Topic: Amiga - Big HDD  (Read 631 times)

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Offline Panther

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Amiga - Big HDD
« on: May 24, 2010, 03:47:05 PM »
Is it possible to fit a big HDD into an Amiga 1200 ? I've *aquired* a 40Gb 2.5inch drive, but from what i can gather the Amiga has problems recognising anything above 4Gb.

Anyone got any advice ?

Offline billdooruk

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2010, 04:23:41 PM »
To be honest....no idea  ???

I'll leave this to Andy, Scott or Woody

Offline Scarlettkitten

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2010, 05:09:08 PM »
Using the standard file system (Fast File System) the maximum hard disk size that Amiga OS can utilise is 4Gb, you may get a larger drive to be recognised but any area outside the 4Gb limit will be unusable.


Offline AndyRCM

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2010, 05:15:37 PM »
Yeah but if you partition it you can get several 4gb partitions . . . ;) A


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Offline AndyRCM

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2010, 05:17:54 PM »
Im fooked if I can remember how to do that though! :( I really must sort out my Amiga 1200 properly again and put some WHDLoad games onto it . . . :o)


"Your past is your lesson. Your present is your gift. Your future is your motivation." - Mark Zucherberg

Offline muguk

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2010, 06:50:38 PM »
Really must get my Amiga sorted out too .. slowly but surely making room.  Two more shelves to go and another computer desk in place and I should be able to blow the dust off it and move it into the retro room :)
Sarcastic Git plc!  Also can be found on Atari-Forum.com, CPC Wiki forum, GBA / NDS hacking forum and a few other places.  I'm also one of the main Twitter personages for RCM :)


Offline AndyRCM

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2010, 06:53:09 PM »
You mean your Amiga 4000 mate? Are you sure you really NEED an amiga in there too mate? I am sure I can think of somewhere that would give it a great home . . . cough . . . RCM . . . cough . . . mate - pal - buddy! :)

Only joking Mike but please do check the battery for leakage! :(

A



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Offline muguk

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2010, 07:03:47 PM »
Quote from: AndyRCM
You mean your Amiga 4000 mate?

Aye that one I got for *that* figure which makes you & Scott choke each time I tell you.  The same one with that SCSI thingummybob inside it that had Scott gibbering.  That's the one :)

Quote from: AndyRCM
Are you sure you really NEED an amiga in there too mate? I am sure I can think of somewhere that would give it a great home . . . cough . . . RCM . . . cough . . . mate - pal - buddy! :)

If I ever got rid of it, you know damn well there's only one place it would go :)

Quote from: AndyRCM
Only joking Mike but please do check the battery for leakage! :(

If there's room and it's set-up when you pick those shelves up, this is something you can give me a hand with.  Need to find a third (cheap) computer desk and some cheap flat-screen TV/VGA monitors.  Only having the one makes it difficult to keep one system going for long without it being needed on another machine.
Sarcastic Git plc!  Also can be found on Atari-Forum.com, CPC Wiki forum, GBA / NDS hacking forum and a few other places.  I'm also one of the main Twitter personages for RCM :)


Offline AndyRCM

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2010, 07:06:21 PM »
Anytime mate - you know if I can I will help you with stuff! ;)

Linda got some TVs for the kids - I will get her to PM you with the details . . . see what you think?

A


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Offline woody.cool

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2010, 09:15:31 PM »
Anyone got any advice ?
Depends on the OS version you are using!

If you're using Workbench 3.0 or 3.1, you'll struggle with this. You'll need to manually update several components of the OS. You'll need NSDPatch, an updated version of scsi.device, LoadModule and a decent 3rd-party file system such as SmartFileSystem (which I highly recommend)

If you're using Workbench 3.9 (aka AmigaOS 3.9) then it's a lot easier, you can get away with just SmartFileSystem as the built in drivers for hard disks (scsi.device) are already TD64 compliant (Trackdisk64 compliant) allowing for the use of drives bigger than 4GB and possibly the use of LBA (Long Byte Addressing) allowing drives up to 127GB to be used ;D

If you are gonna to use 3.9, I suggest you get all the updates done first, before you create big partitions. I tend to create a small (ish) DH0: (around 512MB maximum, you shouldn't need any more), install Workbench & all the required updates, create the remaining partition(s).

PLEASE NOTE: Although the updates allow you to use drives bigger than 4GB, they DO NOT get around the 2GB partition size limit of the in-built Amiga filesystem (OFS, FFS, Intl-OFS, Intl-FFS, DC-OFS or DC-FFS) ..... this is why I suggest the use of SmartFileSystem which is freeware and works on any Amiga with Kickstart 2.0 or above and a 68020 or above.

Offline Panther

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2010, 07:15:02 AM »
Right then, here I would appear to hit a stumbling block  :-[ if I manage to download all of the required files, how do I then get them onto the Amiga ?  ??? as I have no way of writing amiga disks  :-[

Is there any other way rather than using a catweasel card ?

Offline AndyRCM

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2010, 07:17:35 AM »
well if i can find it . . . my pcmcia card . . . ;) I have no idea where it is at the mo though! ;)

A


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Offline woody.cool

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2010, 12:21:42 PM »
Right then, here I would appear to hit a stumbling block  :-[ if I manage to download all of the required files, how do I then get them onto the Amiga ?  ??? as I have no way of writing amiga disks  :-[

Is there any other way rather than using a catweasel card ?
Workbench 2.1 and later comes with CrossDOS, which enables the Amiga to read and write PC floppies.
However, make sure they are 720kb disks, as the Amiga doesn't have a High Density drive as standard.

To allow the Amiga to read a PC formatted floppy disk, open a Shell prompt (easiest way is to double-click your Workbench disk icon, double-click System, then double-click Shell)
At the Shell prompt (will probably be something like 4.Workbench>) type MOUNT PC0:
This will look like it has done nothing, but trust me, it has!
Close the Shell window (or hide it somewhere) and insert your PC formatted disk.
You will now get TWO extra icons, one will be either DF0:???? or DF0:NDOS and the other will show the volume label of the disk when it was formatted under Windows or MS-DOS .... if you don't give it a volume label, it'll show either MSDOS5.0 or will show the disks serial number (which is supposed to be generated at random by the PC's FORMAT command)

Hope that helps

Offline Panther

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #13 on: May 25, 2010, 01:05:02 PM »
Cheers Woody  ;D

Offline Amiga Man

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Re: Amiga - Big HDD
« Reply #14 on: May 25, 2010, 01:47:06 PM »
Anyone live round yorkshire?  I got problem with my Amiga 1200 with HD as the pin is abit bend :(