SCSI CDROM compatibility issues with A590?

[bugsymalone666]

So ages ago I started a little project to build a retro update box for my Amiga A500 with a 590 HD upgrade. The A590 came with a 20mb scsi HD so off to ebay I went and got an IBM DPES 31080 Pegasus 1gb HD from a computer recycler, got it , formatted it into several sections and got WB 2.1 installed on it - Lovely!

For my retro box I had acquired an old Caddy type CDROM Drive which I thought was more excellent, but the Amiga wont see the scsi device.

So I used both IDEfix97 and HDToolBox to do tests of what devices it can see, and with the IBM 1gb drive attached, no CD, with the 20mb segate OG HD, no CD, took the drive out and put the Segate in place of it so the 1gb IBM was internal and the 20gb Seagate was external, it could see those both!

So clearly the cabling is fine and the HDs work, but the CD drive cant be picked up as a scsi device. checked the IDs and even when I did the dual HD test i set the seagate to the same ID as the CD drive to check for a conflict, but no, 1gb ID3, exteral drive ID6.

So now I am at a bit of a loss, is there a special way to see a cd scsi device or should I still be able to see it with the above programs?

also I noted this in the manual to the CD drive I found online:

To use the CD-R device, the following components are required:
Computer (IBM-PC/AT* compatible)
SCSI-Host adapter
SCSI-Interface cable (50 to 50 pin flat cable)
Software (Device driver, utilities)

where it says IBM PC/AT compatible, I wondered if this could at all have an impact on being able to see it.

or is Scsi just Scsi?

Was really hoping to get this working but I am at a bit of a loss as to what to try next now.

The drive itself is:
Sony CDU926S

[Matt_H]

IDEfix is irrelevant in this case since you are dealing exclusively with SCSI. The IBM PC/AT stuff is also irrelevant - it probably just has to do with the "official" instructions and software that originally came with the drive way back when it was made. SCSI is SCSI, and it should be compatible.

First, are your A590 ROMs up to date (v7)?

Make sure your SCSI cabling and termination is all correct. Your internal hard drive may be terminating the bus, preventing the external drive from being detected.

Use SCSIMounter to scan the bus. HDToolbox is not very good at detecting non-hard-drive devices.

Are there any other jumpers on the CD drive apart from the SCSI ID?

Once the hardware bus can see the drive, then you'll need a CD filesystem in order to be able to use it as a removable volume. I used AsimCDFS on my 2.1 system. I believe AmiCDFS will also work under 2.1.

[nogginthenog]

The FindCD program is useful too. I think it is part of idefix?

[bugsymalone666]

Originally Posted by Matt_H

IDEfix is irrelevant in this case since you are dealing exclusively with SCSI. The IBM PC/AT stuff is also irrelevant - it probably just has to do with the "official" instructions and software that originally came with the drive way back when it was made. SCSI is SCSI, and it should be compatible.

First, are your A590 ROMs up to date (v7)?

Make sure your SCSI cabling and termination is all correct. Your internal hard drive may be terminating the bus, preventing the external drive from being detected.

Use SCSIMounter to scan the bus. HDToolbox is not very good at detecting non-hard-drive devices.

Are there any other jumpers on the CD drive apart from the SCSI ID?

Once the hardware bus can see the drive, then you'll need a CD filesystem in order to be able to use it as a removable volume. I used AsimCDFS on my 2.1 system. I believe AmiCDFS will also work under 2.1.

IDEfix97, actually has a tool that can detect more than just IDE, it can successfully see my Scsi HDs, just not the CD rom.

Cabling is that the unit inside is essentially however the factory intended aside from the drive upgrade, the drive itself originally never had any sort of internal termination as there are resistors on the the scsi controller for that already. externally I have a 25pin dsub to 50pin centronics which plugs into the external case that has 2x 50 pin centronics connectors, cable into one and passive terminator on the other, internally there is just the one 50pin idc connector between the 2.

Theory says this is right, because when new you wouldnt open up the case and start cutting bits out to make external devices work, when I was doing work experience at school I actually worked somewhere that made scsi stuff and thats how we used to terminate stuff (which incidentally is where my case came from!)

My A590 is running V6.6 roms which I thought should have been adequate? I guess I dont have a way of flashing the roms myself, can it not be done via software?

with the software I understand about the cd file system as this isnt a new topic and I looked into it last year, just I am sick of seeing this thing in bits and want to solve the problem so I can put it all back together.

[Matt_H]

v7 ROMs fix a lot of bugs, including some having to do with removable media. Your cabling setup sounds good, so the ROMs are an important variable to eliminate. Here's a set I found quickly. There are probably some sources closer to the UK as well.

[bugsymalone666]

Funnily enough it looks like they are the only ones available on the internet

I have wonder if its possible to make my own?

I have no experience of rom burning, but I can always learn I guess!

[Jope]

Just burn them to 2764s and plug in. If the HD is no longer detected, you have them in the wrong sockets. Swap and retry.