hdf ndos problem

[flibble42]

Hi, just a question before i start digging around. Is there any reason why this beta series (changes and updates) may have caused certain hardfiles to become NDOS disks?

I have been running images of my original Amiga for a long time, and now the NDOS issue.

My original Amiga was (as far as i can remember)

A500+
2 meg trapdoor expansion
GVP SCSI Hard-drive with 4 meg ram (Using the sidecar expansion)

The HDF files i am using are not exact copies of the Amiga Hard drives, just file transfers via the serial port. The HDF files have served me well . I am not suggesting that WinUAE is at fault, Just wondering (before i start to panic) if any changes you can think of may have resulted in this failure.

If the answer is no then i shall endevour to figure out where things have gone wrong on my end.

Thanks as always for the hard work Toni, I hope this post doesn't annoy you to much

Flibble

P.S. Anyway of finding out the geometry of older HDF files?

[Toni Wilen]

(moved from beta thread, 100% non-1.5.2 beta related)

Attach winuaelog.txt, can't really help without more information.

[thomas]

Anyway of finding out the geometry of older HDF files?

Try if the older version of WinUAE still can read the HDFs successfully, then run TSGUI, select the HDF and choose "partition information" from the menu.

Now run the new version of WinUAE, open the HDF properties and check if the geometry is still the same.

[flibble42]

Having no luck so far..

All three of my HDF files seem broken (even on 1.5.1 series), I can not seem to determine the original geometry and the most worrying thing is they are being reported as empty. If this is indeed the case i have no idea how this could of happened.

I just wish i could remember which version of WINUAE i created them on.

I shall attach the log file but i feel it maybe of no help..

I could possibly arrange to send the HDF as a rar file if someone thinks they could determine if i am being really thick

Flibble

[thomas]

the most worrying thing is they are being reported as empty

In your first post you wrote they were NDOS, now you say they are empty. Which one is true ? If both are true, what did you do in the meanwhile ?

You can use DiskSalv to rescue files. Use its "Salvage" function to copy all important files to a Windows directory. Do not use "Repair", "Unformat" or any other function which writes to the HDF before you got all needed files back. Otherwise the files might be lost.

Do not format the HDF !

[flibble42]

I personally don't believe the HDF are empty, more likely that they appear that way because the geometry settings are wrong. WinUAE is aware of the drive but sees it as empty/unformatted/NDOS. Another clue that data still exists is that when compressed to a rar file the size is over 3 meg, if empty/erased the file would be much smaller.

I think what i have done is just something very careless, while i was tidying up my config files and not realising that the HDF geometry was not the same as the default i have just lost the settings.

So now somehow i need to determine what the settings are. Have the default HDF creation settings always been the same, for instance are they any different in version 8.x of WinUAE?

I shall try and find an old version just incase.

EDIT: Old WinUAE default HDF settings are the same as 1.5.2 (tried old 8.23). So now the question is can the geometry settings be extracted from the HDF file? If not the only other idea is if someone has a GVP series 2 SCSI hard drive with a 52Mb Quantum drive and can remember the geometry (as the only reason for not using the WinUAE settings would be to emulate the original drive).

I'm starting to feel really stooopid and wiiiinnneyy.

Sorry for the hassle over what is just a stupid mistake, and thanks for your help.

Flibble

[thomas]

So now the question is can the geometry settings be extracted from the HDF file?

No, they can't. The only hint is that the file size divided by surfaces, sectors and block size must result in a whole number.

when compressed to a rar file the size is over 3 meg

You could send this archive to my email address and I'll examine it for you. If you don't mind that I could read your private files.

[flibble42]

Nothing private in that file, its only the boot disk

Sent the file to your mail address..

Flibble

[thomas]

You can use this geometry to read the file:

Surfaces = 1
Reserved = 2
Sectors = 32733
Block size = 512

It is a very strange HDF, because its size is not even divisible by 512. Which program did you use to create it ?

During boot it asks for HD1 and HD2. If these are HDFs, too, you'll probably get the same problem with them.

[flibble42]

Thomas you are a leg-end

The reason it asks for hd1 is that i ran out of space on hd0 and had to put some librarys and devs on hd1 (on my original Amiga).

How did you get hd0 to boot?

*cough* i could use help with hd1 and hd2.. dum de dum

Thanks so much

Flibble

P.S. 32733 almost looks like a typing mistake.. as you say strange

[thomas]

You can use the attached program to determine the HDF geometry.

How to use:
- run WinUAE and select a configuration from the Quickstart menu.
- go to Hard drives and click on Add Directory or Archive, then on Select Archive or Plain File. Select the gethdfgeometry.lha file and click on Ok.
- click on Add Hardfile and select your HDF. Set Sectors to 1.
- click on Start, the program will be executed automatically.

It will output something like this:

checking drive DF0  (trackdisk.device unit 0)   1760 blocks
no disk in drive
checking drive DH1  (uaehf.device     unit 1)  32768 blocks
Valid root block found in sector 16367.
Volume name: HD0
Possible geometry: Sectors =  1259 (Disk will have   26 cylinders and  32734 blocks.)
Possible geometry: Sectors =  2518 (Disk will have   13 cylinders and  32734 blocks.)
Possible geometry: Sectors =  3637 (Disk will have    9 cylinders and  32733 blocks.)
Possible geometry: Sectors = 10911 (Disk will have    3 cylinders and  32733 blocks.)
Possible geometry: Sectors = 16367 (Disk will have    2 cylinders and  32734 blocks.)
Possible geometry: Sectors = 32733 (Disk will have    1 cylinders and  32733 blocks.)
Possible geometry: Sectors = 32734 (Disk will have    1 cylinders and  32734 blocks.)

Note that not all of these values are correct. All of them will make the files visible, but only those with 32733 blocks (for this HDF) will work correctly. The program is not able to verify which one is the right one.

You should mount the HDF with one of the settings, boot WinUAE and copy all files from the HDF to another directory. If all files can be copied, the setting is ok, but if checksum errors occur, the setting is not correct and you should use another one.

[flibble42]

Looks usefull, thanks.

I tell you what makes me scratch my head, the results given are very close to 32767/32768 which for any right minded person would make alot more sense. If the results are indeed correct then i must of been totally off my rocker at the time i created the HDF files.

I wonder how many other people will find that program usefull.

Flibble

[flibble42]

Talk about being lucky, after days of worrying it occured to me to try and undelete the original files.

Success... YAY

I had really expected them all to of been destroyed, but fortune was on my side and i managed to recover one file that had the correct geometry settings. Which by the way are..

Surfaces = 4
Reserved = 0
Sectors = 11
Block size = 512

So all is now back to normal, geometry scrawled on the wall in big black letters (kidding). Thanks for all the help in trying to sort the problem it was very much appreciated.

Flibble