PCMCIA blues...

[Lektroid]

I wonder if someone can help out getting my PCMCIA working to accept CF cards?

I have a Sandisk PCMCIA to CF card, a CF card formatted to FAT32 (I also have another formatted to Amiga OS, but would prefer to use FAT32 for speedy file transfers between laptop).

I have installed the FAT95 software (hopefully I've done this correctly).

But nothing shows up when I plug the card into the slot on the side of the computer, even after soft and hard resets.

Anyone have any idea what I might be doing wrong?

[Jope]

You mentioned you installed the filesystem driver Fat95.

Do you also have the compact flash driver? http://aminet.net/package/driver/media/CFD133

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by Jope

You mentioned you installed the filesystem driver Fat95.

Do you also have the compact flash driver? http://aminet.net/package/driver/media/CFD133

Seconded. You need both. The FAT95 lives in L: the CFD133 you need to copy the compact flash.device in DEVS: if you want CF cards to show up then make sure CF0: is in DEVSOSdrivers

If you are still having issues consider “Cardpatch” and “Cardreset” as well.

https://aminet.net/package/util/boot/CardPatch

https://aminet.net/package/util/boot/CardReset

Or buy one of those Gayle Fix plug ons.

[solarmon]

As already suggested, you need both CDF133 and FAT95 drivers installed.

https://sites.google.com/one-n.co.uk...ct-flash-guide

Also be aware that some CF cards are just simply not compatible with the Amiga - try a different CF card brand/size/etc.

[Lektroid]

Originally Posted by Jpor

Seconded. You need both. The FAT95 lives in L: the CFD133 you need to copy the compact flash.device in DEVS: if you want CF cards to show up then make sure CF0: is in DEVSOSdrivers

Thanks for your detailed guide which I followed carefullyl. If everything went well, should I expect to see the CF0: appear on the desktop when plugged in? I can't seem to find anything, when I double click the CF0: file in dosdrivers folder, it says the card is already mounted, but can't see it anywhere.

Originally Posted by Jpor

If you are still having issues consider “Cardpatch” and “Cardreset” as well.

https://aminet.net/package/util/boot/CardPatch

https://aminet.net/package/util/boot/CardReset

Or buy one of those Gayle Fix plug ons.

What exactly do these tools do? Given the situation above, would any of these help? Don't want to install stuff unnecessarily.

as a side note: "DEVSOSdrivers" made me giggle

[solarmon]

What Amiga and motherboard revision do you have? What is your Kickstart version and do you have any 8MB memory expansions?

[Lektroid]

Originally Posted by solarmon

What Amiga and motherboard revision do you have? What is your Kickstart version and do you have any 8MB memory expansions?

Amiga Rev 1D4
68882 50MHz FPU / 8MB RAM in trapdoor
Kickstart 3.1.4 EPROMS

[solarmon]

I assume that is an A1200.

Kickstart 3.1.4 doesn't disable the PCMCIA slot when there is 8MB of FAST memory in Zorro II space, but it might be worth trying in 4MB mode (if it has that capability) or removing the memory expansion.

However, If you have got the CFD and FAT95 drivers installed correctly and you still don't see the CF card appear then it is probably a hardware compatibility issue. So try another CF card.

[thomas]

Run the PrepCard utility. It is not able to handle CF cards, but it should display the vendor and product IDs. If it identifies the CF card correctly, then it's a software issue. If it cannot see the CF card, then it is a hardware issue.

[solarmon]

@thomas

That's not completely correct. From my experience, PrepCard could still detect the CF card and the Product ID but the CF can still not work with CFD/FAT95.

PrepCard is good to use to rule out any physical issues with the PCMCIA connector or adapter - i.e. it can detect the CF card.

EDIT: I re-read your statement, and I think we are saying the same thing! Apologies.

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by Lektroid

Thanks for your detailed guide which I followed carefullyl. If everything went well, should I expect to see the CF0: appear on the desktop when plugged in? I can't seem to find anything, when I double click the CF0: file in dosdrivers folder, it says the card is already mounted, but can't see it anywhere.



What exactly do these tools do? Given the situation above, would any of these help? Don't want to install stuff unnecessarily.

as a side note: "DEVSOSdrivers" made me giggle

If you already have the CF0: in Devs: DOSDrivers means it will auto mount on Amiga start up. So no need to double click it.


The Cardpatch and Cardreset are handy software tools for helping eliminate a Gayle reset bug found on all boards apparently and may help with the card detection.

If the CF card has been formatted correctly (FAT32) then yes you should see something on the desktop. Another tester is to open up a CLI/Shell and try CD to CF0: then do either a Dir or list command to see what happens.

To do the above:

Right click mouse button at the top of the screen and choose “Execute Command” in the Command box type: newshell press return key.
Then type: cd cf0: then press return key.
You should get a cf0: prompt
If not then it hasn’t mounted the CF0 (CF card) properly.
If it does: then Type; dir press return key
Or type; list press return key
Press return and you should see what’s listed on your CF card

[Lisko]

Please also be aware that, at least with my luck, CF cards compatibility in the pcmcia slot isn't the best. I have 2 cards that both work fine on the internal IDE controller: a new SanDisk 16GB "silver" and an old Kodak 4GB, of these only the kodak works besides both show up in prepcard but with the SanDisk nothing shows on the desktop.