Hard drive converters

Bamiga2002 · 16 December 2008, 22:57

Hello, i posted the following on Amiga.org too:

I'm getting ready to part from my old SCSI-harddrive connected to my BPPC due to lack of 80-pin QUIET scsi-hdd's on the market (10000 rpm's is pissing me off). So i've decided to use a converter to connect an IDE or SATA harddisk to my BlizzPPC. Now i've tracked down a couple of possibilities:

1. use an IDE-to-SCSI converter to use IDE HDD's
2. use a SATA-to-SCSI converter to use SATA HDD's
3. use an IDE-to-SCSI converter connected to a SATA-to-IDE converter to use SATA HDD's.

Now i've examined and option 2. is a rather expensive one and i don't know if option 3. works (2 converters connected to each other). Has somebody tried any converters? If then please share your experiences!

Thanks

alexh · 16 December 2008, 23:28

(1) is your best choice.

You can still by PATA (IDE) hard drives just as easily as SATA.

Remember that the Blizzard SCSI driver can (AFAIK) only access upto 128GB (26-bit LBA in READ10 SCSI commands)

prowler · 16 December 2008, 23:32

@Bamiga2002:

See this thread concerning SCSI to IDE adaptors:
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=41108

The news is not all good, though, I'm afraid.

alexh · 16 December 2008, 23:41

ACARD AEC-7720UW works fine with CSPPC/CSMKIII's SCSI and all the Seagate, WD and Samsung drives I've thrown at it over the years. Also works with CF adapters.

The regular AEC-7720U has been reported to work well with Amiga's internal IDE and Blizzard SCSI

thomas · 17 December 2008, 07:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

Remember that the Blizzard SCSI driver can (AFAIK) only access upto 128GB (26-bit LBA in READ10 SCSI commands)

This is incorrect in itself. 2 ^ 26 * 512 = 32 GB.

There is no such limit. READ(6) has a 16 bit LBA (32 MB limit) and READ(10) has a 32 bit LBA (2 TB limit).

See http://www.t10.org/cgi-bin/ac.pl?t=f&f=sbc3r17.pdf (from http://www.t10.org/drafts.htm)

Bamiga2002 · 17 December 2008, 07:29

Thanks for answers. I was in fact thinking of buying this AEC-7720U converter and as it's reported OK i'll strongly consider it.

Bamiga2002 · 17 December 2008, 07:51

I found an Acard AEC-7730A that allows straight connections of SATA-drives to a SCSI-controller. Would this do with a BPPC?

Link to a seller site of the item.

alexh · 17 December 2008, 10:36

AFAIR, that is not compatible with Amiga SCSI. It's for LVDS based SCSI

alexh · 17 December 2008, 10:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

There is no such limit. READ(6) has a 16 bit LBA (32 MB limit) and READ(10) has a 32 bit LBA (2 TB limit).

My bad. The limit i was thinking about is 28-bit and it affects for IDE drivers.

Bamiga2002 · 17 December 2008, 17:54

Ok i've ordered an IDE-to-SCSI converter (AEC-7720U) and a SATA-to-IDE converter (Delock IOI) to hook up a SATA-hd to my BPPC. So i'm gonna try to use a chain like this: SCSI-IDE-SATA. Let's see how it works...

prowler · 17 December 2008, 22:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamiga2002

Ok i've ordered an IDE-to-SCSI converter (AEC-7720U) and a SATA-to-IDE converter (Delock IOI) to hook up a SATA-hd to my BPPC. So i'm gonna try to use a chain like this: SCSI-IDE-SATA. Let's see how it works...

Good choice, mate!

I've had no problems with my ACARD AEC-7720U, and the website support is very good.

Product info:
http://www.acard.com.tw/english/fb01...e&type1_idno=2

Downloads:
http://www.acard.com.tw/english/fc01...odno=AEC-7720U

Bamiga2002 · 01 January 2009, 20:33

Ok then, the SCSI-IDE converter should arrive early next week or so

. Just wondering which IDE-cable to use, 40-wire or 80-wire to connect the SCSI-IDE converter to SATA-IDE converter??

prowler · 01 January 2009, 20:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamiga2002

Ok then, the SCSI-IDE converter should arrive early next week or so

. Just wondering which IDE-cable to use, 40-wire or 80-wire to connect the SCSI-IDE converter to SATA-IDE converter??

With the cascaded drive signal translation involved in converting the SCSI commands through IDE to SATA and vice-versa I can't see that an 80-wire IDE cable would provide any advantage here.

However, depending on whether or not you intend to build a cable link yourself using existing parts, the 80-wire version would probably be the more common and maybe just as cheap to buy as the 40-wire version.

An 80-wire cable should not be any disadvantage here. My best advice would be to keep the cable as short as possible.

prowler

Bamiga2002 · 01 January 2009, 20:57

Thnx Prowler, i'll experiment with both cables and see which one works

. I let you lot know about it too.

prowler · 01 January 2009, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamiga2002

Thnx Prowler, i'll experiment with both cables and see which one works

. I let you lot know about it too.

Good luck, then!

Jope · 01 January 2009, 22:39

I'd believe you just plug the adapters into each other, no cable should be used.

Post pictures once you have them set up.

Bamiga2002 · 14 July 2009, 20:02

Today i finally tested the SCSI-IDE-SATA chain and guess what: after much fiddling i couldn't get the SATA-drive recognised within blizzppc.device. Q-Device --> no drive, HDToolBox --> no drive. Tried even various combinations of terminator settings and SCSI ID settings.

I think the problem lies somehow within the IDE-SATA converter, so i decided not to hassle with it anymore. I have one 160GB SATA and one 160GB IDE hard disk, so i just switch the IDE-SATA converter to the FastATA and connect the SATA drive there and IDE drive to the BPPC scsi-cable. Just hoping a harddrive will pop up on the blizz controller and get recognised then...

I'm connecting the HD's tomorrow so thumbs up everything goes well

.

prowler · 14 July 2009, 21:53

Thanks for the update, Bamiga.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamiga2002

Today i finally tested the SCSI-IDE-SATA chain and guess what: after much fiddling i couldn't get the SATA-drive recognised within blizzppc.device. Q-Device --> no drive, HDToolBox --> no drive. Tried even various combinations of terminator settings and SCSI ID settings.

I think the problem lies somehow within the IDE-SATA converter, so i decided not to hassle with it anymore.

Don't you just love it when these things happen with no obvious explanantion?

Better luck with the next step...

Calgor · 15 July 2009, 04:08

Some IDE-SATA converters may not be able to handle 160GB drives (yeah I know stupid considering when SATA came out, but true according to disclaimers on some of these converters). They don't say what happens if you do try to use an unsupported drive size.

Bamiga2002 · 15 July 2009, 15:34

I successfully installed and partitioned the 160GB SATA drive connected to FastATA

. The other IDE hd was 80GB instead of 160GB

.

And about the two adapters connected together:
I realised i've connected the 50-pin SCSI cable wrong way around (silly me), so it might have worked still. I'll test that also during this week

.

16 December 2008, 22:57	#1
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	Hard drive converters Hello, i posted the following on Amiga.org too: I'm getting ready to part from my old SCSI-harddrive connected to my BPPC due to lack of 80-pin QUIET scsi-hdd's on the market (10000 rpm's is pissing me off). So i've decided to use a converter to connect an IDE or SATA harddisk to my BlizzPPC. Now i've tracked down a couple of possibilities: 1. use an IDE-to-SCSI converter to use IDE HDD's 2. use a SATA-to-SCSI converter to use SATA HDD's 3. use an IDE-to-SCSI converter connected to a SATA-to-IDE converter to use SATA HDD's. Now i've examined and option 2. is a rather expensive one and i don't know if option 3. works (2 converters connected to each other). Has somebody tried any converters? If then please share your experiences! Thanks Last edited by Bamiga2002; 16 December 2008 at 23:08.

16 December 2008, 23:28	#2
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,465	(1) is your best choice. You can still by PATA (IDE) hard drives just as easily as SATA. Remember that the Blizzard SCSI driver can (AFAIK) only access upto 128GB (26-bit LBA in READ10 SCSI commands) Last edited by alexh; 16 December 2008 at 23:42.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
"winuae.exe - Drive Not Ready" when trying to add CF card as hard drive	vroom6sri	support.WinUAE	20	20 June 2012 22:55
Video Converters	Methanoid	support.Hardware	2	20 June 2012 00:12
Has anyone tried one of these converters ?	Kakaboy	Hardware mods	18	19 May 2010 14:03
Project: Adding a CF Drive as an Hard Drive to an A500	mfletcher	support.Hardware	8	03 July 2008 00:20
Compact flash drive Vs. 2,5" hard disk drive	fc.studio	support.Hardware	5	16 June 2007 16:40

16 December 2008, 23:32	#3
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	@Bamiga2002: See this thread concerning SCSI to IDE adaptors: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=41108 The news is not all good, though, I'm afraid.

16 December 2008, 23:41	#4
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,465	ACARD AEC-7720UW works fine with CSPPC/CSMKIII's SCSI and all the Seagate, WD and Samsung drives I've thrown at it over the years. Also works with CF adapters. The regular AEC-7720U has been reported to work well with Amiga's internal IDE and Blizzard SCSI

17 December 2008, 07:29	#6
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	Thanks for answers. I was in fact thinking of buying this AEC-7720U converter and as it's reported OK i'll strongly consider it.

17 December 2008, 07:51	#7
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	I found an Acard AEC-7730A that allows straight connections of SATA-drives to a SCSI-controller. Would this do with a BPPC? Link to a seller site of the item.

17 December 2008, 10:36	#8
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,465	AFAIR, that is not compatible with Amiga SCSI. It's for LVDS based SCSI

17 December 2008, 17:54	#10
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	Ok i've ordered an IDE-to-SCSI converter (AEC-7720U) and a SATA-to-IDE converter (Delock IOI) to hook up a SATA-hd to my BPPC. So i'm gonna try to use a chain like this: SCSI-IDE-SATA. Let's see how it works...

01 January 2009, 20:33	#12
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	Ok then, the SCSI-IDE converter should arrive early next week or so . Just wondering which IDE-cable to use, 40-wire or 80-wire to connect the SCSI-IDE converter to SATA-IDE converter??

01 January 2009, 20:57	#14
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	Thnx Prowler, i'll experiment with both cables and see which one works . I let you lot know about it too.

01 January 2009, 22:39	#16
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,916	I'd believe you just plug the adapters into each other, no cable should be used. Post pictures once you have them set up.

14 July 2009, 20:02	#17
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	Today i finally tested the SCSI-IDE-SATA chain and guess what: after much fiddling i couldn't get the SATA-drive recognised within blizzppc.device. Q-Device --> no drive, HDToolBox --> no drive. Tried even various combinations of terminator settings and SCSI ID settings. I think the problem lies somehow within the IDE-SATA converter, so i decided not to hassle with it anymore. I have one 160GB SATA and one 160GB IDE hard disk, so i just switch the IDE-SATA converter to the FastATA and connect the SATA drive there and IDE drive to the BPPC scsi-cable. Just hoping a harddrive will pop up on the blizz controller and get recognised then... I'm connecting the HD's tomorrow so thumbs up everything goes well .

15 July 2009, 04:08	#19
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	Some IDE-SATA converters may not be able to handle 160GB drives (yeah I know stupid considering when SATA came out, but true according to disclaimers on some of these converters). They don't say what happens if you do try to use an unsupported drive size.

15 July 2009, 15:34	#20
Bamiga2002 BlizzardPPC'less Join Date: May 2004 Location: Finland Age: 46 Posts: 3,210	I successfully installed and partitioned the 160GB SATA drive connected to FastATA . The other IDE hd was 80GB instead of 160GB . And about the two adapters connected together: I realised i've connected the 50-pin SCSI cable wrong way around (silly me), so it might have worked still. I'll test that also during this week .

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