TF4060 feedback

[samaron]

Hello,

Since it is impossible to register at the forum where the developer resides, I'm creating this thread here. Hopefully the developer does read on other forums from time to time and picks this up.

Got a TF4060 about a week ago and wanted to provide some feedback regarding my setup and experience so far. Especially since it is considered an open beta.

My computer and expansions:
- Amiga 4000Dcr (hese A4000TX v1.1 board) with Super Buster 11 and latest 3.2 ROMs
- TF4060 FW 4252a06 (latest fix)
- ZZ9000 RTG card
- X-Surf-100 NIC
- Prelude (replica) with MPEGit module
- Fastlane Z3 SCSI controller with RAM disabled (v2.2 card with 8.5 ROM)
- BlueSCSI V2 drive

Initially after installing the accelerator card, the computer would not boot. This resulted in "remove everything and see if it still works" troubleshooting. Now I saw some flashing colors and got a kickstart screen. Plugging things back into the computer, I found that what kept it from booting was the DVD-ROM I have connected to the motherboard IDE controller. The drive is a NEC ND-3550A. A bug, perhaps? Had no trouble with it connected (and working) when an A3640 was installed.

Otherwise the card has worked as expected so far. Software overclocking works and all 256MB RAM is detected.
I do not have a proper solution for the 44-pin IDE header on the accelerator board, so haven't been able to test this yet.
Used the accelerator with the Fastlane RAM enabled and disabled. Since the performance did not chance, I assume the DMA is working properly.

No doubt a lot of thought and work has gone into the design. Very well done in my opinion. Adding the header in order to use a Raspberry Pi to do firmware updates is brilliant. I'm sure many people appreciate an easily obtainable and low cost method to flash the card.

Will be interesting to see what the future brings for this card. I'm thankfully in a position where any potential hardware changes shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully it will just be bug fixes and some tweaks to the features and performance.

[alexh]

You can't register for Exxos?

There is not enough information in this bug report. Where is your boot drive? Is it BlueSCSI V2 connected to Fastlane Z3 SCSI? Is the Fastlane RAM disabled when you're using A3640?

I would recommend you change your boot-drive for one containing a fresh AmigaOS3.2 installation + MMULib (if it is not part of AmigaOS3.2) and see if it still doesn't boot with IDE DVD ROM connected.

[samaron]

I have tried to register on Exxos for a week now. Tried multiple different e-mails and had a friend try to register too. Same result every time, get an error stating there's a problem with a third party. None of the e-mails used are Microsoft or T-Online addresses.

The only boot drive I have is the BlueSCSI, which is connected to the Fastlane card. The Fastlane RAM was not disabled when the A3640 was in use.

When the DVD-ROM was connected, the computer did not show the flashing colors on screen when powered on. It did come out of reset, as the power LED became brighter after a second. Regardless, will try a fresh 3.2 install and report back.

[trixster]

I'm sure I read about an fpga update to fix the cold boot issue

here we are, posted on 29th jul on exxos forum

"This could be related to a reset issue that was fixed in the latest fpga firmware file. Ask Chucky to give it to you to reflash and see if this solves it. Otherwise, I have not experienced any booting issues on my machines."

[samaron]

I have the latest firmware flashed. The card came with FW 4252a06, but noticed a hotfix were released right after the card was shipped. I flashed the hotfix, but it didn't change the behavior.

Another detail I forgot about is that the motherboard IDE has PIO2. Maybe this causes some sort of compatibility problem?

[Calabazam]

I don't have the TF4060 yet to discuss that matter before a few weeks, but i have learnt before that Prelude and MPEGIT don't work with the A4000TX. Is there a fix for it i don't know of?

[Lizard]

I seem to remember the Fastlane being picky in Z3 mode, do you have FW version 8.5 on it?

[samaron]

Originally Posted by Calabazam

I don't have the TF4060 yet to discuss that matter before a few weeks, but i have learnt before that Prelude and MPEGIT don't work with the A4000TX. Is there a fix for it i don't know of?

I can't recall ever reading about it being an issue. I have had no problems with the sound card using the V4 Software Bundle on Aminet. Getting the MPEGit module to work required a little trial and error due to the various branches of libraries.

Originally Posted by Lizard

I seem to remember the Fastlane being picky in Z3 mode, do you have FW version 8.5 on it?

Yes, the Fastlane has the latest 8.5 ROM. It is a v2.2 card.

[Matt020]

It is a shame that people are having problems signing up on the Exxos forum, because all of these questions can be answered direct there by the people who designed the 4060, tested the 4060 and built the 4060. You'd have (most) answers to your questions there.