Still A4000 format problems easy questions HELP!

[xrcxj]

Upon Boot (it takes me several times to Boot up.  Sometimes as much as ten times.  Today was once.?
  No bootup a requestor states:  Not a DOS in WorkBench Drive...now why is that?

Using a floppy (emergency 3.9 startup disk)   SYS REQUEST Please replace volume 3.0 in any drive??

Finally got 0S3.9 installed, ASIM as well, CD driver was located.... but when installing VT 3.1 first..."Max install takes 350 MBS Click Proceed to Continue...
I click Proceed but it doesn't)  Same when I tried install VT 4.3...

Checked Partitions and iPartition WorkBench read 4.5 g's...I set it up for 900MBS....   Why did it change.

Re-Formatted...Save Changes to Drive DO NOT SAVE....

What should the Boot priority Be  WorkBench "0"?  right?
Work: "0" too?  Should all the other partitions be "0"?

When I installed the VT 4.3it change my CD to "6...using asim it was CD4...why?

Changing /adding Partitions...very difficult because the left edge isn't clear...

more later...I can only do this in spurts  HELP me please.



 

Using a floppy 3.0

[Brian]

Only the system/workbench partision should be bootable and have a bootpriority, all other harddrives should not be bootable.

Having several devices with same bootpriority will spell trouble. But system partision bootpriority 0 is normal as the priority scale goes to the negative side also. Typicly DF0 will be priority 10, HD 0 and DF1 -5.

But to me it sounds like a harddrive that is starting to go bad, get a new one and backup your data asap.

[xrcxj]

Hi thanks...It is a NEW 40 Gig hard drive....I haven't got it going yet....Sometimes the floppy drive doesn't work (read the floppy disk)...

Anyway, let me confirm this   My WorkBench should be less than 1 Gig partition.  And should be Bootable "0"
Then I should try and install OS3.9  or OS3.0 (if other fails)...

    What should the next partition/s be  Work= I could only drag the bar to give me about 4 Gig   Should it be Zero ?  One?
Next Partition (I used to call HD0) should be 2  

Only the Bootable should be WorkBench?

gotta work...I check in a few hours...thanks

[Brian]

1. ONLY create the System partision (the one holding workbench), it should be within the first 2GB of the drive, it can be 200MB or 2GB, doesn't matter. Bootpriority 0 is fine and dandy.

2. Install the OS on the System partision. (Personaly I do it the slow way of installing 3.1 first and then CD drivers for OS3.1 and finaly 3.9 but if you have a bootable floppy with CD drivers I think you can do it that way instead).

3. Install Boingbags 1 & 2 (these help with bigger drives)

4. Now that the OS understand the bigger drives you can start creating the other partisions as you wish... as big or as small as you see fit. None of these should be bootable and thus not have any bootpriority. Partision names are individual, personaly I like to have at least 3 apart from System, being Work, Games and Saved. On bigger drives you could go all crasy with partisions for Demos, Graphics, Music, Temps, Miscs, Programming, Security etc... all up to you and how much memory you have (every partision uses up a bit of memory).

[xrcxj]

Finally with your Help (some things I didn't know).  about Bootable etc.  anyway, I have installed both 3.1 & OS3.9 successfully on my new 40G hard drive  THANKS again, but I'm having another problem.  Trying to install software using a floppy & a CD.  During install, I get breaks/pauses (I can hear that the floppy drive stops for a few seconds-as well as the floppy amber light)!  During the installation of the VT4.3 (Boot floppy & CD ROM)  it paused about 10 times.  If I give the area around the floppy a slight tap it starts reading the disk again.  The first VT install failed (some switcher font not found).  Tried a second time...It was successful.  Would these pauses be the source of the problem?  Something not installed fully?  Do I need to buy a new floppy drive?  I think my floppy drive stops reading the disk sometimes (everything).  But, when I start VT3.2, the color VT Logo comes up and then the A4000 crashes???  what is the problem?   Help thanks

[Brian]

CDRom's usually spindown if it cant read the CD propperly on higher speeds, this is normal and even my new DVDRW on my PC does this now and then.

For a diskdrive it's a different story. During installs some packed files might need to be unpacked after being read before it can read any more information drom the diskdrive. This can result in waitstates on the diskdrive. BUT. From what you say it sounds more like either a loose connection (try press power and floppy cable in on both diskdrive and motherboard and/or change floppycable), or a bad diskdrive (replace it). Most software will install fine from an external diskdrive so that might be a way of testing things also.

Why surtan software crashes on your machine can have so many different reasons. Might be bad install, might be corrupted files, might be the software doesn't work with your CPU (040 cpu's are specialy good at crashing older software) etc etc.

[xrcxj]

A4000 Boot Up....

 Here's what happens...

1st time   ....Just turning on the A4000.  Only a blank grey screen.  

2nd time....Re-Boot: Just turning on the A4000.  A blank grey screen but sometimes flickering with small blue rectangles, like a really super small spread sheet.  

3rd time....Re-Boot: Turn on, Hold down both mouse buttons: (select) Boot with No startup sequence.  Amiga DOS screen with 1> (I can type here)

4th time....Re-Boot: RA,LA & Control keys... Turn on, Hold down both mouse buttons: (Select) Boot...Now it starts up. WORKBENCH screen. O.K.
   I have the RAM & Work disk icon and a WorkBench folder icon.  And VT_4 icon.
  Selected VT_4, in the 3.1 folder (nothing)  in the VT.4.3 Programs...selected...Start Toaster.  The screen ended up with lots of lines and CRASHED.

5th time...RA,LA & Control keys...Turn on, Hold down both mouse buttons: (Selected) Boot
  No Go!  Only a Grey screen with one line...

6th time...Shut OFF A4000 power button.  Wait a minute.  Power Up.  Only a Grey screen.

7th time...Re-Boot RA,LA & Control keys...grey screen....
                  Shut OFF power...waited a minute.

8th time...Power Up...Now O.K.
                 But Window is Large...Went to PREFS...changed screen size...nothing happened.  

      Later on came back and tried to start up the A4000...Nothing...

I've tried  about 20 times and not a floppy drive sound/amber light nor anything on the screen (a dark grey) no matter what way I tried to Re-Boot....

  I know it's NOT the Monitor.
  Nor is it the Hard Drive....

What starts up a computer?...something isn't causing the hard disk drive or floppy to start up.  (be read)  


No Boot

[Framiga]

mhhhh . . i haven't understood, if you have installed BoingBag 1 and 2.

VT doesn't help with 3.9 AFAIK :-(

Contact Mr Hardware

http://www.mrhardwarecomputers.com/

PS- IIRC there are problems, with VT/AOS3.9 and Screen settings.

Try to apply BB1 and BB2

[Noster]

Hi,

> Just turning on the A4000. Only a blank grey screen

Just have a look at the "Amiga Guru Book":

green - error in the lowest 256 kilobytes of Chip memory. This might also be caused by a defective CIA-A (memory overlay bit, for example) or Agnus chip.

Reading from your previous floppy problems, I would replace the CIA-chips, or try to swap both, and have a look if the system is running now, but with a bad parallel or serial port.

Noster

EDIT: Sorry, wasn't able to distingish between grey and green :-D
But nevertheless, I would test the CIA's.

[mindful]

I used to have a scsi disk connected to my blizzardppc controller. But the cable was so fragile and started to have bad connections to the disk. The result was unstable boot and disk usage. I might be able to boot, or I might not be able, reset, reset, reset... But after I changed the IDE cable this problem went away.

You might wanna look at that cable...

Rgds

[xrcxj]

Well, for all my ignorance with the problems I'm having.
After I came back from work, I started my A4000. (025)...it booted right up.
Sometimes when it doesn't boot up...the VT4.3 disk icon, sort of blinks on and off.  Like it's there and it's not there every few seconds.   This is in conjunction with the amber light blinking on & off as well as the spinning sound of the floppy disk drive, starting and stopping.
  YOUR ASSESSMENT!!!!!
 First, I figure it has something to do with my floppy disk drive...(dirty, or old).  Why?  When I was installing the Video Toaster CD rom (includes VT 3.1,3.5 & 4.3) using the VT4.3 Boot-Up Floppy disk (quite new and hardly used-a few months old).  there are pauses.  The Blue Install bar stops and I get a
SYSTEM REQUEST (box)
saying Volume VT4.3
has a read write error

after a few seconds it's then continues.  The Blue bar zooms thru a few things to install, then stops...
If I give the front of the floppy disk drive a tap with my finger, it helps it kick back in...the amber light starts blinking again and the blue bar continues.
This happens about 25 times or more during the installation.  Sometimes  another System Request  comes up saying
NO DISK PRESENT
In DEVICE CD0  (my CD ROM drive).

  I'm not a technician...what does the Boot-Up Floppy disk have to do with starting the CD to Install???
  Either a tap on the front of the floppy door or wait for a few seconds, then it continues.
Finally....
  I get a COMPLETE INSTALL and it says to reboot......

O.K.
Go to my WORK draw where VT is....
I click the start icon 3.1 or 3.5  they say
"Launching VT"  the VT Logo comes up for a few seconds...and that's it...
same with VT3.5 if I select it....nothing Happens!!!!!!!!!!

So, the monitor is good...I don't think it's any problem with the CIA chips (not FBI) joke!

But, I am worried that if the installation of both OS3.1 and OS3.9 got interrupted in the same way, maybe the basic OS has missing parts...therefore the problems.

The cable to the new 40 Gig hard drive is old (1991).  Ummm
But, tapping the front cover where the floppy disk is, helps kick in the CD reading to continue the installation process.  

At least now when I click on either start VT 3.1 or 3.5 the Logo comes up, but it DOESN'T crash...just waiting for the Logo to kick in and get my Toaster back online...

Next will be connecting the Digital TBCIV and my videos and camera...Oh {bleep}...!!!!  HELP....

[Thomas]

Sounds to me that the sensor of the floppy drive which recognises disk changes is dead or has a loose contact. Changing the floppy disk too fast (this is what the DOS thinks you are doing because of the damaged sensor) might confuse AmigaDOS so that it asks you to replace the CD although it is still in the drive.

I'd try to replace the floppy drive and/or cable or to try it without any floppy drive at all.

Might also be a virus or a loose contact somewhere else or a wrong jumper setting on the HDD or the CD-ROM drive or somewhere else. Quite difficult to decide with so much hardware in there. You should try a lone motherboard with one hardware component at a time (first the floppy drive alone, then the HDD alone and then the HDD + CD-ROM drive and so on).

Bye,
Thomas

[mindful]

Try copying manually the contents of you floppy to a directory on your hd, and then create an assign to that directory with the disk name. Now try usig the hd insted of the floppy.
This should help with the floppy problem...

[mindful]

BTW: You could try using Snopdos to get a better picture of what actually happens on your disk...

[motrucker]

Something in your first post caught my eye - what ROMs are in your machine? You should NEVER see an insert 3.0 volume message! I hope that was a missprint. If not, you problem may be as simple as putting in 3.1 ROMs.
Remember, a few very early A4000s had 3.0 ROMs.