CompactFlash.device how-to?

[paul1981]

I have a DosDrivers folder in Devs, as well as Storage... might that make a difference I wonder. Will try and copy your setup...

CF0 - drag the icon (from the archive that Thomas linked to) to Storage/DOSDrivers.
fat95 goes in L:
compactflash.device goes in Devs

Things in Storage don't activate or mount - giving you the freedom to click on them when required, or to move them for permenant activation by moving them to their corresponding drawer in Devs. It's all in the Workbench User Guide.

http://aminet.net/package/util/boot/CardPatch
http://aminet.net/package/util/boot/CardReset

CardReset is required on A1200's unless you have a hardware fix. Otherwise it won't work unless you coldboot with card removed and then insert card (iirc), but putting those in your Startup-sequence will solve that problem (or run CardReset manually if you like once in Workbench). CardPatch - this may be the reason for your busy pointer. Read the docs on cfd, cardpatch and card reset, and also fat95.

Amiga's are actually very elegant in how they work, the simplest most elegant OS in existance. It's so easy to do things that most don't bother writing installation scripts for their programs etc - once you learn the basics you'll realise this yourself.

[paul1981]

I'm sure I'll love this machine again once it's working... but I'm not a coder by any means, so this is really pushing my limits of technical ability (and patience!) ;-)

Should I delete the dosdrivers/keymaps/datatypes/moitors/printers folders from Devs? I seem to have duplicates in Storage as well as Devs...

No, don't delete those. Storage is for storing those things, and you drag what you need into Devs. Just don't delete anything from Devs. Stuff not needed in Devs should be kept in tgeur corresponding Storage drawer. This is Commodore's way. Doesn't matter if you have duplicates in Storage, Storage isn't used by the operating system.

[paul1981]

Looks like I did something to make the RAD: drive enabled all the time. I tried a boot with both mouse buttons, and now RAD: is in there (wasn't before). If I cold boot, the bloody thing comes back...

How can I turn off the RAD drive? It's also chewing about half of my RAM now...

Man I'm bad at this...

Thanks for your input/pity/charity =)

Turn off RAD by dragging it out of Devs/DOSDrivers and into Storage/DOSDrivers. :laugh1:
You may have more than one RAD - move any that you see. Then turn your Amiga off at the powerbrick, wait 10 seconds, then power back on. I won't mention the remrad command which if run will save that reboot.

[paul1981]

I have a strange knack of taking the worst interpretation of things sometimes... I read that and concluded that I ought to have whatever was in the storage/dosdrivers/ folder in the devs/dosdrivers folder... I copied everything in there to devs/dosdrivers....

and rebooted to a dead CLI limbo with nothing mounted and nothing normal at all...

I did manage to launch my file manager and delete the files I copied into devs/dosdrivers/... but the damage is done! How do I get my system back?

I even unscrewed by amiga and copied all those recommended latest files for CFD etc... (didn't make a difference, still no CF0 drive coming up...)  

What am I doing wrong? (besides everything?)

Do you mind if I call you Frank Spencer? :lol:

Have a look from Page 50 of the Workbench 3 User Guide, tells you about Devs and Storage:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?q=http://www.bombjack.org/commodore/amiga/amiga-commodore/Workbench_3.0_Users_Guide.pdf&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwiHzK_ymebOAhUGM8AKHca8AusQFggXMAI&usg=AFQjCNFD65bkyYufKk9FpHjZ7unyftYNLg

Is your Amiga booting again yet? What version of Workbench are you running? Did you install it yourself (Workbench)?

[paul1981]

I think it might be Workbench 3.0

Installed? No... copied from a system that was running the display screens in a train station... I saved a few of them from being thrown away.

Very commendable indeed! That's really interesting... Where abouts is this train station? What's it called?

[paul1981]

Plot twist: Running the PrepCard tool shows that there is a CF card in the PCMCIA slot... Some info appears when I insert the card & goes blank when I remove it.

Of course nothing actually works when I try to initialise it...

This CF card you're using, do you have data on it? Is it formatted? It needs to be FAT32 formatted. You can do this on your Amiga or elsewhere. Refer back to previous posts and check you have those files in the correct places.

compactflash.device (Devs)
fat95 (L)
CF0 (move to Devs/DOSDrivers to have it automatically mount on every boot)

Don't forget the CardPatch and CardReset too.

[paul1981]

Finally managed to get pfsformat to work on this CF card I was planning to use as a transfer card.... (borrowed from my A600)

Luckily I didn't just wait an hour for nothing...
I want to cry.

I'm afraid you did. A quick format would have sufficed. I must say, I'm more confused than you now I think. LOL.

Traditionally, compactflash.device / CF0 is used to transfer files between PC's and your Amiga (or Unix box or Mac or whatever). Fat filesystem is used because it's the default filesystem used on flash devices, because all computers can understand the fat file system so therefore it's used widely to share files, including cameras, audio recorders, mp3 players etc. There are more up to date ones now which are used for higher capacity flash media and hard drives but I'm just trying to give you a bit of background.

I thought you were trying to use a CF card reader with your CF, but now it seems you're attaching it to the internal IDE?

[paul1981]

Does the CF0: card reading thing care if it's an Amiga formatted Card (PFS3) or Fat32? Will it read both? or only Fat95?

CF0, the actual file I mean, is a mountlist which is mounted by the AmigaDOS command 'Mount'. You can view its contents with a text viewer (More or Multiview for example) and you can edit it with an editor such as Ed. CF0 is tailored to using fat95, you'd have to edit it to use a different filesystem, but you should really stick with fat95, as then you can put the CF card into your PC or laptop and easily transfer files to and from your Amiga, where WinUAE isn't required.

[paul1981]

Queensland Rail. Groovy!!

[paul1981]

CardPatch and CardReset... I have tried running those as commands... nothing happens... is something meant to happen? The card is/was in my Amiga600 and I tried to format it under winuae with pfs3 (as per your earlier recommendation, as I have done for the internal CF)... though it returned with "OUT OF MEMORY" and rebooted when I tried to perform pfsformat.  

PFS hasn't been mentioned in this thread. For internal IDE use yes, by all means use PFS.

[paul1981]

No, there's only one sort of mounted. Everything in Devs/DOSDrivers will get mounted during the boot sequence, just as the printers, datatypes, keymaps, monitors do etc. Which leads us perfectly down the path towards Storage. Storage is where you keep those unwanted keymaps, printer drivers, DOSDrivers (like RAD) and monitor drivers. You see, if they're in Storage you'd have to click on that RAD to mount it, or that printer, or monitor driver. I hope this helps!

So CF0 is mounted, that's good. Run CardReset, and if the card is fat formatted it should show up. If nothing shows up, run the Format program in System, and Quick Format CF0.

That noise... that was the sound of the disk motor bearings straining in your CF card from that Full Format you subjected it to.

[paul1981]

I think you said earlier RedWarrior that your A600 worked fine with a CF adapter and card - are you using the same CF card and CF adapter now as you did with the A600?

[paul1981]

I read this thread and am very confused!

Me too, especially today lol

[paul1981]

@RedWarrior

He (Thomas) means check the PCMCIA card slot on the A1200. Shine a torch in the side and just make sure there's no missing or bent pins. Just because it shows up in PrepCard doesn't necessarily mean that all of your pins are good.

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

Are you using the latest CF0 and compactflash.device from the above link? Did you edit your CF0 earlier? If so please try the one direct from the above link.