Recent SSD successes?

[tmasten]

Hi folks...

I am in the middle of trying to attempt putting a SSD drive in my d8b and am running into issues. Has anyone successfully accomplished this recently? I have a 8gb compact flash set into an IDE to CF adapter. The motherboard recognizes the drive and you can install the OS, but it won't boot. I have also tried to copy the current HD as a disk image. It copies fine and the files appear on the drive but again, it won't boot. Is there a trick, or something that I am missing? Are there certain pieces of hardware that will work better? Is CF not going to work? Is there a list of parts that does work? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Todd

[anyhorizon]

Point 2 of this database post may be of help.

Peter

[Petersueco]

It is doable, but there are some tricks that needs to be addressed.

Scroll down a bit a read David Copper's instructions of his successful attempt. The hardware he links to may be a little bit old but you should be able to do the same he did to get it to work.

Let us know how your results.

Good luck.
Peter Holmquist.

[tmasten]

Well, I used David's walkthru as an inspiration and guideline. I am using different parts and perhaps therein lies the problem. Is an 8gb CF too large? The Mackie motherboard recognizes it, but I get a BOOT FAILURE every time. It could be that I am using a different imaging program, however it does copy the data over and you can open and see it when the CF is plugged into my PC. It might be a setting somewhere in the BIOS? I know that if you scan for hard drives you have to go in and turn LMA OFF as it defaults to ON. I don't know if the PIO mode needs to be set differently. I've been reading that CF uses PIO 5 or 6, while the Mackie CPU defaults and only allows, (that I can figure out), PIO 4. I am using the old motherboard FYI. I reckon I will keep plugging away. By the way, the CF was $20, and the CF to IDE board is $8. So reasonable if I can get it to work and remove another moving part! Again, any suggestions or real world experience appreciated!

Todd

[Petersueco]

You have to format and install a fresh Mackie OS on a 32Gb hard drive. Then take that disk to another computer and copy the image of the installation. After that, using an image software utility, reduce the size of the image to lower that the CF card is, in your case 8Gb. Transfer over the reduced image to the CF card and plug it into the the d8b. It should boot.

[synthjoe]

I think it is safest to keep the partition size under 2 GB and ensure that the filesystem is FAT16 (as opposed to FAT32). Some earlier OS cannot cope with a larger size.

[tmasten]

Quick update. I used a 2gb PQi compact flash, installed the OS directly onto it and it booted fine. $9 for the IDE to CF card, $5 for the 2gb CF. Removing the hard drive for $11 and getting rid of a moving part and a source of noise is well worth it. Works perfectly and no need to mirror drives, copy partitions, or anything of the sort.

[Petersueco]

Well that means there are different CF cards with different specs. Some work and some not. What speed is the card you used?

[FrankH]

Quick update. I used a 2gb PQi compact flash, installed the OS directly onto it and it booted fine. $9 for the IDE to CF card, $5 for the 2gb CF. Removing the hard drive for $11 and getting rid of a moving part and a source of noise is well worth it. Works perfectly and no need to mirror drives, copy partitions, or anything of the sort.

This sounds like a success to me.

tmasten:

For the benefit of others, would you mind posting a detailed step by step "guide" of the process you did? (including anything done on a PC before the D8B got the IDE to CF/card installed. Formatting...etc) Could you list the parts (brand,model#...etc.) as well?

[tmasten]

The process was fairly straighforward, and I will list the process out as best I can.

The parts I used:
1. IDE to Compact Flash Adapter - this item was purchased on eBay from an eBay store that operates locally out of Chino, California called Novatech. The item ID for the card I purchased is: 261006404626 I cut and pasted the details of the card below. I paid $8.99 and shipping was free.

2. PQI 2gb Hi Speed 100 Compact Flash Card. I grabbed this out of my girlfriend's camera bag. It was the crappiest one she had. I tried using a 8GB Sandisk that I bought first, and it did NOT work; hence why I tried a slower, smaller compact flash. I suspect just about any 2GB card should work.

3. Power cable that converts a hard drive power connection to a floppy drive power connection. You probably have one of these laying around if you work on computers, or you can get one for 99 cents at any computer store.

What I did in order:

1. I added the 'format: on' line to first floppy disk in my v5.1 set. I did this per the instructions listed on this and other sites on making sure you format a drive when you install or reinstall the OS.

2. I inserted the compact flash card into the adapter.

3. I unplugged the ribbon cable and power cable from the existing hard drive in my Mackie CPU. (the power is obviously off and the power cord disconnected. Yes I am grounded)

4. I installed the hard drive to floppy power extension.

5. I left the hard drive where it was and connected the ribbon and power cable to the IDE to compact flash adapter. I just left it sitting on the hard drive.

6. I turned on the CPU and entered the BIOS. I have the older 166Mhz CPU, so these instructions are for this model ONLY.

7. You must scan for changes to hard drives from the main BIOS page to ensure it recognizes the compact flash.

8. In the CMOS settings you must change one setting that defaults to ON and turn it OFF. Arrow down until you highlight the ON under LMA Mode. Change this to OFF or this, or any other hard drive for that matter, will not boot. The Mackie CPU does not use Large Memory Addressing (LMA) so I'm not sure why it defaults to ON when you scan, but it does.

9. Accept the changes and reboot with disk 1 of the 5.1 OS in the flloppy drive.

10. Follow the directions and install the OS ensuring that the drive is indeed formatted and the data is written.

11. Reboot and you should be in business! I went ahead and authorized 5.1, then installed the Service Pack 3 Plug-In pack.

I never plugged the compact flash adapter into any other computer. I did not need to create or copy any partitions. I simply installed the card, made sure the CPU recognized the CF as 2Gb hard drive, changed the LMA setting, and installed the OS. It takes a minimal amount of time. Nothing seems or feels faster, but it is definately quieter, and I am less paranoid that a 12 year old hard drive is going to crash.

I hope this helps! Details on the IDE to CF adapter below:


IDE to Compact Flash Adapter
Product Details
This is an adapter for connecting a compact flash memory card to a 3.5” IDE host interface, aiming at educational sectors, IT development, and the embedded technology enthusiast to enable the use of a compact flash card as an IDE hard drive. Support Ultra DMA mode.

Supports Ultra DMA mode CF Card
Board size: 70mm x 63mm x 0.8mm (W, L, T)
On-board LED indicators for power-on and compact flash access
Voltage selection for +3.3V or +5V compact flash
Master or slave mode selection
Power input: +5V, floppy disk drive power connector
Fully compatible with Compact Flash Type I, Type II, and Micro-drive
40-way (2.54mm) standard IDE connector
44-way (2mm) laptop IDE connector (optional)
Mounting holes for rear bracket (Bracket not included)
This adapter does NOT support hot insertion of CF card
Connect 3.5" IDE & CF memory card
Product Specifications

Linux-based set-top boxes, routers, firewalls
Diskless network clients
Industrial computers
Any other device requiring rugged solid-state storage
System Requirement

PC or Mac with one IDE connector
MS Windows, Mac OS, Linux operating system
Included

IDE to Compact Flash Adapter
User manual
For more information about this product, please visit the maufacturer website:SD-CF-IDE-A
If hyperlink does not work, please copy and paste this address to your browser:
http://sybausa.com/productSearch.php?se ... D-CF-IDE-A

Best of Luck...

Todd Masten