3.1 Kickstart A600 slow boot

[kipper2k]

Hi All,

i put in a 3.1 kickstart ROM in an A600 with no HD. It takes 19 seconds from the time i turn on the power supply until the disk i've inserted actually starts loading. I'm assuming that the kickstart is doing a timeout looking for a HD or something. Earlier kickstarts boot a lot quicker and i tried in a couple of machines with the same results.

Is there a way to patch the 3.1 so it doesn't timeout for so long if a HD doesn't exist (I know, i may be wrong about the HD thingy). Is there more than one V3.1 kickstart ROM out there, or a patch ?

Thanks

[alexh]

The easiest thing would be to fit a hard drive / CF card.

Baring that you can get an "IDE Terminator" but they cost almost the same price as an IDE->CF adapter.

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=831

[Zetr0]

@Kipps

there is a good 5-10 second delay on 3.1 roms for the IDE to respond on an A1200.... bloody stupid idea in my mind!

If the code is the same and is using timming based 020 tick cycle then its gonna take longer for the humble 68000 equipped miggy

I must ask Doobey about how to go about removing this when I do some custom roms (inc. for the A1200 as well!!!)

[kipper2k]

Thanks guys, i checked a piccie of a terminator on Amigakit, it looks like it is just a header with a resister bank on it that could easily be made. I have a few old connectors here that i am willing to sacrifice, does anyone have a schematic for it ?


Edit.. i think i found one....
http://aminet.net/package/docs/hard/no4000ide

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Thanks guys, i checked a piccie of a terminator on Amigakit, it looks like it is just a header with a resister bank on it that could easily be made. I have a few old connectors here that i am willing to sacrifice, does anyone have a schematic for it ?


Edit.. i think i found one....
http://aminet.net/package/docs/hard/no4000ide

edit again,... tried, and no luck

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

edit again,... tried, and no luck

Ok, I screwed up and cant count. i forgot there are 44 pins on the header so my first attempts i had pins 3 & 5 going to pin 43 instead of pin 39, so the result....

its now down to 9 seconds booting, (on my test A600 board with no floppy etc hooked up. I used a cable from an old XBox DVD, i'll post piccies in a bit.

On a fully assembled A600 it takes 5 seconds to boot.. Yippeeee!!

[Photon]

kipper2k: I got an extra 4-5 second pause when I removed my floppy drive from my A600 yesterday. (Floppy light is lit up.)

Edit: oh, I saw you connected the floppy and got the lower boot time

Can I "terminate" the floppy cable somehow to get rid of this pause? Because I don't intend to have a floppy drive in mine, I need the space

[kipper2k]

here is a pic of the mod.


Pin 3 through a 5K resistor to pin 39
Pin 5 through a 5K resistor to pin 39

You could probably make 2 of these cables out of the 1 Xbox dvd cable. Once this mod is in place the HD LED will stay lit except when there is floppy activity when it will flash

[ppill]

What does the other one do (next to U12)?

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by Photon

kipper2k: I got an extra 4-5 second pause when I removed my floppy drive from my A600 yesterday. (Floppy light is lit up.)

Edit: oh, I saw you connected the floppy and got the lower boot time

Can I "terminate" the floppy cable somehow to get rid of this pause? Because I don't intend to have a floppy drive in mine, I need the space

Hi Photon,

i did notice there is a 10 second wait with no floppy and a 5 second wait with a floppy connected so i am assuming the Kickstart is doing a 5 second timeout looking for the floppy, i would think there is a way to get it to bypass the 5 second wait somehow

I'll go trolling to see if i can find something for you

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by ppill

What does the other one do (next to U12)?

Hi, that is an S-video mod that i put in, i removed the RF box on this A600 and put in this S-Video circuit which uses the Chroma and luma outputs of U12 to provide an S-Video signal which allows you to plug your a600/A1200 into the S-video input on your TV. (it gives a much better image than the composite)

[ppill]

Nice

[Photon]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Hi Photon,

i did notice there is a 10 second wait with no floppy and a 5 second wait with a floppy connected so i am assuming the Kickstart is doing a 5 second timeout looking for the floppy, i would think there is a way to get it to bypass the 5 second wait somehow

I'll go trolling to see if i can find something for you

Amigakit had a floppy terminator, and I brazenly reverse engineered it (:P) with a diode. The 10-second extra wait at boot disappeared.

Here's the thread http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=45852

[klx300r]

Originally Posted by Zetr0

...there is a good 5-10 second delay on 3.1 roms for the IDE to respond on an A1200.... bloody stupid idea in my mind!..

Zetro my man I can assure you that this only pertains to IDE HD's and not CF cards as my system boots up to full workbench, ready to go, in 6 seconds (I timed her!)

[alexh]

AFAIK it does not apply if an IDE device is found.

I though that it was not so much a delay, but a period in which it will actively search for IDE devices.