Using a Compact Flash card on a600/a1200 IDE

[Zetr0]

@bloodwych

knowing whats inside it looks awsome with the case closed!!! i am looking forward to spraying this weekend if the weather holds up. I cannot take all credit though,

My source of inspiration is from the A600 project that our fair Smiley made
It sports a CDROM and 1.2GB 2.5" HDD with both a clock port adapter AND a full 1MB (oldskool) chunky size chip mem upgrade.


Smiley also added CDROM audio outputs on the back of the A600 wich is cool

my DVD/CDRW audio is NOW configured to exit out the same ports as the amiga native audio.

so if any my A600 project is more of an omarge Smiley's 600 really

[Bloodwych]

I must have missed Smiley's A600! Oh, well, two kick ass A600's then.

[Zetr0]

Thats some good info there Gizmomelb, to add to that .

Using a Generic IDE to CF adapter and an Integral PCMCIA to CF adapter

(www.integralmemory.com)

Kingston Dual Power cards

1x512MB PCMCIA = NO / IDE = NO
1x256MB PCMCIA = NO / IDE = NO

Sandisk Extreme III

1x1GB PCMCIA = NO / IDE = NO


Sandisk / Generic CF type I and II (80x or less )

1x32MB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES(sandisk)
1x64MB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = NO (un branded )
1x64MB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES(un branded )
2x128MB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES(un branded )
2x512MB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES(un branded )
1x1GB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES(sandisk)
1x2GB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES(sandisk)
1x4GB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES(un branded )

Micro SD - converted to SD then to CF type II

1x1GB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES (sandisk)
1x2GB PCMCIA = YES / IDE = YES (sandisk)

----------------------------------

from your analysis and from what i have here... I believe a logical argument could be made that

a. Generic type 1 or 2 CF cards under or at 80x speed
b. single power type


lets hope this info helps.

[dambuster]

Heres more tried on CF/IDE adaptor

Jessop 512MB CF (Toshiba) Works
Lexar 1GB CF works
have a PRT 2GB card just arrived in post - will try later

Paul

[dambuster]

PRt 2GB works
heres the link for it
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...tml?RAM-FLC2GB

Paul

[DaZZaBoY]

@ZetrO: Yup, def more pics plz!!!

[Zetr0]

justa waiting for the weather to warm up, I am on the final coat of laqure now, just not happy spraying when its under 5c.

btw, just a little teaser I have gone for a two-tone colour scheme

[gizmomelb]

nice info on the CF cards guys.

I wonder why the generics tend to work but the name brand ones don't?

I'm currently trying to get Knoppix working on my laptop so I can use the cardctl command to display the Card Information Structure (CIS) - basically the firmware which details the specs of the card and I think also if it supports true IDE mode or not. that might be the issue. But bloody Knoppix keeps freezing after detecting the laptop video card. oh well, more googling..

[dlfrsilver]

Danelec Works WHATEVER the model you're buying !

here mines :

1 512 mb Danelec
1 2 Go Danelec
1 4 Go Danelec

All of them work, and the best is that they are factory FAT32 formatted !

[Zetr0]

After a recent chat or to, the idea of booting from a cf-card setup in the pcmcia port as a FAT harddisk.

Now from my thoughts, It should be quite simple.

using a modified workbench disk with a FAT filesys driver on it to mount the pcmcia cf card disk, once this had been done hand over the rest of the workbench load to come from the cf card in the pcmcia port...

all i need now is a confirmation and more so a list of files required for the foppy to do this.

[Mad-Matt]

I used to use a similar method on my A600 to boot workbench from hd (as my kickstart 37.299 didnt support it). I made a boot floppy with a kick3.1 ripped scsi.device and the neccessary mount file to show the hd to the system and then hand over all the relevent assigns to the hd to boot into wb. had to softkick 3.0 to actually partition the drive though

for clues on the files you need, id look at the workbench install floppies as they include the boot/mount files required to boot an A2/3000(i think this model) which also required hd redirection for whatever reason.

[Jope]

You could also use loadresident to load the scsi.device into RAM and then just reboot the machine.

[gizmomelb]

hi guys, I managed to finally get knoppix to work with my laptop (run it in text only mode) and discovered some interesting things about the CF cards I've got that work and don't work with the Amiga.

Inside every CF (and probably most types of flash memory) is an firmware flashROM which holds info such as the manufacturer ID, capacity, voltage etc. which is called the CIS (Card Information Structure). Linux can easily query the CIS and totally by accident I finally found a commercial Windows program which can also query the CIS on flash memory.

The CF cards I've got that DON'T work with the Amiga (but do with the IBM) have BLANK manufid fields, whereas the CF cards that work have info in their manufid fields.

Compact Flash cards can operate in three modes and unfortunately I don't think you can read the CIS to find out what modes the Compact Flash card supports. The three modes are:

Memory card mode
I/O Card mode
True IDE mode

all CF cards *SHOULD* support all three modes, but some manufacturers don't enable support for True IDE mode so they save a few cents in parts or design.

The CF to IDE adapters play a part in whether or not a CF (which does support True IDE mode) will work as a HDD - pin 9 needs to be tied to ground. If pin 9 is floating or linked back to the IDE connector, then the CF to IDE adapter probably won't allow the CF to act in True IDE mode (so you can't use it as a HDD). The only ways to test this is with a multimeter or visual inspection of the IDE to CF adapter.

I'll do some testing over the weekend with my IDE to CF adapter and see if there is anything in the CF cards themselves which stop them from working in True IDE mode.


Zetr0 - nice idea on the PCMCIA CF HDD. Will be interested to see how it goes. I have most of my common utilities (diskmater, tsgui, reorg, Quarterback etc.) copied on to my CF -> PCMCIA adapter, so I can run them almost as if they were in a RAM disk (faster/easier than on my HDD at any rate).


I've also been thinking that a nice cheap edge connected IDE interface for an Amiga 500 could also have a CF socket stuck in it (as a slave device) so that would make ADF transfers to/from an A500 extremely easy and painless. No more null modem cables needed for A500 users. Hopefully that's an easy enough project for someone to pick up and run with.


I'm also still dreaming/scheming of a flash memory floppy drive replacement. Fixed bitrate decoding/emulation seems reasonably straight forward (ie: ADF support). Variable bit (ie:IPF) support might never happen (at least in my design, not smart enough for that at the moment) but at worst you'd be limited to accessing only the majority of the TOSEC collection

[andy2004]

I am thinking of transfering all my floppies amiga to PC, now which would be the easiest way to go, using the CF - IDE with a 2gb/1gb card or the PCMCIA CF, I'm thinking the CF-IDE cause then i can use it to boot the amiga after transfering from winuae to card, it would be on a stock A600, with 1mb upgrade. Who else bought the http://www.ebest24.co.uk/products/co...e-adapter.html
This adapter and is it compatible, am i correct in thinking it doesnt need any software to run and can be mounted to run in a pc as a removable drive.

[dambuster]

@andy2004
I posted the original link, I have the double CF card version and the single version. Only software requitred is HDTools to prep the CF cards

[andy2004]

Thanks Dambuster, so if i got the 2gb card i could split it say 100mb for amiga and 1.9gb for the PC transference.

[Zetr0]

heys andy2004,

the problem you would run into is the fact that the PC runs a native FAT filesystem, this is incompatible without drivers on the Amiga,

if you are thinking of going the IDE CF route, perhaps a small CF card say 128 or 256MB these are dirt cheap, and in some cases given away with a PCMCIA CF adapter (i got a 256MB free)...

with this setup as a permanment hard disk with a workbench installed (including PCMCIA CF FAT drivers added) that way you can use upto a 4GB cf card for ADF transfers in the PCMCIA port.... its an easier method than say trying to partition the CF card for FAT and AmigaOS formats... (it would be a little tricky to say the least)

[andy2004]

yeah forgot to mention i was talking going through winuae on that transfer, so technically it would be amiga to vertiual amiga

[dambuster]

With mine (2x512MB, 1GB & 2GB) I prepped them using HDTools on the A1200, then inserted them into the card reader port (usb) on the pc. Used winuae to copy Bloodwich's excellent classic wb over to the cf. then reinserted the cf back into the A1200's cf/ide adaptor. Simple - just like me

[andy2004]

Originally Posted by dambuster

With mine (2x512MB, 1GB & 2GB) I prepped them using HDTools on the A1200, then inserted them into the card reader port (usb) on the pc. Used winuae to copy Bloodwich's excellent classic wb over to the cf. then reinserted the cf back into the A1200's cf/ide adaptor. Simple - just like me

This is similar to the way i wanted to copy my 300+ floppies over to use on the Winuae, then i was going to use the card in the amiga as a harddrive