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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Software Issues and Discussion => Topic started by: save2600 on January 20, 2010, 12:43:00 AM
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Okay.... I just have to get this off my chest... this software SUCKS! Always has and always will (for me anyway).
Plain vanilla OS3.1 installation on an A500 equipped with a 3.1 Kickstart ROM and MrMRKL's 68kIDE CF adapter board.
BEFORE installing ASIM_CDFS, system booted off the CF card and worked just "fine". Except that I have a 3 way IDE cable (normal IBM fare) hooked to it also, foolishly thinking I could add an external CD Drive and it would just work. Of course it does not.
I cannot install IDEFIX from Aminet because it says it can't find 'Installer'.
Grab a copy of Installer off my OS3.9 equipped A2500 and place it in 'C' on this A500.
NOW, when trying to install IDEFix, the computer crashes.
WTF?!?
So, after that... I go ahead and proceed to use ASIM_CDFS's SCSI Find utility to see my CD ROM. Nope - not there. Device on this 68kIDE thing is supposed to be scsi.device.
So I go ahead and install the ASIM_CDFS (version 3.7) and now I get a requester that asks for ASIM_CDFS Buffer and the damn thing won't let me boot OS3.1 anymore!! I even commented out all the worthless garb it installed in my User-Startup to no avail. Even deleted some of its disease from C, L and Libs - to no avail. Looked in WBSTartup to see WTF is causing the machine to look for some stupid buffer that doesn't exist.
WTF is going on here?
Okay... found some more of the disease that is ASIM_CDFS in the form of atapi crap in Devs:. Deleted them and now the system boots. Yay! Back to square one. Is there a magical "Installer" that needs to be 'installed' on my frickin' OS3.1 partition or what?!? 44.1 isn't good enough? Is it time for an Amiga Indian Rain Dance yet? lol
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Golly... we're making great strides here... figured out you need version 43_3 of Installer in order to get Aminet's version of IDEFix97 to get past the double-clicking stage of trying to install said program.
NOW... the machine freezes at the registration prompt. This thing needs to be bought and paid for?!? Seriously? So every single A1200 or A4000 user has to go through this rigamaroll before they can hook more than one scsi.device (really, IDE) up??
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I had a similar issue trying IDEFix with my A500 using the CFIDE68k and a real SCSI CD-ROM (via SupraDrive.) Eventually it all worked, can't recall anything particular I did to make it, though. Installed OS3.9 from CD-ROM to CF card once it all worked.
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It looks like it might work (still a major gamble) if I had the 9-digit passcode or whatever. How in the hell do you register this thing? Went to elaborate bytes website and saw all sorts of irrelevant to Amiga garbage there.
No way I can install OS3.9 on an A500 with 1mb Chip Ram and a 68000... lol
I'm really, really seriously and completely pissed right now. lol WHY on Earth would Aminet be harboring this download and others on this board and God knows where else have been advocating this blessed IDEFix for decades and NOT telling anyone that it really doesn't work?!? OR that it needs a passcode... lol
Those WHOLE point to IDE devices is that they were supposed to be easier to use than SCSI. IE: no need for Termination!
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Sounds like I oughta list my VXL-32 accelerator in the old marketplace here!
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LOL! Oh... okay... should be used to this by now. The Installer really doesn't tell you everything you need to know. IF you select 'Cancel' at the Registration process, it'll exclaim that it's going to install a "demo version"... whatever the frick that means. lol
Upon reset - I still can't get this IDE/Atapi CD Drive to be recognized. Computer freezes up when I select atapi.device from the scsi seek program. And yes, 68kIDE is set to master and the external CD ROM is set to slave.
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Sounds like I oughta list my VXL-32 accelerator in the old marketplace here!
Ummm.... yeah! That'll fit into an A1000, wouldn't it? I'm always in the hunt for A1000 stuffs.
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Dunno, never tried. I don't think the 1000 is listed in the product description, though.
edit: ah, VXL*30, not 32. http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/vxl30
It's kinda large.
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Dunno, never tried. I don't think the 1000 is listed in the product description, though.
edit: ah, VXL*30, not 32. http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/vxl30
It's kinda large.
Hmm... I might be able to fit that fat pig in a 1000... lol If you're not looking for an arm and a leg for it, PM me! Or trade for something... especially if it comes with the SCSI unit (that definitely won't fit in a 1000, but I might be able to hack something). Those Daughterboards are not totally necessary in our NTSC 1000's... :) Come to think of it, might be selling my Blizzard 2060 and could put that VXL biotch in there instead.
I still need some professional help Re: the IDE CD-Rom A500 project though... anyone?!?
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Well unless someone has some real good ideas here (Thomas?!?), I'm considering multi-IDE devices off this 68kIDE device a moot point. Tried everything I could. And yeah... that ASIM_CDFS software is the absolute worst POS I've EVER loaded onto an Amiga system. Totally goofy and system manipulating. I bet the bums that wrote that garbage are now working for Micro$oft ;) That's how terribly it screws with your system.
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AsimCDFS is a great package, but there's a bit of a learning curve. I'm guessing you don't have a manual with your copy of Asim. It explains quite a lot. Remember that Commodore's IDE scsi.device doesn't support ATAPI devices like CD drives - that's why IDEFix comes with atapi.device. Asimware's equivalent is called asim_atapi.device, but it might not present itself as such during installation. Pretend that you're installing on an A1200/A4000, since that's what your scsi.device is essentially equivalent to.
Installer v44 chokes on a plain 68000, as you've discovered.
I bet the [expletive] that wrote that garbage are now working for Micro$oft ;) That's how terribly it screws with your system.
Iomega, actually.
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Thanks Matt... I was getting a little 'hot and heated' about this last night because I just sold the system to someone that I promised would have some kind of removable mass storage solution to add to the 4GB CF HD when he wants. I can't get the IDE cable to play nice with both a CD ROM unit or an IDE<>CF card adapter. IDEFix has been installed and when atapi.device (I think that's the one) gets called upon in the SCSI Search utility, the IDEFix requester pops up (because it's the non-registered version) and the computer either freezes or ignores the fact there's a CD hooked to it.
In the past, I have used the SCSI search function from my ASIM_CDFS disk (original, not a copy btw and I have two versions: 3 and 3.7) to figure out what ID a device is and then I'd modify OS 3.1 or 3.9's CD Icon to match that data. Has worked in a dozen different installations, but this one I'm stumped.
Simply modifying CD0 is not working with this config and the ASIM software only makes things worse.
Neither IDEFix's SCSI Search or ASIM_CDFS Searches will recognize *any* drive I hook to the 68KCFIDE card. So it makes sense that the software wouldn't work if nothing knows it's there.
And you're right - no manual over here.
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i have asimware CDFS the last version i think its 3.9 or 3.10 it works perfect under OS3.9. it also works under OS4.0 along with MASTERISO.
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After re-installing ASIM_CDFS and changing the name of device back to scsi.device, the machine now boots without error and slaps a CD0:NDOS Icon up (whether there's a disk in the drive or not). Also, when I go into the ASIM Prefs, the software "pretends" to know that a CD Drive has been hooked to it, but it still wants to call it Sandisk (that's what my CF card is) and doesn't throw me any other info that might be helpful as to what unit number it is supposed to be. Again, none of the SCSI Search software tells me anything of relevance. So, I guess I'll just keep changing the unit number until I strike bonanza. Only way I know how to do this though (I believe) is to reinstall this software each and every time :(
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I have a very similar issue.
A1200 (OS 3.1, 030 accelerator) with a CF card adaptor (master) and ATAPI CD drive (slave). System boots off the card just fine, but the CD drive is not recognized by any of the devices bundled with IDEFix. Tried different drives, with no difference. The CF card appears as device ID 0.
Attaching the CF/IDE adaptor and card to one of my A4000T's causes it to hang on bootup. Could the CD drive be conflicting with the card/adaptor in some way?
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Attaching the CF/IDE adaptor and card to one of my A4000T's causes it to hang on bootup. Could the CD drive be conflicting with the card/adaptor in some way?
Seems so. Seems as if the Adapter card does not like anything else hooked to it and it's not like you can change Unit ID's on an IDE drive to get it off of '0', which is the only unit number that wants to kind of 'work'.
I guess I could try changing the only other jumper on the back of the CD ROM to CS or Cable Select... not sure what effect that would have. It's appropriately set to Slave now and the internal CF Adapter is set to massa. lol
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Just tried reversing the master/slave assignments (CF is now slave, and CD is master), to see if I could get the CD drive to show up at all.
It won't boot off the card, but booting off floppy and running Find Device with atapi.device gets the CD drive to show up, but not the CF card, so it appears that for some reason the IDE bus is only showing the master drive.
Any ideas?
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There's a jumper or two on the CF Card adapter - but not sure what they are for (besides master and slave).
In ASIM_CDFS v3.7... it does not give you the option to change the device to anything but the default, which is 4. Anyone know how to change the UNIT number to 0?
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I guess I could try changing the only other jumper on the back of the CD ROM to CS or Cable Select... not sure what effect that would have. It's appropriately set to Slave now and the internal CF Adapter is set to massa. lol
I tried that yesterday, with the same issue. Cable Select sets the drive on the cable's middle connector to slave, and the end connector to master (usually).
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Okay - I think I have an idea on why this isn't working. I remember reading some time ago something about that $40 4-Way Buffered IDE expansion add on. Is this what we need in order to get more than 1 device working? And IDEFix goes hand in hand with that, but is practically useless on its own? (unless you have >4GB single HD)
I really more used to working with SCSI on Amiga systems...
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There's a jumper or two on the CF Card adapter - but not sure what they are for (besides master and slave).
In ASIM_CDFS v3.7... it does not give you the option to change the device to anything but the default, which is 4. Anyone know how to change the UNIT number to 0?
Edit the mountfile.
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Edit the mountfile.
LOL! Nice avatar ... where's that hiding? In Devs? Just looked there and noticed there's no longer a scsi.device! WTF?!?
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LOL! Nice avatar ... where's that hiding? In Devs?
It should be in Devs/DOSDrivers.
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It should be in Devs/DOSDrivers.
Only thing in there is 'Pipe' and it can't be smoked. lol
OHHHHHHHH.... you mean on the ASIM disk!
Okay... just edited the mountlist.cd0 icon and am now reinstalling. Any bets it still doesn't work? :lol:
And of course, it doesn't! :mad: How and why in the heck does this thing insist the unit is 4 after changing the damn mountlist on the original disk?!?
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Check DEVS:Mountlist then, and if should decide to try the installer again, try and let it create a log so you can see where it put things...
Found my manual, check section 1.5 for a description of the installation procedure.
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Can't help with the device ID thing, but I've made another discovery:
To see if the IDE bus can actually support two devices, and to rule out board issues, I connected two ATAPI CD drives to it as master and slave, and booted off floppy. The Find Device list for atapi.device shows both drives properly, with master as device ID 0, and slave as ID 1.
This all seems to point to the CF adaptor as the source of the issues. I'll see if I can find a normal mechanical 2.5" HDD, and see if it works any better.
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Asim puts CD0 in Storage/DOSDrivers and mounts it manually in user-startup. It can't go in Devs:DOSDrivers because the AsimCDFS: assignments haven't been made by the time those get mounted.
That's the file you need to edit.
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I did try editing CD0 in Storage to no avail. So I shouldn't need that 4 way IDE adapter? I believe I've exhausted all my options. Not a terribly big deal though mounting a CD ROM with only 1mb of Chip RAM. With the AsimCDFS software loaded and caches set to minimum, it wastes waaaay too much RAM to make anything else of much use. After 3.1 loads and the CD software, it was down to 550-600kb of memory! lol
Ended up just putting a Slingshot and A2091 card back on her. While I don't have the proper cable or a SCSI CD ROM to try out, I'm confident that scenario will work should the buyer decide to give it a go.
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I installed a standard 2.5" HDD in place of the CF card adaptor, and now everything works. CD drive and HDD operate with no problems, so it looks like the CF adaptor is at fault.
Would using a PCMCIA CF card reader be a usable alternative? If the the A1200 can boot from the PCMCIA slot, that would free up IDE for a CD drive.
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was wondering if anyone has a good link to the instruction manual, as i am having an intermittent hangup on boot sometimes with AsimCDFS.
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What is the latest version if ASIM CDFS? I think I have 3.7 but haven't used my A4000 for a few years. Was waiting for the new Indivision so I gan get rid of the useless Microway Flickerfixer.
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I NEVER got a compact flash adaptor and a CD drive to work on the internal A4000 IDE. Its the compact flash devices fault, they usually don't support master-slave configs EVEN though they have master/slave pins on them. On the A4000 anyway, don't know about PC.
AsimCDFS is a GREAT piece of software, the only one that has worked with EVERY cd drive and interface I've thrown at it over the years EXCEP on a compact flash device. But neither did IDE-Fix, or FastaATA software. NOTHING i tried could stop the A4000 from hanging with a compact flash and cd rom on the same cable.
Use the novice option in the installer, and use a hard drive. Sorry.
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@save2600
I have never had this much trouble with Asimware CDFS. BUT, it doesn't support everything out there. You should check the Asim disk you have to see if it supports the hardware you are using. You may need a newer version (V3.10 was the last one).
I have the manual here somewhere(!). If I can find it, I'll scan it. Maybe that will help you out.
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@save2600
I have never had this much trouble with Asimware CDFS. BUT, it doesn't support everything out there. You should check the Asim disk you have to see if it supports the hardware you are using. You may need a newer version (V3.10 was the last one).
I have the manual here somewhere(!). If I can find it, I'll scan it. Maybe that will help you out.
Thanks buddy, but I'm good. I've got a couple of different retail versions, at least one manual and the latest version I think I have is 3.7. Using OS3.1, 3.5 and 3.9: AsimCDFS is simply not needed for most all of the hardware I've ever thrown in my systems over the last 16 years. I might give it a try again if I ever get a Nakamichi 7 disc changer though. :lol:
OR did you mean for the CDTV or CD32 emulation? No longer have an AGA Miggy and don't really care about CDTV software. Have people had good luck emulating those machines with AsimCDFS? It's something I tried delving into when I had an A1200, but could never get it to work correctly or consistently.
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Hi,
@save2600,
I don't know why you are having such a problem, I just bought a USB CD and plugged it into my A500.
Works Great.
smerf
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Hi,
@save2600,
I have been working on using a CF drive and CD on my Amiga 1200 for about 6 months now. Some of the things I have found out.
1. CD drive works great with nothing else hooked up.
2. Can hook up IDE HD and CD with special ide cable.
3. When I install CD and CF doesn't work, won't boot.
4. Tried idefix97 sees cd and then crashes, reboots and crashes.
5. bought buffered 4 way ide cable from amigakit, same results, boots up sees cd and crashes. With ide hd boots up.
6. Tried putting CF on one Master, and tried putting CD on 2nd master boots up intermittently and actually loads a CD sometimes.
7. Tried out of desperation by unpluggin ATX power supply from Amiga motherboard, and using just drive power from ATX supply, plugged old Commodore power supply into motherboard. Amiga 1200 boots everytime and see CD and CF and works perfectly.
Why?
No answer, it is an old 250 watt ATX power supply. Someday will get up in attic and get larger PC power supply.
Options
Use USB drive and CF works great with winUAE.
I have been working on trying to get a CF and CD to work on the A1200 for about 6 months now, this A1200 also has a blizzard ppc card in it, and is mounted in a home made tower. As of yet I have no answers except that a CF card won't work with a CD for some unknown reason. I think it may be a power thing since by using the Commodore power supply to power the board, and a PC supply to power the drives seems to work all the time, but I really don't want a brick and a pc supply. IDEfix97 does work, but with the demo copy you get the nagger free of charge. Sure wish the person who wrote the program would release the code so we could get past the registration nag, or at least set up a site to send the money to so you could get your license code. The nagger is driving me crazy. On a A500 I really don't know, since using an ide takes a lot of cpu power to run. I really don't think a 68000 chip could handle the load but I really don't know since I have never tried.
Wish I could give you some good info but 6 months on a 68040 40mhz and a 250 mhz ppc and still driving me crazy
and if all else fails just buy a USB CD and plug it into your USB port on your A500.
smerf