A4k SCSI->IDE->CF project (problems)

[midwan]

Hi all,
I've recently started a project to replace the old and rather limited in capacity SCSI HDD on my A4000 with a CF card. The project called for 2 conversion steps: 1) SCSI->IDE and 2) IDE->CF adaptor.

First of all, my config:
Cyberstorm 060 MK2 with SCSI module and 128MB RAM
Deneb USB
PiccoloSD64 gfx card
Indivision scandoubler

The SCSI->IDE adapter I got myself is the R-IDSC-E/R, from eBay. I connected a 20GB WD IDE disk on it and everything worked perfectly. I transferred my data from the SCSI disk to that with no problems and successfully replaced it altogether afterwards.

I connected the CF card (a Sandisk Extreme III 8GB) to an external USB card reader (using the Deneb card) and partitioned it with HDToolbox, formatted it to FFS and copied all my data once again over there.

The problem I've been having is when trying to use the IDE->CF adaptor on top of the SCSI-IDE one. The system starts but doesn't boot (not even Early Startup Menu) with the HDD led staying on continuously (as if it was a jumper issue on the HD). The IDE-CF adaptor has it's jumper set on "Master".

I've tried setting the jumper to Slave, whereas the system starts but fails to find any disk and displays the Kickstart "insert disk" screen.

I've tried checking the jumpers on the SCSI-IDE adapter, but everything seems fine there and no tests I've tried helped the situation (for example disabling DMA mode and enabling PIO). With the exact same jumper settings, the HD works normally anyway (instead of the CF adapter with a CF card).

Arggg... I can't think of anything else to try! The adapter itself shouldn't be an issue, as CF cards are basically IDE devices, right?

Anyone with any suggestions? Any at all?

[Tension]

Have you tried attaching a slave IDE device so you have both Master and Slave devices?

Some IDE interfaces are picky about things like that....   It's worth a try...

[midwan]

@Tension: I can't really, the SCSI->IDE adapter only has one port. So it's either Master or Slave on that port and I have no second SCSI->IDE adapter to attach another device.

Still, I doubt that would be the issue, since as I mentioned above the configuration works if there's a HDD attached (jumper as single, WD drives are a bit strange about jumper configs - single, master, slave). The problem only occurs with the IDE->CF adapter and a CF card on it.

[Tension]

@Tension: I can't really, the SCSI->IDE adapter only has one port. So it's either Master or Slave on that port and I have no second SCSI->IDE adapter to attach another device.

You can attach 2 IDE drives to one IDE interface.  you need a cable with 3 40-pin IDE headers on it instead of 2.  They're pretty common.

Perhaps the CF card is expecting there to be a Slave device as well.  I have had this exact problem with some IDE drives in the past.

Good luck  



EDIT:  Just realised i've been talking bollocks.  Sorry!!  

[johnklos]

The problem I've been having is when trying to use the IDE->CF adaptor on top of the SCSI-IDE one. The system starts but doesn't boot (not even Early Startup Menu) with the HDD led staying on continuously (as if it was a jumper issue on the HD). The IDE-CF adaptor has it's jumper set on "Master".

Yes. Get a good quality IDE to CF adapter which actually uses DMA. Some say they "support" DMA, but in reality that just means they'll work with cards which support DMA. It's similar to "made with real cheese" which, if you parse correctly, could mean that 1% of the cheese substance is real and the other 99% is something else. "Works with" is not the same as "supports and uses".

I've used IDE-CF with SCSI-IDE many times in the past. The kind which always works is the Addonics CF-IDE. It costs more, but it's definitely worth it to avoid all the hassle. See this thread:

http://68kmla.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12050&p=123985&hilit=Addonics#p123985

Oh - and make sure the card supports DMA, too! Older cards might not. Your SanDisk certainly does, but I mention this for others who might be reading this thread.

[midwan]

Thanks for the reply.

I will try to test the system with another IDE to CF adapter then, preferably a Addonics one. Unfortunately it costs about 20 times the price I got the first one... :-P