Max. size HDD on A1200?

jrom · 03 July 2002, 20:04

I was wondering what the max. size of a 2,5" HDD is that works in a std. A1200?

RetroMan · 03 July 2002, 20:42

Well, this is not related to the A1200, it´s the FileSystem you use ! With the old FFS Filesystem up to WB 3.1 you can use HD´s with up to 4 GB, if you use the FFS from Amiga OS 3.9, there isn´t a limit (theoretically)

jrom · 03 July 2002, 22:47

But will ALL brands <4gb 2,5" HDD's be correctly recognised in WB3.1 using FFS ?

RetroMan · 03 July 2002, 22:49

AFAIK know, yes

I´m not aware of any brand of 2,5" HD´s that isn´t

Amiga1992 · 04 July 2002, 01:25

If it's IDE it works, no restrains!

I have to try hooking up my 8.4GB to the meega nad see what happens.

I think you can make a larger hard drive work if you partition it. Right, Retro?

RetroMan · 04 July 2002, 02:45

Not quite

The old FFS got some limitations, e.g. the Cylinder, Heads and so on so you might not be able to use the full capacity, but as I said, with a patch for the old FFS (WB 3.1) you are able to use those IDE HD´s

thomas · 04 July 2002, 09:50

Hey people, don't tell nonsense here.

There is a programming interface between the device driver (scsi.device) and the FFS. Using OS3.1 this interface uses 32 bits to address a byte on the hard drive (no matter if it's inside a partition or not). So the maximum hard disk size is 4GB (2^32). There is no way to expand this.

With OS3.9 comes a patch for scsi.device and a new FFS which both can handle 64 bit numbers for addressing storage on the drive. So the 4GB limit has gone (as soon as SetPatch is started, so the boot partition has to reside below the 4GB border !!)

Besides this, the FFS has a limitation for the partition size of 8GB. So need at least 5 partitions to fully use a 40GB hard drive. No, you need 6 because one has to be lesss than 4GB and below the 4GB border, if you want to boot from it.

Now there are several methods to bypass the 4GB border even with OS3.1. One is to bypass the standard programming interface and use direct SCSI commands instead (even with IDE). To do this, the FileSystem must be told to use direct SCSI. FFS cannot do so. For PFS3 you must use the PFS3ds version, for SFS you must use version 1.84 or below.

One additional hint: you can built in a hard drive of any size. As long as you only use the first 4GB for AmigaOS partitions, there is no problem. You can use the rest e.g. for installing Linux.

jrom · 04 July 2002, 11:59

Ah oke... thanks for the info guys! I'm off looking for a cheap little hdd

Amiga1992 · 04 July 2002, 19:18

Quote:

Originally posted by thomas
Hey people, don't tell nonsense here.

Nobody said any nonsense. You said the same as Retroman, in spannerhead terms :P

jrom · 09 July 2002, 19:15

Yow... just bought a fine little 2.1gb hdd and it works like a charm

thanks again

jrom sets mode +

: jrom

03 July 2002, 20:04	#1
jrom Wannabe asm coder ;) Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 459	Max. size HDD on A1200? I was wondering what the max. size of a 2,5" HDD is that works in a std. A1200?

04 July 2002, 09:50	#7
thomas Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 6,985	Hey people, don't tell nonsense here. There is a programming interface between the device driver (scsi.device) and the FFS. Using OS3.1 this interface uses 32 bits to address a byte on the hard drive (no matter if it's inside a partition or not). So the maximum hard disk size is 4GB (2^32). There is no way to expand this. With OS3.9 comes a patch for scsi.device and a new FFS which both can handle 64 bit numbers for addressing storage on the drive. So the 4GB limit has gone (as soon as SetPatch is started, so the boot partition has to reside below the 4GB border !!) Besides this, the FFS has a limitation for the partition size of 8GB. So need at least 5 partitions to fully use a 40GB hard drive. No, you need 6 because one has to be lesss than 4GB and below the 4GB border, if you want to boot from it. Now there are several methods to bypass the 4GB border even with OS3.1. One is to bypass the standard programming interface and use direct SCSI commands instead (even with IDE). To do this, the FileSystem must be told to use direct SCSI. FFS cannot do so. For PFS3 you must use the PFS3ds version, for SFS you must use version 1.84 or below. One additional hint: you can built in a hard drive of any size. As long as you only use the first 4GB for AmigaOS partitions, there is no problem. You can use the rest e.g. for installing Linux. Last edited by thomas; 04 July 2002 at 09:56.

09 July 2002, 19:15	#10
jrom Wannabe asm coder ;) Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 459	120mb -> 2,1gb :D Yow... just bought a fine little 2.1gb hdd and it works like a charm thanks again jrom sets mode +: jrom

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03 July 2002, 20:42	#2
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	Well, this is not related to the A1200, it´s the FileSystem you use ! With the old FFS Filesystem up to WB 3.1 you can use HD´s with up to 4 GB, if you use the FFS from Amiga OS 3.9, there isn´t a limit (theoretically)

03 July 2002, 22:47	#3
jrom Wannabe asm coder ;) Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 459	But will ALL brands <4gb 2,5" HDD's be correctly recognised in WB3.1 using FFS ?

03 July 2002, 22:49	#4
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	AFAIK know, yes I´m not aware of any brand of 2,5" HD´s that isn´t

04 July 2002, 01:25	#5
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	If it's IDE it works, no restrains! I have to try hooking up my 8.4GB to the meega nad see what happens. I think you can make a larger hard drive work if you partition it. Right, Retro?

04 July 2002, 02:45	#6
RetroMan Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 3,704	Not quite The old FFS got some limitations, e.g. the Cylinder, Heads and so on so you might not be able to use the full capacity, but as I said, with a patch for the old FFS (WB 3.1) you are able to use those IDE HD´s

04 July 2002, 11:59	#8
jrom Wannabe asm coder ;) Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 459	Ah oke... thanks for the info guys! I'm off looking for a cheap little hdd

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