Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!ahds!dick
From: dick@ahds.UUCP (Dick Heijne CCS/TS)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st.tech
Subject: Megafile 44 slowing down...
Keywords: atari, st, megafile
Message-ID: <1495@ahds.UUCP>
Date: 26 Mar 91 11:41:01 GMT
Article-I.D.: ahds.1495
Organization: Ahold NV, Zaandam, Netherlands, EEC
Lines: 38

I have this problem with my Megafile 44 removable harddisk:
After installing and formatting I partioned a scheme of 20.5/10.5/0.5/10.5
Allthough the manual said the smallest partitionsize should be 1 Mb I tried
making one of 0.5 Mb, and the system accepted this. I did this to install
a small Minix kernel on it. Only the first partition is used for TOS/GEM,
all others are reserved for Minix.

In the Minix corner (drives D, E and F) everything works fine, due to it's
own drivers and (fast) filesystem,
but under TOS I have a severe problem of VVVEEERRRRYYYY slow performance when
I want to ADD a file on the partition and it's still decreasing....

For example, when I copy a file from a flop or from some directory into a
particular folder on the TOS (drive C) partition, the harddisk moves (it
sounds and the orange BUSY light flashes once briefly), and than the orange
BUSY led starts blinking with a frequency of approx. 1 blink/sec for about
(now) 19 times, after which the disk rattles again and stores the file in
the appropriate place.

I noticed that the amount of blinks increases in time: it depends on the
number of files (or something) on the disk.

So far the most annoying problem.
Another problem is that when I copy a folder to another folder on drive C
the first folder underneath the new folder is linked to the root-folder in
some way. Attempts on deletion result in a system reboot. The only way to
remove that wierd folder seems to be the creation of an orinary file next
to the wierd folder, than removing the file, after which the folder can
be removed as well. I have no idea if this problem has any connection with 
the former one.

So far, I didn't buy another disk for experimenting.

Maybe it has something to do with my (unusual?) partitioning.
Anybody outhere has any suggestions on this ??????

Thanks in advance,
Dick.