30 August 2007, 19:27 | #1 |
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Hard drive, partitions, buffer questions.
Please consider A1200 with K.S. 3.0 and standard FFS:
1- I read I can install an hard drive larger than 4 GB and then prepare it to use MAX 4 GB by HDToolBox. HDToolBox uses dimensionable graphic bars to create partitions. Do I have to place the partition bars within the first 4 GB (that is 4 GB limit is always from the first cylinder)? 2- Which is the max sharp/exact cylinder number to reach the 4 GB limit? On using the partition bar we can move it for several pixels (and every pixel is several MBytes) and HDToolBox continues to display 4,0 GB. 3- Do partitions have to be max 2 GB each? I read this somewhere in this forum. At the moment I use a 2,7 GB partition (block dim=512). What could happen? 4. Is there a formula to give each partition an optimal buffer size? 5. Is it possible to verfy data on hard drive with HDToolBox (OS3.9) installed on it? On selecting SCSI Interface I have "Install disk" and "Partition disk" options only. Thanks and sorry for my bad English. Last edited by fc.studio; 30 August 2007 at 19:33. |
30 August 2007, 19:57 | #2 | |||||
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The maxcyl must be so that the partition is under 4GB. Quote:
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30 August 2007, 20:48 | #3 |
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Thanks for your quick answers.
1. Therefore as HDToolBox displays 4GB limit I have to decrease cylinders by 1 to have 3,9xxx. Or does the limit is up to 4,09xxxx? 4. About buffers I have 16MB fast so it is not a problem to increase the buffers. However I use 3 partitions, 2 smaller (128 MB each) and bootable with 2 ldifferent personalized OS3.9 versions; the 3rd (2,7GB) bigger for programs and games. I would like to find a logic system to assign them some buffer memory. |
30 August 2007, 22:28 | #4 | ||
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For 1008 blocks per cylinder this would be 4,294,967,296 / 512 / 1008 = 8322 - 1 = 8321 And for 2016 blocks per cylinder 4,294,967,296 / 512 / 2016 = 4161 - 1 = 4160 Quote:
Using 300 buffers of 1024 bytes each means you need 300KB of memory. With three partitions this would need 900KB for the HDD. |
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31 August 2007, 08:57 | #5 |
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Thanks Thomas, but I would like to know if there is an optimal value to assign to each buffer for every partition. For instance Total MB Partition / x = number buffer value. And then, are there advices for a min (not lower than) and max (not greater than) number buffer value?
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31 August 2007, 13:50 | #6 |
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I don't thing there is an ideal formula based on the size of a partition.
From what I understand, the most important thing is not to set buffers too small or you may run into issues. Larger buffers will increase performance, but not by much from what I can tell. I think the minimum was 50 for FFS, and 100 for SFS going by old documentation I read while setting up mine. I've always used 100 and never had problems. I remember trying higher numbers, but didn't notice a significant difference. I may have been bottlenecked by the 68020 though. You can calculate the fast memory required by multiplying the number of buffers by the block size used. I'd say use whatever you're willing to spare. |
31 August 2007, 18:40 | #7 |
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I don't know of such a formula. Usually for small partitions (up to 500 MB) I use 80 or 100 buffers, for larger partitions 200 or 300 buffers, but not more.
However, FFS benefits a lot from more buffers. Especially when a program seeks forth and back in a big file, FFS becomes much faster with a huge amount of buffers. For example games like Doom or Quake load significantly faster when run with 1000 or 2000 buffers. On the other hand, instead of wasting a lot of memory for speeding up FFS, you could as well use SFS which is much faster out of the box. |
31 August 2007, 20:20 | #8 |
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a)
What stops me on install SFS is that I fear I can't find utilities like DiskSalv, ReOrg, QBTools. Are there similar tools for SFS? b) I fear on the reliability of my 2nd 2,7 GB partitions on my 3,0 GB Hard Drive. This was my procedure to install OS 3.9. My system has KS3.0. - I booted Install floppy (Workbench 3.1) and I used HDToolBox to read and partition the hard drive (FFS); partitions are 1st=128MB, 2nd=2,7GB, 3rd=128MB. - After reset I booted again the same floppy to format all partitions (surely I used NO QUICK option). HD came from PC. - I booted a floppy containing Compact Flash drivers. Therefore I installed from a compact flash to 1st partition a clean and full Workbench 3.1 with only Blizkick (to softkick 3.1 kickstart) and IDEFix (to read CD). - I booted again and I installed OS3.9 with Boing Bags 1 and 2, but with no ROM Updates. At the moment I have no problems on using the system but now, on reading other threads on 2 GB partition limit, I fear on the reliability of my 2,7 GB partition. What do you think? |
31 August 2007, 21:02 | #9 | ||||
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ReOrg... Well, I consider this a dangerous tool anyway. Doing manual reorganisation (backup / format / restore) is safer IMHO. QBTools - never needed a tool like this. I always used LhA for backup. If at all. Quote:
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After that it should be safe to use partitions of up to 8 GB on HDDs of up to 128 GB. But only while OS 3.9 is running and only if the ROM updates are installed. The boot partition which loads BlizKick and SetPatch has to be Kick 3.0-compliant (i.e. smaller than 2 GB and inside the first 4GB of the drive). |
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01 September 2007, 09:29 | #10 |
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Quarterback Tools (QBTools) allows to analyze and repair Volume, recover lost/deleted files, optimize volume. About last option I'll follow your advice.
I created the emergency disk, but to install OS 3.9 I booted from Hard Drive with Workbench 3.1, BlizzKick and IdeFix installed. I selected "Full installation over OS 3.0/3.1 or empty HD" option. I didn't know the meaning of "Crippled Icons", (my bad english) but ALL installation seemed OK. Lately I updated FFS to 45.14 version by the unofficial OS3.9 patches, http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=22440 but this was a minor update since previous was 45.1x. Partitions DH0 and DH2 are both about 128 MB size and bootable. On Hard Drive DH2 is physically positioned after DH1. I would like to be only sure that I will not have problems with DH1 (2,7 GB) in the future. At the moment all is OK. Is there a way to verify it now? |
01 September 2007, 09:38 | #11 |
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QBTools / ABTools will not work on partitions that are larger than or cross the 4GB barrier!
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01 September 2007, 10:01 | #12 | ||
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version dh1: If it says 45.14, then it should be ok. Quote:
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01 September 2007, 10:07 | #13 |
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This should be OK with a greater Hard drive formatted within the 4GB limit or my 3 GB HDD. But do you think I could have problems if I use these tools with partitions greater than 2,0 GB (my DH1 is 2,7 GB)?
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01 September 2007, 10:39 | #14 | |
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- Well, my system says 45.14 so it should be OK! - I can have an image like your first one! However, I'm sorry, but I see very little difference only in Amydock. I think is your choice, in 2nd screenshot, to have icon border ON and backdrop OFF. |
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01 September 2007, 13:10 | #15 | ||
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01 September 2007, 13:37 | #16 |
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