Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!cbmvax!daveh From: daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: whats the story with st-506 drives on the 3000 Message-ID: <15163@cbmvax.commodore.com> Date: 15 Oct 90 17:22:53 GMT References: <1990Oct11.004827.24144@cbnewsj.att.com> Reply-To: daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA Lines: 35 In article <1990Oct11.004827.24144@cbnewsj.att.com> paulm@cbnewsj.att.com (paul.j.maioriello) writes: >My a2090, however is a different story. I had two st-506 drives >hanging off it in the 2000. I can't get BindDrivers to work >on the 3000 whenever I put the hdisk file in the expansion >drawer. BindDrivers does make a disk access, but it never >returns. This is the case regardless of whether I use >1.3 or 2.0. You can probably trick the A2090 into working. The problem is in software. The A2090 device driver, like many Zorro II drives, never considered the possibility of Fast memory it can't DMA into being available at boot or BindDrivers time. Before the 3000, you had to AddMem such memory, but now it's automatic and it gets added before the A2090 is initialized. The A2090, with the proper MountLists, can avoid DMA into this 32 bit memory in normal operation, but not at boot time. So if you run the "NoFastMem" program and then mount the A2090, it will get it's buffers in Chip RAM rather than the 32 bit Fast RAM, and run good. It would, of course, be much better to have that stuff out in 16 bit Fast memory, if you have any. No so much for speed, but because the Chip memory is a more limited resource. Unfortunately, there's no supplied program that does this. A revised device driver for the A2090 would be the ideal fix. >Are there any known problems with using them with an A2090 on a 3000? That's the situation. I don't know of any other problems; it should work for certain under 1.3 on a 3000 if the 32 bit Fast memory can be switched off. >Paul Maioriello -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold -REM