Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!usc!cs.utexas.edu!wasatch!uplherc!esunix!blgardne
From: blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: HardFrame features & problems
Keywords: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Message-ID: <1452@esunix.UUCP>
Date: 23 Aug 89 13:53:44 GMT
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation
Lines: 58


A week ago I switched from the Commodore A2090A to the MicroBotics
HardFrame controller. Here's a few random thoughts and observances, and a
couple of requests for help.

Features:

1) The kjohn floppy-on-a-hardrive trick now works completely with DiskCopy.
   It still doesn't work from WB, but from CLI I can DiskCopy to and from
   the fake floppies. On the A2090A I could only copy FROM the fake floppy.

2) SPEED! I got a boost from 570-650K/sec reads and 400-436K/sec writes to
   750-875K/sec reads and 430-480K/sec writes. This is with an A2620, CDC
   Wren III drive, and the diskperfs on Fish 48 & 187. The ONLY change was
   the drive controller.

3) Microsmiths BlitzDisk2 cache program doesn't work with the HardFrame.
   No ill effects, it just doesn't cache. This is spelled out in the
   BlitzDisk2 docs, but I wonder why it's so. Not that it matters a whole
   lot with the speeds I'm getting from the HardFrame.


Problems:

1) Low level format failed.

   The low level format program ran fine, and correctly identified my Wren
   III by model number and size.  It also correctly noted that it was
   already formatted with 1:1 interleave.  But when I tried to do the format
   it just hung.

   I tried several times with the same results, and just gave up. Since the
   drive was already formatted, it didn't hurt, but this could be a real
   problem in other circumstances!

2) The HardFrame will not work in 68000 mode.

   I did all my setup with the A2620 active, and everything works
   perfectly. But when I disable the A2620 and boot in 68000 mode, I get
   a continuous and random string of Gurus. I've never made it competely
   through my startup-sequence. Even worse, the Gurus are completely
   random, and happen at random times. I've gotten 3, 4, 5 and 6, all in
   the 00204140 to 002264bc range.

   The A2090A was 100% reliable in both A2620 and 68000 modes, and the only
   thing that has been changed is the controller.

   Again, I can live with it, because I only use the 68000 for a few brain-
   dead games, but it still isn't right.

   I'll be sending a letter off to Microbotics soon, but any help or advice
   would be appreciated.

-- 
Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland    580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108
Here: utah-cs!esunix!blgardne   {ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne
There: uunet!iconsys!caeco!i-core!worsel!blaine  (My Amiga running uucp)
"Nobody will ever need more than 64K."    "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."