you have a 1.3 system, there is no early startup menu.

Do you have a floppy with sysinfo on it? That would show the boards + also shows you whether gvpscsi.device is loaded.

SpeedGeek · 29 January 2021, 15:44

If gvpscsi.device is "Not Found" then either the driver ROM is not enabled, there is a problem reading the ROM or BindDrivers can't find the file in the Expansion directory. Check the jumpers and make sure the ROM is enabled. Also, check the ROM for any bent or broken pins.

Also, use OS 2.x+ and make sure you can see a GVP Series II HD controller in boot menu or Showconfig.

The file in the Expansion drawer is the BindDrivers version and requires the proper BindDrivers startup-sequence and matching Icon tooltypes to function. This is only used when the driver ROM is disabled.

Matt_H · 29 January 2021, 18:38

Having recently worked on an A530 (the accelerator version of the Impact), remember that there’s an enable/disable switch on the case. If you’re testing with the cover removed, the board functions as if the switch is set to disabled - no SCSI/RAM. Make sure that jumper lead to the switch is reconnected. I was tearing my hair out for a bit until I realized that!

Tony Gunk · 29 January 2021, 21:33

Which jumper enables or disables the ROM? There is no mention of a specific jumper that pertains to that task mentioned in the user manual... Also, the machine is a 1.3 system, and I don't own any copies of OS 2.x or higher...

Matt_H · 29 January 2021, 22:56

Check the manual again. For the A530 it's J2, referenced in both the reassembly section (as the "game switch") and the overall settings reference (as the "Turbo Switch").

From looking at a picture of the Impact board, I'd guess that it's the 2-pin header in front of the ROM chip (if the A500 connector is on the right), but confirm that before testing. Make sure you're looking at the hardware manual and not the FaastPrep manual.

EDIT: I see that the details aren't given in the English manual, but there's a German manual on BBOAH that identifies it as J4 (page 49). Reconnect the lead from the case switch there and the board should be enabled again.

Tony Gunk · 30 January 2021, 02:13

J4 is the header for the Autoboot/Game switch. J2 for me is a 3 pin header with the top 2 pins being covered. Do you know which position the jumpers on J2 should be to enable the ROM? Assuming that it is not already enabled?

EDIT: I switched the jumper setting on J2 and experienced no change in behavior...

Matt_H · 30 January 2021, 05:09

From what I can tell it’s JP4 on the Impact. Next to the GVP SCSI ROM like I mentioned above. Plug the switch in there. You must have removed the switch when disassembling, right? So just plug it back where it was, which was probably JP4.

EDIT: Having the autoboot/game switch disconnected is equivalent to setting it to "Disabled." So it must be connected and set to "Enabled" for the unit to work.
Undo whatever you did to JP2. I only mentioned it because that's the header for the switch on the A530 - I thought GVP might have used the same label for the switch on the Impact, but it seems they didn't.

Tony Gunk · 05 February 2021, 23:48

Should the switch be set to Autoboot when trying to format the drive? having set as such from start up causes the drive to attempt to boot from the drive, despite not being formatted.

Jope · 06 February 2021, 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Gunk

Should the switch be set to Autoboot when trying to format the drive? having set as such from start up causes the drive to attempt to boot from the drive, despite not being formatted.

Does it autoboot even if you have a bootable floppy in DF0:? Then the boot priority is too high on the hard disk.. Should be 0. DF0: is 5

Tony Gunk · 07 February 2021, 00:47

How do I change the boot priority? When in autoboot, the machine will not even attempt to boot from floppy.

Jope · 08 February 2021, 09:17

HDToolBox or Fastprep. I assume your machine boots to a cli window? You can insert a disk containing either and run it from the CLI.

With autoboot off, the GVP disk might be able to find the hard disk using the binddrivers driver, which it should load on startup, so you can also try to just switch autoboot off and boot from the GVP fastprep disk.

Tony Gunk · 12 February 2021, 19:50

I've tried booting from the FaaastPrep disk, but have not been able to make any progress. Also, not sure what you mean by a CLI window (I'm still very new to the workings of an Amiga)

Jope · 13 February 2021, 12:18

Command prompt, shell window.

Well just let the machine boot from the hd into a command prompt, insert the fastprep disk and start the tool by typing df0:fastprep or whatever amount of letter a's it has.

Tony Gunk · 15 February 2021, 03:09

Attempting to have the machine boot from the HD causes it to seemingly become stuck on a white screen. I'm not sure if I'm just impatient, and should wait for it longer, or if the machine is failing to boot to a command prompt.

Jope · 15 February 2021, 08:38

Ok, thanks for the details. It is hanging while scanning the SCSI devices.

Reading the thead from the top again, it seems you were not able to make Amiga partitions on the disk yet?

Have you checked termination? I guess you can hear the drive spinning up. Is your drive 50 pr 68 pin?

Tony Gunk · 15 February 2021, 17:02

The drive is 50 pins, and I have not made any partitions for it (I'm not sure how). When turning the computer on, the drive makes this strange crunching sound in tandem with a sort of beeping. I imagine that's the sound of the disk attempting to spin up, but it doesn't seem quite right to me..

Jope · 15 February 2021, 19:13

Do you have a PC you can try to power the hard drive with? No data cable needed, only the power connector. Does it sound happier then?

What is your hard disk's make and model?

28 January 2021, 19:40	#1
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	Amiga 500 SCSI Hard Drive Formatting Issues Hello again. So I've got an Impact Series 2 A500 HDD+, and I got a new scsi hard drive for it which I would like to format (the old drive is a 12mb, the new drive is 1gb). So I installed the drive into the Impact, and booted the machine using the bootable floppy that comes with it. I used the FaaastPrep formatting program, as instructed, but I cannot seem to format the drive, as the program claims that the file "gvpscsi.device" is missing. Despite this message, I found that the file was in the "Expansions" drawer. Is there a way to amend this issue, and format my drive? If so, any help would be greatly appreciated Thank you

29 January 2021, 21:33	#7
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	Which jumper enables or disables the ROM? There is no mention of a specific jumper that pertains to that task mentioned in the user manual... Also, the machine is a 1.3 system, and I don't own any copies of OS 2.x or higher... Last edited by Tony Gunk; 29 January 2021 at 21:44.

29 January 2021, 22:56	#8
Matt_H Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 945	Check the manual again. For the A530 it's J2, referenced in both the reassembly section (as the "game switch") and the overall settings reference (as the "Turbo Switch"). From looking at a picture of the Impact board, I'd guess that it's the 2-pin header in front of the ROM chip (if the A500 connector is on the right), but confirm that before testing. Make sure you're looking at the hardware manual and not the FaastPrep manual. EDIT: I see that the details aren't given in the English manual, but there's a German manual on BBOAH that identifies it as J4 (page 49). Reconnect the lead from the case switch there and the board should be enabled again. Last edited by Matt_H; 30 January 2021 at 00:44.

30 January 2021, 02:13	#9
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	J4 is the header for the Autoboot/Game switch. J2 for me is a 3 pin header with the top 2 pins being covered. Do you know which position the jumpers on J2 should be to enable the ROM? Assuming that it is not already enabled? EDIT: I switched the jumper setting on J2 and experienced no change in behavior... Last edited by Tony Gunk; 30 January 2021 at 02:35.

30 January 2021, 05:09	#10
Matt_H Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 945	From what I can tell it’s JP4 on the Impact. Next to the GVP SCSI ROM like I mentioned above. Plug the switch in there. You must have removed the switch when disassembling, right? So just plug it back where it was, which was probably JP4. EDIT: Having the autoboot/game switch disconnected is equivalent to setting it to "Disabled." So it must be connected and set to "Enabled" for the unit to work. Undo whatever you did to JP2. I only mentioned it because that's the header for the switch on the A530 - I thought GVP might have used the same label for the switch on the Impact, but it seems they didn't. Last edited by Matt_H; 30 January 2021 at 05:22.

28 January 2021, 19:52	#2
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,311	gvpscsi.device is in the ROM of the GVP. FaaastPrep isn't great but should cope with a 1gb drive (I think). If you boot with both mouse buttons held can you see the GVP controller from the early boot menu under Expansion Boards?

28 January 2021, 22:28	#3
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	I looked back at the error message, and it tells me that it cannot open gvpscsi.device, rather than the file being missing. it also questions if the EPROM is in, if Autobooting is enabled, or something about binddrivers. I've tried formatting it with autobooting enabled, without any change in behavior. Also, I'm not sure what you meant about holding down the mouse buttons on boot, but I did it, and nothing happened

29 January 2021, 09:06	#4
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,879	If you have a 1.3 system, there is no early startup menu. Do you have a floppy with sysinfo on it? That would show the boards + also shows you whether gvpscsi.device is loaded.

29 January 2021, 15:44	#5
SpeedGeek Moderator Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Wisconsin USA Age: 60 Posts: 841	If gvpscsi.device is "Not Found" then either the driver ROM is not enabled, there is a problem reading the ROM or BindDrivers can't find the file in the Expansion directory. Check the jumpers and make sure the ROM is enabled. Also, check the ROM for any bent or broken pins. Also, use OS 2.x+ and make sure you can see a GVP Series II HD controller in boot menu or Showconfig. The file in the Expansion drawer is the BindDrivers version and requires the proper BindDrivers startup-sequence and matching Icon tooltypes to function. This is only used when the driver ROM is disabled.

29 January 2021, 18:38	#6
Matt_H Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 945	Having recently worked on an A530 (the accelerator version of the Impact), remember that there’s an enable/disable switch on the case. If you’re testing with the cover removed, the board functions as if the switch is set to disabled - no SCSI/RAM. Make sure that jumper lead to the switch is reconnected. I was tearing my hair out for a bit until I realized that!

05 February 2021, 23:48	#11
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	Should the switch be set to Autoboot when trying to format the drive? having set as such from start up causes the drive to attempt to boot from the drive, despite not being formatted.

07 February 2021, 00:47	#13
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	How do I change the boot priority? When in autoboot, the machine will not even attempt to boot from floppy.

08 February 2021, 09:17	#14
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,879	HDToolBox or Fastprep. I assume your machine boots to a cli window? You can insert a disk containing either and run it from the CLI. With autoboot off, the GVP disk might be able to find the hard disk using the binddrivers driver, which it should load on startup, so you can also try to just switch autoboot off and boot from the GVP fastprep disk.

12 February 2021, 19:50	#15
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	I've tried booting from the FaaastPrep disk, but have not been able to make any progress. Also, not sure what you mean by a CLI window (I'm still very new to the workings of an Amiga)

13 February 2021, 12:18	#16
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,879	Command prompt, shell window. Well just let the machine boot from the hd into a command prompt, insert the fastprep disk and start the tool by typing df0:fastprep or whatever amount of letter a's it has.

15 February 2021, 03:09	#17
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	Attempting to have the machine boot from the HD causes it to seemingly become stuck on a white screen. I'm not sure if I'm just impatient, and should wait for it longer, or if the machine is failing to boot to a command prompt.

15 February 2021, 08:38	#18
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,879	Ok, thanks for the details. It is hanging while scanning the SCSI devices. Reading the thead from the top again, it seems you were not able to make Amiga partitions on the disk yet? Have you checked termination? I guess you can hear the drive spinning up. Is your drive 50 pr 68 pin?

15 February 2021, 17:02	#19
Tony Gunk Registered User Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: United States Posts: 73	The drive is 50 pins, and I have not made any partitions for it (I'm not sure how). When turning the computer on, the drive makes this strange crunching sound in tandem with a sort of beeping. I imagine that's the sound of the disk attempting to spin up, but it doesn't seem quite right to me..

15 February 2021, 19:13	#20
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,879	Do you have a PC you can try to power the hard drive with? No data cable needed, only the power connector. Does it sound happier then? What is your hard disk's make and model?

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Formatting an hard drive (or a CF) with 2 different file systems	liviux76	support.Hardware	4	09 October 2015 23:06
Amiga 500 hard drive	dita46	MarketPlace	0	05 April 2015 10:23
WTB: Amiga 500 Hard-Drive	thorium	MarketPlace	1	20 October 2011 12:20
Amiga 500 SCSI Hard Drive upper limit size?	GF_Workman	New to Emulation or Amiga scene	21	19 April 2008 11:35
Hard drive for an amiga 500+	Alan	support.Hardware	7	11 April 2008 20:57