gnn@ssibbs.UUCP (George Neville-Neil) (11/15/88)
[Hey line eater leave this line alone!!!] Since everyone is talking Hard Drives lately I figured I would put in my three cents. About a month ago I purchased a Great Valley Products hard drive controller model 2/0 and a Seagate ST277N. Hooking it up was easy as was installing the software. The manual was fairly good and if I wanted the boot disk that came with controller could have done it for me. I had some problems running FFS on it though. A call to GVP quickly remedied this as I needed their new driver for the 277 to work correctly with FFS. I called their BBS and downloaded it in two or three minutes. After this it worked great. While at World Of Commodre in Phila. I was able to pick up the new AutoBoot roms from GVP. Since I already had the 1.3 rom from CBM it was easy enough to put these two chips into the controller. The nicest thing happened when I booted GVP's disk. It told me that it knew I had an ST277N and would I like two 31 meg FFS partitions. I said sure and it obliged quite nicely. I restored my data to it using QuarterBack and have been using it ever since. It is great!!!! It even autoboots FFS. I don't need one of those stupid little 5 track partitions. I am a very satisfied customer. George Neville-Neil I do not work for nor have recieved any payment from Great Valley Products. Of course if they sent me a check I wouldn't refuse it. :-) -- 'Damnit Spock someone is trying "I'm not working this is fun. to exceed our QUOTA' Now if someone wants to pay me for this that's their problem."
jhs@cci632.UUCP (John Sentiff) (11/16/88)
<>
I'll add to the praises of Great Valley Peripheral products. I recently
purchased their IMPACT SCSI/RAM-1/0 Controller and installed my own 1 Meg.
of RAM on it. When I had trouble formatting my Seagate ST277N with the old
file system, a few calls to GVP and a very helpful customer service person
(Thanks, George!) put me on the right track to solving my problem.
After using the hard drive with 1.2 for several weeks I got my copy of 1.3 and
now have the FFS running on this setup. I'm now waiting for the autoboot ROMs
from GVP and Commodore. No problems over the last month and I love it!
--
John Sentiff
Computer Consoles, Inc.
...!{cornell,rutgers}!rochester!cci632!jhsschabacker@frambo.dec.com (Tim, posting for C. Balzer) (11/28/88)
[What amount of bandwidth is wasted by line eater jokes?] George Neville-Neil writes about the GVP controller: >It is great!!!! It even autoboots FFS. I don't need one of those stupid >little 5 track partitions. I am a very satisfied customer. It autoboots FFS???!!! They managed to squeeze their driver AND the FastFileSystem into the EPROMS??? I'm stunned. Could somebody please verify and confirm this information? - <CB> -- _ _ / / | \ \ <CB> aka Christian Balzer - The Software Brewery - < < |-< > decwrl!frambo.dec.com!schabacker OR schabacker@frambo.dec.com \ \_ |_/ / CIS: 71001,210 (be brief!), Phone: +49 6150 4151 ------------ Snail: Im Wingertsberg 45, D-6108 Weiterstadt, F.R.G.
schabacker%frambo.dec.com%CERNVAX.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu (11/29/88)
[What amount of bandwidth is wasted by line eater jokes?] George Neville-Neil writes about the GVP controller: >It is great!!!! It even autoboots FFS. I don't need one of those stupid >little 5 track partitions. I am a very satisfied customer. It autoboots FFS???!!! They managed to squeeze their driver AND the FastFileSystem into the EPROMS??? I'm stunned. Could somebody please verify and confirm this information? - <CB> -- _ _ / / | \ \ <CB> aka Christian Balzer - The Software Brewery - < < |-< > decwrl!frambo.dec.com!schabacker OR schabacker@frambo.dec.com \ \_ |_/ / CIS: 71001,210 (be brief!), Phone: +49 6150 4151 ------------ Snail: Im Wingertsberg 45, D-6108 Weiterstadt, F.R.G.
paolucci@snll-arpagw.UUCP (Sam Paolucci) (11/29/88)
In article <5710@louie.udel.EDU> schabacker%frambo.dec.com%CERNVAX.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu writes:
->
->[What amount of bandwidth is wasted by line eater jokes?]
->
->George Neville-Neil writes about the GVP controller:
->>It is great!!!! It even autoboots FFS. I don't need one of those stupid
->>little 5 track partitions. I am a very satisfied customer.
->
->It autoboots FFS???!!! They managed to squeeze their driver AND the
->FastFileSystem into the EPROMS??? I'm stunned.
->Could somebody please verify and confirm this information?
->
->- <CB>
->-- _ _
-> / / | \ \ <CB> aka Christian Balzer - The Software Brewery -
->< < |-< > decwrl!frambo.dec.com!schabacker OR schabacker@frambo.dec.com
-> \ \_ |_/ / CIS: 71001,210 (be brief!), Phone: +49 6150 4151
->------------ Snail: Im Wingertsberg 45, D-6108 Weiterstadt, F.R.G.
Believe it. It's true. You don't need an old file system partition.
--
-+= SAM =+-
"the best things in life are free"
ARPA: paolucci@snll-arpagw.llnl.govarxt@sphinx.uchicago.edu (patrick palmer) (11/29/88)
The summary says it all: the GVP controller with the 1.3 eproms in place autoboots from FFS partitions, obviating funny little partitions.
kodiak@amiga.UUCP (Robert R. Burns) (12/01/88)
In article <5710@louie.udel.EDU> )George Neville-Neil writes about the GVP controller: )>It is great!!!! It even autoboots FFS. I don't need one of those stupid )>little 5 track partitions. I am a very satisfied customer. ) )It autoboots FFS???!!! They managed to squeeze their driver AND the )FastFileSystem into the EPROMS??? I'm stunned. Commodore has provided a *standard* for storing the FastFileSystem on the disk itself in loadable form. That standard is embodied in the include files <devices/hardblocks.h> and <resources/filesysres.h>. It is currently used by the following folks that I know of... Great Valley Peripherals (w/ new AutoBoot roms) MicroBotics HardFrame Commodore 591 (not yet available) <others? please let me know> The FFS *is* stored on the disk, so it does take space (about 30 blocks). This allows you to upgrade the file system without rom changes. As proof of the standard's flexibility, I've used it to *boot* with a custom handler off a WORM drive (connected to a HardFrame). -- Bob Burns, amiga!kodiak _ | /_ _|. _ | Commodore __ |_) _ |_ _ )' |<(_)(_)|(_\|< /\ | ||| _` /\ |_)(_\| )(_\ | | \ Software ___/..\|\/|||__|/..\___ Faith
jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) (12/03/88)
In article <3152@amiga.UUCP> kodiak@tooter.UUCP (Robert Burns) writes: >Commodore has provided a *standard* for storing the FastFileSystem on the >disk itself in loadable form. That standard is embodied in the include >files <devices/hardblocks.h> and <resources/filesysres.h>. It is currently >used by the following folks that I know of... > Great Valley Peripherals (w/ new AutoBoot roms) > MicroBotics HardFrame > Commodore 591 (not yet available) 590, not 591. It was at COMDEX, no announced price or availability dates. -- You've heard of CATS? Well, I'm a member of DOGS: Developers Of Great Software. Randell Jesup, Commodore Engineering {uunet|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup
paquette@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Trevor Paquette) (12/03/88)
In article <3152@amiga.UUCP>, kodiak@amiga.UUCP (Robert R. Burns) writes: > In article <5710@louie.udel.EDU> > )George Neville-Neil writes about the GVP controller: > )>It is great!!!! It even autoboots FFS. I don't need one of those stupid > )>little 5 track partitions. I am a very satisfied customer. > Commodore has provided a *standard* for storing the FastFileSystem on the > disk itself in loadable form. That standard is embodied in the include > files <devices/hardblocks.h> and <resources/filesysres.h>. It is currently > used by the following folks that I know of... > Great Valley Peripherals (w/ new AutoBoot roms) > MicroBotics HardFrame Sort of a side note here.. can you get the GVP controller or the Hardframe with an ST277N and have the WHOLE drive FFS WITHOUT having the 1.2 roms in my 2000 replaced by 1.3 roms? Is this type of thing possible? I don't need it to autoboot.. I'll wait for 1.4 and the other improvements it is suppose to bring. Trev ============================================================================= Trevor Paquette - GraphicsLand, U of Calgary[Home of The Great Train Rubbery] UUCP: ...!{ubc-cs,utai,alberta}!calgary!paquette ICBM:51 03 N/114 05 W Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter * I got the hippy hippy shake
jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) (12/05/88)
In article <271@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP> paquette@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Trevor Paquette) writes: > > Commodore has provided a *standard* for storing the FastFileSystem on the > > disk itself in loadable form. That standard is embodied in the include > > files <devices/hardblocks.h> and <resources/filesysres.h>. It is currently > > used by the following folks that I know of... > > Great Valley Peripherals (w/ new AutoBoot roms) > > MicroBotics HardFrame > > Sort of a side note here.. can you get the GVP controller or the > Hardframe with an ST277N and have the WHOLE drive FFS WITHOUT having > the 1.2 roms in my 2000 replaced by 1.3 roms? Is this type of thing > possible? I don't need it to autoboot.. I'll wait for 1.4 and the > other improvements it is suppose to bring. Yes - the rigid disk block stuff has nothing to do with 1.3 KS. THe ONLY new thing in 1.3 KS is that autoboot works. So, you can have FFS only with 1.2 roms, or autoboot into FFS with 1.3 roms. -- You've heard of CATS? Well, I'm a member of DOGS: Developers Of Great Software. Randell Jesup, Commodore Engineering {uunet|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup
warren@wucs1.wustl.edu (Warren Burnett) (12/06/88)
In article <5425@cbmvax.UUCP> jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) writes: >In article <271@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP> paquette@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Trevor Paquette) writes: >>>> stuff asking about the Hardframe and GVP controllers deleted.... > > Yes - the rigid disk block stuff has nothing to do with 1.3 KS. >THe ONLY new thing in 1.3 KS is that autoboot works. So, you can have >FFS only with 1.2 roms, or autoboot into FFS with 1.3 roms. > One question: If you cannot autoboot from the GVP controller without having the 1.3 roms installed in your machine, why is it that much better than any other hard disk controller? Is it because you don't need to have one of those small, slow-filesystem partitions just to boot off of? Warren Burnett warren@wucs1.wustl.edu
jdow@gryphon.COM (J. Dow) (12/06/88)
In article <5407@cbmvax.UUCP> jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) writes: >In article <3152@amiga.UUCP> kodiak@tooter.UUCP (Robert Burns) writes: >>Commodore has provided a *standard* for storing the FastFileSystem on the >>disk itself in loadable form. That standard is embodied in the include >>files <devices/hardblocks.h> and <resources/filesysres.h>. It is currently >>used by the following folks that I know of... >> Great Valley Peripherals (w/ new AutoBoot roms) >> MicroBotics HardFrame >> Commodore 591 (not yet available) > > 590, not 591. It was at COMDEX, no announced price or availability >dates. Redmond just recently formally announced that the HardFrame was finally being delivered. Kodiak has done one bangup job with the device driver. I figure it is the first full DMA, full autoboot to FFS hard disk controller for the A2000 available to the public. I may be biased; but, I love mine! Go get 'em! -- Sometimes a bird in the hand leaves a sticky deposit. Perhaps it were best it remain there in the bush with the other one. {@_@} jdow@bix (where else?) Sometimes the dragon wins. Sometimes jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM the knight. Does the fair maiden ever {backbone}!gryphon!jdow win? Surely both the knight and dragon stink. Maybe the maiden should suicide? Better yet - she should get an Amiga and quit playing with dragons and knights.
jdow@gryphon.COM (J. Dow) (12/06/88)
In article <271@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP> paquette@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Trevor Paquette) writes: > > Sort of a side note here.. can you get the GVP controller or the > Hardframe with an ST277N and have the WHOLE drive FFS WITHOUT having > the 1.2 roms in my 2000 replaced by 1.3 roms? Is this type of thing > possible? I don't need it to autoboot.. I'll wait for 1.4 and the > other improvements it is suppose to bring. > Eyup - HardFrame (and GVP if done with proper RigidDiskBlocks stuff) will boot with all FFS partitions on the disk. The only thing that is "missing" is the first track which is where the boot information is stored. ps: - you DO want the 1.3 pack even if you do not install 1.3 roms. Setpatch makes life a whole lot nicer. And all the new WB and CLI commands are kinda handy to have around. -- Sometimes a bird in the hand leaves a sticky deposit. Perhaps it were best it remain there in the bush with the other one. {@_@} jdow@bix (where else?) Sometimes the dragon wins. Sometimes jdow@gryphon.CTS.COM the knight. Does the fair maiden ever {backbone}!gryphon!jdow win? Surely both the knight and dragon stink. Maybe the maiden should suicide? Better yet - she should get an Amiga and quit playing with dragons and knights.