A590 markred as NDOS

Maverick · 03 May 2005, 13:09

Just got my old Amiga from the cellar to put it in my arcade machine and play the great old games. Alas, I had to realize that I forgot almost anything about this machine and that some old stuff is not willing to work anymore.
Biggest problem is my A590 which complained about several checksum errors. After formatting it, it first looked OK, but after the first reboot the drive was named dh0:NDOS and was unusable. Is there anything to do after the format to make the hard drive work or is it just gone bad over the years? I tried install dh0: but he complained about the syntax even though I was so sure.

Frank

commie1974 · 05 May 2005, 11:09

If you have the normal 20Mb HD (8-bit IDE) installed in the 590 case, it probably has a stuck mechanism over the years! I experienced the same problem with a 590 I found at a fleamarket, and the only 'solution' was to lubricate an external axis which is supposed to move the heads (AFAIR it was a Seagate drive) and give it a few hits with my own hands! The drive resurrected for a couple of days, but then it did the same all over, so it ended its miserable life in a local trashcan!
The best thing you can do is find a SCSI HD (up to 1Gb) and replace the old one! There is also a jumper that needs to be altered for SCSI usage on the controller board, and a piece of ribbon with two SCSI connectors!
The 590 is quite a good controller for normal A500 purposes!
You can also add up to 2Mb fast ram, if you haven't already with ICs that can be very easily obtained from old VGA PC cards (most of them were ISA and use the required ram chips).

Maverick · 05 May 2005, 23:02

Thanx for the help.
My original 20Mb HD is already as SCSI Drive, so I could probably use another one with out changing any jumpers or is there anything else to consider?
By the way, do you know where to find any technical documentation about the A590? I don't even know what the DIP switches are for.

commie1974 · 06 May 2005, 08:02

I think that replacing the HD with a new one (NOT over 1gb) is the solution! You don't need to make any other modifications! I had the same question about technical reference and DIP switches back then, I found the answer searching for a while with google, but I don't remeber the URLs now! Just fiddle around a little, and you will find EVERYTHING, as I did

03 May 2005, 13:09	#1
Maverick Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Solingen / Germany Age: 54 Posts: 59	A590 markred as NDOS Just got my old Amiga from the cellar to put it in my arcade machine and play the great old games. Alas, I had to realize that I forgot almost anything about this machine and that some old stuff is not willing to work anymore. Biggest problem is my A590 which complained about several checksum errors. After formatting it, it first looked OK, but after the first reboot the drive was named dh0:NDOS and was unusable. Is there anything to do after the format to make the hard drive work or is it just gone bad over the years? I tried install dh0: but he complained about the syntax even though I was so sure. Frank

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05 May 2005, 11:09	#2
commie1974 Amiga? What's that?!? Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Piraeus-Greece Age: 50 Posts: 260	If you have the normal 20Mb HD (8-bit IDE) installed in the 590 case, it probably has a stuck mechanism over the years! I experienced the same problem with a 590 I found at a fleamarket, and the only 'solution' was to lubricate an external axis which is supposed to move the heads (AFAIR it was a Seagate drive) and give it a few hits with my own hands! The drive resurrected for a couple of days, but then it did the same all over, so it ended its miserable life in a local trashcan! The best thing you can do is find a SCSI HD (up to 1Gb) and replace the old one! There is also a jumper that needs to be altered for SCSI usage on the controller board, and a piece of ribbon with two SCSI connectors! The 590 is quite a good controller for normal A500 purposes! You can also add up to 2Mb fast ram, if you haven't already with ICs that can be very easily obtained from old VGA PC cards (most of them were ISA and use the required ram chips).

05 May 2005, 23:02	#3
Maverick Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Solingen / Germany Age: 54 Posts: 59	Thanx for the help. My original 20Mb HD is already as SCSI Drive, so I could probably use another one with out changing any jumpers or is there anything else to consider? By the way, do you know where to find any technical documentation about the A590? I don't even know what the DIP switches are for.

06 May 2005, 08:02	#4
commie1974 Amiga? What's that?!? Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Piraeus-Greece Age: 50 Posts: 260	I think that replacing the HD with a new one (NOT over 1gb) is the solution! You don't need to make any other modifications! I had the same question about technical reference and DIP switches back then, I found the answer searching for a while with google, but I don't remeber the URLs now! Just fiddle around a little, and you will find EVERYTHING, as I did

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