A590 Hard Drive connections

Mike_mc2 · 30 January 2021, 19:13

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to bring back to life the hard drive quantum Viking 2 4.5 GB of my a590. The seller few years ago didn't include the cables. I was looking on Google for some pictures of the power connectors and I couldn't find much.

I'm writing to ask if someone can send a picture of the connections or review mine.

Thank you in advance

Kin Hell · 31 January 2021, 09:24

Nothing wrong with power connection. Looks a bit Antique, but it's fine.

The Quantum Viking 2 4.5GB Hard Drive is a 68 Pin SCSI Device. Your A590 is a 50 Pin Controller.

The Block labelled Adapter is looking like a 68 to 50 pin adapter so all you need to do is hook up the back of the Adapter to the 50 pins on the A590's PCB. In your picture, you can see the First 22 pins of the SCSI Header on the PCB.

Pin 1 on the SCSI Header is to the Left behind the yellow power cable & on the nearest Row of pins to you.
Pin 1 on the Adapter hanging off the back of your quantum Viking is denoted by the Embossed Black Triangle.

You need a short bit of 50 Way SCSI Cable with Female IDC Headers between these connections making sure the Red wire is Pin 1 to Pin 1.

http://amigakit.amiga.store/product_...oducts_id=1027

AmigaKit might suggest 4 inches....

http://amigakit.amiga.store/product_...oducts_id=1091

I don't know if you would be able to put the top cover on if you used a 6" cable?

Also, if your hard drive has been stored for some years, keep her in an ambiently warm & ventilated environment for a week before powering on. She will have a better chance of Spinning for you.

Mike_mc2 · 31 January 2021, 14:40

Hi Kin_hell, thanks very much for your reply, actually another "problem" that I will face is the top cover, the original fan is not working for some reason so maybe I will replace with one a bit smaller but with the same power.

I will follow your advice about storing the hard drive in a ambient warm and ventilated, I didn't think about this, good advice.

I will update this thread once I complete the restoration and everything will work well.

Thanks again

Kin Hell · 01 February 2021, 12:48

Strange the seller those years ago didn't include the SCSI cable. - Maybe he couldn't get it to work?

What version of ROM is on your PCB?

Quote:

There are several versions of the ROMs for the A590, Version 6 ROMs only allow hard drives up to 512MB in capacity. Version 6.6 and 7.0 ROMs have been reported to work successfully with drive sizes up to 9GB but you will need at least OS3.5 or Amiga OS 3.1.4 to use drives over 4GB. XT drive support was also dropped with the 7.0 ROM set. The GuruROM V6 is an upgrade option, but see the notes at the end of this page for additional information.

Taken from here: https://bigbookofamigahardware.com/b...t.aspx?id=1163

amigasith · 01 February 2021, 13:29

Quote:

XT drive support was also dropped with the 7.0 ROM set.

Uhm? Seems like BBOAH is wrong there. I have V7.0 ROMs in my A590 and it does work happily with the whopping 20MB XT drive in there

Kin Hell · 01 February 2021, 13:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by amigasith

Uhm? Seems like BBOAH is wrong there. I have V7.0 ROMs in my A590 and it does work happily with the whopping 20MB XT drive in there

Aye! - It wouldn't be the first time.

20Mb!! - LOL - Those were the days!

Toni Wilen · 01 February 2021, 18:19

I can confirm, xt.device is included with v7 A590 ROMs. I used it to implement and test XT drive emulation.

Quote:

There are several versions of the ROMs for the A590, Version 6 ROMs only allow hard drives up to 512MB in capacity. Version 6.6 and 7.0 ROMs have been reported to work successfully with drive sizes up to 9GB but you will need at least OS3.5 or Amiga OS 3.1.4 to use drives over 4GB.

This is not correct either.

All pre-7.0 ROMs have 1G limit when using normal IO access modes. Drive is detected correctly but any read/write access outside of first 1G will return error code.

Direct SCSI compatible filesystem can be used to bypass this limit completely.

Also there was never need for 3.5+ or 3.1.4 to access drives larger than 4G. Unless you want "out of the box" >4G support. Which is not same thing

Kin Hell · 01 February 2021, 18:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

I can confirm, xt.device is included with v7 A590 ROMs. I used it to implement and test XT drive emulation.

This is not correct either.

All pre-7.0 ROMs have 1G limit when using normal IO access modes. Drive is detected correctly but any read/write access outside of first 1G will return error code.

Direct SCSI compatible filesystem can be used to bypass this limit completely.

Also there was never need for 3.5+ or 3.1.4 to access drives larger than 4G. Unless you want "out of the box" >4G support. Which is not same thing

BBOAH use to be a good source of info.

Who's responsible for screwing it up these days? - Full of Ads as well.

Mike_mc2 · 02 February 2021, 10:20

Hi kin_hell, the ROM is 7.0 so shouldn't be a problem, what I don't know is if the hard drive actually works, I bought the a590 for a good price at the time, the previous owner (not sure why) also painted the top cover with an ugly light brown spray paint, so I have to restore that too and bring back to normal as much as possible.

I'm waiting for the 50 pin cable that is on the way to start some tests, I will post here any updates

Thank you

Kin Hell · 02 February 2021, 10:29

Good news on the V7 Rom Mike. - At least you know it's not one of the earlier ROM's so HD size @ 4.5GB shouldn't be a problem.

Hoping the drive spins up ok.

Charlie

Mike_mc2 · 05 February 2021, 19:46

Hey Charlie, bad luck, the hard drive won't start and something happened that broke some ram. So now I have to find some new chips.

Now I understand why the cables weren't there ahahaha

Kin Hell · 06 February 2021, 10:37

That's unlucky.

I'm sure I have a 4.3GB SCSI drive lying in a box somewhere....

See PM for Memory Link.

Mike_mc2 · 03 March 2021, 21:57

Hi everyone,

A small update, I received today a new SCSI hard disk 50 pin, I plug all but is like unplugged, is not spinning at all so I believe the problem here is the power on the board.

Kin Hell · 05 March 2021, 16:06

Probably your first point of call from here is to make sure the Power Supply is good?

If the LED's are lighting up, put a multi-meter across the Molex Pins & see if there is a reading.

Yellow is 12V, Red is 5V.

LIV2 · 06 March 2021, 04:54

I have checked on my A590 and found that you have the power pins around the wrong way. 5V should be on the left and 12V on the right.

Kin Hell · 06 March 2021, 10:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by LIV2

I have checked on my A590 and found that you have the power pins around the wrong way. 5V should be on the left and 12V on the right.

Very interesting....

Pin 1 usually aligns with 12v wire (yellow)

http://amiga.resource.cx/photos/phot...es=med&lang=en

putting the 5v wire next to pin 1 on the Device. (SCSI/IDE)

LIV2 · 06 March 2021, 11:48

Not sure what's going on with the pic on amiga resource but here's a picture of the original plug from my A590 and a pic of a regular molex plug.

Commodore used the colour scheme of yellow for 5V and orange for 12V for some reason both here and on the A2000

Looks like at some point they were even doing Red for 12V :/ https://bigbookofamigahardware.com/b...a590_6_big.jpg

Mike_mc2 · 06 March 2021, 11:52

Hey guys thanks for your reply.

At the beginning I thought was the power supply the problem so I bought a brand new one and nothing happen.

I just tried to switch the cable, actually I got a new error message that say to insert the device in drive 0. But same, the hard disk is not spinning.

My next experiment will be buy a power supply just for the hard drive, and see what happen, if at least I manage to configure the hard disk then I will try to fix the a590 board.

I will keep this post updated

Jope · 06 March 2021, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by LIV2

Commodore used the colour scheme of yellow for 5V and orange for 12V for some reason both here and on the A2000

Grounds are often blue in Commodore power supplies. The same colour scheme is also found in Commodore PCs, the A3000 and A4000.

Kin Hell · 07 March 2021, 10:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by LIV2

Not sure what's going on with the pic on amiga resource but here's a picture of the original plug from my A590 and a pic of a regular molex plug.

Commodore used the colour scheme of yellow for 5V and orange for 12V for some reason both here and on the A2000

Looks like at some point they were even doing Red for 12V :/ https://bigbookofamigahardware.com/b...a590_6_big.jpg

You learn something new every day eh!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike_mc2

<snip>

I will keep this post updated

Yes please.

30 January 2021, 19:13	#1
Mike_mc2 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Spain Posts: 8	A590 Hard Drive connections Hello everyone, I'm trying to bring back to life the hard drive quantum Viking 2 4.5 GB of my a590. The seller few years ago didn't include the cables. I was looking on Google for some pictures of the power connectors and I couldn't find much. I'm writing to ask if someone can send a picture of the connections or review mine. Thank you in advance Attached Thumbnails

31 January 2021, 09:24	#2
Kin Hell 0ld0r Git Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cornwall, UK Posts: 1,570	Nothing wrong with power connection. Looks a bit Antique, but it's fine. The Quantum Viking 2 4.5GB Hard Drive is a 68 Pin SCSI Device. Your A590 is a 50 Pin Controller. The Block labelled Adapter is looking like a 68 to 50 pin adapter so all you need to do is hook up the back of the Adapter to the 50 pins on the A590's PCB. In your picture, you can see the First 22 pins of the SCSI Header on the PCB. Pin 1 on the SCSI Header is to the Left behind the yellow power cable & on the nearest Row of pins to you. Pin 1 on the Adapter hanging off the back of your quantum Viking is denoted by the Embossed Black Triangle. You need a short bit of 50 Way SCSI Cable with Female IDC Headers between these connections making sure the Red wire is Pin 1 to Pin 1. http://amigakit.amiga.store/product_...oducts_id=1027 AmigaKit might suggest 4 inches.... http://amigakit.amiga.store/product_...oducts_id=1091 I don't know if you would be able to put the top cover on if you used a 6" cable? Also, if your hard drive has been stored for some years, keep her in an ambiently warm & ventilated environment for a week before powering on. She will have a better chance of Spinning for you. Last edited by Kin Hell; 31 January 2021 at 09:36.

05 March 2021, 16:06	#14
Kin Hell 0ld0r Git Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cornwall, UK Posts: 1,570	Probably your first point of call from here is to make sure the Power Supply is good? If the LED's are lighting up, put a multi-meter across the Molex Pins & see if there is a reading. Yellow is 12V, Red is 5V. Last edited by Kin Hell; 05 March 2021 at 16:24.

06 March 2021, 11:48	#17
LIV2 Tinkerer Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Sweden Posts: 103	Not sure what's going on with the pic on amiga resource but here's a picture of the original plug from my A590 and a pic of a regular molex plug. Commodore used the colour scheme of yellow for 5V and orange for 12V for some reason both here and on the A2000 Looks like at some point they were even doing Red for 12V :/ https://bigbookofamigahardware.com/b...a590_6_big.jpg Attached Thumbnails Last edited by LIV2; 06 March 2021 at 11:55.

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31 January 2021, 14:40	#3
Mike_mc2 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Spain Posts: 8	Hi Kin_hell, thanks very much for your reply, actually another "problem" that I will face is the top cover, the original fan is not working for some reason so maybe I will replace with one a bit smaller but with the same power. I will follow your advice about storing the hard drive in a ambient warm and ventilated, I didn't think about this, good advice. I will update this thread once I complete the restoration and everything will work well. Thanks again

02 February 2021, 10:20	#9
Mike_mc2 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Spain Posts: 8	Hi kin_hell, the ROM is 7.0 so shouldn't be a problem, what I don't know is if the hard drive actually works, I bought the a590 for a good price at the time, the previous owner (not sure why) also painted the top cover with an ugly light brown spray paint, so I have to restore that too and bring back to normal as much as possible. I'm waiting for the 50 pin cable that is on the way to start some tests, I will post here any updates Thank you

02 February 2021, 10:29	#10
Kin Hell 0ld0r Git Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cornwall, UK Posts: 1,570	Good news on the V7 Rom Mike. - At least you know it's not one of the earlier ROM's so HD size @ 4.5GB shouldn't be a problem. Hoping the drive spins up ok. Charlie

05 February 2021, 19:46	#11
Mike_mc2 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Spain Posts: 8	Hey Charlie, bad luck, the hard drive won't start and something happened that broke some ram. So now I have to find some new chips. Now I understand why the cables weren't there ahahaha

06 February 2021, 10:37	#12
Kin Hell 0ld0r Git Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Cornwall, UK Posts: 1,570	That's unlucky. I'm sure I have a 4.3GB SCSI drive lying in a box somewhere.... See PM for Memory Link.

03 March 2021, 21:57	#13
Mike_mc2 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Spain Posts: 8	Hi everyone, A small update, I received today a new SCSI hard disk 50 pin, I plug all but is like unplugged, is not spinning at all so I believe the problem here is the power on the board.

06 March 2021, 04:54	#15
LIV2 Tinkerer Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Sweden Posts: 103	I have checked on my A590 and found that you have the power pins around the wrong way. 5V should be on the left and 12V on the right.

06 March 2021, 11:52	#18
Mike_mc2 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Spain Posts: 8	Hey guys thanks for your reply. At the beginning I thought was the power supply the problem so I bought a brand new one and nothing happen. I just tried to switch the cable, actually I got a new error message that say to insert the device in drive 0. But same, the hard disk is not spinning. My next experiment will be buy a power supply just for the hard drive, and see what happen, if at least I manage to configure the hard disk then I will try to fix the a590 board. I will keep this post updated

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