Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: rednova on September 29, 2016, 01:54:55 AM
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Hi all:
I see my amiga 2000 has a slot for a cd drive (front).
I would like to get a cd writer inside, so I can backup
my art work. What do I need ?
Does the drive need special cables ?
Is it hard to install ?
Please help me !!!
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You'll need a SCSI controller and a SCSI CD-RW drive.
Alternatively you'll need an IDE controller and a compatible IDE CD-RW drive.
Of course you will need the appropriate cables, and screws for securing it inside the case.
What type of drive you chose depends on what type of controller you have. I assume you have some kind of existing controller, since I (again, I assume) assume you're talking about backing up artwork you already have saved on your internal hard drive.
Everything you need can be bought on ebay or Amibay.
You'll need the MakeCD software (google it) which AFAIK is the only software for Amiga's that can write files to a CD. I've used it, it's a bit slow, I don't think it will work at all if you only have a 68000 (unaccelerated) CPU. Learning curve can be tricky.
Setup is easiest under Workbench 3.9. A bit harder under 3.1. A right royal PITA under 2.1 or anything older. Obviously this is IMHO, maybe some folks like to torture themselves by setting them up under 1.3. ;)
Not to dissuade you, but if you've never before installed a drive in an Amiga you're going to have to do lots and lots of research, to learn how to set this up. Good luck! :)
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Hi all:
I see my amiga 2000 has a slot for a cd drive (front).
I would like to get a cd writer inside, so I can backup
my art work. What do I need ?
Does the drive need special cables ?
Is it hard to install ?
Please help me !!!
Does your 2000 have a SCSI hard drive? If so you probably just need a SCSI CDROM and a cable to connect them both to the SCSI card.
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@spaceman
Yes !!! I believe my a2000 has a scsi hd with a scsi controler.
I also have a friend in town who knows much about amigas,
and I think he can connect the cd drive for me.
Thank you all !!!
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@spaceman
Yes !!! I believe my a2000 has a scsi hd with a scsi controler.
I also have a friend in town who knows much about amigas,
and I think he can connect the cd drive for me.
Thank you all !!!
Installing a cd drive is the the easy part. Open the case, side the cd drive in, screw it down with four screws. Attach the power connector, attach the data connector. opps forgot if scsi set the id or if ide master slave
But you need a cdfs! (choose wisely) and if you want to burn cds, you need a app for burning.
Most of all you need an Amiga that's up to the task.
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Yes !!! I believe my a2000 has a scsi hd with a scsi controler.
I also have a friend in town who knows much about amigas,
and I think he can connect the cd drive for me.
The problematic part is not installing the drive. The problematic part is finding a SCSI CDRom or a SCSI CDRW. They are relatively rare today. All you can buy for the PC is either ATAPI or SATA.
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Couldn't he also attach an external writer to the scsi via DB25 at rear of A2000? I seem to remember that the OP wasn't too keen on opening his case and upgrading the hard drive.
MakeCD...I think the key (or full version) was made freely available years ago wasn't it?
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Couldn't he also attach an external writer to the scsi via DB25 at rear of A2000? I seem to remember that the OP wasn't too keen on opening his case and upgrading the hard drive.
MakeCD...I think the key (or full version) was made freely available years ago wasn't it?
Sure, assuming his controller has an external port.
MakeCD keyfile is free from homepage of the authors: http://www.estamos.de/makecd/
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The problematic part is not installing the drive. The problematic part is finding a SCSI CDRom or a SCSI CDRW. They are relatively rare today. All you can buy for the PC is either ATAPI or SATA.
Yeah, that's true. I got my drive from an old Mac and I think I used idefix for the software (I could be wrong on that it's been a long time...).
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Like most have said here, the actual fitting of an internal CD-ROM is pretty easy in an A2000 as you have a nice 5.25" bay. Make sure you get a SCSI cable that is long enough to reach over to the bays comfortably, especially if your HDD is also mounted in that area. If the HDD is going to be attached to the SCSI card then you want to make sure that the cable has a long gap in between the connectors as it can be quite a stretch to reach the 5.25" bay if the first connection is made near the card.
Make sure you have at least WB2.x as anything earlier is going to make it a bit of an ordeal.
I hear that some CD drives can be a bit temperamental with the Amiga but I will defer to someone with more experience to list the ideal brand choices.
Have fun with your endeavour.
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Got a different question:
Is it possible to add a second hard drive inside the a2000 ?
I was planning in the future to get an 040 accelerator, and someone
said in this thread the cd drive might need more power from the mb.
If I get an 040 accelerator, would it be easier/better for installing
the cd drive ?
Thank you all !!!
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Sure you can add a second hard drive. I remember one guy on the forum a while back had added five internal hard drives. Nothing stopping you, it just depends on what controller card you have and how handy you are with a screwdriver. A typical two hard drive setup might be one mounted to the controller card and one in the second 3.5" floppy drive bay.
Again, you'd need to get a drive and cables that are compatible with your controller. You still haven't told us what controller you have.
An '040 would definitely make it much easier to burn CD's.
If you just want a backup solution, you could also add USB and back your data up that way. Something like an X-Surf 100 + RapidRoad module would make that very easy. Lots of options, just depends on your budget and skill level.
IMHO you should spend some good, quality time reading sites like the Amiga Hardware Database (http://amiga.resource.cx/) and Big Book of Amiga Hardware (http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.com/), and decide what exactly it is you're trying to accomplish, rather than just picking things willy-nilly. ;)
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Hi:
ShowConfig says: CBM A50/A2091 HD controller
the a2000 has a 40 mb HD.
My only immediate need is to back up my data, (mostly pics made in Brilliance
and animations in moviesetter).
I would like to hear more about usb for amiga.
I have good news: Is possible in the future I can come up with good
money to expand my amiga 2000.
I would probably want in the future:
-An 040 accelerator with 32 mb ram
-a second hd, preferably very big
-cd drive/writer (which i am thinking about getting now)
-an Opalvision board for the video slot.
Where can I get an x-surf ?
What is all that I need to get usb for amiga ?
I am very interested in the usb solution for a2000.
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If all you want to do is back up your data, put it on some floppy disks. Make two or three copies, or five. Store them in a cool, dry place. Even if one or two disks fails over the years, make 10 copies, or 20. Your data will be backed up and it will cost you a lot less time & money than going through a major upgrade project.
When you are ready to upgrade your system, the A2091 is a good place to start. Common and reliable, they can support up to six additional SCSI drives, internally or externally. Of course you'll have to use SCSI drives, which means you'll be buying them used on ebay, since SCSI drives haven't been made in years. You could also use IDE drives with an adapter, or a more modern solution such as a SCSI-to-CF or SCSI-to-SD solution. Here's one example:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1264
To do USB you're going to need one of the various USB cards for Amiga. There's a variety available, but a good solution is to use an X-Surf 100 + RapidRoad module. These are still available new from a variety of Amiga vendors:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1156
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1212
http://amigastore.eu/en/204-x-surf-100.html
http://amigastore.eu/en/302-rapidroad-x-surf-100.html
This combination will give you both networking and USB capability. You'll want an accelerator to use them (at least a 68020, I don't know if they require it, but for your own sanity you'll want a faster system) and a USB stack. Poseidon is the standard software for this and is included with the RapidRoad.
You'll want to be using at least Workbench 3.1 if you intend to add all this hardware.
Be prepared to spend at least $500 for a decent '040 card, although these prices may drop when the Vampire boards become more readily available. And research, research, research!
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I guess I did not give you all the complete information.
All I really want now, is extra storage space for saving my pictures made in brilliance.
If i could just get another hd with 40mb space it would be super.
My current hd has 40mb and it only has 25 mb free.
A good thing is the pics made in brillliance only take about 25 k per pic.
But I am planning on using brilliance a lot, and so i want extra space.
I could easily save the pics to floppy and that would be good, but I rather
get an extra hd or cd writer.
I am also planning on making animations with moviesetter, but Is OK
to save those to floppy, as I will only make anims that fit into one floppy.
I hope this helps.
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@ oldsmobile_Mike:
I appreciate the time you took to answer my questions.
I think now, my best bet, instead of a major overhaul of my amiga,
is to just save my pics to floppy disks. Not only a pic can take 25 k
but many only take like 10 k. As you see, a disk can hold a whole lot of pics.
I can always save my money and expand my amiga later.
Thank you !!!
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Go to Ebay.
Type in "50 pin scsi hard drive".
Any capacity will work, but drives under 4GB are easiest to make work.
You can use other types of drives but they will require an adapter. A 50 pin drive will plug right in (with the appropriate cable, of course).
Some early revisions of the A2091 had more limitations. You should upgrade to the latest ROM version if you intend to use large capacity hard drives.
Or get the SCSI2SD card from my previous link, or some similar more modern storage solution.
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@ oldsmobile_Mike:
I appreciate the time you took to answer my questions.
I think now, my best bet, instead of a major overhaul of my amiga,
is to just save my pics to floppy disks. Not only a pic can take 25 k
but many only take like 10 k. As you see, a disk can hold a whole lot of pics.
I can always save my money and expand my amiga later.
Thank you !!!
Good choice. :)
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If you already have a SCSI Card another Solution is an Iomega Zip Drive, the 100Mb Drive and Cartridges can be found cheaply.
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If you already have a SCSI Card another Solution is an Iomega Zip Drive, the 100Mb Drive and Cartridges can be found cheaply.
Yes, but also for a reason. The problem is that the quality of the ZIP drives is rather "mixed". The earlier models are very robust and sturdy, and never let me down. The later, younger revisions were "cost optimized" and created a lot of problems. Google for "click of death". Besides, 100MB is not really much.
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Hi:
ShowConfig says: CBM A50/A2091 HD controller
revision 7.0 of the ROM is necessary for 68040 machines http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/a2091
If it doesn't have rev 7 roms, it is well supported and you should get needed rom from places like amibay / ebay
An 040 accelerator with 32 mb ram
68040 is my minium fo accelerator for Amiga. Makes it much faster and easier to use.
-a second hd, preferably very big
-cd drive/writer (which i am thinking about getting now)
There is two options, you might want to get IDE controller like Buddha, that way you will have much less problems with hard drives.
OR
You can try to found old possible already broken SCSI hard drives. I had similar situation than you have now and I gave up. I ended up to have 6 uncompatiable SCSI hard drives.
If you wan to keep SCSI this is best option : http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1264
Where can I get an x-surf ?
What is all that I need to get usb for amiga ?
I am very interested in the usb solution for a2000.
Both are icomp products and still for sale.
https://icomp.de/shop-icomp/en/shop.html