**Need Setup HELP** with Classic Amiga 2000 HARD DISK (Bridgeboard)

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Looks like the hard drive is connected to some kind of old connector on the PC (Bridgeboard) side.  Hard to tell from the picture but I think this predates IDE - may be an MFM hard drive, or some other prehistoric format?

At this point unless there's something you really want to recover off that drive, I'd consider it toast.  If you want to use the Amiga as an Amiga get yourself some kind of modern solid state solution (such as a CF or SD adapter), or at least a SCSI controller and hard drive.  It really depends on what you want to do with the system.  That bridgeboard and your current expansion cards are pretty much only good for old DOS-based software.  Maybe Windows 3.1 if you're really up for a challenge.

First thing's first though, take out that drive sled and remove the barrel battery before you do anything else.  Search the forums for info about leaking batteries, but suffice to say it's not good.  System seems to be in decent shape otherwise, be a shame to let it get ruined by a leaking battery.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

This is probably obvious, but after you boot into the DOS environment, did you try just cd'ing to c:?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Hopefully somewhere in your disk collection there's a functional working copy of Janus that you used in the past that has all of the correct configuration details on it. I'm hoping that if you find and boot from that disk you'll find your system exactly as it was when you last used it.

I think we're all hoping for that.  Although you might want to prepare yourself for that hard drive being kaput.  It is, after all, at least 25 years old.  I suppose some obvious checks would be do you feel it spinning if you power up the system with the case open, any activity lights, etc.?

Hope all this effort is worth it!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

The Dual Connection says to me "that the HARD Drive was visible to PC and AMIGA" Somehow...

The dual connection just means it's an RLL or MFM type hard drive, has nothing to do with the drive being visible on the Amiga side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive_interface

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ST-506  (see the picture of the controller connected to the drive)

That being said, it may be visible on the Amiga side, but that just depends on how you have it configured through the bridgeboard software.  It would be much slower than a natively configured Amiga hard drive.

http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/a2088xt

Do you have access to another Amiga that you could attempt to run DiskSalv on that bootdisk, with?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

This site has link to the manual.  How's your German? :lol:

http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.com/bboah/product.aspx?id=328

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Start with "S:Startup-Sequence" on your bootdisk.  Also "User-Startup", if it exists (only newer versions of the OS have this).

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Here is the Original Workbench Disk that I used to Boot this Amiga With.

(snip)

So you're able to read the startup-sequence of the floppy disk but you can't boot from it because it gives an error, correct?

Sounds like the disk might not be too far gone, then.  Try doing a "set echo on" or have it print a line after each command runs.  That should allow you to easily trace which command or sector on the disk has gone bad.  You could try replacing just the file or files on the faulty disk, but my recommendation would be to create a new boot disk - copy over everything from your existing disk (that works) and replace just the commands that fail.  Voila, you should have new boot disk!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

My next mission is DJmount. Startup-Sequece has it, but disk does not.

Then this may be the file that's corrupt on your boot floppy.

Create your new floppy using the process we described earlier, then try obtaining a new copy of DJMount from the Janus software download disks on Amiga Hardware Database (using the link I provided previously).

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Another possibility is that your system originally booted with that disk in DF0: and another disk in DF2:.

That is an excellent point!

Do you remember back when you used to use this system, did you have to have a disk in both drives in order for it to boot?  Odd system, in any case.  Basically a bare-bones Amiga (not even the 1MB Agnus), but with a whole bunch of expansions added on the Bridgeboard/PC side.  What did you use it for, back in the day?  Mostly PC software, I would assume.  :lol:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I have old ROM chip, I could pop in.
 But waiting for more input since don't want to take things apart quite yet.

I wouldn't take anything apart except to replace broken pieces. If you're 100% certain it worked when you put it away...  how would anything change on it's own?  Of course it sounds like you already took the hard drive and stuff out, so I guess that idea's out the window! :lol:

I'd revisit the issue of that disk, however. Reconstruct a new copy of your boot disk, replacing the missing/damaged/corrupt files with new copies. Carefully inspect the Startup-Sequence, as was mentioned earlier, for if it also needs a disk in the 5.25" drive to be able to boot.

...I'm going to laugh when after all this, you're able to access the contents of that old hard drive, and all you find is copies of your 9th grade homework assignments, lol. :lol:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

The controller card isn't an "Amiga card", per se.  It's just a regular 8-bit ISA hard drive controller card manufactured for PC's of that era.  It's not anything specialized for use in an Amiga/busboard configuration.

If you remove the card from your Amiga and install it in the PC, along with the cables and the drive, it may be able to read the PC side (once you wade through whatever antiquated configuration mess that might be, it's been 30 years since I've had to look into installing a hard drive in a DOS-based PC).  Obviously the PC won't be able to read any Amiga data that might be stored on any Amiga partition which might exist on the drive.

Here's another wacky idea though, totally out of left field and not sure if it would work, but what about PC-Task?  The software-based PC emulator for Amiga.  Again, not something I've played with in decades, but I know people still use it today and that it can even be used to install things like Windows 95 on an Amiga.  Might PC-Task have any capability (perhaps with a more intuitive user interface) to communicate with the bridgeboard and through that to the hard drive controller and hard drive?  Just a thought, any PC-Task experts around here?  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

FYI, on an unrelated note, if you do intend to get this system running again and expanding it into a dual Amiga/PC workstation, you can also extend those last two 8-bit ISA slots into 16-bit by adding the missing connectors.  Like this:



Although if you're going to do that I'd look into getting a faster model bridgeboard, as well.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

** OH one question to save me time, and stress on amiga. It there a keyboard sequence to reboot it to try workbench disks ** Right now I power off and on **

CTRL+AMIGA+AMIGA

Yes, make that new Workbench disk. Good luck!

Btw - nice setup in that earlier pic!

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

A2091 uses a 50 pin SCSI cable for internal devices (as do most Amiga SCSI cards). Other common sizes are 68 pin and 80 pin. Yes, you can get adapters for all. Just watch out if you want to use drives larger than 4GB (which would be a whole other can of worms for you).

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

When you say "whole can of worms". Do you mean I couldn't hook up a drive Larger than 4GB? Or just couldn't use more than 4GB of that larger drive? (but could still hook it up to work).

Don't partition more than the first 4GB of available capacity. Large hard drive support was included in later versions of the operating system, via various methods. If you were (for example) to upgrade your Amiga to run OS 3.9, it would be pretty easy. With 3.1 it's doable (again through various hacks/patches/modifications). 2.1 or older it would be a real struggle.