A4000D IDE Problems

[efrenmgp]

Hello everyone!

I have a problem with the internal A4000D IDE port. It used to have a HD as master and CD as slave. It was working fine until the other day while trying to install OS4.0 the computer hanged after the language / country / keyboard questions, and now the IDE port is not working. The symptoms are:

1. Turn on with nothing connected: Boots normally
2. Turn on with HD (master): Hangs, no "insert disk" animation.
3. Turn on with HD (master) and CD (slave): Hangs, no "insert disk" animation.
4. Turn on with CD (master): Boots but CD cannot be mounted
5. Turn on with CD (master) HD (slave): Boots but cannot mount CD or see HD in HDToolbox

I have tried 3 different hard drives (2 of them have FFS and the third one is new, not formatted). Same results.

What do you think? Has the IDE port died? Has something similar happened to anyone?

Thanks!!!

Efren

[efrenmgp]

Hello thanks for your answer!

Yeah, I was going to chime in with the bad cable scenario - but that would be a pretty strange coincidence, unless you accidentally pulled it too hard or inserted it the wrong way.

Yes the cable is a suspect, but unfortunately I have no other cable to test with. Tomorrow I'll have access to other cable so I will be able to test.

About pulling it too hard, I don't discard it but it's unlikely because the computer was closed and working normally. Then while testing I double and triple checked the cable orientation and it was ok.

Stupid question to ask, but you've got a PPC in your A4000, right? And have you since tried re-installing OS3.1 to see if everything is still kosher hardware wise?

Yes I do have a PPC. Everything else seems to work fine and I've been able to start 3.1 from floopy and also the install floppy from OS4 boots fine (until it tries to acces the CD, that is), so for now the only thing "missing" is the IDE port.

I used WinUAE and a USB IDE Box to test the hard disk I was using when the Amiga failed. Everything was fine with it, I was able to boot 3.9 from it.

Thanks again!

[efrenmgp]

Master should be at end of cable.

That's something I'm not doing... honestly I never thought it could make a difference and it was connected the other way when it failed. Master HD in the middle and slave CD at the end.

Try booting with OS 3.1 or your OS 3.9 emergency system disk and then using hard disk tools to see if you can "see" any hard disk?

I tried but no luck... actually the computer won't boot with a master HD connected to the IDE port.

Maybe it is the cable after all, at least there's another thing:

I also have an X-Surf 3cc (which has a IDE port). I made a boot floppy with the XSurfIDE in the Expansion directory and everything... it doesn't work either, so...

1. The hard disk is OK. It's tested
2. One of two possibilites...
   a) Both IDE controllers misteriously died at the same time, or...
   b) The IDE cable (the only one I have) failed.

I'm guessing b) is more likely

Thanks for you help!