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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Dragster on November 08, 2002, 06:43:55 AM
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Hello amigans!
I have a little problem and I've thought of you t
try to figure out the cause of this problem I have
in my setup. I have a PowerFlyer EIDE controller
and it works fine as long as I use PIO4 Mode,
I have Pio5 (4NF) capable hardisks but when I switch
to this PIO4NF mode I start getting checksum errors
and file corruption. The harddisk access is faster
but it corrutps everything... I don't know if
my IDE cables suck or if this is a compatibility
problem with my accelerator (BlizzardPPC). I thought
of contacting elbox regarding this problem but
also thought of asking you here before :-)
Does anyone have the powerflyer working with
harddisks in Pio4NF modes without file
corruption? My config:
A1200T BlizzardPPC 060/50, 603e/240, SCSI,
128 MB RAM, BVision, ZIV, HighwayUSB,
Xsurf, varIO.
Thanks!
Daniel
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Never heard of pio5 (or pio4nf). I thought it was pio1-4 and from there, there´s only DMA...
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I got them working on my DAD's A4k (I use SCSI myself), by firstly using ATA100 cables (40 extra earth lines to prevent crosstalk)) and also I found you can only get stable operation between the PF and the first connector:
||| ----------|||-----||||
^ ^
PF PIO5
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PIO Mode 5 was invented but never certified because it was replaced immediately by UDMA-33 mode which gives faster transfer and uses DMA channels.
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I've read that quite a lot of people have problems with checksum errors etc. with the PowerFlyer. But I've never had a single problem with my PowerFlyer, in any PIO mode. Is it just luck or me being such a superior being? :-D
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A review of the
powerflyer (http://www.thecrypt.uklinux.net/Online16/PowerFlyer.html) wth some info on pio 5 mode. SCSI is the better way to go DMA rules :-P
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AFAIK, PIO5 is rather fast ( allmost as fast as ATA33 ), but it doesn't use DMA, so it eats CPU like insane.
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I have been having similar problems with my ZIV Power Flyer, only my problems are more sinister. I cannot get anywhere near the PIO-4 and PIO-5 operating modes without filling my hard drive full of checksum errors. Plus (the sinister bit) my system boots in 3 minutes when that card is attached. It would boot in 1.5 minutes but since I have a dual boot with OS3.9 then 3 minutes is the fastest I get after a cold boot.
I have a fully capable hard drive and also ATA133 cable so I certainly know it is not my hard drive set-up that is causing me the problems.
The support I have received from Elbox has been second to none though, where none is equivalent to zip, zero and zilch. They seem to lose interest very quickly interest when you mention anything about how hot their MAC chips run on the Power Flyer - Stwange.
The result of my problem is that I am stuck with an £80 board that cripples my system's boot, performs at a 1/3 of Elbox's quoted speed, and is unstable if pushed above the PIO-3 mode.
Conclusion; My Power-Flyer is over-clocked, did not meet is design timing constraints or is simply broken. Since nobody has offered me a replacement then I'm guessing the card was designed to perform like a three toed sloth.
Its just as well I have a pukka SCSI solution in my A1200 tower!
SCSI rules, IDE drools...
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I get loads of errors with my powerflyer too. It's running at PIO4 atm.
You guys know how to manually set the PIO in the prefs proggy?? If I could set it to 2 or 3 I'd be happy as long as it worked error free, cos atm I have to back my partitions up to eachother incase one gers a checksum error.
:-?
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I read a review in Amiga Format(?) that stated it simply does not work, you have to back up a mode.
It also stated there is a maximum throughput of about ~8Meg/sec with 100%(!!!!!!) cpu load on a 060/50.
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Hi all,
I have been using my Amiga1200/Blizzard1260 with
the PowerFlyerGold for two years...
I am currently using the following IDE drives
without any problems:
Primary:
Master: PIO4 = WesternDigital_45GB_HardDrive with PFS3.
Slave: PIO4 = WesternDigital_30GB_HardDrive with PFS3.
Secondary:
Master: PIO3 = Acerr2x CDROM Drive
Slave: PIO3 = LiteON_40125S 40x12x48x CDRW_Drive with MakeCD.
I have been unable to use the PIO5 mode with my HDs,
because always get read/wrire errors!!!!, and
never had found anyone successfully using the
PIO5 modes,so it seems that the PowerFlyer
only works OK below PIO4.....
My LiteON_40125 CDRW works OK with PIO4, but I had
not notice any diferences CDs Writing speed using
PIO3 or PIO4??
I also had noted that using different accelerator
cards, give diferrent PIO settings!! Aparently,
the powerflyer works better and Faster with
Apollo 1240/1260 Turbo Cards.....
Regards,
Albert