SCSI HD issues w/ A4000T ... help

[marcfrick2112]

Hey guys, OK my 4000T is really driving me nuts.

I have a 4.1 GB drive for programs, etc. At some point I got a 'Volume Store is not validated' error, so I formatted the offending partition, after a reboot, I seemed to lose ALL partitions on this drive. I never know if the 3 partitions on this drive will show up or not. Just after re-loading all my software incl. Video Toaster/Flyer stuff, the drive disappeared again  :-x

I am wondering if the drive is failing, or is it the size of it (4GB) I made sure all partitions were under 2GB.

Specs.
A4000T OS3.1, Seagate 1GB HDD (SYS:) Seagate 4.1 GB HDD (the troublesome drive) CS Mk-3 '060 140MB RAM, Toaster/Flyer/PAR/TBC4
Pretty much bog-standard OS3.1 install

Any ideas?

[Piru]

4.1GB? Is that > 4294967296 bytes? If so, it's likely that the filesystem you chose doesn't handle >4GB access properly, and as soon as the write occured past the border the RDB got nuked.

Use check4gb to check it.

If the last partition does cross the 4GB border, you must edit it and make sure it doesn't cross it. Or alternatively use a filesystem that can handle TD64 or DirectSCSI (both of these are supported by the CS Mk-3 cybppc.device).

[marcfrick2112]

Thanks Piru,
I ran the check4gb program, one partition does indeed cross the 4GB border, ugh ...

I am debating if I should just install OS 3.9 ... My 1200T works reliably with 3.9 / 10GB HDD, but I remember that installing 3.9 was a pain. Anyone have any experience installing 3.9 on a 4000T? iirc, the 'ROM update' file caused the machine to hang up, until I installed BB1 + 2. Any advice would be great..

[Matt_H]

I've never had any major issues with 3.9, but using SFS or PFS on the offending partition will solve your problem.

[marcfrick2112]

Matt_H: My concern about 3.9 is mainly regarding the 4000T and its' special workbench.library. Basically, in a worse-case scenario, I am not sure if I could boot from a floppy with access to my CD drive(s) so I could restore WB from my backup, if needed. ummm, I hope you get what I am trying to say  :-)

[Thomas]

I've never had any major issues with 3.9, but using SFS or PFS on the offending partition will solve your problem.

SFS (current versions) will not help without a replacement for scsi.device.

one partition does indeed cross the 4GB border

You could make that partition a bit smaller. Loosing 100MB shouldn't be such a big issue on a 4GB drive.

I am debating if I should just install OS 3.9

Just make an emergency boot disk and try it out before you change anything on the HDD.

iirc, the 'ROM update' file caused the machine to hang up, until I installed BB1 + 2. Any advice would be great..

You can always choose to boot without startup-sequence from the early startup menu and then rename the file.

Basically, in a worse-case scenario, I am not sure if I could boot from a floppy with access to my CD drive(s) so I could restore WB from my backup, if needed.

You can use the OS 3.9 emergency disk. Or you could make your own boot disk with CD drivers. In either case you can and should test it before you start to make changes to the HDD.

Bye,
Thomas