Running O/S from SCSI HDD? (1.3)

Hey all,

I am completely new to Amiga's in general and am currently trying to get the O/S to boot from a SCSI HDD.
Is this possible?

I have an A500 running 1.3 and a SCRAM500 unit with Mac external HDD attached. (http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/scram500)
I have run the "Scram-prep" application and can see the HDD, partition it etc.

How do I get the O/S to see/mount the drive though? (it currently does not..)
I have access to what I presume are the driver files. (scram8.device, scram8.bin and "ScramAutoMount")

Once I get it seeing the drive, can I simply copy the entire workbench/extra's FD's to the HD to boot, or is there more to it?

Cheers
Ash

[prowler]

Originally Posted by ashhhhh

Hey all,

I am completely new to Amiga's in general and am currently trying to get the O/S to boot from a SCSI HDD.
Is this possible?

I have an A500 running 1.3 and a SCRAM500 unit with Mac external HDD attached. (http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/scram500)
I have run the "Scram-prep" application and can see the HDD, partition it etc.

How do I get the O/S to see/mount the drive though? (it currently does not..)

Quick Guide from the SCRAM500 Manual (included in the SCRAM500.lzh archive available from the Amiga Hardware Database site on the page provided by your link above:

1. Attach SCRAM 500 to the Amiga.
2. Connect Hard Drive to SCRAM with SCSI cable.
3. Switch AutoBoot ON (toggle towards computer).
4. Power on SCSI Drive and Amiga 500.
5. Boot the SCRAMPrep Disk supplied with your unit.
6. Run SCRAMPrep.
7. Click select your drive from the table 0 - 6.
8. Select FULL AUTOMATIC PREP from control panel.
9. Select the number of partitions you require and write the data.
10. Quit SCRAMPrep and REBOOT with a WorkBench disk.
11. Format all the partitions using WorkBench Format.
12. Copy all of the WorkBench Disk to DH0:
13. Remove WorkBench floppy and reboot from hard drive.

LOW LEVEL FORMAT
Selecting this option will cause SCRAMPrep to issue a Low Level Format command to the selected SCSI drive. This command is executed by the SCSI drive and will completely reformat the drive, erasing ALL data. Some drives (e.g. Quantums) ignore this command.

MAP BAD BLOCK
Selecting this option will cause SCRAMPrep to go out and verify every block on the SCSI Drive. If bad blocks are found, SCRAMPrep will tell the SCSI drive to map the blocks out. This option is a low level operation which can be very slow. Only do it if you don't want any data on the drive and are confident with what you are doing.

PARTITION DRIVE
This option gives you full manual control over partition setup. Using the Partition Panel which pops up, you can set the exact size of each partition.

INSTALL FILESYSTEM
This option allows you to write a file system of your choice onto a boot
partition. Typically this will be AmigaDOS however, other FileSystems can
be specified.

Originally Posted by ashhhhh

I have access to what I presume are the driver files. (scram8.device, scram8.bin and "ScramAutoMount")

I don't think you will need these drivers if you switch AutoBoot ON, which enables the SCRAM500 ROM. They are only required to prepare a bootable floppy which will either provide access to the SCSI hard drive without booting from it, or transfer the boot process to the hard drive.

Originally Posted by ashhhhh

Once I get it seeing the drive, can I simply copy the entire workbench/extra's FD's to the HD to boot, or is there more to it?

Just follow the guide, which tells you to copy all the Workbench files to DH0: (and you can then copy the Extras files too if you wish after rebooting).

Christ...you have no idea how much time I spent last night screwing around with this...I didnt spot that "man" file....

Switched the toggle over, reboot - DRIVE APPEARS.

Thanks a lot.

[prowler]

I'm pleased to have been able to help.

I have a similar A590 hard drive for use with my Amiga 500. They're wonderfully simple to use, once you've grasped the essential point about what makes them able to take over and boot the machine.

That's actually a very good manual provided in the archive. I would print it out for reference if I were you.