Amiga supradrive User manual

Amiga

INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on purchasing a SupraDrive™ Hard Disk System
for your Amiga® computer. our SupraDrive will greatly enhance
your computer by providing much better data access time and
storage capacity than floppy disks. Directories, icons, and
graphics will appear much faster, programs will load quicker, and
the Amiga interface will seem smoother.
Prize Performance
Of course, one of the most important reasons to get a SupraDrive is
performance, and now you've got it. our SupraDrive has been
carefully designed and fined tuned by engineers who truly
understand the intricacies of the Amiga, and the result is the
fastest line of hard disks in the industry. Only the best drive
mechanisms are used, blind data transfers make the drives three
times faster, and Supra software takes full advantage of every shot
at speed, including making the most of the Fast File System.
Advanced, Easy-to- nsta Hardware
All SupraDrives give you state-of-the-art hardware design in an
easy-to-use product. Computer-specific features include
autobooting capabilities for the Amiga 500 and 2000, Amiga bus
pass-through for the Amiga 500 and 1000, and optional RAM that
fits in the Amiga 500 Supra SCSI Interface and draws its power
from the hard disk, protecting the fragile Amiga 500 power supply.
Installation is as easy as plugging the interface into an Amiga 500
or 1000 or placing a DMA hard card in an Amiga 2000 expansion
slot. And if you want to daisy-chain drives or build a custom
system using a Supra SCSI Interface and your own components, you
can do that too — Supra makes it easy.
Introduction

State-of-the-Art Software
our SupraDrive comes with many programs, but three are
especially important for enhancing its performance and usefulness.
The first is the hard disk formatting and partitioning program,
SupraFormat™, which allows you to divide the hard disk into as
many as 30 individual partitions, each accessed as an individually
named logical disk drive (dh0: through dh29:). This allows your
computer to access information on the disk more efficiently,
improving overall system performance. The second is SupraEdit™,
which gives you maximum flexibility by providing full access to
mount list parameters without actually having to maintain a mount
list. The third program is CLImate™, which makes your computer
easier to use by letting you bypass the Amiga’s Command Line
Interface (CLI) and perform many operations without using the
keyboard.
All Supra software is compatible with Workbench™ 1.3 —
including the Fast File System (FFS) and autobooting — as well as
earlier versions of Commodore-Amiga software. And Supra
software gives Amiga Bridgeboard™ owners an extra benefit — the
ability to use part of their SupraDrives for MS-DOS partitions.
Easy to Use
When shipped, SupraDrives are completely formatted and ready
to use. All you need to do is plug the drive in and turn on your
Amiga. The drive will automatically boot, and the Workbench
will appear with an icon for each hard disk partition. Then you
can use the SupraDrive the same way you would use a regular
floppy disk — you can create, modify, save, and delete files; run
applications; and do anything else you need to do.
Please carefully follow the instructions in this manual for
installing and getting the most from your SupraDrive. With proper
care, your SupraDrive should give you many years of trouble-free
operation.
Introduction

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................1
TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................3
1: INSTALLING YOUR SUPRADRIVE..................................................7
Connecting an Externa SupraDrive to an Amiga 500 or
Amiga 1000 Computer
....................................................................... 8
Unpacking.....................................................................................8
Connecting the SupraDrive to Your Amiga.............................8
Connecting RAM Boards to the Amiga 500 or Amiga 1000
Supra SCSI Interface (Optiona )
.............................................. 10
Insta ing an Interna SupraDrive in an Amiga 2000 Computer ...11
Unpacking
........................ ..........................................................11
Insta ing the SupraDrive
......................................................... 11
Using Acce erator Boards in an Amiga 2000 (Optiona )
...... 16
2: GETTING STARTED.........................................................................17
Booting .............................................................................................. 17
Booting From F oppy Disk........................................................17
Autobooting
................................................................................ 18
Misce aneous Booting Information ........................................ 19
Resetting Your System....................................................................19
Parking Your SupraDrive
.............................................................. 20
Turning Off Your System ................................................................. 20
Reading Updates to This Manua ..................................................21
3: USING YOUR SUPRADRIVE
.......................................................... 22
Copying Fi es.....................................................................................22
Using App ications Software
........................................................... 22
Software Written for Use with Workbench 1.1
...................... 22
Programs that are Incompatib e with the Fast Fi e System ..23
Software that Does Not Work Efficient y with a Hard Disk....23
Improving Hard Disk Speed.............................................................25
Large Amounts of Data
........................................................... 25
Fragmentation............................................................................25
The AddBuffers Command.....................................................26
Table of Contents

Insta ing Supra System Software..................................................26
Backing Up the SupraDrive
........................................................... 27
Saving Preferences..........................................................................27
Renaming Partitions........................................................................28
4: USING CLIMATE..............................................................................29
Introduction........................................................................................29
CLImate Features and Capabi ities..........................................29
CLImate System Requirements
.............................................. 30
Starting CLImate................................................................................30
Using CLImate....................................................................................31
Source and Destination..................................................................32
Parent.......................................................................................... 32
Doub e Arrow..............................................................................33
Modes.................................................................................................33
Batch Mode................................................................................33
Rename Mode...........................................................................36
Disp ay Mode.............................................................................36
Showpic Mode...........................................................................36
Tasks that Aren’t Mode-Specific
................................................... 37
Formatting F oppy Disks............................................................37
Creating Directories...................................................................38
Running Other Programs and Using Other Amiga
Features Without Quitting CLImate
........................................ 38
CLImate and RAM..............................................................................38
Quitting CLImate
.............................................................................. 38
5: USING CLI AND SHELL.................................................................39
The CLI and She Icons.................................................................39
The Start-up Sequence...................................................................40
Using CLI Commands to Maximize the Usefu ness of
a Hard Disk..........................................................................................40
Using She Scripts
.......................................................................... 41
Table of Contents

6: FORMATTING, MAPPING, AND ZEROING YOUR
SUPRADRIVE....................................................................................42
Shou d You Format, Map, or Zero Your Hard Disk?
.................... 42
What Are Formatting, Mapping, and Zeroing?
............................. 42
What They Are
.......................................................................... 42
What They Are Used For
.......................................................... 43
Using SupraFormat...........................................................................43
Before Running SupraFormat
....................................................... 45
Running SupraFormat.....................................................................45
Specifying the Hard Disk Type and Contro er Type.............46
Setting the SCSI and LUN Numbers.....................................47
Specifying the Number of Partitions and Setting
Partition Attributes
..................................................................... 48
Starting a Format, Map, or Zero................................................52
After a Format, Map, or Zero
.................................................. 53
Writing Partition Information......................................................53
7: CREATING SPECIALIZED SYSTEMS...........................................55
"Bai ing Out" After Making Changes
.............................................. 56
Re-Insta ing Icons Using Supra cons...........................................56
Making Any F oppy Disk Capab e of Booting the System
.......... 57
Changing How Partitions Are Mounted
........................................ 58
Using SupraMount....................................................................58
Using the CLI Mount Command and Mount List
.................. 59
Changing Low-Leve System Information Using SupraEdit
...... 60
Running SupraEdit
................ 60
Making Changes on the SupraEdit Screen
........................... 61
Table of Contents

8: TROUBLESHOOTING.....................................................................65
Genera Troub eshooting Ideas.....................................................65
Booting Prob ems.............................................................................66
Prob ems When Booting from F oppy Disk...........................66
B ank Screen When Trying to Boot
...................................... 66
Missing Workbench, Icons, or Partitions
................................ 67
Unusua LED (BUSY Light) & Frozen System
...................... 67
Amiga 2000 LED Doesn’t F icker When System Boots
...... 68
Can't Boot After Changing Start-up Sequence
.................... 68
Boot Takes One Minute or More to Comp ete
...................... 68
Error Messages Encountered Whi e Booting........................69
Software Prob ems...........................................................................70
Software that Doesn't Work Proper y
...................................... 70
Prob ems Whi e Using Hard Disk Backup, "Rearranger,"
and Optimizer Programs............................................................71
SupraFormat Prob ems.............................................................71
Misce aneous Prob ems..................................................................72
System Crashes Whi e Copying Large Amounts of Data ....72
Running Out of Memory............................................................72
Screen Prob ems.......................................................................73
Amiga 1000 C ock Returns "Garbage” Characters
............... 73
Read/Write Errors.......................................................................73
"Insufficient Free Store" Message
......................................... 74
"Key Not Set" Message...........................................................74
Message Saying To Use DiskDoctor
..................................... 74
Contacting Supra Customer Service
............................................. 75
Warranty..............................................................................................75
FCC Ru es......................................................................................... 76
A: SUPRADRIVE HARD DISK UTILITIES...........................................77
B: SUPRAFORMATS DEFAULT DEVICE IDS
................................. 78
C: RESOURCES....................................................................................79
INDEX..........................................................................................................80
Table of Contents

1
INSTALLING YOUR SUPRADRIVE
Installation instructions for different Supra products can be found in
the following places:
Task Location of Instructions
connecting an external Supra- first half of this
Drive to an Amiga 500 or 1000 chapter
installing an internal Supra-
Drive in an Amiga 2000 second half of this
chapter
building a custom system using
your own components and a
Supra SCSI Interface
separate installation
instructions (supplied
with interface kits)
Information on connecting more than one hard disk to your Amiga is
in the Docs folder on the SupraTools floppy disk.
NOTE — If you have an autoboot ROM in your
Supra SCSI Interface and you don't have a
Kickstart™ 13 (or later) ROM in your computer,
you must add a Kickstart 13 ROM to your computer
or remove the autoboot ROM from your interface.
To determine if you have a Kickstart 13 ROM, boot your Amiga
without a hard disk connected to your system. If your Amiga asks
for Workbench 13, you do have a Kickstart 13 ROM. If it asks for
Workbench 13, you don't have a Kickstart 13 ROM.
If you don't have a Kickstart 13 ROM and your system won’t boot
when your hard disk is connected (and your screen stays blank), you
have an autoboot ROM in your interface. Contact your dealer to
obtain a Kickstart 13 ROM, or refer to the separate instructions
called Removing Autoboot ROMs from a Supra SCSI Interface.
Installing Your SupraDrive 7

Connecting an Externa SupraDrive to an
Amiga 500 or Amiga 1000 Computer
Unpacking
The following items should be included in your SupraDrive
package:
• SupraDrive Hard Disk
• Supra SCSI Interface
• AC power cord
• two floppy disks: SupraBoot and SupraTools
• this operator's manual
CAUTION — Like any hard disk, the SupraDrive is a
very fragile piece of equipment. Be very careful when
handling it. Mechanical shock, high or low
temperature extremes, excessive moisture, and a sudden
drop or jarring should all be avoided.
We recommend saving the SupraDrive’s original box and packing
materials in case you need to move or ship your drive.
Before using your SupraDrive, please make back-up copies of
SupraBoot and SupraTools. For your convenience, neither disk is
copy protected.
Connecting the SupraDrive to Your Amiga
Before connecting the SupraDrive to your Amiga, make sure both
are turned off and unplugged. Then follow these steps:
1. Connect the interface to the expansion port on the side of
your Amiga. (The expansion port is on the left side of the
Amiga 500 and the right side of the Amiga 1000.) ou may
need to remove the plastic cover from the expansion port.
2. Connect the SupraDrive's interface cable to the back of the
interface.
3. Connect the power cord to the SupraDrive and an AC power
outlet.
8 Installing Your SupraDrive

NOTE — It is very important that nothing is
blocking the SupraDrive's vents so it has adequate
airflow for internal cooling.
Connecting a SupraDrive to an Amiga 5
installing Your SupraDrive 9

Connecting RAM Boards to the Amiga 500 or Amiga
1000 Supra SCSI Interface (Optiona )
Before connecting RAM boards to the SupraDrive Interface, make
sure that the SupraDrive and your Amiga are turned off. Then
follow the instructions that came with the RAM board and these
guidelines.
Supra RAM Boards for the Amiga 500
Supra Corporation makes specialized RAM boards that can be
mounted inside the SupraDrive Interface to expand your RAM
capacity. These RAM boards offer two important advantages over
third-party RAM boards. The first is assured compatibility with
the SupraDrive's SCSI Interface on the Amiga bus (sometimes two
products plugged into the bus will not work well together). And the
second is that the memory modules are fully powered from the
drive's own power supply, avoiding problems that can arise from
RAM boards straining the Amiga 500's power supply.
Instructions for mounting these RAM boards are provided with the
boards. For further information, contact your dealer or Supra
Corporation.
Third-Party RAM Boards for the Amiga 500 or Amiga 1000
Some other companies make external RAM boards you can connect to
your Amiga’s expansion bus (where the Supra SCSI Interface
connects). We have found that most of these boards work best when
the RAM board is not between the Supra SCSI Interface and the
Amiga. When connecting third-party RAM boards, keep the
following points in mind:
• ou may need to experiment to determine the ideal order of
other RAM boards to determine what order allows each
board to work properly.
• RAM boards that don’t allow additional expansion devices
to be attached must be placed farthest from the Amiga.
• RAM boards that fully meet the Amiga standards for "auto
configuration" and properly pass the expansion bus can be
placed between the Amiga and the Supra SCSI Interface.
1 Installing Your SupraDrive

Insta ing an Interna SupraDrive in an Amiga
2000 Computer
If you have an internal SupraDrive with a 3-1/2" hard disk, it is
set up as a "hard card" (the hard disk mounted on the interface), so
that all you need to do is plug in the interface as described in this
chapter, and your drive is ready to use. If you do not want to use a
hard card, you can call or write Supra Corporation and get an
installation kit that includes installation instructions and
necessary hardware.
If you have an internal SupraDrive with a 5-1/4" hard disk, the
hard disk mechanism itself is too large to be mounted as a hard
card. To install your hard disk system, follow the separate
enclosed installation instructions, and skip the rest of this chapter.
The rest of this chapter explains how to install a hard card.
Unpacking Your Hard Card
The following items should be included in your SupraDrive
package:
• hard card (hard disk mounted on a Supra SCSI Interface)
• SupraDrive label
• two floppy disks: SupraBoot and SupraTools
• this operator's manual
CAUTION — Like any hard disk, the SupraDrive
is a very fragile piece of equipment. Be very
careful when handling it. Mechanical shock, high
or low temperature extremes, excessive moisture,
and a sudden drop or jarring should all be avoided.
We recommend saving the SupraDrive's original box and packing
materials in case you need to move or ship your drive.
Before using your SupraDrive, please make back-up copies of
SupraBoot and SupraTools. For your convenience, neither disk is
copy protected.
Insta ing the SupraDrive
Before connecting the SupraDrive to your Amiga, make sure your
computer is turned off and unplugged. Then work through the next
few sections.
Installing Your SupraDrive 11

Open the Case
Using a Phillips screwdriver, loosen the five screws that hold the
Amiga's case together. There are two screws on each side and one on
the back; the one on the back is at the top in the center. Remove the
Amiga's top and set it aside.
With the cover removed, you can see the five internal Amiga
Expansion Slots and the five PC Expansion Slots, shown below. The
hard card will go in one of the Amiga Expansion Slots.
PC
EXPANSION
SLOTS
AMIGA
EXPANSION
SLOTS
Insta the Hard Card
1. The hard card can be installed in any one of the Amiga
Expansion Slots, but if it is placed in any but the one closest
to the floppy disk drive, it will take up two slots. Refer to
the manuals for your other peripherals and cards to
determine if they need to be in specific slots or connected in
a specific order.
2. On the back of the Amiga are metal plates that cover holes
that correspond to the Amiga's internal expansion slots.
They’re shown in the following illustration. Remove the
plate that lines up with the expansion slot you’re going to
put the interface in. Save the screw that held the plate in
place.
12 Installing Your SupraDrive

Note that the Supra SCSI Interface has a metal plate
attached to it that is similar to the one you just removed
from the back of the Amiga. Hold the interface over the
expansion slot so its metal plate and SCSI port face the
back of the Amiga and the interface's gold edge connector
points down (as shown below). Make sure the Amiga’s
internal power cable and LED wires are out of the way.
Installing Your SupraDrive 13

4. Put the interface into the slot and slide it down, holding
the cables out of the way as necessary. Push the interface
down so the edge connector is snug in the Amiga’s internal
expansion slot. Make sure the interface’s metal plate goes
through the hole in the bottom of the Amiga case. ou
have to push firmly on the interface to get it in as far as it
needs to go; when pushed in far enough, less than 1/4” of
gold shows above the expansion slot. Also be sure the
interface is level.
5. Get the screw that formerly held in the Amiga’s metal
plate. Use that screw to connect the interface’s metal plate
to the Amiga case in the same way the Amiga's metal
plate was connected before you removed it.
6. Plug a female connector from the Amiga's internal power
cable onto the power connector on the hard disk (see below).
Make sure the cable is pushed in squarely and as far as it
can go.
Connect the LED
Find the wires that are connected to the HARD DISK and POWER
LEDs on the left front of the Amiga. Plug the hard disk's LED
wires into the connector attached to the Amiga's LED wires, as
shown below.
14 Installing Your SupraDrive

Note that the Amiga’s connector has three holes in it, but only two
have wires going to them. Be sure the two wires from the hard disk
are plugged into the holes that correspond to the two wires from
the Amiga. If the connection is loose, use a piece of tape (any type)
to secure it.
Later, when you boot your system as described in the next chapter,
watch the HARD DISK LED on the left front of the Amiga to see if
it flickers on and off as the system boots. If it doesn't flicker, you
may need to change the polarity of the LED by switching the two
wires around. To do this, turn off the Amiga, unplug the hard disk
LED wires from the Amiga’s LED connector, turn over the connector,
and plug the wires back in again. (Be sure the hard disk LED wires
go into the connector holes to which the Amiga LED wires are
connected.) Then try booting again.
C ose the Case
Tuck the LED wires inside the Amiga case, replace the Amiga case
top, and replace the five screws that hold the top in place. Then
connect the monitor, power cord, and mouse. our SupraDrive is now
ready to use.
App y the SupraDrive Labe (Optiona )
To determine where you're going to place the label, hold it up
against the Amiga case front, to the right of the LEDs, as shown
below.
Installing Your SupraDrive 15

Then peel the back off the label and carefully stick the label onto
the Amiga case.
Using Acce erator Boards In an Amiga 2000 (Optiona )
If you install a 68020,68030, or 68060 accelerator board in your
Amiga 2000, you need to use the SupraEdit program to mask out
DMA to 32-bit RAM. A mask value of 0 will allow things to work
safely, although not necessarily as fast as possible. To determine
the optimum mask value for your system, experiment and/or contact
the manufacturer of your accelerator board.
16 Installing Your SupraDrive

2
GETTING STARTED
Booting Your System
"Booting” means turning on a system’s power and giving it the
software it needs to operate. Supra offer two ways to boot your
hard disk system:
• traditional booting from a floppy disk
• "autobooting," which causes your hard disk and computer to
boot automatically when you turn them on
Note that autobooting presently is not available on Amiga 1000
systems.
Booting From F oppy Disk
To boot your system from a floppy disk, follow these steps in order:
1. If you have an e ternal SupraDrive: Turn on your
SupraDrive, and then turn on your Amiga. If both are
connected to a power strip, you can turn on both
simultaneously by flipping the power strip switch.
WARNING — If you have RAM in your Supra
SCSI Interface: Do not turn on your Amiga
before you turn on your SupraDrive, or you may
damage your system.
If you have an internal SupraDrive: Turn on your Amiga.
2. When the Amiga requests the Workbench disk, insert the
SupraBoot disk.
Getting Started 17

After you boot your system from a floppy disk, the Amiga start-up
sequence will run. When it is completed, you’ll see the Workbench
screen, one icon for each SupraDrive partition, and the SupraBoot
disk icon. If this fails to occur, refer to Chapter 8.
Once the Workbench and icons appear, your SupraDrive is
completely functional and can be accessed just like a floppy drive.
ou can copy files to and from the drive, copy files between
partitions, and access directories on individual partitions.
Autobooting
To autoboot your system, you must have both of the following:
• a Kickstart 1.3 or later ROM in your Amiga 500 or 2000
computer
• an autoboot ROM on your Supra SCSI Interface
If you have both, you can autoboot your system as follows:
• If you have an e ternal SupraDrive: Turn on your
SupraDrive, and then turn on your Amiga. If both are
connected to a power strip, you can turn on both
simultaneously by flipping the power strip switch.
WARNING —If you have RAM in your Supra
SCSI Interface: Do not turn on your Amiga before
you turn on your SupraDrive, or you might
damage your system.
• If you have an internal SupraDrive: Turn on your Amiga.
After you boot your system, the Amiga start-up sequence will run.
When it is completed, you'll see the Workbench screen and one icon
for each SupraDrive partition. If this fails to occur, refer to
Chapter 8.
Once the Workbench and icons appear, your SupraDrive is
completely functional and can be accessed just like a floppy drive.
ou can copy files to and from the drive, copy files between
partitions, and access directories on individual partitions.
18 Getting Started