HARD DISC INTERFACE for Acorn Archimedes and A3000 Your backplane should work if it is 4-layer, but we have not tested one from Technomatic.
ideA HARD DISC INTERFACE for Acorn Archimedes and A3000 Copyright © 1990 Ian Copestake Software and SF & PS All rights reserved. This guide and the products described in it are copyright. Neither the whole nor any part of them may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, hired or lent by any means or in any form whatsoever (including any translated, adapted or derived form) except with the prior written approval of Ian Copestake Software.
Contents I ntroduction .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 What is the ideA? .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 I nstalling an ideA upgrade .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 - Archimedes A300/A400 Series Internal . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 - A3000 Internal .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10 I nitialising the hard disc .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
I ntroduction Thank you for buying an Ian Copestake Software ideA package. I f your package contains a User Registration Form please complete and return it straight away. This will ensure that you are entitled to service and technical support, and to any system updates which may become necessary. This booklet tells you how to use the ideA. There's very little to it, but please do read through the booklet before starting. I nstallation instructions are provided for users who will be doing this themselves.
I nstalling an ideA upgrade Warning Please read right through the Installation Instructions before you start. There are separate sections for different computer models. A hard discs is very delicate. Do not drop, knock or jolt it, and do not use it except as described in this booklet. Have something soft handy to rest it on while fitting, such as a clean mouse mat or folded towel. A computer containing a hard disc must also be protected from knocks.
- A bag containing two M3 'taptite' screws. Do not mix these screws with any of the others. - A bag containing the hard disc fixing screws. You may have four M3 screws or four M4 screws or four 6-32 UNC screws or all of these screws. - A hard disc cradle. Isolating the computer Switch off the computer at the rear and disconnect it from the mains supply by unplugging the power supply cable. MAKE CERTAIN THE COMPUTER IS PHYSICALLY DISCONNECTED FROM THE MAINS POWER SUPPLY.
gently. Do not over-tighten them. Find the connector labelled PL12 on the left of the main computer circuit board. Plug the wires coming from the fan onto this connector. They will only fit correctly one way round. Fitting the LED The LED provided replaces the existing power LED on the front plastic fascia assembly of the computer. You will probably need to remove this assembly to fit it. To free the fascia assembly you must remove five screws.
Fitting the ideA interface without a backplane Before fitting the ideA i nterface without a backplane you must remove the small black jumper link, LK1. This link can be found next to the blade terminal labelled +5V(RED) on the ideA interface board. A safe way to store the link is to place it on one pin only. WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT REMOVE LK1 FROM THE ideA I NTERFACE BOARD YOUR COMPUTER COULD BE DAMAGED. You will find a bunch of cables attached to the side of the power supply with a cable tie.
of mounting screws, now is the time to select the correct ones. Do this by gently trying one of each set of screws, in turn, in the holes in the side of the hard disc. Look at the mounting cradle to see how it fits in the computer. It sits next to the floppy drive on the bridge near the front, open side up, with the tapered corners to the front. It is fixed to the bridge by two screws. Two special taptite screws are provided which are similar to self-tapping screws in that they form their own thread.
Tidying up GO THROUGH THESE INSTRUCTIONS AGAIN AND CHECK THAT EVERY STEP HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT CORRECTLY. When you are satisfied that all is well, refit the computer lid. Go on to the section about Initialising the hard disc. A3000 Internal I nternal modifications to the A3000 should only be carried out by Acorn-approved Component Level Service Centres. You may invalidate your Acorn guarantee by opening the computer.
- A conductive plastic bag containing an ideA i nterface circuit board. - A bag containing two M2.5 screws and washers and two M3 screws and nuts. - Optional: An external case containing a hard disc. Separate instructions will be supplied with this. - Optional: An adaptor allowing the interface to be used without a piggy-backing expansion card. Isolating the computer Switch off the computer at the rear and disconnect it from the mains supply by unplugging the power supply cable.
Tidying up GO THROUGH THESE INSTRUCTIONS AGAIN AND CHECK THAT EVERY STEP HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT CORRECTLY. When you are satisfied that all is well, refit the computer lid. Go on to the section about Initialising the hard disc. I nitialising the hard disc After reconnecting the keyboard and peripherals you are ready to test your i nstallation. !FormatIDE A formatting application called !FormatIDE is provided either on your hard disc or on a separate floppy. Do not run this yet-you may not need to.
Hard discs from other sources Hard discs from other sources may or may not be formatted. If yours is not, double-click with SELECT on !FormatIDE to start the process. Follow the instructions which appear on your screen. The program recognises many IDE discs automatically and you should only need to type Y and press RETURN in answer to all the questions. The formatting process takes only a few seconds. (Discs are in fact formatted by the makers and are just initialised at this stage).
Configuring the default filing system If your IDE hard disc is to be your only or principal hard disc you will almost certainly want IDEFS to be your default filing system. This is partly so that the computer can automatically find important files such as !System which you will be putting on the hard disc.
BASIC or other programs which issue filing system commands without specifying the filing system name might not work. If the program is on a floppy disc you can probably cure this by giving the operating system command *ADFS before you run it. If this does not work the program itself may need to be modified. In boot files and similar utilities ! Boot files or applications may need changing if copied onto an I DE hard disc.
IDEDirCache This sets the amount of computer memory which will be used to remember what is on a hard disc. The default value is 8K. If you have plenty of memory in your computer *configure IDEDircache 16K will improve disc access speeds. Drive The command *configure Drive 4 will cause drive 4 to be selected when you turn your computer on. This will be your IDE hard disc, assuming you have set I DEFS to be the configured filing system.
Other filing system commands All other filing system commands should work just as they do under ADFS, except for those which do not apply to hard discs such as *Backup and *Format . *ShutDown You should make a habit of using this command before you switch off a computer which has a hard disc. It 'parks' the disc heads in a safe position to prevent possible damage. (Most IDE hard discs will in fact park themselves automatically if you forget).
considered speed and value for money, but have also taken into account a disc's reputation for reliability and the quality of the manufacturer's guarantee. I f you decide to use the ideA with a hard disc we have not recommended ourselves this must be at your own risk, but we will be glad to hear how you get on. Creating a DOS Partition Using PC Emulator version 1.6 or later Simply follow Acorn's instructions. In the configuration dialogue box, alter adfs: to idefs: Using PC Emulator version 1.
Returns procedure Goods bought direct from us Faults present when you receive goods When you receive one of our products you should try it out as soon as possible and report any problems within seven days. We will of course make good any missing parts or damage in transit free of charge if you have let us know promptly. Please retain all original packing and enclosed items.
