FastATA MKII

[daxb]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

So you are saying my choices do save but will always display defaults?

Yes, choices are saved. If not something is wrong. All settings should display what you have saved except NOSPLIT will default to SPLIT. If you quit ATA3Prefs with click on USE and restart it, it will also display NOSPLIT if you chose it further.

Nope, I go to Sysinfo and click into drive, then click speed.

I bet you will tell me this is a bad way

Yes I will. Because SyInfo is a guess iron. Use drivespeed or sysspeed (Aminet) instead.

Well I'm sure CF cards are, but then there are different speeds of them so may be a quicker card will get quicker results???

Maybe maybe not. As already written it depends.

[rabidgerry]

Originally Posted by daxb

Yes, choices are saved. If not something is wrong. All settings should display what you have saved except NOSPLIT will default to SPLIT. If you quit ATA3Prefs with click on USE and restart it, it will also display NOSPLIT if you chose it further.


Yes I will. Because SyInfo is a guess iron. Use drivespeed or sysspeed (Aminet) instead.


Maybe maybe not. As already written it depends.

oh ok may be it is just the split option is always displayed and this was making me think everything wasn't saved.

Should split be used or is no split better? Also what about resident? Is it better to have this enabled?

Well it turns out SYSinfo wasn't that far off.

Mind you In SYSinfo I am able to do test the speed for each partition where as DriveSpeed just seemed to be a general HD test.

Anyways it was slightly more with DriveSpeed compared to what I was getting in SYSinfo which was 5,004,111 bytes p/s compared to 5,383,517bytes p/s.

I actually own a Sata III CF fast card, I wonder could this be used with the right adapter? Just thinking out loud with that idea

Have you ever used this weird driver that elbox has download for? Below is the read me. Seems like dark arts to me!

1. Installation

Download latest 2.4 kernel for APUS (using CVS) from linux-apus.sf.net.

To install this driver:
* copy contents of "driver" directory to kernel source tree,
* apply fastata patch.

2. Configuration

Run make menuconfig, go to IDE drivers and check FastATA 1200. Do not
use Gayle and FastATA driver at the same time! Then proceed standard
compilation procedure: make dep, make zImage, etc.

Powered by VIM :-)

[daxb]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

Should split be used or is no split better? Also what about resident? Is it better to have this enabled?

From the Readme about split:

FastATA-2/EIDE Controller supports HDD > 4 GB by way of automatic HDD
split into 4 GB logical units, which guarantees 100% compatibility
with the Operating System and any previous software.

If you connect hard disks of over 4 GB, they will be
automatically (in SPLIT mode) divided into Units of the size below 4 GB.
Split 4 GB units have Drive Revision 4Gxx in the HDToolBox program.
HDToolBOX allocates up to 16 LUN for the given disk (up to 8 for the
given unit, and up to 8 more for the virtual unit numbered unit + 4).
If HDD is larger than 64 GB the last (8th) unit will always work in
NOSPLIT mode.

In preferences in ATA3Prefs you can choose the mode of operation
for either SPLIT (default) or NO SPLIT. The latter means that
installing a HDD will NOT divide it into logical units. Then,
use only the filesystems with NSD, TD64 or DirectSCSI commands
implemented.

What do you not understand? If you did the partition on WinUAE (not recommended) and have partition larger then 4 GB you have to use NOSPLIT. I don't know if SPLIT would work if each partition is below 4GB because ata3.driver wasn't running while partition. You cannot switch between SPLIT and NOSPLIT. This is a choice you do before partition. See INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLING HDD LARGER THAN 4 GB in the readme.

About the resident option:

USING HDD > 8 GB

Note (for AmigaOS < 3.5):
If you have a HDD larger than 8 GB connected to the PRIMARY PORT
working in NO SPLIT mode, ATA3.driver should be set as resident.
You may do it either by:
placing ATA3.driver RESIDENT QUIT in the startup-sequence, or
choosing RESIDENT option in ATA3Prefs, if you have
any software forcing computer reset in s:startup-sequence
(e.g. you could place ATA3.driver before SetPatch line from OS3.5).

If you can live with another reset at boot time and it works then just use resident, else don't use it but make sure everything works.

Have you ever used this weird driver that elbox has download for? Below is the read me. Seems like dark arts to me!

Never used. I guess that is a linux driver you can use if you are using some linux installation but I'm not sure.

[rabidgerry]

Originally Posted by daxb

From the Readme about split:

What do you not understand? If you did the partition on WinUAE (not recommended) and have partition larger then 4 GB you have to use NOSPLIT. I don't know if SPLIT would work if each partition is below 4GB because ata3.driver wasn't running while partition. You cannot switch between SPLIT and NOSPLIT. This is a choice you do before partition. See INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLING HDD LARGER THAN 4 GB in the readme.

About the resident option:
If you can live with another reset at boot time and it works then just use resident, else don't use it but make sure everything works.


Never used. I guess that is a linux driver you can use if you are using some linux installation but I'm not sure.

What don't I understand?

Well I don't know what any of that means. I read in the read me what it's doing but don't understand why it splits or doesn't split. Like what are the pros/cons of this? Is this to make it faster, slower, less errors?

My drive is about 15gb (not the full 16gb like the card says) and has 4 partitions DH0:500mb DH1,2,3are all just under 4 GB. So I guess in my case it automatically go into split as the drive is 15gb. Is this despite the partitions being those sizes?

Resident, so what is this for? Why have this option? Why not have this option? Pros/cons. A lot of Amiga guides are like this and don't explain anything as the presume we are all going to know what it actually means in regards to real world experience.

Also I know it says

If you have a HDD larger than 8 GB connected to the PRIMARY PORT working in NO SPLIT mode, ATA3.driver should be set as resident. You may do it either by:

but it also says for OS 3.5 which I am not using so this is where I am like, is this relevant to me???

Sorry if this is really obvious for you, but for me it's like I'm reading these things but I have no f**king clue what it actually means.

And thanks for helping btw it is appreciated

[daxb]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

I read in the read me what it's doing but don't understand why it splits or doesn't split. Like what are the pros/cons of this? Is this to make it faster, slower, less errors?

I don't know what can I say more then this:

FastATA-2/EIDE Controller supports HDD > 4 GB by way of automatic HDD
split into 4 GB logical units, which guarantees 100% compatibility
with the Operating System and any previous software.

Split is just for compatibility. You can do this also manually while partition. Old filesystems and some programs like DiskSalv go "crazy" when partition is larger then 4 GB. Maybe this explains it better:
http://thomas-rapp.homepage.t-online...syslimits.html
http://thomas-rapp.homepage.t-online.de/4gb_faq.html

My drive is about 15gb (not the full 16gb like the card says) and has 4 partitions DH0:500mb DH1,2,3are all just under 4 GB. So I guess in my case it automatically go into split as the drive is 15gb. Is this despite the partitions being those sizes?

I don't know how do you have done the partition. If you use a new FFS version or PFS3 or SFS then you can have/use partition larger then 4 GB.

Resident, so what is this for? Why have this option? Why not have this option? Pros/cons. A lot of Amiga guides are like this and don't explain anything as the presume we are all going to know what it actually means in regards to real world experience.

Also I know it says but it also says for OS 3.5 which I am not using so this is where I am like, is this relevant to me???

If you load something like ata3.driver resident and you do a soft reset it will stay in memory (it's a pros), else it don't stays in memory and it will load each time you do a reset (cons) further it is active a bit late at boot time. But it is also what you like or dislike. Think about if you start without S-S. If you are unsure use the resident option.

[rabidgerry]

Originally Posted by daxb

I don't know what can I say more then this:

FastATA-2/EIDE Controller supports HDD > 4 GB by way of automatic HDD
split into 4 GB logical units, which guarantees 100% compatibility
with the Operating System and any previous software.

Split is just for compatibility. You can do this also manually while partition. Old filesystems and some programs like DiskSalv go "crazy" when partition is larger then 4 GB. Maybe this explains it better:
http://thomas-rapp.homepage.t-online...syslimits.html
http://thomas-rapp.homepage.t-online.de/4gb_faq.html


I don't know how do you have done the partition. If you use a new FFS version or PFS3 or SFS then you can have/use partition larger then 4 GB.


If you load something like ata3.driver resident and you do a soft reset it will stay in memory (it's a pros), else it don't stays in memory and it will load each time you do a reset (cons) further it is active a bit late at boot time. But it is also what you like or dislike. Think about if you start without S-S. If you are unsure use the resident option.

Brilliant! Thanks for that.

I make all my builds in WINUAE. The last couple however I did using the new HDtools so I was able to do large partitions bigger than 4gb. Since I still have not moved over to OS3.2 yet I keep using my main system of classicwb 3.1 and when I made that way back I had to make partitions smaller hence having 4 of them. Actually now I remember for that build I made it on my actual Amiga after preparing it all in WINUAE first. I used PFS3AIO.

[rabidgerry]

As I mentioned somewhere here before, the gayle socket is not fitting the best and I knew it would come off. And I was right. So it came off last night. Does anyone know a good way to get this to fit more securely. Funny I always hear with FASTATA it's issues with rom connectivity and not the gayle socket, but I can barely get that socket to stay in place. This is why I hadn't even screwed my Amiga back together as I knew this would happen. At least I know what it will say in the way of error when this socket comes loose.

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

As I mentioned somewhere here before, the gayle socket is not fitting the best and I knew it would come off. And I was right. So it came off last night. Does anyone know a good way to get this to fit more securely. Funny I always hear with FASTATA it's issues with rom connectivity and not the gayle socket, but I can barely get that socket to stay in place. This is why I hadn't even screwed my Amiga back together as I knew this would happen. At least I know what it will say in the way of error when this socket comes loose.

2 options;

1. Try pulling the pins on the socket carefully to attain a tighter fit

2. have the socket replaced with a newer one

[rabidgerry]

Originally Posted by Jpor

2 options;

1. Try pulling the pins on the socket carefully to attain a tighter fit

2. have the socket replaced with a newer one

Ok I will try No.1 as I wouldn't have a clue what type of socket would fit.

[rabidgerry]

What kind of socket do I need for a gayle chip?

Having all kinds of issues and I don't know if it is down to the FastATA or not or the games I'm trying to run or my CF card getting f**ked some how. I might remove for the mean time and see if I am still getting the same issues.

[indigolemon]

Oh dear - what kind of issues?

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

What kind of socket do I need for a gayle chip?

Having all kinds of issues and I don't know if it is down to the FastATA or not or the games I'm trying to run or my CF card getting f**ked some how. I might remove for the mean time and see if I am still getting the same issues.

If you are getting corruption try lowering the PIO speed for starters.

For the Gayle socket, have you tried individual computers or retro rewind?

Or try asking over at Sordan.ie

[HardStep]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

Ok I will try No.1 as I wouldn't have a clue what type of socket would fit.

I'm using this 'fully loadad' Gayle adapter with my FastATA: https://www.amiga-shop.net/en/Amiga-...ter::1065.html

Also got a replacement Gayle adapter for another FastATA directly from Elbox a few years ago.

[rabidgerry]

Originally Posted by indigolemon

Oh dear - what kind of issues?

Freezing and rebooting type stuff, click left mouse button to continue.

Originally Posted by Jpor

If you are getting corruption try lowering the PIO speed for starters.

For the Gayle socket, have you tried individual computers or retro rewind?

Or try asking over at Sordan.ie

I think I was at the lowest speed. But then now I don't think it is the fast ata after all. Mind you the gayle socket is defo coming loose occasionally but wasn't always the cause of my crashes. I take it if I was to boot successfully that would suggest the gayle adapter was on properly? But If I was to end up at the kickstart screen that would mean the gayle adaptor was not on properly? This was happening from time to time. I believe one of the last times I had it on though I ended up at the kickstart screen despite the adaptor being on and as close to the motherboard as you could get.

Originally Posted by HardStep

I'm using this 'fully loadad' Gayle adapter with my FastATA: https://www.amiga-shop.net/en/Amiga-...ter::1065.html

Also got a replacement Gayle adapter for another FastATA directly from Elbox a few years ago.

This looks really good, the fully loaded one I mean. So you chose that over the elbox standard one in the end? Is it better then? I didn't realise I could get something like that.

I think I was perhaps going to hunt down a socket and just re solder myself to the pcb but may be just a brand new adaptor might be a slight upgrade??? May be

****edit***** Just adding so I have been doing nothing but playing nBlood and trying to test Blake Stone - Planet Strike for BSzili btw. So it really could be those bits of software, this is why I was asking if there is any kind of test I could do to check all is ok. Probably not but worth asking, like a disk checker or something.

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

Freezing and rebooting type stuff, click left mouse button to continue.





I think I was at the lowest speed. But then now I don't think it is the fast ata after all. Mind you the gayle socket is defo coming loose occasionally but wasn't always the cause of my crashes. I take it if I was to boot successfully that would suggest the gayle adapter was on properly? But If I was to end up at the kickstart screen that would mean the gayle adaptor was not on properly? This was happening from time to time. I believe one of the last times I had it on though I ended up at the kickstart screen despite the adaptor being on and as close to the motherboard as you could get.



This looks really good, the fully loaded one I mean. So you chose that over the elbox standard one in the end? Is it better then? I didn't realise I could get something like that.

I think I was perhaps going to hunt down a socket and just re solder myself to the pcb but may be just a brand new adaptor might be a slight upgrade??? May be

****edit***** Just adding so I have been doing nothing but playing nBlood and trying to test Blake Stone - Planet Strike for BSzili btw. So it really could be those bits of software, this is why I was asking if there is any kind of test I could do to check all is ok. Probably not but worth asking, like a disk checker or something.

Elbox currently sell a Mark V FASTATA adapter. I have one of these, but these are also problematic.

As for disk checking it depends on which Filesystem you are using. I tend to use PFS/3 or PDS/3 (As I use SCSI for my disk and device needs). For these there is a PFS/3 doctor software.

For 3.1.4 and 3.2 with FastFilesystem there is Diskdoctor

[rabidgerry]

I got PFS3-AIO so I guess PFS/3 doctor would suit me.

The other issue might be............. my 060 isn't getting cooled properly. I have a fan but it's just sitting on the CPU and not glue on or anything. I plan to glue a heat sink and trim it so it can fit under the ram sim, then have the fan blowing on top of that. I dunno if this is the issue either but I'm throwing it out there. Then again this could all just be those games on that partition. How the hell are ya supposed to know

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

I got PFS3-AIO so I guess PFS/3 doctor would suit me.

The other issue might be............. my 060 isn't getting cooled properly. I have a fan but it's just sitting on the CPU and not glue on or anything. I plan to glue a heat sink and trim it so it can fit under the ram sim, then have the fan blowing on top of that. I dunno if this is the issue either but I'm throwing it out there. Then again this could all just be those games on that partition. How the hell are ya supposed to know

The only way to know is by breaking down the system into key areas.

So if you think the 060 is causing issue. Remove the FASTATA MKII and just run the system with the internal IDE. Remember to comment out the ATA.driver and stack settings in Startup-sequence first. Then run the system to check. If no issues then 060 must be fine.

Can’t remember if we touched on this? But the PSU is a nice powerful one? As this is a must if adding stuff onto your system.

Board has been recapped? Another issue could be this also.

One happy you know the issue isn’t the 060, then add back in the MKII.

Yes PFS/3 Doctor is what you need. It’s available within the older PFS/3 release off Aminet.
I use this on Occassion when I’ve had issues. Does work with scsi.device etc.. as long as the partitions are setup as PFS/3.

Here is the link to pfs3 with PFS doctor;

http://aminet.net/package/disk/misc/PFS3_53

[rabidgerry]

The fastATA is currently out altogether and I had commented out the lines too. Still getting the same issues with those games. Not sure what else to run and for what length of time as well to check if all is stable etc and it's just those games. I suppose I could try Duke Nukem which is on that partition that would give it a work out I'm sure. Just hate using the keys

I will grab that disk dr. Thanks for the link, cause I couldn't actually find it with my own searching.

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by rabidgerry

The fastATA is currently out altogether and I had commented out the lines too. Still getting the same issues with those games. Not sure what else to run and for what length of time as well to check if all is stable etc and it's just those games. I suppose I could try Duke Nukem which is on that partition that would give it a work out I'm sure. Just hate using the keys

I will grab that disk dr. Thanks for the link, cause I couldn't actually find it with my own searching.

Run PFS/3 doctor first to check your volumes. You never know it’s possibly down to corrupt files.

Also run a Virus checker as well. The amount of issues I’ve had in the past that’s been down to the “Happynewyear 96” virus I got off a Aminet download.

[indigolemon]

I'd grab the newest pfsdoctor from here: https://download.abime.net/winuae/fi...perimental.zip

More of Toni's good work.