Thanks Gizmo350,
Nice pics, I guess kipper2k's external CF card adapter won't work because you are using the FastATA MkIV board?
Correct....
I also have a FastATA MkIV, but have not installed it yet. What kind of performance difference do you think you get by using it, instead of the stock A1200 IDE with kipper2k's external CF adapter board? I wonder if anyone has done any benchmarks to measure the performance difference?
Kipper's board has nothing to do with the performance, however, with the FastATA MK-IV, you are replacing the entire A1200 original IDE functionality with the the new MK-IV controller. I am getting about 6Mb/s transfer rate with the MK-IV set at PIO3 - I can not get any better performance (say by setting the PIO mode to 5 as the A1200 will not boot with it set any higher - still way speedier than stock - not sure about SCSI speeds. Remember, the reason for connecting the optical drive the MK-IV IDE bus is to get the highest possible speed, i.e., playing CDs! (among other advantages)
To do what I did, you MUST get some ROM sockets to raise the MK-IV. And the pins must be all cut at different lengths, from the front row to the back row. Some peeps say you have to replace the ROMS sockets on the motherboard with the "hole" type first. That's a bunch of bunk! I just ordered sockets from China that had 1/2" pins and made the cuts, and pushed 'em in!
Works fine, last's a long time!
Link to fitting ROM socket risers for the MK-IV
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=64319&highlight=fastata+indivisionI think I will try to find a white colored slim DVD drive, but otherwise will probably try to duplicate your setup exactly in regards to the drive location and the USB port locations.
For me, that location was a best possible choice due to the MK-IV.
I also wonder how the speed of the Blizzard A1260's SCSI controller compares to the FastATA MkIV? I can't remember if I can boot from the A1260's SCSI controller, or not. I have only used my SCSI controller so far to connect to external ZIP and JAZ drives, which works very well.
If it were me, I would remove the SCSI... but that's just me.
Is your slim DVD drive held in place with anything? What keeps if from moving, or getting pushed inside the A1200 case when you press the eject button on the drive?
The only thing holding it in place right now is a little bracket from the DVD to the floppy drive. I must get around to fashioning a couple little brackets. But it doesn't push in at all if I'm careful.
Anyway, nice system and good work on your case modifications. I hope that I can do as well when I do mine. Making straight cuts in the plastic might be a challenge. How did you make yours, what tools did you use?
I took much time and care cutting the holes - especially the back hole for the DVD. I used very small drill bits to get a hole started - then used a tiny saw blade - then a file for perfect fit.
Edit: I have also seen some users who have placed their slim CD/DVD drive at the side of the A1200 case opposite from the floppy drive, instead of out the back of the case. I might look for pictures of how that was done, as I would prefer the drive to eject to the side of the case, instead of out the rear of the case, where I usually have a monitor sitting. I just have to remember who did that kind of slim CD/DVD installation and search for their pictures in another thread. I wonder if anyone has done a slot loading CD/DVD in their A1200 case? That would be an easier case mod than cutting out for an entire CD/DVD door and matching the size of the opening to the size of the drive door exactly.
I saw some others that used a slot loader but that did not appeal to me as you have to build a small circuit board to eject the disk. I don't know... I guess I just didn't want to add a source of trouble to the whole install. I did see a pic where a guy completely got the slot cut in the wrong place and totally destroyed his original C> cover.... ouch! Yea, that hole in the back was the trickiest.
