Getting Commodore "insert WB disk" animation after attachng Jaz drive

[garyg]

I'm trying to back up my HD to a 2GB Jaz disk, but after attaching it to the SCSI-2 port of my A4000's Phase 5 SCSI-2 port I get the Commodore "insert WB disk" animation, yet the computer starts up normally if the Jaz drive is disconnected.

Anyone have any idea what's wrong and how to fix it? The Jaz drive's SCSI ID is 4, the internal CD-ROM's ID is 6, and the HD is of course 0. That's all the SCSI devices.

[garyg]

Improper termination confusing the SCSI chain?

At first, when I improperly terminated the cable on the Jaz end I got no response at all from the A4000. Isn't that the usual (non-)response when the SCSI chain is improperly terminated?

Nevertheless, I'll try moving the SCSI-2 cable to the other connector tomorrow if no more likely answer appears.

Thanks!

[garyg]

I tried that once, holding down the "outside" buttons on my 3-button mouse, and the Early Startup screen didn't appear, but I'll try it again if reconnecting the SCSI cable to the other terminal on my Jaz drive doesn't work.

I wonder if connecting the Jaz drive to the SCSI-1 port on the back of the A4000D might work? What puzzles me is that the present configuration HAS worked in the past.

[garyg]

It's a longshot, but you could try going into Early Startup (hold down both mouse buttons when powering on the Amiga) and selecting the boot drive.  I've only ever had to do this once that I remember, but it might work.

I just tried that (after connecting the SCSI cable to the other terminal on the back of my Jaz drive) and HD0: was MISSING from the list of drives (none of which were bootable, which included df0: and a second HD). I even tried booting w/o a startup-sequence but got the Commodore animation again.

[garyg]

Not at present. My external CD-R/W is not connected, and an examination of the SCSI chain just shows 0 for the HD and 6 for the internal CD-ROM

[garyg]

Well, what frustrates me is that the Jaz drive has worked perfectly (and the Amiga has booted normally) with this very configuration.

I'm assuming that the Jaz drive is the last in the SCSI chain. Its ID is 4.

[garyg]

Yes, I knew that. I was just adding it to illustrate that I had no SCSI conflict.

[garyg]

I've connected the SCSI cable to both connectors on the back of the Jaz drive. What else should I do? The way I have it connected right now is the way I've always (successfully) connected it in the past

I'm thinking of using a SCSI-2 to SCSi-1 cable and connecting the Jaz drive to the built-in SCSI-1 port on the back of the Amiga 4000.

[garyg]

I located the manual today and noted the termination positions
and set the termination correctly, resulting in the termination light going on!

However, even though the A4000 %&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8220;boots%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8221; the Commodore %&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8220;insert WB disk%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!8221; appears again!

[garyg]

You said it worked before...

WHAT did you change?

I changed the termination to ON (there are three options: ON, OFF, and AUTOMATIC, which turns the termination on or off depending on the rest of the SCSI chain)

I also set it to AUTOMATIC and got the same result, the "insert disk" animation.

[garyg]

No, what else did you change before this term thing. (you said it was working before?)
Was it always external, always connected, only connected for back up?

If always external, do you power on the ext box first, then the computer?

I haven't used it for a long, long time, but the configuration was the same. It's a stand-alone (i.e. external), SCSI device. I think the power switch was always set to ON, so I never thought much about turning it on or off before now.

I didn't change anything else, so it really puzzles me to get the Commodore WB 3.1 animation, as if it can't find a HD (and invoking the Early Startup screen displays df0:, and the three partitions of a second internal HD, none of which are bootable).

[garyg]

Thanks for the insight! Most of the time I haven't had a cartridge in the Jaz drive, and doesn't have a termination block on the outside.

OK, I'l disconnect the Jaz drive, go into the Early Startup window and make sure the HD boo priority is set to zero (that's the lowest, right?)

[garyg]

I can't find my Amiga Hard Drive book. I went into the Early Startup Screen and saw that the boot HD was indeed 3 (and df0: 5). However, when I clicked on the entry it just toggled between bootable and non-bootable. How do I change the boot priority?

[garyg]

Yes, the Jaz drive has its own power supply. The Amiga boots with an external CD-R/W attached (which has its own power supply). Its boot priority is unknown.

Unfortunately, the CD-R/W model seems not to be supported by the CD-R software. So it does seem to revolve around the boot priority

[garyg]

Yes, I use it almost daily