Buster and Deneb questions

[TheGoose]

I was gonna put this in market place but thought first I should ask some questions. I have a A3000D with a Deneb card. I bought and tried a Buster 11 in it but it just would not work. It would boot but with Deneb, it would just freeze up. I installed it correctly, correct orientation etc.

Could someone guess/say as to why this might be? I put the old v7 back in and got things working in PIO mode. But would like to see the Deneb work at its full potential - get my moneys worth.

And were there different Buster version built specific for the different big box models (A4000D/T, A3000D/T, A2000)?

Are they truly meant to be interchangeable?

Ask all this cause I need to know what I'm looking for. I'd like to find a Buster v9 - seems to be the choice chip, any leads?

Thanks

[TheGoose]

@arnljot

I have the Deneb and an X-Surf 2. Nothing else, no graphics card.

It has:

030 25Mhz with 2MBChip and 16MB Fastram

[TheGoose]

Very helpful, thanks. I'm going to locate the 11 chip and see if I can learn anything from its numbers...

So I'm thinking stick with 11, maybe I have a bad version or bad chip...

The Super Busters (9 and 11) are only for 3000(T) and 4000(T) with ZIII. I believe there is 2 different versions of the Buster 9. One is for 3000 and one for 4000 although I don't know how much difference there is. There is only 1 universal Buster 11 as far as I know.



The Buster 11 is. It contains "fixes" for the 3000 that makes it more stable so it's definitely made for the 3000 too. I have used it for the 3000 and found it to be very stable and a good upgrade (allows for faster ZIII transfers).



You don't need the Buster 9 for a 3000. The Buster 11 is what you want with Deneb. Some 4000 owners need the Buster 9 with a Deneb. This is because the Buster 11 only supports 1 bus master and a 4000 with 4091, Fastlane, or 4000T SCSI have a problem because of this. The Buster 9 may not work properly in a 3000.

[TheGoose]

Interesting, hmm, but mine is a 25Mhz version...same issue, no boot with Deneb. Sketchy performance when pulled out.

I have this exact same problem. I put an A4000 Buster 11 into my A3000, and the Deneb card either isn't detected or the A3000 won't boot. When I put the old Buster 7 back in, the Deneb is detected.

Edit: I think I've figured it out - for me anyway. I've got the 16Mhz A3000 and I just found a Dave Haynie quote:

There have been reports of trouble with Rev 11 Buster in 16MHz A3000s.
This was supposedly tested and approved by PA at Commodore. But by
then, we weren't making 16MHz systems anymore, so there wasn't much
testing or simulation done in Engineering, if any, for the later
Buster revision.

How tragic.

[TheGoose]

Ok, but my hunch, experience is that , when you say

"Buster 11 only supports 1 bus master"

I agree but, onboard SCSI gobbles this up, and no DMA left for the Zorro slots...