Best way to use 160GB hard drive in A1200D? - Page 2

Calgor · 03 August 2007, 13:24

Well, anyway seems hostid is not important, something set my partitions to 7, and there are no crashes!

But now i have a new problem, seemingly related to the 160GB drive (installed showing 149GB) being more than 128GB.

I am using The FastATA 1200 MK-III drivers v8.4 in NOSPLIT mode and SFS 1.270 filesystem on OS3.9BB2 (without BB2 ROM update).

All partitions are fine apart from the one partition part of which is over the 128GB boundary. I can see it, format it with SFS, etc. But when I reboot, it become uninitialised every time!!! Anyone know what could be causing this?

Size of this partition is 41GB, but I have 2 50GB partitions which are fine.

Jope · 06 August 2007, 21:23

Probably you won't be able get it to work at all.. Seems there is no LBA48 support in the drivers.

Calgor · 07 August 2007, 14:03

Elbox says there is, as does their website. Although, at the moment, it is not working properly! Whenever it is recognised, the data does not get deleted, so I think it at least is not having any overlap errors, I have had no data corruption. I did read someone on a.org have a 160GB drive and they didn't say they had problems.

Elbox have been very responsive in their emails so hopefully it will be resolved soon. Although it is worrying that it is not simple. The CSPPC with SCSI-IDE bridge was easier to setup (as in no extra software as cybppc.device just works). It might be my MAPROM and OS3.9 setup, although it is nothing too exotic for an A1200.

btw, the FastATA delivers 7MB/s in PIO4 and 8MB/s in PIO5 while using a Blizzard Mk-IV. This is the same as Elbox's benchmarks.

If anyone is using >137GB drive with FastATA MK-III let me know!

Calgor · 07 August 2007, 15:44

Note to self: Check NSDPatch.cfg as per OS3.9 FAQ for scsi.device/2nd.scsi.device.

mrbob2 · 07 August 2007, 22:51

Just a question........What would you fill up a 160gb hard drive with if it was connected to an A1200? lol All my amiga games are 3.6gb......

AMIGAZ · 07 August 2007, 22:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrbob2

Just a question........What would you fill up a 160gb hard drive with if it was connected to an A1200? lol All my amiga games are 3.6gb......

High spec Amiga games (cd games) can get as big as several hundred megabytes you know

and now we have a nice bittorent client called beehive so now it's not so hard to fill up a big hd

Calgor · 26 August 2007, 12:09

Still not working. NSDPatch.cfg changes didn't do anything. Does no one else on EAB have a >120GB drive connected to a FastATA 1200 MK-III?

thomas · 26 August 2007, 13:31

Make sure that NSDPatch keeps away from the FastATA software.

Make sure that the FastATA software is installed and run in startup-sequence.

Make sure that OS3.9's SetPatch keeps away from the FastATA software (i.e. add skipromupdates scsi.device to the SetPatch line).

Try to disable auto-mount for that partition and use OS3.9's Mounter to mount it later. It might be a "feature" of SFS that it checks the partition's availability at boot time but does not try it again after the new drivers have been loaded. Try to install the partition with OS3.9's FFS.

Calgor · 26 August 2007, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

Make sure that NSDPatch keeps away from the FastATA software.

Make sure that the FastATA software is installed and run in startup-sequence.

Make sure that OS3.9's SetPatch keeps away from the FastATA software (i.e. add skipromupdates scsi.device to the SetPatch line).

Try to disable auto-mount for that partition and use OS3.9's Mounter to mount it later. It might be a "feature" of SFS that it checks the partition's availability at boot time but does not try it again after the new drivers have been loaded. Try to install the partition with OS3.9's FFS.

Tried commenting out all scsi.device and 2nd.scsi.device entries in NSDPatch. No difference.

FastATA software is run in startup-sequence. And is loaded - I get the speedup too. Tried it both b4 and after the setpatch command. Before it (as recommended by Elbox), I lose all partitions above 4/8GB. After it, I lose all partitions above 127GB. It is set to resident, interrupts and no split.

Setpatch has been tried with skipping the scsi.device update. No difference.

How do I disable automount for a partition and then mount it later? Yes, it does seem like it could be a mounting problem as sfscheck reports the partition as fine, and I can format it and use it fine until I reboot.

thomas · 26 August 2007, 18:44

Quote:

How do I disable automount for a partition and then mount it later?

Run HDToolbox, select the HDD, go to "Partition Drive", select the partition, go to "Change..." and uncheck "Automount this partition". Save changes and reboot.

The Mounter utility is in the Tools drawer.

Calgor · 31 August 2007, 16:17

Removing automount and mounting manually did not solve the problem. No difference.

However, when I commented out the nsdpatch.cfg entries, repartitioned the problem partitions, and reformatted those new partitions, I had my partition above 127gb remembered on reboot.

Also, the 300mb FFS partition I created above 127GB is remembered.

Now I have a new problem:
- Whenever I format one sfs partition, it makes the other one have errors on sfscheck (it seems to be bad block type on either the start of one partition (block 0) or the end of the other (last block), as if the partitions are overlapping!!!!) -> EDIT: Well, another times it was other block numbers, maybe random. But the newly formatted partition is fine.
- If I try to add back the NSDPatch.cfg entries, my hard drive now has errors while booting.

Does SFS and/or FastATA need the NSDPatch.cfg entries for scsi.device/2nd.scsi.device?

Calgor · 31 August 2007, 16:30

I would not be remiss in saying I hate the lack of and confusing/contradictory Elbox instructions regarding FastATA3 driver with OS3.9.

They are not clear, nor are they complete.

Calgor · 01 September 2007, 05:48

To be more exact, the error messages I am getting using sfscheck, depending on the partition over 4/8GB are:

Checking RootBlocks
Incorrect block type at block XXXXX. Expected was 0x53465300 but it was 0x42544d50.

Checking Bitmap at block YYYYY (....)
Incorrect block type at block ZZZZZ. Expected was 0x42544d50 but it was 0x53465300.

SFSCheck also reports the device interface as NSD 64-bit, but I have the NSDPatch.cfg lines commented out, is that a problem? Any partition with the sfscheck errors comes up after reboot as uninitialized.

Calgor · 01 September 2007, 06:37

Removing all partitions above 4/8GB, then enabling NSDPatch, then repartitioning and reformatting with sfs results in no sfscheck errors as earlier, but partitions become uninitialized on reboot.

Calgor · 09 October 2007, 16:12

This is now resolved, thanks to Elbox fixing a bug in their drivers. While it was annoying that there was a bug, it was good that they were able to fix the problem. The problem may have been related to the interrupt mode, which may be why others have not reported the exact same problems.

My setup for reference:
- A1200D + Blizzard Mk-IV 030/50 + SCSI Kit + SCSI CDRW
- FastATA Mk-III, beta drivers > 8.4
- 160GB IDE 2.5in drive
- OS3.9BB2 with ROM Update, pretty much vanilla with no patches
- ATA drivers before SetPatch (saved as PIO5, RESIDENT, NOSPLIT, INTERRUPT)
- NSDPatch.cfg entries related to scsi.device and 2nd.scsi.device commented out
- Partitions with MaxTransfer 0x1fe00, Mask 0xfff.........
- SFS 1.276
- FFS 45.13

Speed is 7.5MB/s with interrupt mode, or 8.5MB/s without. Although both modes hog resources.

31 August 2007, 16:17	#31
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	Removing automount and mounting manually did not solve the problem. No difference. However, when I commented out the nsdpatch.cfg entries, repartitioned the problem partitions, and reformatted those new partitions, I had my partition above 127gb remembered on reboot. Also, the 300mb FFS partition I created above 127GB is remembered. Now I have a new problem: - Whenever I format one sfs partition, it makes the other one have errors on sfscheck (it seems to be bad block type on either the start of one partition (block 0) or the end of the other (last block), as if the partitions are overlapping!!!!) -> EDIT: Well, another times it was other block numbers, maybe random. But the newly formatted partition is fine. - If I try to add back the NSDPatch.cfg entries, my hard drive now has errors while booting. Does SFS and/or FastATA need the NSDPatch.cfg entries for scsi.device/2nd.scsi.device? Last edited by Calgor; 31 August 2007 at 16:28.

09 October 2007, 16:12	#35
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	This is now resolved, thanks to Elbox fixing a bug in their drivers. While it was annoying that there was a bug, it was good that they were able to fix the problem. The problem may have been related to the interrupt mode, which may be why others have not reported the exact same problems. My setup for reference: - A1200D + Blizzard Mk-IV 030/50 + SCSI Kit + SCSI CDRW - FastATA Mk-III, beta drivers > 8.4 - 160GB IDE 2.5in drive - OS3.9BB2 with ROM Update, pretty much vanilla with no patches - ATA drivers before SetPatch (saved as PIO5, RESIDENT, NOSPLIT, INTERRUPT) - NSDPatch.cfg entries related to scsi.device and 2nd.scsi.device commented out - Partitions with MaxTransfer 0x1fe00, Mask 0xfff......... - SFS 1.276 - FFS 45.13 Speed is 7.5MB/s with interrupt mode, or 8.5MB/s without. Although both modes hog resources. Last edited by Calgor; 09 October 2007 at 16:29.

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03 August 2007, 13:24	#21
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	Well, anyway seems hostid is not important, something set my partitions to 7, and there are no crashes! But now i have a new problem, seemingly related to the 160GB drive (installed showing 149GB) being more than 128GB. I am using The FastATA 1200 MK-III drivers v8.4 in NOSPLIT mode and SFS 1.270 filesystem on OS3.9BB2 (without BB2 ROM update). All partitions are fine apart from the one partition part of which is over the 128GB boundary. I can see it, format it with SFS, etc. But when I reboot, it become uninitialised every time!!! Anyone know what could be causing this? Size of this partition is 41GB, but I have 2 50GB partitions which are fine.

06 August 2007, 21:23	#22
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	Probably you won't be able get it to work at all.. Seems there is no LBA48 support in the drivers.

07 August 2007, 14:03	#23
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	Elbox says there is, as does their website. Although, at the moment, it is not working properly! Whenever it is recognised, the data does not get deleted, so I think it at least is not having any overlap errors, I have had no data corruption. I did read someone on a.org have a 160GB drive and they didn't say they had problems. Elbox have been very responsive in their emails so hopefully it will be resolved soon. Although it is worrying that it is not simple. The CSPPC with SCSI-IDE bridge was easier to setup (as in no extra software as cybppc.device just works). It might be my MAPROM and OS3.9 setup, although it is nothing too exotic for an A1200. btw, the FastATA delivers 7MB/s in PIO4 and 8MB/s in PIO5 while using a Blizzard Mk-IV. This is the same as Elbox's benchmarks. If anyone is using >137GB drive with FastATA MK-III let me know!

07 August 2007, 15:44	#24
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	Note to self: Check NSDPatch.cfg as per OS3.9 FAQ for scsi.device/2nd.scsi.device.

07 August 2007, 22:51	#25
mrbob2 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: sheffield Posts: 332	Just a question........What would you fill up a 160gb hard drive with if it was connected to an A1200? lol All my amiga games are 3.6gb......

26 August 2007, 12:09	#27
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	Still not working. NSDPatch.cfg changes didn't do anything. Does no one else on EAB have a >120GB drive connected to a FastATA 1200 MK-III?

26 August 2007, 13:31	#28
thomas Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 6,985	Make sure that NSDPatch keeps away from the FastATA software. Make sure that the FastATA software is installed and run in startup-sequence. Make sure that OS3.9's SetPatch keeps away from the FastATA software (i.e. add skipromupdates scsi.device to the SetPatch line). Try to disable auto-mount for that partition and use OS3.9's Mounter to mount it later. It might be a "feature" of SFS that it checks the partition's availability at boot time but does not try it again after the new drivers have been loaded. Try to install the partition with OS3.9's FFS.

31 August 2007, 16:30	#32
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	I would not be remiss in saying I hate the lack of and confusing/contradictory Elbox instructions regarding FastATA3 driver with OS3.9. They are not clear, nor are they complete.

01 September 2007, 05:48	#33
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	To be more exact, the error messages I am getting using sfscheck, depending on the partition over 4/8GB are: Checking RootBlocks Incorrect block type at block XXXXX. Expected was 0x53465300 but it was 0x42544d50. Checking Bitmap at block YYYYY (....) Incorrect block type at block ZZZZZ. Expected was 0x42544d50 but it was 0x53465300. SFSCheck also reports the device interface as NSD 64-bit, but I have the NSDPatch.cfg lines commented out, is that a problem? Any partition with the sfscheck errors comes up after reboot as uninitialized.

01 September 2007, 06:37	#34
Calgor (Amigas && Amigos)++ Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Anrea Posts: 999	Removing all partitions above 4/8GB, then enabling NSDPatch, then repartitioning and reformatting with sfs results in no sfscheck errors as earlier, but partitions become uninitialized on reboot.

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