Hi all,
I am a fortunate owner of two of the new A4091 SCSI controllers and have a couple of questions regarding configuration, behavior, and some misc.
I have 2 A3000s into which these will be installed in order to bypass the on board SCSI so that a BFG9060 may be installed as well (I tried the BFG9060 already and it is having issues with the Zulu SCSI 1.1 I installed that is connected to the on board SCSI). I am using one A3000 as a test bed because it is already a 25 MHz CPU/FPU. Trying to avoid doing too much at one time. I'll replace the XTAL, CPU, and FPU on the other 16 MHz unit after I've confirmed things on the 25 MHz system.
First step was to repair the battery acid damage, then generally clean things, install new electrolytic capacitors, and some general maintenance. Then, I began the upgrade process.
1. Installed a Zulu SCSI 1.1 with Amiga OS 3.2.2 with 3.2.2 Roms - works great.
2. Installed a Mtn ZZ9000 RTG card - works great.
3. Installed a GottaGoFazt3r memory card - works great.
4. Installed a Super Buster 11 chip in anticipation of the A4091 - works great.
5. Installed the A4091 - I think it's working, but I have concerns.
1. The boot sequence is slow. If there is anything substantial in WBStartup, like DOpus, it takes a looooong time to boot. When booted and running, using SysInfo, the data transfer to the A4091 seems to be on par with the on board A3000 SCSI. Any thoughts as to why the boot is so long?
2. HDToolBox does not see any SCSI drives on the Zulu SCSI 1.1. However, the OS see everything just fine. As a side note, all partitions are 4 Gb or less, just because I wanted to avoid any issues. This isn't a deal breaker as I can do any configuring with WinUAE, but isn't it odd they don't register in HDToolBox?
3. Any suggestions as to how to move the LED connector to the A4091 so I can see HD access? There is a three pin connector similar to that on the motherboard, but as this was targeted for the A4000, I'm not sure the best way to adapt it to the A3000. I can make an adapter, extender, etc. but I'd like to avoid "redesigning the wheel" if someone has already done this.
4. IBrowse crashes every time I try to use it. It was a little unstable before, but now it's simply unusable. Version 2.5.8, registered. Other software seems to be fine although I haven't installed very much. I was saving the software as my last step.
5. The dip switch settings seem straight forward enough, but setting switch #4 needs knowledge of whether or not the Zulu is using active or passive termination. I have been unable to determine if the termination is active or passive. Anyone know? The A4091 seems to work in either position.
6. Last (a bit vague, sorry), at first, I was getting some weird software failures, often a startup program called RAWB... something (I know, I should have written it down), but this doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. I guess what I'm asking is are there known instabilities or incompatibilities with the A4091 and anything?
I appreciate your patience. For what it's worth, I'm not new to the Amiga, software, hardware, programming, etc., but it has been several decades since I was actively using my Amigas on a daily basis. I'm playing a lot of catch up here. A lot of cobwebs to sweep away.
David