A1200/A600 4xIDE Buffered IDE Interface

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A1200/A600 4xIDE Adapter
A1200 4xIDE Adapter Installed on Commodore-Amiga 1200 motherboard

Introduction

4xIDE Buffered IDE interface for the Commodore Amiga 1200 or Commodore Amiga 600.

This high quality adapter permits up to a maxium of four IDE devices to be connected to the motherboard's IDE header with full buffering.

Features 2x 40-pin boxed IDE connectors (primary/secondary) and 1x boxed 44-pin IDE connector (primary)

       

Software

 

Files

The A1200/A600 4xIDE software is provided as a digital download exclusively for users of the product here:


4xIDE (version 1.5)


Files are distributed in a LHA compressed archive with an Installer and Guide manual.

Important Note: these copyrighted files should not be distributed on any other website and/or any other means without the express written permission of AmigaKit Ltd.

   

Installation

 

The LHA archive containing this guide contains an installer script that installs the preferences editor and support software for both the 4xIDE Buffered Interface and optional FastIDE A1200 adapter for Commodore Amiga 1200.


Double click the installer script and follow the prompts to complete the installation.

This installs:

  • The 4xIDEPrefs tool to the SYS:Prefs drawer
  • The documentation guide file to SYS:Locale/Help (or HELP:)
  • Load4xIDEPrefs to SYS:C which is used to configure the 4xIDE Buffered Interface and the optional FastIDE adapter at startup.


The Installer also optionally adds Load4xIDEPrefs to either the system files in the S directory: Startup-Sequence or User-Startup.


If IDE devices on the second channel have corresponding drivers in DEVS:DOSDrivers as removable media devices generally will have, then Load4xIDEPrefs needs to be added to Startup-Sequence so that devices on the second IDE channel are available before the DOSDrivers are mounted.


If Startup-Sequence or User-Startup are modified as instructed, a backup of the original file is automatically copied to SYS:S/backup in case the original file needs to be restored for any reason.

     

Hardware

Installation

 


A tower case is recommended due to the limited expansion area available inside the Amiga 600/1200 cases.

 


1. Power off the computer.  


2. Taking usual anti-static precautions, open the case and identify the 44-way IDE header on the Amiga main board, labelled CN16.  


3. Using a 44-way 2.5" ribbon cable (2mm pitch connectors), connect the "To Motherboard IDE Header" connector on the 4xIDE interface to the motherbord IDE connector, CN16. This cable must be kept as short as practical, typically less than 20cm (8 inches).  


IMPORTANT: The red stripe of the IDE cable MUST align with the pin 1 on the main board connector (nearest the PCMCIA slot) and pin 1 on the 4xIDE interface (left hand side of board) or permanent damage may result!  


4. The 4xIDE adapter is primarily intended for use in tower cases, so motherboard IDE connector is rotated so that the 4xIDE adapter can be mounted in the tower case near the Amiga IDE port. If using the 4xIDE adapter within the original Amiga desktop cases, note that the 4xIDE adapter will sit upside-down in the computer and will need suitable insulation to prevent any short circuits between the adapter and main board.  


5. The boot device (hard drive or solid state IDE solution) must be connected to one of the "Port 0" connectors and be configured as the 'Master' device. Either the 2.5" 44-way connector or 3.5" 40-way connector can be used.  


IMPORTANT: Always observe the pin 1 connector polarity, indicated by the red stripe on the cable, at the 4xIDE interface and at the IDE device. Some connectors have polarising notches to prevent the cable from being connected incorrectly.  


6. To configure the boot device as Master, there is often a jumper on the drive itself with options of Master, Slave or Cable Select. Select Master for the boot drive.  


7. To add a second IDE device to the first IDE channel, it needs to be configured as Slave. This can be connected to a second IDE connector on the same ribbon cable as the boot device, or it can connect directly to the un-used "Port 0" connector on the 4xIDE interface.  


8. To add a third IDE device, it must be configured as Master and connected to the 40-way 3.5" connector "Port 1".  


9. To add a fourth IDE device, it must be configured as Slave and connected to the same 40-way ribbon cable that connects to "Port 1" and the third IDE device.  


10. 3.5" drives will need a separate power connection while 2.5" drives source their power from the 44-way IDE connector.  


11. Power on the computer and check it boots from the boot drive. For CDROM drives and other devices, software drivers will need to be installed and configured separately for these devices to be mounted at startup and become available from Workbench.  


12. Install the software which is required to edit the hardware configuration, apply the configuration to the hardware after power on and activate the second IDE channel.  


   

Where to buy

This product can be purchased on Amiga Kit Amiga Store:

A1200/A600 4xIDE Buffered IDE Interface

Copyright 2020 AmigaKit Ltd

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