New A1200 user can't boot from CF. (please post your experiences Kingston CFs)

Cultgamer · 08 January 2010, 23:22

Hi all

Got my A1200 and Viper 1230 accelerator yesterday. It's got 3.0 ROMS and WB 3.0 disks.

I've got a Kingston 4Gb CF card/IDE kit from chaoticjellygames on eBay and managed to get ClassicWB installed on it and booting under WinUAE using a usb card reader.

When I put the CF in the Amiga 1200, it just sits at the purple 'insert floppy' screen, although when first turning on the HDD led flickers so it does recognise that something is present.

Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong or give me very clear steps on how to properly format the card under UAE and install ClassicWB to then boot from on my A1200.

I know it's a big ask, but I've just registered my WHDLoad key and I'm raring to go

Matt020 · 08 January 2010, 23:28

First things first : boot from the Workbench 3.0 install disk. Use HDTools and see if the CF card is recognised/detected.

Cultgamer · 08 January 2010, 23:29

I don't have an install disk

prowler · 08 January 2010, 23:58

Hi Cultgamer,

The Kingston 4GB CF card is likely to be the culprit here. Kingston flash media are not renowned for their compatibility with the Amiga PCMCIA or IDE interfaces. Replace it with a SanDisk card and you'll be good to go.

Cultgamer · 09 January 2010, 00:01

I've bought it from a seller who only uses these and has had plenty of positive feedback - or can it be one Kingston 4Gb might work and one won't?

seuden · 09 January 2010, 00:04

Wow!! You're in Maidstone, sooo many people in Kent. Sorry I can't help with your predicament.

prowler · 09 January 2010, 00:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cultgamer

I've bought it from a seller who only uses these and has had plenty of positive feedback - or can it be one Kingston 4Gb might work and one won't?

Kingston flash media are not the most compatible with the Amiga. You will likely have no problem with your 4GB card whilst using it with your PC - even when mounted under Amiga emulation, but as soon as you connect it to your Amiga, the incompatibility will be evident.

Does the seller actually use these cards in an Amiga?

Retro1234 · 09 January 2010, 00:11

How did you format the card without HDTools?

prowler · 09 January 2010, 00:17

Hmm... Good point, Boo Boo!

There might be hope for the 4GB Kinsgton CF card yet!

@Cultgamer: Is it this one?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-600-4GB-...item2a03af8b42
If so, then I guess it should work.

As Matt020 says, you just need a Workbench 3.0 Install disk, or an ADF image of it to install in WinUAE using HDToolbox.

amigakit.com · 09 January 2010, 00:24

Welcome!

We can confirm from our extensive tests of CF cards with the A1200 that the newer batch of Kingston cards are not A1200 friendly.

We have found that some A1200 accelerators which have their own firmware, introduce a delay which is long enough at boot up for the Kingston cards to be recognised and function correctly.

prowler · 09 January 2010, 00:32

Hey, thanks for the info, AmikaKit!

As you may have seen, the eBay item above is sold for use with an Amiga 600, or is that likely to be problematic too?

Cultgamer · 09 January 2010, 12:33

Hi all,

It was this one for A1200 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ht_3982wt_1204

Seems to sell quite a few of them without issue. It is quite possibly me not formatting it correctly, will try with the ADF of the install disk under winuae.

Cultgamer · 09 January 2010, 18:08

Ok I've gone from WB3.1 that it was installed with, to ClassicWB, and now fully and correctly formatted back to WB3.1 and I still can't boot the A1200 from it, only WinUAE. Totally stuck....

amigakit.com · 09 January 2010, 18:11

It is not to do with software setup, it is to do with the Kingston firmware of the CF card not being compatible with the Amiga. We have extensively researched CF cards and their compatibility with the A1200.

Cultgamer · 09 January 2010, 18:15

So what do I do? Can I alter the CF firmware at all?

amigakit.com · 09 January 2010, 18:22

There are PC tools to alter CF firmware but AFAIK not publically available for Kingston brand.

Older Kingston cards worked great with the Amiga but recently the new versions have been causing problems.

Cultgamer · 09 January 2010, 18:45

That's a pain in the arse

so I'm stuffed then.

protek · 09 January 2010, 18:56

I had similar issues with a 4 GB Kingston CF. See my thread "A4000 problem booting from CF HD" for further info. Have you tried soft boot after power up by pressing ctrl-amiga-amiga. That helped with my Kingston. Switched over to Sandisk card. It had its own issues with IDEFix but my system now works nevertheless.

Cultgamer · 09 January 2010, 19:00

ctrl-amiga-amiga does nothing, just brings me back to the purple screen. I've noticed that if I set the jumped on the IDE adapter to slave rather than master I get some H.DISK light activity first, but thats about it. As master it does nothing.

EDIT; and ctrl-amiga-amiga with it set as slave just leaves me at a blank purple screen with nothing at all on it...?

Jope · 09 January 2010, 19:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by amigakit.com

It is not to do with software setup, it is to do with the Kingston firmware of the CF card not being compatible with the Amiga. We have extensively researched CF cards and their compatibility with the A1200.

Please explain:

http://jope.fi/amiga/kingstoncf.jpg

08 January 2010, 23:22	#1
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	New A1200 user can't boot from CF. (please post your experiences Kingston CFs) Hi all Got my A1200 and Viper 1230 accelerator yesterday. It's got 3.0 ROMS and WB 3.0 disks. I've got a Kingston 4Gb CF card/IDE kit from chaoticjellygames on eBay and managed to get ClassicWB installed on it and booting under WinUAE using a usb card reader. When I put the CF in the Amiga 1200, it just sits at the purple 'insert floppy' screen, although when first turning on the HDD led flickers so it does recognise that something is present. Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong or give me very clear steps on how to properly format the card under UAE and install ClassicWB to then boot from on my A1200. I know it's a big ask, but I've just registered my WHDLoad key and I'm raring to go

09 January 2010, 00:17	#9
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	Hmm... Good point, Boo Boo! There might be hope for the 4GB Kinsgton CF card yet! @Cultgamer: Is it this one? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Amiga-600-4GB-...item2a03af8b42 If so, then I guess it should work. As Matt020 says, you just need a Workbench 3.0 Install disk, or an ADF image of it to install in WinUAE using HDToolbox. Last edited by prowler; 09 January 2010 at 00:27.

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08 January 2010, 23:28	#2
Matt020 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: West Australia Age: 47 Posts: 210	First things first : boot from the Workbench 3.0 install disk. Use HDTools and see if the CF card is recognised/detected.

08 January 2010, 23:29	#3
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	I don't have an install disk

08 January 2010, 23:58	#4
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	Hi Cultgamer, The Kingston 4GB CF card is likely to be the culprit here. Kingston flash media are not renowned for their compatibility with the Amiga PCMCIA or IDE interfaces. Replace it with a SanDisk card and you'll be good to go.

09 January 2010, 00:01	#5
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	I've bought it from a seller who only uses these and has had plenty of positive feedback - or can it be one Kingston 4Gb might work and one won't?

09 January 2010, 00:04	#6
seuden uber cool demi god Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Kent/England Posts: 2,073	Wow!! You're in Maidstone, sooo many people in Kent. Sorry I can't help with your predicament.

09 January 2010, 00:11	#8
Retro1234 Phone Homer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 5150 Posts: 5,812	How did you format the card without HDTools?

09 January 2010, 00:24	#10
amigakit.com Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: www.amigakit.com Posts: 2,043	Welcome! We can confirm from our extensive tests of CF cards with the A1200 that the newer batch of Kingston cards are not A1200 friendly. We have found that some A1200 accelerators which have their own firmware, introduce a delay which is long enough at boot up for the Kingston cards to be recognised and function correctly.

09 January 2010, 00:32	#11
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	Hey, thanks for the info, AmikaKit! As you may have seen, the eBay item above is sold for use with an Amiga 600, or is that likely to be problematic too?

09 January 2010, 12:33	#12
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	Hi all, It was this one for A1200 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ht_3982wt_1204 Seems to sell quite a few of them without issue. It is quite possibly me not formatting it correctly, will try with the ADF of the install disk under winuae.

09 January 2010, 18:08	#13
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	Ok I've gone from WB3.1 that it was installed with, to ClassicWB, and now fully and correctly formatted back to WB3.1 and I still can't boot the A1200 from it, only WinUAE. Totally stuck....

09 January 2010, 18:11	#14
amigakit.com Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: www.amigakit.com Posts: 2,043	It is not to do with software setup, it is to do with the Kingston firmware of the CF card not being compatible with the Amiga. We have extensively researched CF cards and their compatibility with the A1200.

09 January 2010, 18:15	#15
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	So what do I do? Can I alter the CF firmware at all?

09 January 2010, 18:22	#16
amigakit.com Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: www.amigakit.com Posts: 2,043	There are PC tools to alter CF firmware but AFAIK not publically available for Kingston brand. Older Kingston cards worked great with the Amiga but recently the new versions have been causing problems.

09 January 2010, 18:45	#17
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	That's a pain in the arse so I'm stuffed then.

09 January 2010, 18:56	#18
protek Amiga hobbyist Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oulu, Finland Posts: 250	I had similar issues with a 4 GB Kingston CF. See my thread "A4000 problem booting from CF HD" for further info. Have you tried soft boot after power up by pressing ctrl-amiga-amiga. That helped with my Kingston. Switched over to Sandisk card. It had its own issues with IDEFix but my system now works nevertheless.

09 January 2010, 19:00	#19
Cultgamer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Maidstone, UK Posts: 22	ctrl-amiga-amiga does nothing, just brings me back to the purple screen. I've noticed that if I set the jumped on the IDE adapter to slave rather than master I get some H.DISK light activity first, but thats about it. As master it does nothing. EDIT; and ctrl-amiga-amiga with it set as slave just leaves me at a blank purple screen with nothing at all on it...?

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