Hard drive controllers

[curtis]

Been working on my A2000 and A2386SX bridgeboard and it's been giving me fits, to say the least.

My hard drive controller is a GVP Impact A2000 HC+8 Series II with Guru ROM v. 6.13.

I got to wondering if the source of my problems might be the controller and am considering replacing it in hopes of resolving my problems.

However, I realize there is a dearth of controllers out there and not sure which one to replace it with.

So, how about a discussion about the pros and cons of the various hard drive controllers for the A2000?

Comments regarding ease of use, flexibility, and compatibility with bridgeboards would be appreciated.

This discussion could also be used as a future reference for other users down the line.

So, tell us what you've got.  Why you selected it.  Vagaries of its use.  Etc., etc. etc.

[curtis]

No, RAM space isn't the problem.  I very well remember to set my jumpers on the GVP to 6MB.  That was pounded in my head several years ago!

Just can't seem to get the PC side of the world to recognize the SCSI drive on the GVP controller.

I've jumped through all sorts of hoops trying to get it to see it.  

Followed the instructions with the GVP board, no luck.

Tried the procedure in aminet and no joy.

Heck, even tried setting up the drive for CrossDOS and then tried to get the bridgeboard to use that.  Nada.

Tried an XTIDE.  Seemed to recognize it and "supposedly" installed DOS, but then it won't boot from it!  Full system, including hidden files are there, but it still comes up with "No System Installed" error.

It's almost like the bridgeboard will ONLY accept a drive IF it's in its hard drive table!  And the largest there is only 100MB.

If memory serves me, I seem to remember IDE drives are NOT identified in the CMOS configuration.  Not sure about SCSI.

[curtis]

I was using the XTIDE because I had it in hand!

As for the sound card option, I've got one on the way.  It seems like most people have more luck dropping hard drives in for the bridgeboard that way.

Still, you've got to wonder why the XTIDE works in one machine, but not with the bridgeboard.

Oh, and the CMOS does have an area for custom hard drives, but it's really rather limited and IDE drives aren't recognized.  I've always been told IDE drives don't get entered in CMOS.

And yes, I know about the memory areas to avoid on a bridgeboard!

[curtis]

I sold the 2000 quite some time ago.

Just dealing with an A500 with a kipper2 memory expansion and an IDE68K IDE interface.

If I hadn't had both already, I would've gone with the kipper2 CFIDE memory all-in-one expansion.