WB 3.1 will not boot on A2000!?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Are you using one of the Mechware SCSI card readers?  Is termination and SCSI device ID set correctly for your system?  Can you confirm the card reader works correctly with other cards?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I've never got my mech card reader to work in an A2000 and had massive issues with it in a friends 3000.

FUD.    Works great for me in an A2000, also in an A500.  Suggest it may be a problem with the controller board, or not set up correctly for LUN's, or some other configuration error (ID, termination, etc.).  The A2091 isn't exactly the best SCSI controller option for an Amiga...

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Ok, but if that's true, what would be the first step to try here? And also, how should the jumpers on the card reader be configured? I just checked, and right now they are set to "termination ON" (pin 7-8) Should it be set to 0 instead? And exactly what does "termination" mean in this case? Anyway... the other configuration part (NC and WR Protect) is left as it is, with no jumpers...


Oldsmobile_Mike:

Yes, I'm fully aware that the A2091 isn't the greatest card by any means. It's very slow etc... So what other controller card would you recommend?

I can't speak for the A2091, mine is currently in a box (I was halfway finished with the Speedgeek 14MHz hack and put it away a couple years ago, unfinished), would have to dig out the manual...  but for the card reader itself (assuming you have a PCD-60b like mine, the 50-model may be similar) there's four jumpers on the bottom.  0, 1, 2, and Termination.  The first three are for setting the device ID.  It should be set to an ID that doesn't conflict with the controller card or other devices.  The last one - Termination - if this is the only device on your SCSI chain you'll want to set that on.  If you have other devices in your chain you'll need to adjust accordingly.

My best recommendation (if you have multiple devices) is to start with just one device.  Get that working 100% correctly then add a second device, and so on.

Also, just a side thought, have you tried with a different SCSI cable?  May be you have a bad cable.

As for "recommended devices", I have successfully used my card readers with an A500 GVP Series II sidecar (using both 4.15 and Guru-ROM's), a GeForce '040 (using 4.15 ROM), and a TekMagic '060 board (using the latest ROM's for that device).  When in doubt, always make sure you have the latest ROM.  I know you said you did that for your A2091, which is good, but if possible you might try swapping to a GVP-brand SCSI controller.  IMHO they have a few more modern features than the older 2091.

But check those jumpers and try with a different cable.  Rule out the easy stuff first.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

It's been a while since I mucked around with it, but I think you need to have termination on the card, the last device of your internal chain, and the last device of your external chain. But SCSI can be finicky, lol. Still, I wouldn't remove them from the card unless you are really are sure what you're doing.

Edit: btw, what are your Mask and MaxTransfer values in HDtoolbox?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

What do I need in order for the Amiga to be able to read FAT formatted devices? Where do I find a driver for this? And how do I install it? Do I just need a simple driver file to put in my "DosDrivers" drawer? (I remember having something like that for my 1200, unfortunately I don't remember where I got it or how I installed it) And also, are the cards (other than the HDD with the OS) hot-swap able? I ask this because I (obviously) want the simplest/fastest way possible to transfer files over to the Amiga...

You need this:

http://aminet.net/package/disk/misc/fat95

Read the instructions carefully, it can be kind of tricky to do the initial setup.  Otherwise, yes to all of your questions.  I use a FAT-formatted SD card in my A2000.  When I want to swap files I pop it out and pop it in the card reader on my PC and copy away.  Yes, I could also use USB or network (since my A2000 has both of those) but the SD card is almost too easy to need any other solution.  

And one more final question... Is there a driver or something for reading jpg/jpeg? (Good for desktop backgrounds etc.)

Plenty of applications on the Amiga can read .jpg files.  If you want to open them natively (i.e., with Multiview or the Workbench wallpaper prefs) you need a .jpg datatype.  These are the best:

http://www.warpdt.co.uk/

You don't have to register but it doesn't hurt to throw the author a few bones for his trouble.  

Also, while you're at it, you mention using 3.1.  If you're not ready to upgrade to 3.9 (or don't have the system specs to support it), check out this:

http://lilliput.amiga-projects.net/BetterWB.htm

Have fun!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Sneakernet means to walk a disk from one machine to another. :roflmao:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Under what text editor can you edit these type of files? It doesn't seem to work with "Multiview"...

C:Ed

As the name suggests, Multiview is just a viewer. Ed is a text editor built into every version of Workbench.

The docs are next to useless - they pre-date your type of setup and have nothing referring to SD cards, but they do give examples of the type of file you'll need to create. Will try to copy an example from my setup later.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Quick thought: you did enable LUN's on the controller, yes?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

And  is there a way under windows to convert the "readme.too" file so that  you can print it out on paper? Would make thing's a lot easier... (I  don't have a working printer for my Amiga)

Third thought - I had no problem opening the .lha archive on my PC with WinRAR and then opening the "Readme.too" file in MS Word.  If you rename the extension from ".too" it'll open automatically, or just select Word from the list of "What program would you like to open this file with?" that Windows pops up.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Okay, 4th post in a row now from me and I'll STFU.  Make sure your card is properly formatted (I would format and test it on a PC, just to make sure).  Start with a small card to make it faster.

Next you'll want to put "FAT95" in your SYS:L directory.  I'm using version 3.18, which I think is the latest.

Configure yourself a DOSDriver in SYS: Devs/DOSDrivers/ like my screenshot attached.  Note that as a previous post said, you'll need to modify the unit number for your specific device, although you can always try mine (assuming you have the same model of card reader I do), and the device name.

Don't forget the tooltypes in your icon info file (see second screenshot, attached).  Although it may be redundant, it probably can't hurt.

Make sure your SD card is inserted, reboot, and see what happens.  I know it works because I used my card right now to transfer the attached screenshots from my Amiga to my PC to post this.  I suppose if I was really a glutton I could've posted it directly from my Amiga, haha.