CF Adapter Red Light stays on

[bigwall68]

Can some one verify that if the red light on the CF adapter stays on, then I have an issue?

CF is not displaying on boot screen either.  Cable is connected as it should be.  

This is my fourth amiga and has been a frustrating evening.  

Thank you for advice.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

You might want to post what model of CF adapter you have. :confused:

[QuikSanz]

Cable wrong way around?

[bigwall68]

No its correct.  

How likely is it that an IDE controller goes bad?

[bigwall68]

Another question.

Is rev 2b motherboard compatible with an 8gb CF?  

CF is fully functional via winuae.  

Thank you again.

[Pat the Cat]

Not necessarily sign of faulty unit, my SD A1200 adaptor also lights up permanently.

Can you run HDToolBox from floppy? That is important, it should be able to read the configuration already on the card.

Rev 2b A1200s aren't that different from other A1200s as far as the IDE port goes. Should not make a difference.

Also, what Kickstart ROMs are installed on the A1200? KS 3, 3.1 or 3.x?

ONLY 3.x will recognize and be able to boot from a boot partition larger than 2GB. It contains the file system and scsi.device enhancements necessary to do that, so no patching necessary.

AmigaDOS is a 32 bit operating system from the late 90s. I assume you already know about this thread...

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=61666

First page, look out for "Size of Boot Partition" as a heading. The site does not allow for direct cut and paste so I can't quote it here.
 
 Edit: HDToolbox is on the Amiga Install disk, but only versions 2.05 or later supports IDE controller built into A600 and A1200.

[bigwall68]

Pat you always chip in and help.  Thank you!

I do not have a floppy with HDTools.  Perhaps I should order a set.  

ROMs are from Amigastore as well 3.1 / 40.068

Boot partition is 500mb, then a 2gb and lastly a 5gb.  I configured to PFS3 successfully via winuae.  CF is 8gb (Amigastore purchased).

I have a 4gb coming Monday.

One thing that is causing question is that if I select IDE(Auto) on winuae, the CF is not recognized.  Same thing that happens on the 1200.

Thanks again.  This community is absolutely wonderful!

[bigwall68]

Should I expect the red light to be on when a CF is not in the adapter?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Should I expect the red light to be on when a CF is not in the adapter?

Depends on what model of adapter.

[Matt_H]

A lot of newer IDE devices cause the access light to stay on. The same thing happens for me with both a 20GB Samsung hard drive and a CF adapter. If the system boots from the drive, it's working!

An 8GB card should work from a hardware perspective, but a stock 3.1 system won't be able to partition/format it correctly. Patches to scsi.device and FFS are required (although since you are using PFS the FFS issue is not applicable), and a different partitioning program is needed. These issues are also not relevant if you are using 3.5 or higher, except your boot partition needs to be within the first 4GB of the drive.

[Pat the Cat]

Pat you always chip in and help. Thank you!

I do not have a floppy with HDTools. Perhaps I should order a set.

Thanks for the compliment, but I freely admit my advice is often flawed. It's just I have a lot of diplomatic experience in support so it seems smoother.
 
Definitely makes sense to get a full set of Workbench floppies. That way, you know you are getting an uncorrupt starting position.

I was very fortunate to get a full set with my A1200. Only Workbench 3. But good enough to run a basic, unexpanded system - I don't do games generally, didn't need 24 bit RTG support.

Technically older versions of HDToolbox should work OK with the IDE based Amigas, the snag is they were never tested with the later hardware and scsi.device.

The Amiga Forever downloads include Workbench sets, but the cheapest option for $10 US is only Workbench 1.3 - you need to full or Deluxe version to get all the variants up to 3.1. That's if you don't want a set of floppies.

[NorthWay]

I don't know about adapters, but I have fiddled plenty with IDE DVD writers recently and wrong way cable will constantly light up. "Cable Select" jumper settings with a single device also made things FUBAR; I had to set it to "Master" and then everything was right as rain.

[bigwall68]

I've got it working!  Thanks again all!

[Pat the Cat]

:b
 
 It makes SUCH a big difference to boot times.