install a new hard drive in a1200

stuntpup · 26 July 2007, 23:29

hi ,

Im getting ready to reinstall a hard drive into my towered amiga 1200. Its been so long since i did anything with it i am not sure how to approach it now !

i have three spare hard drives .. 2.3 gig a 4.3 gig and an 80 gig.
the 1200 currently has two very small hard drives installed with idefix interface.

as i understand it from browsing through some of the threads on here, there is a size limit so the 80gig would be unusable ?

I believe the a1200 has kickstart 3.1 roms.

i would like to at least use the two smaller hard drives together in the new install. help ! .. what do i do ?

sp

Zetr0 · 26 July 2007, 23:52

@stuntpup

Hello there and a big WELCOME to the EAB, i am sure you will like it here.

Its great to hear of another amiga project, and they say amiga is dead.. pah... these last few years I have witnessed more and more a retr0 reviva.

Okay... to your questions. well yes you are correct there is a physical drive size limmit to the a1200 IDE wich is 4.3GB, HOWEVER you can have partitions larger than this because

you have 3.1 Roms
you have a buffered interface
you have come to the right place for help

okay. IF you want to configure a partition for greater than 4GB you wil need to change the FORMAT structure. there are a couple to choose from

PFS3 / SFS and TD64

have a search on the boards for these and they should popup methods on how to configure them to work with the device.

Peter · 27 July 2007, 00:10

Opinions will differ here but I think you may have problems using the 80GB drive as a single drive... I would use the 4.3GB drive as your primary drive, create two partitions - System and Work - install Workbench on System - I assume you will be installing OS3.9??

I have found it much easier to have Workbench installed on a hard drive 4.3GB or under.

You can then add the 80GB drive as either a slave or secondary hard drive - OS3.9 or OS3.5 and IDE Fix will be able to use this drive to it's full capacity - just install it and partition it via HD Toolbox... how you want to format it and under what file system is another topic...

Or just install the 2.3GB drive as slave or secondary - you would then have over 6 GB - more than enough really - I am using much the same set up in my tower - I must admit I have an 80GB drive as slave but I am going to take it out and replace it with a 4GB one I have bought - I will then have two 4GB drives in my tower - enough room I think...

If you just try using the 80GB on it's own and attempt to partition it and install Workbench onto it, you will be pulling your hair out believe me...

Unless anyone thinks I'm talking b*llocks and wants to produce a step by step guide... (I would be grateful)

I am trying to use another 80GB in an A1200 desktop at present and I do have it working on its own with Workbench installed... OS3.9 but it is NOT an easy process and now my hard drive light wont go out so something is wrong somewhere...

Good Luck.

Zetr0 · 27 July 2007, 03:23

@peter

I personaly belive that unless you are into heavy retr0 raytracing and BIG anim / movie making, an 80GB drive will be wasted on an amiga. I find the solution by using two 4gb drives an elegant use for native or adapted IDE Miggy.

On both my power Miggy's they have Dual 9.1GB 10k SCSI U2W Cheeta's (wich is really more than I can for see me needing.... EVER!) saying this, I may invest in a couple of 44pin IDE cf adapters (*like the female one posted in the other thread*) plumb to it a 1GB cf card and use that as a booting system..... hmmm ponders...

stuntpup · 27 July 2007, 23:23

thanks for the responses ..

i connected up the smaller hard drives in the tower and added a cdrom too while i was at it .. one problem now is that i am not sure where my workbench 3.1 discs are. so will have to hunt them out tomorrow.

the machine starts up and everything is whirring and alive so really just waiting on me finding where i stashed my discs.. lol

cheers

sp

Zetr0 · 28 July 2007, 01:17

good luck stuntpup

thomas · 28 July 2007, 07:28

@stuntpup:

You could connect the old HDD instead of the CD-ROM drive. Boot from the old drive, partition and format the new one, copy all files to the new drive and remove the old one. No need for floppy disks.

stuntpup · 29 July 2007, 17:28

ok now im stuck .. lol

hard drives connected up .. hdtoolbox doesnt see one of the hard drives properly and thinks its 25megs !

i partitioned the smaller 2 gig drive after a bit of a kerfuffle (!) .. formatted them both with FFS.

what are my options to get the other drive up to the full 4 gigs

am i better off to install workbench onto the working drive then installing idefix and seeing if the full 4 gig of the remaining drive is available.

sp

thomas · 29 July 2007, 20:24

Quote:

what are my options to get the other drive up to the full 4 gigs

Just ignore the numbers which are calculated by HDToolbox. HDToolbox cannot deal with numbers bigger than 4 Gig. Just check that the geometry data is correct (cylinders * blocks per cylinder = ca. 8,000,000). And make sure that all partitions summed up don't use more than 3.99 Gig (some space is needed for the partition table and you cannot use more than 4 gig alltogether).

stuntpup · 30 July 2007, 00:41

thanks thomas ..

I managed to partition the 4 gig drive but it seems the drive had bad blocks so it wouldnt complete a format .. in fact the cdrom drive turned out to be faulty too .. not my day really !! lol

so at present its got the 2 gig drive and workbench installed.

will get hold of another 4 gig drive & cdrom and try again, and just out of interest what kinda partition sizes are people running on here.. workbench hardly needs any space at all !

sp

Zetr0 · 30 July 2007, 02:38

On my A600+

I have a 4GB CF card with DVD/CDRW

CF partitioned to:

dh0: Amiga OS (workbench) about 40% Full

128MB Total Size
51MB in use

dh1: Games

3.7GB Total Size
2.54GB In use

just love WHDload!

Jope · 31 July 2007, 08:35

PFS3 + full disk partitions = happy Jope

4GB DH0 in A1200/600/A4000, 18GB DH0 in A3000T

dlfrsilver · 31 July 2007, 16:54

even SFS is brilliant for more than 4 gb support. Since i used it, i am now able
to correctly use the right amount of data on my disk

Zetr0 · 31 July 2007, 20:00

hmm where can i get PFS3 ?

DamienD · 31 July 2007, 20:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zetr0

hmm where can i get PFS3 ?

Don't know if the link's here are still active, I'll posted anyway:

http://www.angelfire.com/amiga/greed/pfs3dealers.html

Zetr0 · 31 July 2007, 20:25

@Damien D

I appreciate your help my Double D Damien friend, but alas,.... i cannot find PFS3 offered on any linkie

....

of course this could be a failing on my part...

DamienD · 31 July 2007, 20:32

Hmmm, SoftHut has this link but who knows if it's still actively selling the product (or any others for that matter)

... PFS3 w/ Tools

Zetr0 · 31 July 2007, 21:11

Thanks DD....

I will give it some thoughts.... I am a little weary of softhut.... but we shall see....

DamienD · 31 July 2007, 22:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zetr0

I am a little weary of softhut.... but we shall see....

Yeah me too...

stuntpup · 03 August 2007, 19:52

i think i will give SFS a spin when i get a replacement 4 gig drive.. its a shame PFS is so hard to get hold of from a reliable source !

26 July 2007, 23:29	#1
stuntpup Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: uk Posts: 62	install a new hard drive in a1200 hi , Im getting ready to reinstall a hard drive into my towered amiga 1200. Its been so long since i did anything with it i am not sure how to approach it now ! i have three spare hard drives .. 2.3 gig a 4.3 gig and an 80 gig. the 1200 currently has two very small hard drives installed with idefix interface. as i understand it from browsing through some of the threads on here, there is a size limit so the 80gig would be unusable ? I believe the a1200 has kickstart 3.1 roms. i would like to at least use the two smaller hard drives together in the new install. help ! .. what do i do ? sp

26 July 2007, 23:52	#2
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	@stuntpup Hello there and a big WELCOME to the EAB, i am sure you will like it here. Its great to hear of another amiga project, and they say amiga is dead.. pah... these last few years I have witnessed more and more a retr0 reviva. Okay... to your questions. well yes you are correct there is a physical drive size limmit to the a1200 IDE wich is 4.3GB, HOWEVER you can have partitions larger than this because you have 3.1 Roms you have a buffered interface you have come to the right place for help okay. IF you want to configure a partition for greater than 4GB you wil need to change the FORMAT structure. there are a couple to choose from PFS3 / SFS and TD64 have a search on the boards for these and they should popup methods on how to configure them to work with the device.

27 July 2007, 00:10	#3
Peter Still an Amiga user Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Kent Age: 55 Posts: 2,715	Opinions will differ here but I think you may have problems using the 80GB drive as a single drive... I would use the 4.3GB drive as your primary drive, create two partitions - System and Work - install Workbench on System - I assume you will be installing OS3.9?? I have found it much easier to have Workbench installed on a hard drive 4.3GB or under. You can then add the 80GB drive as either a slave or secondary hard drive - OS3.9 or OS3.5 and IDE Fix will be able to use this drive to it's full capacity - just install it and partition it via HD Toolbox... how you want to format it and under what file system is another topic... Or just install the 2.3GB drive as slave or secondary - you would then have over 6 GB - more than enough really - I am using much the same set up in my tower - I must admit I have an 80GB drive as slave but I am going to take it out and replace it with a 4GB one I have bought - I will then have two 4GB drives in my tower - enough room I think... If you just try using the 80GB on it's own and attempt to partition it and install Workbench onto it, you will be pulling your hair out believe me... Unless anyone thinks I'm talking bllocks and wants to produce a step by step guide... (I would be grateful) I am trying to use another 80GB in an A1200 desktop at present and I do have it working on its own with Workbench installed... OS3.9 but it is NOT an easy process and now my hard drive light wont go out so something is wrong somewhere... Good Luck. Last edited by Peter; 27 July 2007 at 01:44.*

30 July 2007, 02:38	#11
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	On my A600+ I have a 4GB CF card with DVD/CDRW CF partitioned to: dh0: Amiga OS (workbench) about 40% Full 128MB Total Size 51MB in use dh1: Games 3.7GB Total Size 2.54GB In use just love WHDload!

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27 July 2007, 03:23	#4
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	@peter I personaly belive that unless you are into heavy retr0 raytracing and BIG anim / movie making, an 80GB drive will be wasted on an amiga. I find the solution by using two 4gb drives an elegant use for native or adapted IDE Miggy. On both my power Miggy's they have Dual 9.1GB 10k SCSI U2W Cheeta's (wich is really more than I can for see me needing.... EVER!) saying this, I may invest in a couple of 44pin IDE cf adapters (like the female one posted in the other thread) plumb to it a 1GB cf card and use that as a booting system..... hmmm ponders...

27 July 2007, 23:23	#5
stuntpup Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: uk Posts: 62	thanks for the responses .. i connected up the smaller hard drives in the tower and added a cdrom too while i was at it .. one problem now is that i am not sure where my workbench 3.1 discs are. so will have to hunt them out tomorrow. the machine starts up and everything is whirring and alive so really just waiting on me finding where i stashed my discs.. lol cheers sp

28 July 2007, 01:17	#6
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	good luck stuntpup

28 July 2007, 07:28	#7
thomas Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 6,999	@stuntpup: You could connect the old HDD instead of the CD-ROM drive. Boot from the old drive, partition and format the new one, copy all files to the new drive and remove the old one. No need for floppy disks.

29 July 2007, 17:28	#8
stuntpup Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: uk Posts: 62	ok now im stuck .. lol hard drives connected up .. hdtoolbox doesnt see one of the hard drives properly and thinks its 25megs ! i partitioned the smaller 2 gig drive after a bit of a kerfuffle (!) .. formatted them both with FFS. what are my options to get the other drive up to the full 4 gigs am i better off to install workbench onto the working drive then installing idefix and seeing if the full 4 gig of the remaining drive is available. sp

30 July 2007, 00:41	#10
stuntpup Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: uk Posts: 62	thanks thomas .. I managed to partition the 4 gig drive but it seems the drive had bad blocks so it wouldnt complete a format .. in fact the cdrom drive turned out to be faulty too .. not my day really !! lol so at present its got the 2 gig drive and workbench installed. will get hold of another 4 gig drive & cdrom and try again, and just out of interest what kinda partition sizes are people running on here.. workbench hardly needs any space at all ! sp

31 July 2007, 08:35	#12
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,862	PFS3 + full disk partitions = happy Jope 4GB DH0 in A1200/600/A4000, 18GB DH0 in A3000T

31 July 2007, 16:54	#13
dlfrsilver CaptainM68K-SPS France Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Melun nearby Paris/France Age: 46 Posts: 10,420	even SFS is brilliant for more than 4 gb support. Since i used it, i am now able to correctly use the right amount of data on my disk

31 July 2007, 20:00	#14
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	hmm where can i get PFS3 ?

31 July 2007, 20:25	#16
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	@Damien D I appreciate your help my Double D Damien friend, but alas,.... i cannot find PFS3 offered on any linkie .... of course this could be a failing on my part...

31 July 2007, 20:32	#17
DamienD Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London / Sydney Age: 47 Posts: 20,420	Hmmm, SoftHut has this link but who knows if it's still actively selling the product (or any others for that matter) ... PFS3 w/ Tools

31 July 2007, 21:11	#18
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	Thanks DD.... I will give it some thoughts.... I am a little weary of softhut.... but we shall see....

03 August 2007, 19:52	#20
stuntpup Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: uk Posts: 62	i think i will give SFS a spin when i get a replacement 4 gig drive.. its a shame PFS is so hard to get hold of from a reliable source !

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