Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: jeffimix on June 21, 2003, 09:48:20 PM
-
Ok, I want to buy a harddrive and CD-Rom drive for my Amiga 2000 (it's got that 5.1/4" bay just sitting there) Luckily, it already has a harddrive, an ancient Quantum thingummer, and a GVP SCSI controller board. I have Kickstart (and WB) 1.3 right now, so I'm wondering what I need to run a CD drive (I do have all thr GVP software for my I/O extender and harddisk controller)
Also, what harddrive brands and CD drive brands are best, I don't want to buy something to find out it doesn't work. I already know about 4 Gigabyte and lower limits.
Right now my Amiga set up is pretty unspectacular, so don't owrry about wierd pieces of hardware interfering with what I'm doing (SupraRam board with 2 megabytes of RAM, GVP I/O extender, GVP Harddisk controller (the old kind of SCSI) Amiga 2000 rev. 4.4 board with kickstart 1.3, OCS)
-
so I'm wondering what I need to run a CD drive
Might I suggest a slightly newer Amiga? :-)
-
sure, will you send me one?
-
My first post and I get to help someone!!
Sounds like a similar configuration to my 2000 (1500 with the badge pulled off) although I have Kickstart 3.1 installed.
You need the right mountlist entry for the CD device, plus a CDFS filesystem driver (I used AMICDFS2 - works OK for me).
Mountlist entry for AMICDFS is:
---------------------------------------------------
/*
* CD-ROM filesystem mount entry
*/
Device = gvpscsi.device
Unit = 1
FileSystem = L:AmiCDFS
Flags = 0
BlocksPerTrack = 32
BlockSize = 2048
Reserved = 0
LowCyl = 0
HighCyl = 11000
Surfaces = 1
Buffers = 64
BufMemType = 1
Mask = 0x7fffffff
GlobVec = -1
Priority = 10
DosType = 0x43444653
StackSize = 600
Mount = 1
Control = "LC BL=8 FB=32"
/* Control field template:
*
* LC=LOWERCASE/S,CS=CASESENSE/S,
* HF=HFSFIRST/S,LN=LONGNAMES/S,TD=TRACKDISK/S,
* BL=BUFFERLINES/K/N,FB=FILEBUFFERS/K/N,
* DC=DISKCHANGE/K/N,MT=MOTORTIME/K/N,
* SD=STARTDELAY/K/N,TDC=TDCHANGE/S,
* TOSHIBA/S,OLDMODE/S
*/
-----------------------------------------------------------
You may have to alter the "Unit" parameter dependant upon the SCSI ID of your CD drive.
Download AMICDFS from Aminet at:
http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/disk/cdrom/amicdfs240.lha
I have a Toshiba DVD-ROM attached to the SCSI chain. Haven't tried it as a DVD yet - I suspect it may not work but haven't had a chance to verify this.
Good luck!
- Andy
-
Upgrade to Workbench/Kickstart 3.1 before getting a cd-rom!
-
Ok, new question, what's cheapest way to upgrade to OS3.1...
-
jeffimix wrote:
sure, will you send me one?
Hhehehe, I'm sure you can pick up an A600 for about £5 :-o
That comes with IDE built in...
-
@Bloodline
Yeah, if you can find a version of ATAPI.device (or was it CD.device, I forget now) that can be registered... Otherwise you have to reboot every hour when the nag kicks in.
I got fed up with trying to use an IDE CDROM drive on my A4000 and raided my Mac for it's SCSI CDROM drive. *shrug*
-
bloodline wrote:
Might I suggest a slightly newer Amiga? :-)
hey! i've only ever had 2000's and you can do alot with that big box!!! get OS3.9 and the rom3.1 and a graphics card (i put in a spectrum) and you'll have an amazing system! i put the rom and the card and everything in myself, so wash your hands and get in there!
Try Software Hut (http://www.softhut.com/cgi-bin/test/Web_store/web_store.cgi) for roms, etc. :-D
-
Yeah, the 2000 is actually a pretty nice machine. I'd guess the thought behind upgrading to a different machine may be that it'd be cheaper in the long-run, though.... Because performance on a stock 68000 @ 7mhz is kind of painful. Adding things like faster HDs and CD ROMs really accents this, as it becomes painfully clear that you are waiting on the RAM and CPU. So now, you are talking about adding a hard drive, CD ROM, OS3.1 ROMs, accelerator, and RAM for the accelerator....... Could easily run you up to a price range of near $200.... Nowadays even 3000s and 4000s are selling for around that.... Hmm.
Of course, you may be able to find a nice GVP 040 or 060 board for it from someone on the cheap.... You never know... But it's a bit of a scrounge around and gamble....
-
To jeffimix:
Do not listen to these guys. They do not know what they are talking about in regards to the Amiga 2000. First of all, the Amiga 2000 is the Flagship of ALL Amigas. There are two main reasons why the Amiga 2000 is the Flagship of all Amigas: 1 - More expansion cards were made for it then any other Amiga. 2 - The Amiga 2000 is the highest quality of ALL Amigas. After the release of the Amiga 2000 Commodore started having some major financial problems, so they had to start cutting back the cost of future Amiga production by LOWERING the quality of the Amigas in general, starting with the Amiga 3000. I should know, because I worked in this industry for many years. I saw what happened and was in the meetings where we discussed cutting back on the quality. The Amiga 2000 was the last of the high quality Amigas, so yes it will cost more to upgrade it. But, you WILL have a much nicer machine. Much higher quality then any Amiga 3000, 4000, 600, 1200 or any other Amigas that were released after the Amiga 2000. Have you ever taken a good look at an Amiga 2000 motherboard and then compared it to the newer Amiga motherboards? Just look at the quality workmanship that went into the many expansion boards for that great machine. They just do NOT make them like they use to. My advice to you: Keep your Amiga 2000. Take it completely apart. Clean all of the exposed metal on the chassis with WD-40, this will condition the metal like new. Remove the top cover from the power supply and blow out the dust with a can of compressed air then replace the fan with a new fan. The original power supply fan was made in Japan, these are the very best made, so try to get another new fan that is also made in Japan, Germany or England. Blow the dust off the motherboard. Clean the Chinon drive. Another words, restore your Amiga 2000 to its original showroom beauty. Then kick back and be VERY proud of the fact that YOU actually own The Flagship of all Amigas. After you restore her, you should install a Commodore A2091 SCSI controller card and a Commodore A2320 Amber board into the video slot. The A2320 Amber board de-interlaces the video signal and gets rid of the scan lines. It also allows you to plug in a nice VGA or SVGA monitor. I personally have a real nice ViewSonic 17" Flat-Panel display sitting on top of my own Amiga 2000HD. It looks really awesome! Yes, keep your Amiga 2000, only an ELITE few of us have one. Do not get me wrong, I love ALL Amiga Computers. I am only stating facts here to help you. Always keep in mind that QUALITY COSTS MORE! So yes, an Amiga 2000 will cost you more to upgrade then buying a lower quality Amiga like the 3000, 4000, 1200, 600, etc. :-D
-
:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:
-
DoomMaster:
1. Learn how to put linebreaks into your posts. Without some linebreaks, your text is difficult to read.
2. The Amiga4000T was the top end of Amigas at the end. The 2000 was the flagship for "it's time."
Really. I had an A2000, complete with the overheating math-coprocessor. My 4000 kicks it's butt. My 1200 (in a tower) makes an A2000 look like a C=64. That's not even getting into what my Pegasos does in comparison.
Do I look down on A2000's? Nope. I liked mine, too bad that GVP 060 was so expensive ;-) However, to say that the A2000 is, was, and will always be, the pinnicle of Amiga development is just plain wrong.
-
jeffimix wrote:
Ok, I want to buy a harddrive and CD-Rom drive for my Amiga 2000 (it's got that 5.1/4" bay just sitting there) Luckily, it already has a harddrive, an ancient Quantum thingummer, and a GVP SCSI controller board. I have Kickstart (and WB) 1.3 right now, so I'm wondering what I need to run a CD drive (I do have all thr GVP software for my I/O extender and harddisk controller)
Also, what harddrive brands and CD drive brands are best, I don't want to buy something to find out it doesn't work. I already know about 4 Gigabyte and lower limits.
Right now my Amiga set up is pretty unspectacular, so don't owrry about wierd pieces of hardware interfering with what I'm doing (SupraRam board with 2 megabytes of RAM, GVP I/O extender, GVP Harddisk controller (the old kind of SCSI) Amiga 2000 rev. 4.4 board with kickstart 1.3, OCS)
Okay, you already have the SCSI interface, that is good.
You will be better off with a higher revision kickstart.
Buy a SCSI CD drive, any brand will work, but I would reccomend Sony.
If the cost is a problem, go for a used SCSI CD-Drive, buying an IDE interface will probably be more expensive even though IDE CD drives are cheap as hell.
As for HDD's, I've found that a particular model of IBM hard drive wont work on my Amigas(GVP or A 4000 T onboard SCSI interface).
Honestly, your money would be better spent getting KS 3.1, especialy before the HDD.
:-)
-
IMHO the A 3000 T and A 4000 T were the 'flagship' Amiga models.
Plenty of expansion, the A 4000 T uses an AT PSU, and basically an AT case, with AT style motherboard.
The case of the A 4000 T is 1mm thick pressed _steel_, A2000's are made of different materials depending on the year of manufacture.
Trust me. I have an A2000(the made in germany one), I once owned a B2000, and the B2000 was technically superiour, but the build quality was slightly worse IMO, but still very good.
Expansion is important, to me it's more important than AGA, so IMHO having Zoro slots & drive bays are better than better graphics.
Also remember that the A3000, A3000UX, A3000T, A4000, A4000T, A1200, & CDTV(have I missed any?) all have 32-bit data busses! They are all much faster than an A2000 when accessing the motherboards bus.
The A2000 can have improved CPU cards, but even the A1200 can get better CPUs available for it, and even PCI slots. It is potentialy(heck, even by default) much faster than the A2000.
Being made of steel the A4000T will last - for a long time.
And whos A1200 has broken down just from age or ordinary use anyway?
-
@ jeffimix
I would not listen to "DoomMaster" he could get you hurt and also mess up your Amiga.
DoomMaster Quote...
"Remove the top cover from the power supply"
Don't do this unless you know what your doing they put big warning labels on there for a reason. So you won't get a big nasty shock from the big capacitor.
Even if it is unplugged don't dig in there.
DoomMaster Quote...
"Clean all of the exposed metal on the chassis with WD-40"
Erm... I don't think I'd do that.That stuff stinks and leaves a slimey film no matter how much you try to wipe it off, It's better for use on your car or bicycle or other mechanical things. Your best off to use a clean dry cloth like it says in the manual.
Also I don't think I'd bother with the "A2320 Amber board" Get a better A2000 ZII graphics board thats compatible for use with a Toaster, for the video slot.
Also, as iamaboringperson and others suggested, get the 3.1 roms for use with OS3.9 . You can also maybe find an external CD drive and save the bay for extra HD space, then you can use the CD drive on other amigas you may have, saving a few bucks $ :-)
DoomMaster Quote...
"only an ELITE few of us have one"
Well I have five A2000's so I guess that would make me really ELITE ? NOT !
Commodore made many of these machines and believe it or not there's still many users out here. :-)
@ jeffimix also I would readup or contact someone like Russ at mrhardwarecomputers for some really sound advice conserning your Rev of motherboard
for compatability issues or maybe someone here with community respect could advise you on this. My A2000's are all Rev6 B's so I don't know what you should expect with the REV 4.4
Anyways, Have fun :-)
-
DoomMaster Quote...
"Clean all of the exposed metal on the chassis with WD-40"
Erm... I don't think I'd do that.That stuff stinks and leaves a slimey film no matter how much you try to wipe it off, It's better for use on your car or bicycle or other mechanical things. Your best off to use a clean dry cloth like it says in the manual.
I used to be into mountain biking in a big way, and you're right about the film, which is why serious riders do not use WD40 on their bikes either, you use proper chain lube...
-
Yeah, if you can find a version of ATAPI.device (or was it CD.device, I forget now) that can be registered... Otherwise you have to reboot every hour when the nag kicks in.
Hmm, well, you could always keep that requester open, or click everytime on "I agree" as I do :-D
Varthall
-
Hhehehe, I'm sure you can pick up an A600 for about £5
The a600 is crap mine was free from the scrapyard after i found it in the boot of a car and fitted it in my mates toolbox. :-)
-
@jeffimix
Getting back to the topic ...
Short version ... Amiga OS 3.1 and AsimCDFS CD-ROM control software running on Amiga 2000HD e/w A2091 SCSI controller, Quantum ProDrive 40S SCSI hard drive, Rodime SCSI harddrive, and Chinon 2X SCSI CD-ROM drive.
Longer version ...
I bought my Amiga 2000HD many years ago. Like yours, my came equipped with Kickstart (and Workbench) 1.3. However, my machine had a A2091 SCSI controller card and Quantum ProDrive 40S SCSI hard drive.
I upgraded to Amiga OS 3.1 sometime later. No big deal, replace the 1.3 ROM with the 3.1 ROM and then install the rest from floppy disk.
Later, I added the SCSI CD-ROM drive. The AsimCDFS version 3 package came bundled with a CD-ROM called "FishMarket" (a collection of FredFish disks #260 through to 1000).
Yes, the 2X CD-ROM drive is slow compared to today's standards, but it is good enough for my needs and has never failed.
---------------
redfox
-
@DoomMaster
The A2000 was great, but its only a 16 bit machine, with Zorro II slots, and no PPC upgrade.
Frankly, an Amiga 1200, has faster busses, more modern expansions, faster processors, and is generally better than an Amiga 2000.
I own an A1500 (which is a rebadged A2000), I also have an A500, A1200, A600 and A4000.
The 1200 & 4000 just blow the 2000 away. Live with it.