PFS3 Install

Retrofan · 15 December 2010, 01:33

Hi:
I won't say I have it from years ago. A friend that had it and doesn't have the Amiga anymore sent it to me by mail, and he won't be using it anymore. I've installed it with this:
Mask: 0xffffffc
Buffers: 200
Maxtransfer: 0xfff000
I changed the Identifier (Dostype) to 50465303
I am using a 32GB CF Hd with around 700Mb in Dh0, 3Gb in Dh1 and the rest in Dh2.

I've installed it in Dh1 and Dh2. I left Dh0 with SFS and the PFS3 installed with the script on it. I have Dh0 with AmigaSys4Aga and IDEfix installed.

Well, I make the partitions choosing the PFS3 file system (not CFS, not other) in Dh1 and Dh2, but when I get to the formating part, using "PFSFormat Device Dh1: Name Apps Quick", I get the message "This copy of Professional File System is invalid...." I've seen it has happened to others with the original Cd.
Am I missing something?

EDIT: Tonight will change the file system to TD64 or PFS3DS...

alexh · 17 December 2010, 00:36

Change MAX TRANSFER to 0x1FE00 and try again.

Retrofan · 17 December 2010, 01:33

Wow! I like this Support Apps forum. I've been waiting for an answer a couple of days, and it was still on the top of the list.

The true is that I'm joining troubles. First I've get one of my two Amigas broken (a component) and I will have to wait a week or so to repair it, and yesterday I found that my Cf Card reader to use WinUAE doesn't want to work anymore, and I was making it all there.

The A1200 I have working doesn't have an USB port as the other has, and I can't transfer files with the PCMCIA because of the Card reader problem...

I will search this thread if I get more answers.

I was feeling like a fisher watching my thread for so long and watching users on line that could have answered, passing by... like fishes ...
Thanks so much. I will use it as soon as I can.

alexh · 17 December 2010, 09:50

If you had used the search feature of the board you would have found your answer sooner.

Searching for "CF card + Problem" gives lots of answers where the solution is to change the max transfer to 0x1FE00

Retrofan · 17 December 2010, 17:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

If you had used the search feature of the board you would have found your answer sooner.

Searching for "CF card + Problem" gives lots of answers where the solution is to change the max transfer to 0x1FE00

Thanks. I've searched so much that I got to a wrong answer. Yes about that CF card + problem answers, but I don't know if it's the same with all the file systems.

thomas · 17 December 2010, 17:23

Mask and MaxTransfer are not dependent on file system but only on controller and/or device. You should use the same values for all partitions on the same drive. It does not make any sense to use different values.

Retrofan · 17 December 2010, 18:41

Ok, I will change them (I use the same values in Dh1 and Dh2, the ones I've got with PFS3)

About the buffers, in the instructions says to use 150 buffers for normal partitions, 250 for bigger ones and MAX for the rest. Somewhere I heard to put 200 on the booting one, which is what I'm trying. I think I will put exactly that, 150 for DH0 (700Mb), 250 for Dh1 (3Gb) and... wait a moment, will it let me write MAX for Dh2 (28Gb)?

My idea is to format Dh1 (and Dh2), then make there a copy of Dh0, change the booting partition to Dh1 and then format Dh0, install again the copy on it and leave it again as booting partition. Is that ok?

(I've heard too about making an OS3.9 Emergency Floppy and installing PFS3 with it, but I don't know how to do it, but I think my method will work)

thomas · 17 December 2010, 19:28

Quote:

will it let me write MAX for Dh2

No, it won't. The number of buffers must be numeric. MAX means the maximum you can afford. Each buffer has the size of one disk block. So with a block size of 512 bytes (0.5 KB), 200 buffers need 100 KB of RAM. Depending on how many partitions there are and how much RAM the computer has, this can be quite expensive. For example on an A500 with 512 KB RAM, using 100 KB for HDD buffers hurts quite a lot.

Also IIRC the PFS3 manual says that PFS3 cannot handle more than 600 buffers, so with PFS3 "MAX" is equivalent to 600.

Retrofan · 17 December 2010, 19:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

No, it won't. The number of buffers must be numeric. MAX means the maximum you can afford. Each buffer has the size of one disk block. So with a block size of 512 bytes (0.5 KB), 200 buffers need 100 KB of RAM. Depending on how many partitions there are and how much RAM the computer has, this can be quite expensive. For example on an A500 with 512 KB RAM, using 100 KB for HDD buffers hurts quite a lot.

Also IIRC the PFS3 manual says that PFS3 cannot handle more than 600 buffers, so with PFS3 "MAX" is equivalent to 600.

Ok, I love my chip ram... I think I won't use 600, but I will be trying different ones. To start I'll use 150, 250 and 250 in the partitions.

About the way to install PFS3 in Dh0, is it ok as I've said: copying, formating and changing the booting partition?

thomas · 17 December 2010, 19:58

Quote:

I love my chip ram

It only uses Chip RAM if there is no Fast RAM or if Mask restricts memory to Chip RAM. Otherwise it uses Fast RAM.

Quote:

About the way to install PFS3 in Dh0, is it ok as I've said: copying, formating and changing the booting partition?

Yes, that's the right way.

Retrofan · 17 December 2010, 20:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

It only uses Chip RAM if there is no Fast RAM or if Mask restricts memory to Chip RAM. Otherwise it uses Fast RAM..

Ok, then I will try 2000...

I mean, 600. I've got 128Mb fast ram for it (was using 256, but changed the crystal to 80Mhz).
Thanks a lot. I would like to make it tonight, but I have to wait a week or so to get the card reader... (what do I wait from a thing that costs 3,89€ with sending cost included?). I think I buy too much at Ebay... perhaps will search another here if they're so cheap.

Retrofan · 20 December 2010, 02:14

Ok. I've installed it (I bought another card reader). Thanks for the answers. I want to tell here how I did it for if whenever I need it again (or you):

Well first I used FixHDDsize of Thomas because it wasn't showing all the sizes.
As after I did the script install it wasn't letting me install it again (it was write protected) I used:
protect dh0:#? +wd all
and then I installed it again, this time with the expert option instead of novice and I didn't install the options multiusers and floppy.
After that I installed the update of Aminet to version 18.5, and then I used first the Workbench Install floppy HDTools to setup the partitions (DH1 and DH2) with:
Identifier (Dostype): 50465303
Identifier for PFS3DS: 50445303
Mask: 0xffffffc
Buffers: 250
Maxtransfer: 0x1fe00

And later I used HdInsttools to have the right sizes.

I selected the pfs3ds file system as my Cf HD has 16Gb.
After saving the changes I did the format in Dh1 and Dh2 with the following:
System:Tools\PFS3\Tools\pfsformat device dh1: Name Apps Quick

I did the same with Dh2 and later I did a copy of Dh0 to Dh1, changed the bootable partition to Dh1 (don't forget to rename it as the former Dh0, and Dh0 as you like) and repeated the process to partition and format Dh0. Later you only have to copy again Dh0 and select that partition as bootable.

Well here finishes the guide. I only have keep with a problem: I get a message of "Can't add MUI docs to help" when I boot. Surely changing partitions from a place to another I lost something.
Any idea how to fix it?

Edit: Well, I will see what do I have in Help...

thomas · 20 December 2010, 11:09

Make sure that you don't have a partition or disk which is named Help. Help is needed to be an assign, not a device or volume.

Also I wonder why you needed to copy your boot partition forth and back although this seems to be a fresh install on a new harddrive. Backup / format / restore is needed if you want to change the file system of a partition. But if you do a fresh installaltion you can use the desired file system from the beginning. Just copy the pfs3ds file to a floppy disk before you start and use it for initial partitioning of the new HDD.

Retrofan · 20 December 2010, 11:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

Make sure that you don't have a partition or disk which is named Help. Help is needed to be an assign, not a device or volume.

Also I wonder why you needed to copy your boot partition forth and back although this seems to be a fresh install on a new harddrive. Backup / format / restore is needed if you want to change the file system of a partition. But if you do a fresh installaltion you can use the desired file system from the beginning. Just copy the pfs3ds file to a floppy disk before you start and use it for initial partitioning of the new HDD.

I did the installation in two CF HD (yes, perhaps I'm repeating steps in the "guide", because it's a mixture of both installations). A 16Gb Sandisk new (the one I bought to sustitute the 32Gb Transcend one) and the Transcend in which I had already tried to install it, which is were I found more problems.

I asked before how to do it with an Emergency disk, as I didn't know. I thought that you needed the PFS3 previously installed to make the partitions just to have it serialized. If I can make them just copying the PFS3ds (or in WinUAE with a PC drawer) and use them it's going to be a lot easier now, as I want to install it in 3 more CF... (all).

thomas · 20 December 2010, 11:58

You need to install PFS3 once in order to apply the serial number. But once it is installed, you can just copy the files it created to a safe place and use them whenever you need them without installing again.

Retrofan · 20 December 2010, 12:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

You need to install PFS3 once in order to apply the serial number. But once it is installed, you can just copy the files it created to a safe place and use them whenever you need them without installing again.

I'm a little confused. If I make the partitions in a fresh CF HD using PFS3 surely I won't have any problem, but to format them I need a partition with the script, so I need it installed in Dh0, and to format it I have to copy it to another partition as I did?

Wait, there's another way, perhaps you are saying using WinUAE selecting a 4th partition, the bootable, in which I use the copy of the System I have serialized in a Pc window/drawer? That could work.

dannyp1 · 20 December 2010, 12:20

Let me see if I have this right? Once I install PFS3 onto the harddrive of one of my Amiga's, I can copy those files to any of my other Amiga's without reinstalling it on each of them?

Retrofan · 20 December 2010, 12:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannyp1

Let me see if I have this right? Once I install PFS3 onto the harddrive of one of my Amiga's, I can copy those files to any of my other Amiga's without reinstalling it on each of them?

I believe so (let's see what Thomas says). You can copy it in a pc drawer and in WinUAE you select it as the one bootable. You add the Cf with the card reader and you make the partitions using HdTools and later HDInstTools (if it has more than 4Gb). You use the PFS or PFSds of the PC drawer and later the PFSformat of it. Then you just copy the PC drawer to DH0 and select it as bootable.
I think that should work.

thomas · 20 December 2010, 13:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retrofan

I'm a little confused. If I make the partitions in a fresh CF HD using PFS3 surely I won't have any problem, but to format them I need a partition with the script, so I need it installed in Dh0, and to format it I have to copy it to another partition as I did?

If you connect a completely new HDD to a computer, you need some other disk or drive in order to boot from it, don't you? So why don't you copy PFS3 to this other disk or drive?

These steps are needed to prepare a new HDD:

1. connect the new HDD
2. connect or insert another bootable disk or drive in order to run HDToolbox or the like.
3. initialize the new HDD and create partitions
4. reboot
5. format the new partitions
6. copy files to the new partitions either by installing a new OS or by restoring a backup of an old OS.

Now, what you did was:

3. create partitions with FFS
4. reboot
5. format
6. copy files
7. backup files
8. change the partitions to PFS (which deletes all files which were previously copied)
9. reboot
10. format the changed partitions
11. copy files to the changed partitions (again).

What I see here is that steps 8 through 11 are exactly the same as steps 3 through 6. So you can save steps 8 to 11 if you start with PFS already in step 3. And if you do so, step 7 is not needed any more, too, because you are not going to delete the freshly installed files again.

Retrofan · 20 December 2010, 13:27

Yes, but that was without having a serialized partition to boot from. I need to have it so I can use PFSformat without "Invalid copy" messages. I can't take a fresh HD and make the PFS3 partitions because then I can't format them.

Now that I've got it I can do what you say just adding the serialized partition in WinUAE as the bootable partition in a Pc drawer and without backing\restoring Dh0.

Edit: I changed Mui Docs to Help and now it doesn't say a word about it.

15 December 2010, 01:33	#1
Retrofan Ruler of the Universe Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Lanzarote/Spain Posts: 6,185	PFS3 Install Hi: I won't say I have it from years ago. A friend that had it and doesn't have the Amiga anymore sent it to me by mail, and he won't be using it anymore. I've installed it with this: Mask: 0xffffffc Buffers: 200 Maxtransfer: 0xfff000 I changed the Identifier (Dostype) to 50465303 I am using a 32GB CF Hd with around 700Mb in Dh0, 3Gb in Dh1 and the rest in Dh2. I've installed it in Dh1 and Dh2. I left Dh0 with SFS and the PFS3 installed with the script on it. I have Dh0 with AmigaSys4Aga and IDEfix installed. Well, I make the partitions choosing the PFS3 file system (not CFS, not other) in Dh1 and Dh2, but when I get to the formating part, using "PFSFormat Device Dh1: Name Apps Quick", I get the message "This copy of Professional File System is invalid...." I've seen it has happened to others with the original Cd. Am I missing something? EDIT: Tonight will change the file system to TD64 or PFS3DS... Last edited by Retrofan; 24 April 2011 at 20:50.

17 December 2010, 01:33	#3
Retrofan Ruler of the Universe Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Lanzarote/Spain Posts: 6,185	Wow! I like this Support Apps forum. I've been waiting for an answer a couple of days, and it was still on the top of the list. The true is that I'm joining troubles. First I've get one of my two Amigas broken (a component) and I will have to wait a week or so to repair it, and yesterday I found that my Cf Card reader to use WinUAE doesn't want to work anymore, and I was making it all there. The A1200 I have working doesn't have an USB port as the other has, and I can't transfer files with the PCMCIA because of the Card reader problem... I will search this thread if I get more answers. I was feeling like a fisher watching my thread for so long and watching users on line that could have answered, passing by... like fishes ... Thanks so much. I will use it as soon as I can. Last edited by Retrofan; 17 December 2010 at 18:48.

20 December 2010, 02:14	#12
Retrofan Ruler of the Universe Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Lanzarote/Spain Posts: 6,185	Ok. I've installed it (I bought another card reader). Thanks for the answers. I want to tell here how I did it for if whenever I need it again (or you): Well first I used FixHDDsize of Thomas because it wasn't showing all the sizes. As after I did the script install it wasn't letting me install it again (it was write protected) I used: protect dh0:#? +wd all and then I installed it again, this time with the expert option instead of novice and I didn't install the options multiusers and floppy. After that I installed the update of Aminet to version 18.5, and then I used first the Workbench Install floppy HDTools to setup the partitions (DH1 and DH2) with: Identifier (Dostype): 50465303 Identifier for PFS3DS: 50445303 Mask: 0xffffffc Buffers: 250 Maxtransfer: 0x1fe00 And later I used HdInsttools to have the right sizes. I selected the pfs3ds file system as my Cf HD has 16Gb. After saving the changes I did the format in Dh1 and Dh2 with the following: System:Tools\PFS3\Tools\pfsformat device dh1: Name Apps Quick I did the same with Dh2 and later I did a copy of Dh0 to Dh1, changed the bootable partition to Dh1 (don't forget to rename it as the former Dh0, and Dh0 as you like) and repeated the process to partition and format Dh0. Later you only have to copy again Dh0 and select that partition as bootable. Well here finishes the guide. I only have keep with a problem: I get a message of "Can't add MUI docs to help" when I boot. Surely changing partitions from a place to another I lost something. Any idea how to fix it? Edit: Well, I will see what do I have in Help... Last edited by Retrofan; 24 April 2011 at 22:17.

20 December 2010, 13:27	#20
Retrofan Ruler of the Universe Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Lanzarote/Spain Posts: 6,185	Yes, but that was without having a serialized partition to boot from. I need to have it so I can use PFSformat without "Invalid copy" messages. I can't take a fresh HD and make the PFS3 partitions because then I can't format them. Now that I've got it I can do what you say just adding the serialized partition in WinUAE as the bootable partition in a Pc drawer and without backing\restoring Dh0. Edit: I changed Mui Docs to Help and now it doesn't say a word about it. Last edited by Retrofan; 20 December 2010 at 18:23.

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17 December 2010, 00:36	#2
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,337	Change MAX TRANSFER to 0x1FE00 and try again.

17 December 2010, 09:50	#4
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,337	If you had used the search feature of the board you would have found your answer sooner. Searching for "CF card + Problem" gives lots of answers where the solution is to change the max transfer to 0x1FE00

17 December 2010, 17:23	#6
thomas Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 6,985	Mask and MaxTransfer are not dependent on file system but only on controller and/or device. You should use the same values for all partitions on the same drive. It does not make any sense to use different values.

17 December 2010, 18:41	#7
Retrofan Ruler of the Universe Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Lanzarote/Spain Posts: 6,185	Ok, I will change them (I use the same values in Dh1 and Dh2, the ones I've got with PFS3) About the buffers, in the instructions says to use 150 buffers for normal partitions, 250 for bigger ones and MAX for the rest. Somewhere I heard to put 200 on the booting one, which is what I'm trying. I think I will put exactly that, 150 for DH0 (700Mb), 250 for Dh1 (3Gb) and... wait a moment, will it let me write MAX for Dh2 (28Gb)? My idea is to format Dh1 (and Dh2), then make there a copy of Dh0, change the booting partition to Dh1 and then format Dh0, install again the copy on it and leave it again as booting partition. Is that ok? (I've heard too about making an OS3.9 Emergency Floppy and installing PFS3 with it, but I don't know how to do it, but I think my method will work)

20 December 2010, 11:09	#13
thomas Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 6,985	Make sure that you don't have a partition or disk which is named Help. Help is needed to be an assign, not a device or volume. Also I wonder why you needed to copy your boot partition forth and back although this seems to be a fresh install on a new harddrive. Backup / format / restore is needed if you want to change the file system of a partition. But if you do a fresh installaltion you can use the desired file system from the beginning. Just copy the pfs3ds file to a floppy disk before you start and use it for initial partitioning of the new HDD.

20 December 2010, 11:58	#15
thomas Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 6,985	You need to install PFS3 once in order to apply the serial number. But once it is installed, you can just copy the files it created to a safe place and use them whenever you need them without installing again.

20 December 2010, 12:20	#17
dannyp1 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Michigan USA Posts: 168	Let me see if I have this right? Once I install PFS3 onto the harddrive of one of my Amiga's, I can copy those files to any of my other Amiga's without reinstalling it on each of them?

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