Copying A4000 hard disk to PC

chris74 · 06 May 2009, 10:39

Hi. I recently unearthed my old A4000 that I hadn't touched for some 15 years and found to my delight that it still boots!

I would like to copy all the data on the A4000's disk to my PC (preferably as native files rather than as a hardfile) as a backup and also to run in WinUAE. I purchased Amiga Explorer and am able to browse the contents of the A4000's hard disk partitions using a null modem lead, but using the default parameters of 19200 baud I could see that copying 400MBs of data is going to take some time!

I've read on a few threads that it's possible to increase the baud but doing so just resulted in 'Error reading COM port' errors in the Amiga Explorer software on the PC.

So I thought about changing tact, and connecting the IDE disk in the A4000 directly to my PC (maybe using one of those IDE->USB connectors). I've read that WinUAE can access the Amiga harddisk but I was wondering how I'd be able to copy the data from it to my PC?

Has anyone had any experience of this and could recommend the best way to go?

Thanks,
Chris

Rabbit80 · 06 May 2009, 10:51

Why not just create a second hard disk in WinUAE (Folder type) and just run a copy /clone command?

chris74 · 06 May 2009, 11:27

Ah yes, good plan - thanks very much! It's taking me a while to re-acclimatize to the wonderful world of Amiga!

Has anybody has any experience with using one of those IDE->USB connectors with an Amiga formatted HDD within WinUAE?

Thanks,
Chris

davideo · 06 May 2009, 11:34

I've got a couple of external drives on my PC that are connected through the USB/IDE route and haven't had any problems with the Winuae seeing them. Haven't used them as dedicated drives for Winuae though.

When I start Winuae I just tick the use PC drives etc and it finds them. This allows me to move stuff backwards and forwards from PC to Miggy.

If you only want to backup your smallish original 4000D HD - why don't you use a memory card and use the option in paragraph two above

Dave G

alexh · 06 May 2009, 13:21

I've used both the internal IDE interface and a USB one and both have worked fine for reading. Writing is a little more complicated to setup.

Take care not to allow windows to overwrite the RDB. Best to back it up first.

chris74 · 06 May 2009, 13:43

Thanks for the responses. Is there a particular way to prevent Windows from overwriting the disk's RDB?

Thanks,
Chris

alexh · 06 May 2009, 13:48

I am not an expert, I think sometimes it does it without telling you?

Most times it says "This disk is uninitialised" "Destroy data Yes/No?" (or words to that effect) and you choose NO

chris74 · 06 May 2009, 14:05

I guess another approach would be to find an old IDE disk, install it in my A4000 drive as a secondary drive, copy the data over from the primary disk and then connect the secondary disk to my PC?

Anyone know of any pitfalls of mounting a secondary drive in an A4000?

Thanks for all your responses, this is a great active forum!

Chris

Toni Wilen · 06 May 2009, 14:08

Only Windows9x-based Windows corrupt RDB without asking (and WinUAE will fix that automatically)

Recent Windows versions won't do anything (won't even ask)

Quote:

Writing is a little more complicated to setup.

???

alexh · 06 May 2009, 14:23

Don't you have to use a command line parameter fed to WinUAE to enable writing to physical disks?

Or am I going back a century or two in WinUAE time?

davideo · 06 May 2009, 14:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

Don't you have to use a command line parameter fed to WinUAE to enable writing to physical disks?

Or am I going back a century or two in WinUAE time?

I think that's only if you want to set up a non RDB disc as a RDB disc - so that you don't overwrite your native PC drive by mistake.

Dave G

Rabbit80 · 06 May 2009, 14:36

I thought it was just a case of ticking the box...

davideo · 06 May 2009, 14:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rabbit80

I thought it was just a case of ticking the box...

I'm not absolutely sure to be honest - I'm at work at the moment and can't check.

I think ticking the box is to create HDFs and Directorys but not to use a complete HD for setting up in a real Miggy

Dave G

Toni Wilen · 06 May 2009, 16:46

There is no difference between reading or writing.

Command line parameter is only needed if drive is not already Amiga prepped (no RDB)

chris74 · 07 May 2009, 08:44

Just to update you - I tried connecting the A4000 IDE disk to my IDE->USB connector last night, but WinUAE was unable to see it. So I went back to plan A; using a null modem cable and Amiga Explorer. Has anyone here successfully managed to increase the baud rate used to anything above 19200 on an A4000?

Thanks,
Chris

Toni Wilen · 07 May 2009, 09:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris74

Just to update you - I tried connecting the A4000 IDE disk to my IDE->USB connector last night, but WinUAE was unable to see it. So I went back to plan A; using a null modem cable and Amiga Explorer. Has anyone here successfully managed to increase the baud rate used to anything above 19200 on an A4000?

First step is to check if Windows sees it in Disk Magement (as an uninitialized drive). Usual problem is that IDE-USB adapters don't seem to support "too old" drives.

chris74 · 07 May 2009, 09:26

Ok - will check this tonight. I guess if it doesn't show up, the other option would be to connect it internally to the PC?

Thanks,
Chris

Toni Wilen · 07 May 2009, 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris74

Ok - will check this tonight. I guess if it doesn't show up, the other option would be to connect it internally to the PC?

Direct IDE connection is most compatible. Only (rare) problem is really really old buggy drives (workaround is to force PIO-mode in bios)

chris74 · 07 May 2009, 09:37

Well this is the original disk that came with my A4000, so there's a fair chance of that!

Thorham · 07 May 2009, 19:51

It's good to hear that your A4000 still boots

I've put my miggies hd into my peecee a few times, and it's certainly one of the best ways to get this done. However, I have a 40 gig hd from 2005, so it works without any issues. I'd still just try it if I were you. You'll be able to boot from the hd in WinUae, and backup the drive in any way you want. If it takes a little bit of fiddling with the BIOS settings, then that seems worth it to me. Anything is better than having to copy large amounts of data with low null-modem speeds (except using floppies, that's the worst).

Null-modem copying is, of course, quite easy if you have the time. In fact, when everything is setup properly, you could just leave it and go do other things such as go to work even. The downside is that it's possible that small, rare errors may creep in potentially, and this is not something you want.

Good luck.

06 May 2009, 10:39	#1
chris74 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 14	Copying A4000 hard disk to PC Hi. I recently unearthed my old A4000 that I hadn't touched for some 15 years and found to my delight that it still boots! I would like to copy all the data on the A4000's disk to my PC (preferably as native files rather than as a hardfile) as a backup and also to run in WinUAE. I purchased Amiga Explorer and am able to browse the contents of the A4000's hard disk partitions using a null modem lead, but using the default parameters of 19200 baud I could see that copying 400MBs of data is going to take some time! I've read on a few threads that it's possible to increase the baud but doing so just resulted in 'Error reading COM port' errors in the Amiga Explorer software on the PC. So I thought about changing tact, and connecting the IDE disk in the A4000 directly to my PC (maybe using one of those IDE->USB connectors). I've read that WinUAE can access the Amiga harddisk but I was wondering how I'd be able to copy the data from it to my PC? Has anyone had any experience of this and could recommend the best way to go? Thanks, Chris

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Disk copier that played sounds of every sector while copying?	freon	Amiga scene	5	24 March 2013 13:12
Want to replace the hard drive in my A4000. Need advice	Dougal	support.Hardware	11	12 September 2010 16:00
Maverick disk copying tool	boing_1000	request.Apps	6	03 October 2006 18:43
I need a disk copying tool that bypasses copy protection schemes	boing_1000	request.Apps	9	28 January 2006 03:24
Failing Hard Disk	Paul	support.Hardware	11	12 February 2003 12:52

06 May 2009, 10:51	#2
Rabbit80 Its hard being famous! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Gateway to the dales, UK Age: 43 Posts: 633	Why not just create a second hard disk in WinUAE (Folder type) and just run a copy /clone command?

06 May 2009, 11:27	#3
chris74 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 14	Ah yes, good plan - thanks very much! It's taking me a while to re-acclimatize to the wonderful world of Amiga! Has anybody has any experience with using one of those IDE->USB connectors with an Amiga formatted HDD within WinUAE? Thanks, Chris

06 May 2009, 11:34	#4
davideo Amiga Tomcat Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Boston Lincs Posts: 1,500	I've got a couple of external drives on my PC that are connected through the USB/IDE route and haven't had any problems with the Winuae seeing them. Haven't used them as dedicated drives for Winuae though. When I start Winuae I just tick the use PC drives etc and it finds them. This allows me to move stuff backwards and forwards from PC to Miggy. If you only want to backup your smallish original 4000D HD - why don't you use a memory card and use the option in paragraph two above Dave G

06 May 2009, 13:21	#5
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,337	I've used both the internal IDE interface and a USB one and both have worked fine for reading. Writing is a little more complicated to setup. Take care not to allow windows to overwrite the RDB. Best to back it up first.

06 May 2009, 13:43	#6
chris74 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 14	Thanks for the responses. Is there a particular way to prevent Windows from overwriting the disk's RDB? Thanks, Chris

06 May 2009, 13:48	#7
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,337	I am not an expert, I think sometimes it does it without telling you? Most times it says "This disk is uninitialised" "Destroy data Yes/No?" (or words to that effect) and you choose NO

06 May 2009, 14:05	#8
chris74 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 14	I guess another approach would be to find an old IDE disk, install it in my A4000 drive as a secondary drive, copy the data over from the primary disk and then connect the secondary disk to my PC? Anyone know of any pitfalls of mounting a secondary drive in an A4000? Thanks for all your responses, this is a great active forum! Chris

06 May 2009, 14:23	#10
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,337	Don't you have to use a command line parameter fed to WinUAE to enable writing to physical disks? Or am I going back a century or two in WinUAE time?

06 May 2009, 14:36	#12
Rabbit80 Its hard being famous! Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Gateway to the dales, UK Age: 43 Posts: 633	I thought it was just a case of ticking the box...

06 May 2009, 16:46	#14
Toni Wilen WinUAE developer Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Hämeenlinna/Finland Age: 49 Posts: 26,506	There is no difference between reading or writing. Command line parameter is only needed if drive is not already Amiga prepped (no RDB)

07 May 2009, 08:44	#15
chris74 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 14	Just to update you - I tried connecting the A4000 IDE disk to my IDE->USB connector last night, but WinUAE was unable to see it. So I went back to plan A; using a null modem cable and Amiga Explorer. Has anyone here successfully managed to increase the baud rate used to anything above 19200 on an A4000? Thanks, Chris

07 May 2009, 09:26	#17
chris74 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 14	Ok - will check this tonight. I guess if it doesn't show up, the other option would be to connect it internally to the PC? Thanks, Chris

07 May 2009, 09:37	#19
chris74 Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Posts: 14	Well this is the original disk that came with my A4000, so there's a fair chance of that!

07 May 2009, 19:51	#20
Thorham Computer Nerd Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Rotterdam/Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 3,751	It's good to hear that your A4000 still boots I've put my miggies hd into my peecee a few times, and it's certainly one of the best ways to get this done. However, I have a 40 gig hd from 2005, so it works without any issues. I'd still just try it if I were you. You'll be able to boot from the hd in WinUae, and backup the drive in any way you want. If it takes a little bit of fiddling with the BIOS settings, then that seems worth it to me. Anything is better than having to copy large amounts of data with low null-modem speeds (except using floppies, that's the worst). Null-modem copying is, of course, quite easy if you have the time. In fact, when everything is setup properly, you could just leave it and go do other things such as go to work even. The downside is that it's possible that small, rare errors may creep in potentially, and this is not something you want. Good luck.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)