I have been fighting almost the similar problem for nearly two years. Here is what is it like: whenever I am doing something that uses hard disk for a longer transfers eg 10MB or 4 minutes or similar second next volume dies. If I was defragmenting HD0: HD2: gets crushed. The same happend on two diferent HD's 200MB and 7.5GB, with or without accelerator board, on OFS or FFS, reads or writes, IDEFix or no IDEFix. Even surfing on the net showed to be hazardous.
When I try to salvage disks using QB tools then second next dies. So I Quick-Formated bad ones, run some tests, powered off Amiga and started to modify everything that i thought to be suspicious.
I have found suspicious:
FFS was anicientand and absolite.
Power connectors where covered in dark gray corosion.
Amiga and its external components where not grounded against electrostatic discharge, and flat HD cable was running dangerously near steel construction of the table.
AT power supply looked good inside, but ... grrrrr
Some custom chips are getting potatoe hot depending on pergormed task.
- File system crushes usualy doing copying using DirWork (and it was imploded to)
- I have suspected ebola virus on some floppys
- I had shrinking volume size while setting up HD on last install ( bug in FFS or hd install ?)
- My CD-ROM was anicient. It worked six hours every fifth day. I needed newer one.
Actions:
- I have updated FFS to 45.1
- I have cleaned power conectors to HD and CD-ROM from inside using piece of wire, coton and nito based disolvent to remove corosion ( watch out, it eats amiga plastic caseing )
- I have rewired GND from power supply unit to amiga, HD, CD-ROM, metal construction of the table.
- I have checked out power supply unit, connecros, voltages and replaced some electrolytic cpacitors.
- I have used some 386, 486 heatsinks and made some using 2mm and 2.5mm aluminium plates. After glueing them on custom chips and chips on accelerator chips, I made controlled air flow with some carboard, thin, duct tape. I had to add a small fan ( it is inside the case, just above F1-F2 ), and expand some holes in trap area in order to aid airflow for accelerator board.
- I have added six capacitors 1000uF each around amiga board, and two of 470uF on accelerator board. Add some more and power supply will explode.
- I have stopped using DirWork old WB1.3 software ( reason is CPU instruction that was promoted to supevisor mode on 68010+ ) and implode.library ( I will get one from aminet )
- Yes, ebola was on the Real 3D 1.4pro ( on HD-install, how convinient )
- I managed to make volume sizes just as I wanted. Nothing shrunk this time.
- I replaced old bugger with Teac 24X.
Results:
I can not format volumes using full format, volumes are still getting circulary destryed. I does not happens as often as it did before.
Amiga is not hot anymore after playing or formating.
I had some false allarms.
I can surf as lon as I want now, and I used CD's and lap link a lot with out any problems so far.
If you have similar problem I hope this post will help.
