Author Topic: need help with A1200 HD (Read 2251 times)

papazark · « **on:** May 18, 2009, 02:28:52 AM »

Hello everybody

After spending several hours on my problem, I hope I'll find some answers here

To sum up, I can't have a 40Gb 2.5'' HD recognized by HDToolbox.

I have a vanilla A1200, so I basically opened it, tried to install a CF with an IDE adapter. That failed, so I went with something that looked easier, a 2.5'' HD.
So I plugged the HD in the internal IDE slot, and rebooted the beast.

I can hear the drive spin, but the HDD Led is always lit. Is that normal ?
After that, I did a soft reboot, started the Workbench 3.0 from a floppy, launched HDToolbox (I even tested a more recent version from aminet), and the HD is just not found.

Did I miss something somewhere ?
Is it possible the IDE port is dead ?
Any way to test that ?

Any suggestions are welcome

Thomas · « **Reply #1 on:** May 18, 2009, 08:32:17 AM »

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I can hear the drive spin, but the HDD Led is always lit. Is that normal ?

This usually happens if a drive is connected to the IDE bus which is not recognised by the driver.

Quote

Did I miss something somewhere ?

Many modern drives have the problem that they spin up too slowly and thus don't react quick enough to be recognised. The only solution for this is to install Kickstart 3.1 ROMs.

Some drives also do spin down when they receive a reset signal and then again react too slow, so that they are not even recognised after a Ctrl-A-A reset. This can be cured by cutting the reset line from the IDE cable.

Quote

Is it possible the IDE port is dead ?

Yes, it's possible, but not likely.

Quote

Any way to test that ?

Use a HDD which definitely works in another A1200 with the same configuration (same Kickstart).

papazark · « **Reply #2 on:** May 18, 2009, 04:39:16 PM »

Thanks for the reply !

Unfortunately, I don't have any other Amiga to test
Would something like IDEFix97 be helpful in that situation ? (even if it's only the software part)

I may have some 3.5'' drive I could test, but I'm not sure where to plug the power connector.
Do I have to use the floppy connector ?

Thanks

Thomas · « **Reply #3 on:** May 18, 2009, 05:07:56 PM »

Quote

Would something like IDEFix97 be helpful in that situation ? (even if it's only the software part)

If you run the IDEfix software from floppy disk and if HDToolbox then finds the HDD, this would at least prove that the IDE bus is not damaged and the HDD is working correctly. It does not solve the boot problem, though.

BTW, did you check HDToolbox' settings, i.e. tooltypes ? Does it still point to scsi.device or did you change it to something else in the past ? If it does not use the right driver, it will never find any HDD.

Quote

I may have some 3.5'' drive I could test, but I'm not sure where to plug the power connector.
Do I have to use the floppy connector ?

The floppy connector is a possibility. But for permanent use you should rather build your own PC power supply conversion and then connect the HDD directly to the power supply. The A1200 mainboard is not built to hold high current over long time.

TjLaZer · « **Reply #4 on:** May 18, 2009, 07:05:31 PM »

Try HDInstTools on aminet. You need updated drivers

Karlos · « **Reply #5 on:** May 18, 2009, 07:08:31 PM »

Quote from: papazark;454853

Thanks for the reply !

Unfortunately, I don't have any other Amiga to test
Would something like IDEFix97 be helpful in that situation ? (even if it's only the software part)

I may have some 3.5'' drive I could test, but I'm not sure where to plug the power connector.
Do I have to use the floppy connector ?

Thanks

Is the drive already partitioned and formatted? If so, you could try mounting it on a PC running WinUAE.

As for the power, you probably will need to source it from the floppy port. This is less than ideal if your machine has other expansions too.

Back in the day when what is now my main 1200T was still in the desktop case, I fitted a male molex connector to the back of the case. I used an AT PSU that was connected to the normal A1200 power cable and then a second power cable from the same PSU plugged in via the molex. Internally, this molex connector was hooked up to the floppy, HD and a cooling fan. The motherboard, accelerator card and memory were drawing their power all from the original connector and I didn't want to put any further load on the motherboard.

twizzle · « **Reply #6 on:** May 18, 2009, 07:53:23 PM »

@papazark

i dont know what problems you are having with your cf card in your desktop
so before i put my other assembled mb back into my tower
i decided to see how it would fit in a desktop 1200

4g cf card + adaptor, on a double header cable with a power cable which fits on the ide cable.
fits no problem

i bought all the parts from amigakit