A4000 problem booting from CF HD - Page 3

protek · 02 January 2010, 14:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

There are two different ones depending on which card you've got. SanDisk only of course.

ATCFWCHG.COM
NDCFWCHG.COM

From what I have read there is a date code on the side of the cards, for NDCFWCHG.COM to work they need to be older than year 2003, month 1. The code is "AR+YYMM", so 2003, month 1 is "AR0301".

ATCFWCHG.COM is a newer utility for use with "Athens" controller based cards.

AFAIK SanDisk has moved to a newer controller which currently has no software to change to fixed.

Thanks! I placed an order for a 4 GB card that I will recceive some time next week. Have to see what it is.

protek · 09 January 2010, 11:36

I got the Sandisk card. Did a quick try with the utility but that wasn't very intuitive and since I suspected the card to be a newer type, I set that aside and just formatted it in WinUAE and then copied the system from a hdf image. The card boots fine in WinUAE but not in the A4000. The difference to the Kingston card is that now the A4000 doesn't leave the HDD led burning and it doesn't jump to the insert disk screen. The screen goes just dark, like the way it is when the WB is loaded. But it doesn't load the WB.

I'm going to try to re-install the WB into the card instead of just copying the contents of my system partition to it and see what happens.

protek · 09 January 2010, 11:54

The reinstall did the trick! The A4000 now boots perfectly from the Sandisk Card.

Thanks for all the help!

protek · 09 January 2010, 13:02

It seems my joy was sligthly short-lived. With the Sandisk, the Amiga boots ok but it doesn't find the CD as it does with the Kingston. The CD0 is in devs/dosdrivers with correct id and device but that doesn't do anything.
The HDD led behaves differently with the Sandisk than it does with Kingston. At boot the led burns constantly with the Sandisk but turns out eventually. With Kingston the led is more active.

thomas · 09 January 2010, 13:27

Quote:

At boot the led burns constantly with the Sandisk but turns out eventually.

This is normal behaviour if no ATAPI driver is installed. Make sure that IDEfix is running or another patch for scsi.device is installed before you check CD0.

protek · 09 January 2010, 16:43

Ok, it seems that Idefix and A4000 are not seeing eye to eye with the Sandisk card. If Idefix isn't installed, it boots ok. When I install Idefix, it sees the cd rom but at next power cycle, the machine refuses to boot. You can get the early startup menu though.

Should I try to edit the startup-sequence somehow or do I need some patches?

rkauer · 09 January 2010, 17:16

Use another CD program. IDEfix patches the IDE controller and this may cause the problems you are experiencing.

thomas · 09 January 2010, 17:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by protek

Ok, it seems that Idefix and A4000 are not seeing eye to eye with the Sandisk card. If Idefix isn't installed, it boots ok. When I install Idefix, it sees the cd rom but at next power cycle, the machine refuses to boot. You can get the early startup menu though.

Should I try to edit the startup-sequence somehow or do I need some patches?

Make sure that CD0 uses atapi.device and not scsi.device. Then remove the part which was added to the beginning of startup-sequence by IDEfix.

protek · 09 January 2010, 18:11

Thanks Thomas and Rkauer! I commented out the C:IDEFix line from the startup sequence. The Amiga now boots and the CDROM is now found. It's actually assingned to CD1 at the moment but I suppose it doesn't make any difference as long as the device and unit for CD1 are correct, right? Will I be missing any important features, if the IDEFix isn't run on startup?

thomas · 09 January 2010, 18:51

Quote:

It's actually assingned to CD1 at the moment but I suppose it doesn't make any difference as long as the device and unit for CD1 are correct, right?

The name does not matter at all. You can call it CDprotek if you like. Go to devs/dosdrivers and rename CD1 to CD0 if you like that more.

Quote:

Will I be missing any important features, if the IDEFix isn't run on startup?

You cannot use a 4-way splitter and you cannot use harddrives bigger than 4GB.

protek · 09 January 2010, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

You cannot use a 4-way splitter and you cannot use harddrives bigger than 4GB.

I can live with that.

Thanks again!

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09 January 2010, 11:36	#42
protek Amiga hobbyist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 250	I got the Sandisk card. Did a quick try with the utility but that wasn't very intuitive and since I suspected the card to be a newer type, I set that aside and just formatted it in WinUAE and then copied the system from a hdf image. The card boots fine in WinUAE but not in the A4000. The difference to the Kingston card is that now the A4000 doesn't leave the HDD led burning and it doesn't jump to the insert disk screen. The screen goes just dark, like the way it is when the WB is loaded. But it doesn't load the WB. I'm going to try to re-install the WB into the card instead of just copying the contents of my system partition to it and see what happens.

09 January 2010, 11:54	#43
protek Amiga hobbyist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 250	The reinstall did the trick! The A4000 now boots perfectly from the Sandisk Card. Thanks for all the help!

09 January 2010, 13:02	#44
protek Amiga hobbyist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 250	It seems my joy was sligthly short-lived. With the Sandisk, the Amiga boots ok but it doesn't find the CD as it does with the Kingston. The CD0 is in devs/dosdrivers with correct id and device but that doesn't do anything. The HDD led behaves differently with the Sandisk than it does with Kingston. At boot the led burns constantly with the Sandisk but turns out eventually. With Kingston the led is more active.

09 January 2010, 16:43	#46
protek Amiga hobbyist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 250	Ok, it seems that Idefix and A4000 are not seeing eye to eye with the Sandisk card. If Idefix isn't installed, it boots ok. When I install Idefix, it sees the cd rom but at next power cycle, the machine refuses to boot. You can get the early startup menu though. Should I try to edit the startup-sequence somehow or do I need some patches?

09 January 2010, 17:16	#47
rkauer I hate potatos and shirts Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sao Leopoldo / Brazil Age: 58 Posts: 3,482	Use another CD program. IDEfix patches the IDE controller and this may cause the problems you are experiencing.

09 January 2010, 18:11	#49
protek Amiga hobbyist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 250	Thanks Thomas and Rkauer! I commented out the C:IDEFix line from the startup sequence. The Amiga now boots and the CDROM is now found. It's actually assingned to CD1 at the moment but I suppose it doesn't make any difference as long as the device and unit for CD1 are correct, right? Will I be missing any important features, if the IDEFix isn't run on startup?

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