Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Flashlab on April 05, 2006, 06:53:23 PM
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I requested this before but the project kind of failed; however I contacted the author of the software and he's looking to make a restore tool for firmware images!
So here goes!:
Does anyone have an image of his/her Cyberstorm MK2 board for me? I have used the unofficial firmware you can find on this site:
http://www.smartos.net/~csc/downloads.html
In the archive MKxDiag 40.8 you can find the firmware but also a backup tool. Problem is there's no restore tool to flash your card back!
Could an owner of a CS MK2 060 with the original firmware please make an image of his/her board and send it to me at flashlab@hotmail.com ?
I'll send the image to the author of the unofficial firmware so he can make the restore tool. Maybe we could even upload that to aminet??
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@Flashlab
I'll send the image to the author of the unofficial firmware so he can make the restore tool.
Maybe we could even upload that to aminet??
Aminet doesn't condone copyright violations. So unless if you obtain permission from the copyright holder, forget it.
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That's why I put in the maybe! :lol:
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Flashlab wrote:
I requested this before but the project kind of failed; however I contacted the author of the software and he's looking to make a restore tool for firmware images!
So here goes!:
Does anyone have an image of his/her Cyberstorm MK2 board for me? I have used the unofficial firmware you can find on this site:
http://www.smartos.net/~csc/downloads.html
In the archive MKxDiag 40.8 you can find the firmware but also a backup tool. Problem is there's no restore tool to flash your card back!
Could an owner of a CS MK2 060 with the original firmware please make an image of his/her board and send it to me at flashlab@hotmail.com ?
I'll send the image to the author of the unofficial firmware so he can make the restore tool. Maybe we could even upload that to aminet??
Gimme couple of days to check it out. I'm sure I have a Firmware Disk for the CS MKII 060 Card, maybe a couple of versions. I cant remember if it was the CSPPC or the CSMKII I flashed back a while & I know the A4kD I last bought had a CSMKII Inc SCSI module fitted. I recall having seen some firmware on the Hd's, I'm sure of it.
I hope I'm not talking from the Preverbial 4rse hole! :oops:
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I am not referring to the part of the firmware for SCSI. Those were available for download. I need an image for the whole firmware.
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Flashlab wrote:
I am not referring to the part of the firmware for SCSI. Those were available for download. I need an image for the whole firmware.
I had to check this out cos I think you may be talking out of pace m8! These cards aint like summat you chuck in a PC!
Its like this, you can take an 040 CS, switch a couple of Resistors aound, throw in an 060 CPU & it's Crystal & off you go,... Job Done. There is NO firmware at all rquired on the card other than the SCSI side of things. The CPU gets everything from the Amigas Libraries. In fact, I mailed aPEX at www.a1k.org & he replied today saying:
Hello,
I am sorry, but there was no firmware update disk for the mk-II ever released...
I just read the thread, the only thing I can do is trying to read out my
original mk-II firmware with this tool from the mkdiag package. And if there
will be a software for putting back the original firmware, we will host them
on phase5.a1k.org.
But where is the problem with the mkdiag firmware? I used this firmware several
years ago in my old mk-ii with no problems...
Charles Leach schrieb:
> Hi,
>
> Do you have a Firmware update Disk for a Cyber Storm MKII 060 card?
>
> A chap on Amiga Forums here:
>
> http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=21746
>
>
> appears to be in a bit of a pickle & any help could be real usefull to
> the guy!
>
> Thanks & All the best,
>
> Charlie
>
> aka "Kin Hell"
--
cU, aPEX
No further Comment. ;-)
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True, there was never an official firmware update for CS MK2 from Phase 5. Only the unofficial one on the website I mentioned earlier. Problem is that there's no tool to flash it back...
It is not true that the firmware on the CS MK2 is there only for the SCSI part. In the firmware are the boot screen (rainbow colours) and other stuff as well. When you use the the unofficial firmware the boot screen is replced with an audio sample for example. Also in the readme for the unofficial readme it syas it patches some functions of the original firmware.
The reason I want to have my original firmware back is because I suspect that I get 060 freezes in my system with some apps (like ShapeShifter). Maybe the firmware doesn't like some 68060 libs.
The goal is that there can be a tool to flash the firmware back to original. That way people have a choice; they can try the unofficial firmware and flash it back when they need or want to.
I don't know if there's any difference in the firmware for 040 or 060 though. So that's why I ask for an image of an CS MK2 060. Just to be sure!
So if anyone has an image of the original firmware that would be great!
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Hi, is the firware any different then from the CS 040 mk 2, since there are no 060/040 libs in the firmware?
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I don't know...
I'll ask the author of the unofficial firmware; maybe he knows?
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I grabbed it out of my CS Mk2 040 a while back after someone asked for the firmware a couple of months ago.
CS_Mk2 flash.lha (http://www.doobreynet.co.uk/files/mk2flash.lha)( latest version +scsi update)
But like others have said, there's no tool for flashing it back, and I really don't feel like writing one, cos one wrong byte and there's a good chance it'd end up turning a working Cyberstorm into a useless chunk of fibreglass and silicon :-o
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The reason I want to have my original firmware back is because I suspect that I get 060 freezes in my system with some apps (like ShapeShifter). Maybe the firmware doesn't like some 68060 libs.
To take the SCSI side of things out of the equation, can you not Install Shapeshifter on an IDE Drive? The A4000D I recently bought had SCSI via a CS MkII 060 card & IDE. Shapeshifter was installed on the IDE drives though!
If for doing this, you are still freezing, then try different 060 Libs to see if that stops the problem.
Have you tried the very last official Phase 5 060 Libs from here?
Phase 5 (http://phase5.a1k.org/index.php?id=0)
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@Doobrey
Yeah I asked for that image then! I sent your image to the author of the unofficial firmware. I don't know if there's a difference between 040 and 060 firmware though...
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Flashlab wrote:
@Doobrey
Yeah I asked for that image then! I sent your image to the author of the unofficial firmware. I don't know if there's a difference between 040 and 060 firmware though...
With all respect & for the last time...NO! I already said you can MOD the 040 card to 060 by swapping Resistors on the CS PCB. There is no FIRMWARE to flash there-after and a converted 040 to 060 card will perform flawlesly BECAUSE..........the 060 CPU takes it's instructions from the INSTALLED libs, just as ALL different Amiga Accelerators do!
It really is that easy.
Dont confuse "Modern-Bill-Gates-Cr4p-based-hardware-firmware updates" with the Amiga. What you have there should perform flawlesly. As I said earlier, try installing Shape shifter on IDE drives & see if you get the same freezes. Remember, Shape Shifter is an EMULATION, so expect the odd lock up now & then. The A400D I bought ran shape shifter without ever crashing & was actually faster on an Amiga 060 than a Real MAC available at the time. The seller never made any comments about his MAC Environment crashing on this A4000D ever! Apparently, it was flawless. I expect it's the version of 060 Libs you are using & all the diff 060 Libs do make a BIG difference to the performance of your Amiga.
Emplant cards were a total biatch to Set up the SCSI on the MAC side & they had their own on-board SCSI Header for the MAC Environment.
To be quite frank, I think you are barking up the wrong tree & need to either experiment with different 060 Libs or just hang it all & re-install Shape shifter to an IDE Drive. The Amiga was & is a very clever computer. The software you run needs to be good code to work without crashing. So many Games developers cut so many corners in the Early days of the Amiga, the games wouldn't run on anything faster than an A500. If those dickheads had stuck to Commodores guidelines, the games would have run on ALL Motorola processors, but the corners they cut by running routines specifically for the 68000 meant they wouldn't run on 68020's & above. So much for keeping costs down & beeing greedy for a Fast Buck with minimal expenditure. The cost was to Amiga Users with Faster Processors than an A500 and adding to that, Commodore {bleep}ed up big time sitting on their Laurels raking the cash in for an Amazing Computer to run Games. Bill Gates should be eating out of Commodores hand now....but bad management & Company Direction ended up leaving the Amiga where it is now. There is even rumor that Bill had some hand in the Demise of Commodore & The Chairman of C= just dissapeared with Millions of Debt. I spect Bill set him up on some desert Island somewhere but then rumours will just always be rumors.
Please dont think this is a rant at you, because it isnt, I just want you to understand how emphatic I am about this matter & what you are trying to do. The Firmware on ANY Accelerator card does NOT affect how the card will behave with it's Processor, but the Installed Amiga Libraries will. The Firmware is for the SCSI only.
All the Best,
Charlie
*edit* Can anyone explain this in an easier manner?; I'm too much of an Anorak Train-spotter & need to get out more than I do! :lol:
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I see your point about the libs. Relax! ;-)
Only thing I don't get about your post is that you say that the firmware has no function at all. Why would the unofficial firmware be made at all then? It says in the docs that is does patch ExecExtension!!
Anyway the only problems I get with ShapShifter anyway, but they annoy me frustratingly much!
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Kin-Hell wrote:
With all respect & for the last time...NO! I already said
With respect, CHILL OUT! By the way - there are a lot of people on this forum with a lot of Amiga experience (I do not include myself), so do try not to rant in quite such a patronising way. Help and advice are always appreciated, condescending attitudes never are.
The Cyberstorm boards are ridiculously expesive, so just because
"I already said you can MOD the 040 card to 060 by swapping Resistors on the CS PCB. "
doesn't mean someone is going to risk their hardware on your say-so.
There is no FIRMWARE to flash there-after and a converted 040 to 060 card will perform flawlesly BECAUSE..........the 060 CPU takes it's instructions from the INSTALLED libs, just as ALL different Amiga Accelerators do!
It really is that easy.
Oh and by the way - the Blizzard boards DO have 040/060 libs in their flashmem, and all the libraries in your LIBS drawer don't make a bit of difference because the flashmem ones are made resident at bootup, so that's one more reason no-one is going to risk their CS board on your "I already said you can ..."
Dont confuse "Modern-Bill-Gates-Cr4p-based-hardware-firmware updates" with the Amiga.
You would presumably be referring to anything based around software updateable chips then (eg EEPROM, CMOS, CPLD, PLD) - all of which are present in Amigas and accelerators.
Dammit! You went and made me make my 250th posting a negative one. Sigh
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Boot_WB wrote:
Kin-Hell wrote:
With all respect & for the last time...NO! I already said
With respect, CHILL OUT! By the way - there are a lot of people on this forum with a lot of Amiga experience (I do not include myself), so do try not to rant in quite such a patronising way. Help and advice are always appreciated, condescending attitudes never are.
The Cyberstorm boards are ridiculously expesive, so just because
"I already said you can MOD the 040 card to 060 by swapping Resistors on the CS PCB. "
doesn't mean someone is going to risk their hardware on your say-so.
There is no FIRMWARE to flash there-after and a converted 040 to 060 card will perform flawlesly BECAUSE..........the 060 CPU takes it's instructions from the INSTALLED libs, just as ALL different Amiga Accelerators do!
It really is that easy.
Oh and by the way - the Blizzard boards DO have 040/060 libs in their flashmem, and all the libraries in your LIBS drawer don't make a bit of difference because the flashmem ones are made resident at bootup, so that's one more reason no-one is going to risk their CS board on your "I already said you can ..."
Dont confuse "Modern-Bill-Gates-Cr4p-based-hardware-firmware updates" with the Amiga.
You would presumably be referring to anything based around software updateable chips then (eg EEPROM, CMOS, CPLD, PLD) - all of which are present in Amigas and accelerators.
Dammit! You went and made me make my 250th posting a negative one. Sigh
Perhaps it was your choice to make it a negative one!
It isn't on "my" say so about modding the CS 040 acelerators, you can get all the Info Here:
CS 040 - 060 Mod (http://www.amiga-hardware.com/download_photos/csmkii040jumpers.jpg)
and as always, any hardware mods are entirely at the risk of the person doing the mods.
We are also discussing A4000 accelerators, not A1200 ones. The A4000 Bus Architecture differs hugely from the A1200's.
It's a shame, but Forums always seem to put over the wrong impression of people. Forum conversation lacks facial Expression which is very important in any discussion. ;-)
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Flashlab wrote:
I see your point about the libs. Relax! ;-)
Only thing I don't get about your post is that you say that the firmware has no function at all. Why would the unofficial firmware be made at all then? It says in the docs that is does patch ExecExtension!!
Anyway the only problems I get with ShapShifter anyway, but they annoy me frustratingly much!
Yeah Flashlab. The unofficial Flash prog included a couple of extra lines of code which string themselves out when the SCSI side of the card sets itself up. This initialises itself before the Amiga makes any attempt to boot, as it decides which device to use to boot from.
My reference to saying the firmware has no function at all was refering to the Libs/040/060/firmware combinations, which you now have grasped at last. :-)
I never used the unnoficial firmware for my 060 card. I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but from what I have read about this firmware, it made a few enhancements to the Amigas Startup but without any real performance gains.
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@Kin-Hell
I'm a believer in if it ain't broke don't fix it too (now more than before;-)), but alas I'm also a bit too curious... so I did flash my CS...
Anyway maybe it doesn't have any influence on my ShapeShifter freezes, but the thought that it MAY bugs me. And the fact that I'm not able to test it with the original firmware is annoying because that's one of the last things I have on my possibilities list.
If you're interested what my problems are with ShapeShifter you can read that here:
http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=21005
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Flashlab wrote:
@Kin-Hell
I'm a believer in if it ain't broke don't fix it too (now more than before;-)), but alas I'm also a bit too curious... so I did flash my CS...
Anyway maybe it doesn't have any influence on my ShapeShifter freezes, but the thought that it MAY bugs me. And the fact that I'm not able to test it with the original firmware is annoying because that's one of the last things I have on my possibilities list.
I know exactly where you're coming from m8y, honestly I do!
I've been in one of these, "What-if" situations so many times myself. It really sux dont it! :-D
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Yep... ;-)