Help with a1200 setup

[Linchpin]

Hey people, i got that a1200 (those of you that read my last thread), need a lil help setting up the HDD. I have got a "Laptop" drive, its only 85mb but hey what the hell its better than nothing. Im guessing that i use the "install" disk after i have put the drive in, anyone got any advice on the actual install of the drive itself? Thanks :-?

[StevenJGore]

Hi,

If you mean installing the drive from a hardware point-of-view, then in addition to the 2.5" HD you will need:

1. A 44-pin IDE cable (10cm long preferably)
2. A metal A1200 HD cradle
3. Two fixing screws

The cradle is used to securely mount the HD over the motherboard and metal shielding. Installation is really simple:

1. Screw the HD to the cradle.
2. Position the cradle inside the casing (it fits over the metal shielding towards the left-hand side of the case. There are four holes in the motherboard which the feet of the HD cradle stick through).
3. Connect the HD to the motherboard IDE header (positioned immediately to the left of the HD cradle)with the IDE cable.
4. When you put the keyboard back in the A1200 casing, you should notice that it rests nicely on the three upwards-protruding arms of the hard disk cradle, if it has been positioned correctly.

I did the above just the other day. If there is an easier explanation, then someone else might like to correct me!

Steve.

[Linchpin]

Cool, i dont have no drive cage tho, i can proberbly make something up. I have the drive, its got a 44pin ribbon cable on it, but no jumpers or power leads? I have got the jumper settings off the internet, im guessing i set it as a master drive? What about power, someone told me (as there are no power connectors as such on the drive), that the amiga supplies power through the ribbon cable? Cheers.  :-D

[Damion]

I didn't have to jumper either of my 2.5" drives
in order to work...so it should be OK. The
power is indeed supplied through the ribbon
cable.

As far as setting up the drive...use the Install
disk to partition/format, you should have no
problems, it's pretty easy.

[xeron]

_LinchpiN_ wrote:
Cool, i dont have no drive cage tho, i can proberbly make something up.

If there is no cradle in the A1200 (they usually came with one), just use sticky pads to secure it to the shielding.

no jumpers or power leads?

There are no jumpers because you can't have more than 1 laptop drive on an IDE chain; they are after all designed for laptops. The reason the 2.5" drives have a 44-pin cable instead of 40 is that the four extra cables are for power, so make extra sure the cable is lined up correctly and the right way round or its bye-bye hard disk! :-o

[StevenJGore]

Yes, that is correct, 2.5" HD's get their power through the IDE cable. As for jumper settings, I have mine set as Master, but I'm not sure if it makes any difference when there is only one IDE device connected anyway.

I suppose you don't necessarily need an A1200 HD cradle, you could probably make something yourself. Just as long as the HD is securely fastened down and is able to cool itself properly (ie. obstruct as little of the top and bottom faces of the HD as possible) then it should be fine.

Steve.

[StevenJGore]

Oops, sorry Tickly, I posted at the same time!  :-)

[Linchpin]

Well done lads - you'l have to excuse my ignorance but i really want to get this bloody amiga working i have had enough of PC's cant wait to trash the damm thing. Do you guys happen to know anywhere i can get a ram/cpu upgrade for it? also need a CD drive. Thanks!!! Oh, and how many HDD's can i stick in there? is there just the 1 IDE bus? Thanks :-D

[Jiffy]

Oh, and how many HDD's can i stick in there? is there just the 1 IDE bus?

On a standard A1200 you can use one 2.5" drive. If you want more drives, you need either a SCSI-controller or an IDE-controller. Both of them enable you to use more and larger drives. Externally, ofcourse, as there's little room for it inside an A1200. With a lot of effort you _could_ fit a 3.5" drive inside your A1200, but I would not recommend it (heat, powerconsumption, etc). I prefer the SCSI-solution: although more expensive, they look more reliable and well-designed. I don't like computers with flatcables pouring out from all sides...  ;-)

[PMC]

The standard 2.5" drive is a straight fit.  If it is still sitting in a laptop type cradle then you could just leave it in place and stick it down to the metal case.

A 2.5" drive is the best to go for if you are ussing a standard system.  Bigger drives can be fitted provided that you substitute the power supply.  See www.powerc.com for details on an upgraded PSU - you will need one if you plan on running an HDD and an accelerator card.

The tricky bit is the pre-installation of the OS.  You will need to use the HDToolBox tool to set the number of partitions, and most importantly the max transfer rate - set this to 0x0002000.  This will limit the size of memory chunks that your A1200 will try to read in one hit, and thus enable Syndicate to work (guess who didn't set their max transfer?).

If you want to add a CD-ROM then you have two choices:  A Squirrel SCSI interface that plugs into the PCMCIA port on the left side of the A1200, though I'm not sure if this is discontinued, or you could buy an external 8x ATAPI drive from Power Computing for £50, though you'll need a buffered IDE interface if you want to use more than one HDD / CD-ROM.  The buffered IDE port shouldn't set you back more than £30-40 depending on the type of accelerator card used.  

Good luck!

[Dicky]

Hello!

There is a cheapest sollution which I use. There is no need to buy any SCSI interface and IDE Controller.
I dont use it. I have A1200 with Accelerator Card, 16Megs of ram 1HD(3,5")+1CD

Only thing what is I did to make a small piece of hardware from printed circuit to make 44 pins to 40 (it is possible to buy). I need 1meter HD cable for the 40Pins. I have a PC power supply , because I use the HD and CD outside of Amiga. There's no need to cut anything, the Amiga stays in original.

It is possible to operate without any Ram Expansion or other thing.

If U need further information just ask...
Greets, Dicky

[Linchpin]

Thanks dicky :-)