Max hard drive size?

[Franko]

With SmartFileSystem Version 1.277 the max HD size is in fact 64TB...

I use it myself and have tested it on OS3.0 / 3.1 / 3.5 / 3.9 & 4.0...

The biggest HD I have tried so for is 1TB, I've never had any problems with SFS or loss of data. The big plus of SFS is the ability to create single file sizes of 4GB or larger if you require them (DVD ISO images for example)...

This is something that other Amiga file systems can't do...

[Franko]

SFS cannot increase the maximum the driver can access.

?

[Franko]

I have just added a 2TB Seagate SATA drive to my A1200 with FastATA/Sata adapter, OS 3.9

The first problem I had was with OS 3.9 HDToolbox.

I recommend first installing the RDB with AmigaOS 3.9 BB2 HDToolbox.  Once the RDB is written, do not add partitions yet as soon as you press the PARTITION button, HDToolbox attempts to automatically add hundreds of small partitions which eventually crashes the Amiga!

Go into HDInstTools, manually add a few parititions at the start of the hard disk, then save and reboot.  Go back into OS 3.9 BB2 HDToolbox and resume adding partitions (no crashes this time)

I recommend using SFS1 v1.279 for the System partition (bootable) and SFS2 v1.279 with long filename support for all others.  Keep the first bootable partition (System) under 2GB in size.

You should ensure before prepping the hard disk that you have a patched 64-bit scsi.device and 64-bit Filesystem to use on the hard disk.

Hope this helps!

The reason for the "hundreds of small partitions" is because you have set the FastATAdriver to split, set it to NOSPLIT and you'll eliminate this problem...

Also I wouldn't recommend making the WorkBench partition SFS (best to keep it as FFS) as if anything does go wrong there are not tools for SFS to repair things properly...

I use a 1GB FFS partition for WorkBench and the rest of my main HD is split into 26 FFS system partitions ranging from 1GB to 4GB with the remaining partitions using SFS/2 partitions...

My Main drive (500GB IDE) can use SPLIT & NOSPILT at the same time thanks to a version of the FastATAdriver installed, which I rewrote myself...
(not sure why Elbox never fixed this problem themselves...)

My slave drive (500GB IDE) is split into 2 250GB partitions as this is only used for storage and not booting

[Franko]

That's big nonsense IMHO.

1. the system benefits most if the boot partition has the fastest file system

2. the system partition can be recreated at any time from scratch because everything on the system partition is also contained on installation floppy disks and CDs.

The partitions with your creative work like artwork, self-made music, videos, saved games, documents, source codes etc. are the important ones which need to be kept safe and backed up regularly. The system partition is the least important part of a hard drive.

3. the system partition does not change very much. You can make a backup once after installation and if the partition dies, you can restore that one old backup and have everything back quickly. Just make sure that you've got a boot flopppy with all software needed to access the backup and the HDD.

Well your entitled to your opinion but in my case its totally wrong...

1. FFS system is actually faster than SFS on my system partition mainly due to the fact the FFS accesses the thousands of small icon .info files faster than SFS can...

2. As for the system partition being easy to re-create easily at any time, wrong again in my case. As I use the System Partition for all of my program/executable files as well as the system stuff. All other partitions are used for data and nothing more...

3. Wrong again... my system partition is constantly changing as I write more progs or install new utils...

SFS is quite simply the best alternative file system for the Amiga user who requires access to large HDs and single file sizes greater than 4GBs. It may not be the fastest filesystem around but for reliability and almost unlimited large storage, it can't be beat...

I can say this with complete confidence as I've spent decades testing and benchmarking all of my various Amigas to get the best possible speed out of them. I would go as far as to say there won't be many folk out there with an Amiga set up quite like mine as it's is very customised and contains a lot of software & patches I have written myself that no one else has as I never released them...


@ Selles

Odd to call it ego because some of us have a lot of data & stuff on our HDs, If you can get by on 2GB of storage then good for you...

My 2 500GB HDs are both over 90% full of both Amiga & Non Amiga data not to mention all my other HDs which are almost full as well...

It's nothing to do with ego it's quite simply down to 25 years of collecting and gathering all sorts of stuff which need somewhere to be stored and have easy access to...

[Franko]

I bet you and Cosmos have fun patching stuff but be gentle with us and share some bits ;-)

Id love to share my own hacked/rewritten version of the FastATA driver but as it's still owned by Elbox and not PD or freeware then sorry but I can't...
(I did email Elbox a long time ago about it, but never received any reply...)

Many folk have sent me PMs asking for my various patches that I have written but unfortunately they were written for my own particular Amigas hardware & software set up and unless you have a system identical to mine they most likely won't work...

[Franko]

I wonder if we can set up a bounty for Franko to write driver and such for us, since it is obvious that you know a few things about hardware and programming?
New scsi.device maybe?

Gawd no... money's the last thing I need... :lol:

Often thought about it and actually started it, that's where the problem lies, I start to code something and think "hey that's a neat piece of code" then next thing I've started to use that bit of code to write something else altogether...

Or I disassemble something like the FastATA Driver, make it better and then can't share it with others cos it's still copyright and I'm the only one getting to use it...

Must have several hundred bits of software that I never got round to finishing...
!

[Franko]

QUOTE=johnklos;604130]You have to manually enter meaningful cylinders, sectors per track, tracks per cylinder, and sectors per cylinder numbers into HDToolBox yourself most of the time.

Franko: Perhaps you'd be willing to contribute a tiny bit of your technical experience to help get the FastATA supported under NetBSD?
http://mail-index.NetBSD.org/port-amiga/2011/01/03/msg007507.html[/QUOTE]

I'd be happy to help if I can but don't have a clue what NetBSD is...

[Franko]

franko

You talk about "rewritting" software yet you dont know what NetBSD is?

You have no need of money?

I'd love to see some screenshots of your modded drivers... or some code sample

Well with a stupid comment like that YOUR never gonna find out...:p

Why fcuk should me not knowing what NetBSD is have anything to do with me re-writing or coding software

And yes Im very well off thank you, a lack of hard cash has never been a problem for me and most likely never will be...

So with an attitude like yours your gonna be the last to know, plenty of other folk in my short time here can testify to my coding and knowledge of the Amiga,

As for you I have no need to prove anything to you, so toddle off matey... :p

[Franko]

I would If i can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but right now having probs just get 40GB to work fully all the time with my A1200, may have to end up playing with the cylinders or maybe have about 9 <4GB drives.....
which reminds me (off topic) but when i do build my A4000 if have a GVP 4060 with scsi and a FASTATA IV (zorro III) which would be better to use? Also have indivision and Deneb for that A4000

Me too...

Two 2TB HDs should be enough to last me till my sell buy date...

(PM sent about your HD probs...

[Franko]

Hey Franko

Just so you know its rather distasteful to make posts like "money is no object to me" quite distasteful.

Don't talk keech pal... I never claimed to have any taste in the first place so if it's distasteful to you then that's tough luck mate you'r the one who mentioned my name and brought it up with your other snidey little remarks...

And I suppose your nasty little que jumping and me, me, me posts in the "Amiga 1200 collection for grabs" thread are not distasteful...

I'm in los angeles and would like yo buy all of
your amiga stuff for cash please respond with pm or call me
if you can.

No problem.. but like I said if you want to sell all in one go for cash no shipping i'm the guy

Uh.. excuse me but why would anyone want to box and ship this stuff to australia? are you mad i'm local?

Anyway crawl back under your rock mate before I drop me wallet on you which is stuffed full of more cash than you could ever dream of and flatten you with it... :lol:

Ooops... sorry... was that me being distasteful again

I worked damn hard for every penny and everything I own, so if me having loadsa money bothers you then follow my example... work hard and earn it...

Now stop bugging my happiness and go and play in the traffic...

[Franko]

Well you just proved you have absolutely no taste at all and now i"m sure you are full of sh8t and dont have what you say. Its quite obvious. I'm also taking it that you are very young and inexperienced in the real world.  There are so many posers and talkers like you in the amiga community its funny. Luckily there are really cool,interesting and talented people as well.

As far as your programming goes i'd love to see any proof of anything.. You of course wont produce that becuase you are a tosser and full of crap.

You sir are a total knobhead...

[Franko]

yeah i'm a knobhead and i'm awaiting your proof of your programming skills.. why dont you just come clean and say you LIED?

Gawd tenacious little bugger aren't you...

Look on Aminet mate or my own site and see for yourself, the only one round here telling porky pies is you mate and you'r doing it to yourself...

PS: anything else you demand I should prove to you, a picture of my 8 inch dick for example (course I could have lied and said it was 10 but I'm not in the habit of telling lies)... :rolleyes:

[Franko]

oh geeze, here too? maybe you guys should meet

Look he's the one who started all this and then decided to stretch it into another thread, no idea what his problem is but I'm not going to let him say what he wants about me and not respond to his lies and accusations... sorry...

[Franko]

@Franko, If you have started a suitable driver. Maybe you could publish what you have so that others may continue upon it?

I think I already said that I never got round to finishing it, the reason was in the end it was much easier to disassemble the Elbox FastATA driver and fix a couple of thing in it and re-assemble it for my own personal use.

The problem with the FastATA driver though is it only works with the A1200s FastATA hardware from Elbox, they even do a different one for the A4000 version which I've never had a look at...

The one I began to write myself was being programmed around the 4xEIDE hardware so I have no idea if I were to go back and try to complete it if it would work with any of the other buffered interface boards...

[Franko]

what do you guys put on your miggy hard drives to fill up all that space?

I have literally hundreds of gigabytes of 16 bit AIFF audio files I need to store as well as CD/DVD ISO Image files which need up to 8GB storage space per file not to mention GFX data and around 9000 ADF files...

That's the reason I need such big HDs on my Amigas...