Apollo 1260 problem copying small files

[abraXXious]

Hey guys,

I have an odd and annoying problem with an Apollo 1260 Im hoping someone can help me with.

The Apollo is running a rev 1d4 a1200 with timing fix, atx psu (all voltages good), 12v and 5v routed directly to the floppy power connector, 3.1 roms, 8gb compact flash hd and 32mb simm on the Apollo.

The apollo was refurbed by a fellow on AMibay who seems to know his stuff, so I believe it and the simm (also provided my him) to not be the problem.

Out of interest, I tried the board on a rev 1d1 a1200 and the problem persists.

The system is running the wb 3.1 version of AmigaSys4 with the optimisations chosen for the Apollo 1260.

I have a "Loadmodule Devs:Scsi.device_44.2" command as the first entry in my startup sequence so that the system recognises the partitions above 4gb.

I am using SFS with the default Max Transfer and Mask settings, although I have tried a couple of other settings and the problem persists.

OKIEZ, THE PROBLEM:

It boots fine, runs fine, will run for hours and hours no probs. Problem is, if I copy/write certain small files to a partition (any partition) the system crashes instantly. This only happens with certain small files. For example, one of the game icons in the Kens Icon pack, or one of the player genies in Delitracker etc.

Yet, I can copy a large file, such as a 16 mb doom wad file no problem.

Any ideas guys?

[abraXXious]

Okiez, update!

I now know it is NOT the Apollo 1260 or the A1200 at fault - If I plug the compactflash HD into my PC and run WinUAE it crashes on the same files!

So it is either one of three things:

1 - A library or patch the system does not like, however I have booted with no startup and manually copied a file at the CLI prompt and it crashes still, so I dont think it could be this.

2 - The Compactflash card is somehow now quite compatible, but I cannot understand how this can be if the entire workbench was put on it without problems.

3 - The Mask and Max Transfer settings are not right... can anyone suggest the correct/safe settings?

[Jope]

What do you have as the mask now?
Max transfer: 0x1fe00

[abraXXious]

Hi Jope!

No, the default settings are Mask = 0xfffffe and Max Transfer = 0xffffff.

I changed Mask to 0x7ffffffe and Max Transfer to 0x1fe00.

It works!

Strange how the wrong settings only crashed the system on small files, large files copied perfectly.

Weird.

Anywho, thanks for the help mate, appreciate it.

[stachu100]

Glad to hear that Apollo 1260 is not stupid and works as expected. ;-)

[Cosmos]

Why are you banned from Amibay ??

[abraXXious]

Lol, its a lovely piece of hardware when you get it running, and you did a great job on refurbing it Stachu, but its true what people say about the Apollo cards - they are SOOOOO finicky!

Oh, while I have you, I only have the old Apollo libs (68040, 68040 and 6804o) which will not work with RemApollo. I have tried the Phase 5 ones and they dont work either. Dont suppose you have a link to the newer ones?

[roy bates]

Originally Posted by abraXXious

Lol, its a lovely piece of hardware when you get it running, and you did a great job on refurbing it Stachu, but its true what people say about the Apollo cards - they are SOOOOO finicky!

Oh, while I have you, I only have the old Apollo libs (68040, 68040 and 6804o) which will not work with RemApollo. I have tried the Phase 5 ones and they dont work either. Dont suppose you have a link to the newer ones?

try "the big book of amiga hardware" and/or apollo 1260 install disk in google.
btw. stress affects different peaple in different ways,accept help from them for what it is.just help.

[abraXXious]

Hi Roy,

thats where I got the original Apollo install disk from. Unfortunately it has the older libs on it.

If you try and use RemApollo with the older libs the system becomes very unstable (the RemApollo docs even warn of this).

Anywho, if anyone out there knows where I can obtain the later libs I would be very greatful.

BTW - I dont get stressed, I just lose my temper. Getting stressed would probably be better - and less things get broken.

[abraXXious]

Hey Roy, I know this is kinda' off topic, but I just read the thread regarding your 100mhz Apollo 1260, amazing! Great work, my hat off to you sir.

Silly question, but can it be made to still fit in a desktop case, or is that an impossibility with regards to cooling?

[roy bates]

delete all three files from libs drawer.68040.library,68060.library,68o4o.library,and the file in c:cpu60,then re-install them all from the disk to there coresponding drawer on your harddrive,then edit your s:startup-sequence to include the line C:CPU60 B ,before setpatch and after any programes such as idefix/fastata and the like.

as for the apollo yep but with everything else you would have to do to it,you would have to chamfer the heatsink to about 30 degrees to match the case bevel or fit it with a low profile fan.and allow air circulation.

anyhow you have to take everything into account when converting/overclocking anyone could have done it,its not really amazing.

[Allen1]

Hi there abraXXious,

its good to see that you got the crashing problem sorted. This will no doubt come in handy for others who find that they have similar things happening to their setups or at least help towards eliminating possible causes.


@Roy,

the chamfering of the heatsink to match the case angle sounds like a great idea, I don't own an accelerator yet but if I ever do, I will remember that idea if space or overheating is a problem. It is the simple things like that, that can often make a big difference.

[abraXXious]

Thanks Allen1,

if you ever go for a cpu card go for an 030, preferrably a Blizzard Mk IV (Im assuming you are running an A1200?). They are much cheaper than 040s/060s and PPCs, still give you a BIG speed up over the stock speed of most base miggies, have less compatibility problems than 040+ and are easier to set up. They also less picky with psu and voltage levels...

[roy bates]

@allen1

im surprised no-one tried that one its not really a new idea as such ,making heatsinks fit odd shaped computer disigns has bean around for years.look at laptops.

sorry for the late reply im rebiulding a 3000T thats in a bad way.that someone gave me a while ago and trying to find some info on it.

and a csppc ive been told it works but have no way of testing it at the mo.

a bit off topic but ive seen peaple trying to cool down the bvision maybe its an idea to make a custom cooling block(not water cooling)for the whole card and have the hot air ejected thruogh the back of the 1200 via a 30mm slot in the back just an idea.

[Allen1]

Originally Posted by abraXXious

Thanks Allen1,

if you ever go for a cpu card go for an 030, preferrably a Blizzard Mk IV (Im assuming you are running an A1200?). They are much cheaper than 040s/060s and PPCs, still give you a BIG speed up over the stock speed of most base miggies, have less compatibility problems than 040+ and are easier to set up. They also less picky with psu and voltage levels...

Cheers abraXXious,

the 1200 is my favourite and I use it with a 4MB memory expansion. This is fine for most of the games I like including WHDLoad games, mind you there are some bits of software that would run much better with an accelerator attached plus a bit more memory. Some of the prices of even the 030 accelerators are often obscene especially for a second hand one, as I am not in any hurry, I'll wait till one comes along at a sensible price and maybe go for that

@Roy,
the laptop heatsinks and fans come in loads of styles, I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't one that would fit the bill, Ebay has over 2,600 at the moment. Some of the contact areas are flat and could maybe fit an existing heatsink by drilling the fitting holes from the flat side of the original heatsink and countersinking the holes so that screws and nuts could be used to fix the heatpipe contact area to the heatsink after removing any fins to allow the heatpipe to fit.

Something like that and a laptop fan to blow through the cooling fins at the end of the heatpipe should work fine. If the exhaust from the fan didn't reach the back as you mentioned, maybe a tube could be formed to guide the hot air in the right direction. The only real problem would be how to secure such a thing in place.

Thankfully I don't have that need for cooling at the moment, if I did, I would experiment with the laptop cooler idea and probably use the joystick and other connectors screws to hold a bracket that would secure the device in place. All of this could only be done with an actual card on hand so that components can be avoided on the motherboard, this would also give an idea of what would fit best in the area before actually buying the laptop parts.

Easier said than done but that's the fun of modifying stuff

[roy bates]

@allen1

sorry for the confusion here,what i meant was a "custom" heatsink for the bvision not one made from parts from laptops.that covers gpu,ram,etc
by that i mean one made from scatch from an aluminium block with a fan in the middle.and the whole heatsink assembly clips to the bvision no bolts no heatpipe to save space,inlet near the floppy drive, outlet to the rear of the case.
difficult yes.impossible no.
i mentioned the "laptops heatsinks " as a comparison.
also sorry for mentioning this in someone else's thread