Atari MEGAFILE 20 User manual

AATARI®
MEGAFILE™
Hard Disk Drive
For all Atari® MEGA™ and ST™ computers
Owner’s Manual

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Like any electrical appliance, the Atari MEGAFILE hard disk drive uses and produces
radio-trequency energy. It not installed and used according to the instructions in this
manual, the equipment may cause interference with your radio and/or television
reception.
It you believe that this equipment is causing interference, try switching it on and off. If
the interference problem stops when the equipment is switched off, then the equipment
is probably causing the problem. With the equipment switched on, you may be able to
correct the problem by trying one or more of the following measures:
•Adjust the position of the radio or television antenna,
•Reposition the equipment in relation to the radio or television set.
•Plug the equipment into adifferent wall outlet so that the equipment and the radio or
television set are connected to different branch circuits.
If necessary, consult your Atari computer retailer or an experienced radio-television
technician for additional suggestions.
Aresource that you may find helpful is abooklet prepared by the Federal Communi-
cations Commission (FCC): Interference Handbook. This booklet is available from the
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, Stock No. 004-000-00450-7.
WARNING: This equipment has been certified to comply with the limits of a
Class Bcomputing device, pursuant to Subpart Jof Part 15 of the FCC
rules. These rules are designed to provide reasonable protection against
such interference when the equipment is used in aresidential setting. How-
ever, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in aparticular
home or residence. Only the computing devices that have been certified to
comply with the Class Blimits may be attached to this equipment. Operation
of noncertified devices with this equipment is likely to result in interference
with radio and television reception. Shielded cables must be used on all I/O
connectors; otherwise, radio emission may exceed Class Blimits.
PLEASE NOTE: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the product
documentation in this manual. However, because Atari Corporation is constantly
improving and updating its computer hardware and software, it is unable to guarantee
the accuracy of printed material after the date of publication and disclaims liability for
changes, errors, or omissions.
Atari®, the Atari logo, CDAR504™, MEGA™, MEGAFILE™, MEGAFILE 20™,
MEGAFILE 30™, MEGAFILE 60™, SH™, SHI 04™, SH204™, SH205™, SLM804™,
and ST™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. GEM® and
GEM® Desktop™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digital Research, Inc.
Reproduction of all or any portions of this manual is not allowed without the specific
written consent of Atari Corporation.
AATARI
Copyright ©1988, Atari Corporation
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
All rights reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
Using This Manual 1
CHAPTER 1:GETTING STARTED 3
Connecting One MEGAFILE 3
Connecting More Than One MEGAFILE 5
Switching the Hard Disk On and Off 7
The Atari Hard Disk Utilities 7
HDX Folder 8
HINSTALL Folder 8
AUTO Folder 9
Making aWorking Copy of the Utilities Disk 9
CHAPTER 2: PREPARING AHARD DISK 11
Preparation Guidelines 11
Running the HDX Program 12
Formatting 14
Partitioning 17
Selecting aUnit to Partition 18
Selecting aPartitioning Scheme 19
Installing Logical Drives 21
CHAPTER 3: BOOTING YOUR SYSTEM
WITH AHARD DISK 25
Booting From aHard Disk 25
Installing the Hard Disk Driver 25
Booting the System 27
Booting From aFloppy Disk 28
Removing the Hard Disk Driver 28
Bypassing the Hard Disk Driver 28

CHAPTER 4: WORKING WITH AND
MAINTAINING YOUR HARD DISK 29
Organizing Your Hard Disk 29
Extending the Folder Limit 29
Backing Up Data .30
Parking and Unparking the Drive Heads !.. 31
Parking the Drive Heads 31
Unparking the Drive Heads 34
Marking Bad Sectors.... 34
Erasing the Contents of aLogical Drive 39
APPENDIX A: TROUBLESHOOTING AND
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE 43
APPENDIX B: ERROR MESSAGES 47
APPENDIX C: MEGAFILE SPECIFICATIONS 53
APPENDIX D: POWER CONNECTION
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 55
GLOSSARY 57
CUSTOMER SUPPORT 61
INDEX .63

INTRODUCTION
The Atari MEGAFILE hard disk drive is aconvenient, reliable data
storage device for your Atari MEGA or ST computer. The Atari
MEGAFILE offers ample storage capacity, powerful performance,
easy installation, and an attractive design that stacks neatly on top
of your MEGA computer.
The Atari MEGAFILE hard disk comes with aset of programs for
preparing, operating, and maintaining this drive or an SH hard disk
drive. These easy-to-use programs, called utilities, have been specially
designed to help you get top performance from your hard disk.
If you’re working with the Atari hard disk utilities for the first time, you’ll
appreciate the informative dialog and alert boxes that guide you every
step of the way.
If you’ve used previous versions of the Atari hard disk utilities, you’ll
appreciate the enhancements in this new version. The HDX Format
option now automatically marks and logs bad sectors on the entire
physical hard disk. To mark bad sectors on individual logical drives
(without erasing the entire partition), you use the HDX Markbad option.
Also, the new version of HINSTALL installs the SHDRIVER.SYS file
and has an option for removing the hard disk driver file.
Using This Manual
This manual describes how to connect the Atari MEGAFILE hard disk
drive and use the Atari hard disk utilities to prepare and work with this
drive or an SH hard disk drive. The chapters and sections are organized
so you can easily find the information you need.
Chapter 1: Getting Started explains how to connect one or more
MEGAFILE hard disk drives to your computer and get your system up
and running. The chapter also describes the folders and files on the Atari
Hard Disk Utilities disk and how they are used.
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Chapter 2: Preparing aHard Disk explains when and how to format
the hard disk, partition it into logical drives, and install the logical drives
from GEM Desktop.
Chapter 3: Booting Your System with aHard Disk explains
procedures for booting from the hard disk or afloppy disk.
Chapter 4: Working with and Maintaining Your Hard Disk explains
how to organize data on your hard disk, extend the system-wide folder
limit, back up your data, park the disk heads, mark bad sectors, and
erase the contents of alogical drive.
Appendix A: Troubleshooting and Preventive Maintenance lists
problems that may occur while setting up or operating your drive, and
offers solutions. The appendix also includes helpfui hints for proper
mainentance of your hard disk drive.
Appendix B: Error Messages lists error messages you may see when
running the Atari hard disk utilities and suggests solutions.
Appendix C: MEGAFILE Specifications lists the features and oper-
ating requirements of the MEGAFILE hard disk drive.
Appendix D: Power Connection in the United Kingdom provides
additional setup instructions for MEGAFILE owners in the United
Kingdom.
The Glossary defines common technical terms used in this manual.
Customer Support tells you where to find more information about the
Atari hard disk utilities and all Atari computer products.
The Index helps you locate terms and procedures used or explained in
the manual.
Paragraphs marked Note or Warning appear throughout the manual.
Notes contain useful hints and other information relevant to the topic
being discussed. Warnings alert you to potential problems and suggest
ways to avoid them.
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CHAPTER 1
GETTING STARTED
Your MEGAFILE hard disk drive, along with your entire Atari computer
system, should be set up on asturdy, level surface protected from
dust, grease, extreme temperatures, direct sunlight, and high humidity.
Be sure to provide room for adequate air flow around all system
components.
Carefully unpack the Atari MEGAFILE and gently place it on asturdy,
level surface in the workspace you’ve chosen. Remove the packing
materials and save them for storing or shipping your system later.
Your Atari MEGAFILE shipping carton should contain all of these items:
•Atari MEGAFILE hard disk drive
•Interface cable
•Power cable
•Atari Hard Disk Utilities disk
•This manual
•Warranty card
Check the items you received. If something is missing, contact your Atari
dealer.
Connecting One MEGAFILE
If you have an Atari MEGA computer, you can stack the computer on top
of the MEGAFILE, then place your monitor on top of the computer. If you
have an ST computer, you can place the hard disk drive behind the com-
puter and place the monitor on top of the hard disk.
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To connect one MEGAFILE hard disk drive to your computer, follow
these steps.
1. Make sure both the drive and computer are switched off.
2. Plug one end of the drive’s interface cable into the port marked "Hard
Disk" on the back of the computer. Plug the other end into the port
marked "Hard Disk In" on the back of the drive. Secure the connec-
tion on both cable ends.
3. Plug one end of the power cable into the power jack on the back of
the drive, then plug the power cable’s electrical plug into agrounded
electrical outlet. (Atari MEGAFILE owners living in the United Kingdom
should see Appendix dfor additional setup instructions.)
Connecting One Hard Disk Drive
MEGA Computer
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1
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TP
Warning: Do not slide papers or other material between the drive and
the computer stacked on top of it. Doing so obstructs the air vents and
prevents airflow to and from the drive’s internal cooling system.
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Connecting More Than One MEGAFILE
You can connect (or chain) up to four MEGAFILE hard disk drives (or
other DMA devices, such as the Atari SLM804 laser printer or Atari
CDAR504) to your system. (You can connect up to eight. devices, but a
total of no more than four is recommended.) Each device must have a
unique unit number determined by the device’s DIP switches. Since all
MEGAFILE hard disk drives are set at the factory to be unit 0, the DIP
switches in additional hard disk drives must be changed in order to work
with your system. Take your drive to an authorized Atari service center
to have these switches reset.
Warning: Do not attempt to open the hard disk or change the DIP
switches yourself. If you do, Atari Corporation reserves the right to
disclaim warranty liability for your MEGAFILE or any other adversely
affected component in your system.
Once the DIP switches are correctly set, you can connect additional
MEGAFILE hard disk drives by following these steps:
1. Make sure both the drive and computer are switched off.
2. Plug the interface cable into the port marked "Hard Disk In" on the
back of the second drive. Then plug the cable’s other end into the port
marked "Hard Disk Out" on the back of the first drive (the drive con-
nected directly to the computer). For each additional drive, connect an
interface cable from Hard Disk Out to Hard Disk In on the next drive
until all drives are connected.
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3. For each MEGAFILE, plug one end of the power cable into the power
jack on the back of the drive, then plug the power cable’s electrical
plug into agrounded electrical outlet, (Atari MEGAFILE owners living
in the United Kingdom should see Appendix Dfor additional setup
instructions.)
Connecting Additional Hard Disk Drives
MEGA Computer
Power Cable
Hard Disk
To Computer
Hard Disk Out Interface Cable
Second Drive "1
Hard Disk In
Power Cable
Hard Disk In
Note: You can also connect both aMEGAFILE and an Atari SH204 hard
disk drive to your system. If you do, the SH204 must be connected as the
last drive on the chain. See the owner’s manual supplied with your SH204
hard disk drive for instructions on resetting the DIP switches in this drive.
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