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.
i

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.
2

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.
3

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
1
1
ESS<=a iAl L_
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.
4

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.
5

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.
6

Switching the Hard Disk On and Off
Always switch on the power to your hard disk(s) before switching on the
power to your computer. During initialization, the busy light on the front of
the drive should blink briefly and you should be able to hear the drive
whir up to speed. When the light goes off and the whirring stops, switch
on the power to your other peripherals, then switch on the power to your
computer.
When you are ready to stop using your hard disk, switch the computer
off first, then your hard disk and other peripherals. (If you are planning
to move your hard disk, you need to park the hard disk drive heads.
See Parking the Drive Heads in Chapter 4.)
The Atari Hard Disk Utilities
Once your hard disk drive is connected to the computer, you are ready to
use the Atari Hard Disk Utilities disk. This disk contains programs and
other files that allow your computer to work with either the MEGAFILE or
an SH hard disk. Before you begin using these programs, you should have
agood working knowledge of your Atari MEGA or ST computer system.
Refer to your computer’s owner manual for complete instructions.
Boot your system from the Atari Hard Disk Utilities disk, and display a
directory window of that disk.
Desk File View Options
oP„,Q
0
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7

The following information briefly explains the folders and files contained
on the utilities disk. The chapters that follow explain how to use these
utilities to work with your hard disk.
HDX FOLDER
The HDX folder contains the files that prepare ahard disk to store data.
•hdx.prg formats, partitions, zeros alogical drive, marks bad sectors,
and parks the disk heads.
•HDX.rsc is aGEM resource file used by HDX.PRG.
•ship.prg parks the heads on all system hard disks.
•wincap is atext file that includes the hard disk parameters used by
HDX.PRG.
HINSTALL FOLDER
The HINSTALL folder contains files used for installing or removing the
hard disk driver files.
•hinstall.prg installs or removes the hard disk driver file.
•hinstall.rsc is aGEM resource file used by HINSTALL.PRG.
•shdriver.raw is used with HINSTALL.PRG to create SHDRIVER.SYS,
the hard disk driver file that directs your system to boot from the hard
disk.
•coldboot.prg allows you to perform acold boot of your system
without switching off the power to your system.
8

AUTO FOLDER
The AUTO folder contains several important programs that are read
during system initialization.
•ahdi.prg is ahard disk driver file that must be in the AUTO folder
when booting from afloppy disk with ahard disk installed. AHDI.PRG
makes it possible for your system to recognize the hard disk and display
hard disk icon C.
•foldrioo.prg lets you extend the system-wide folder limit to a
number you want.
Making aWorking Copy
of the Utilities Disk
It is essential that you make abackup, working copy of the Atari Hard
Disk Utilities disk before beginning to work with it. Abackup copy protects
you from losing the original disk or damaging its contents. See your com-
puter owner’s manual for instructions on making abackup.
Always use the backup copy as your working disk. Store the original disk
in asafe place protected from dust, moisture, direct sunlight, and sources
of electrical power or magnetism.
9

CHAPTER 2
PREPARING AHARD DISK
Preparation Guidelines
Most of your hard disk preparation (formatting and partitioning) has
already been done for you at the factory. All you need to do in order to
begin storing data on your hard disk drive is install the logical drives as
described in installing Logical Drives in this chapter. The default partition
sizes (sized for standard data storage needs) set after formatting are
shown below in the Default Partition Sizes Table.
DEFAULT PARTITION SIZES TABLE
Atari Hard Disk Default Partition
Sizes in Megabytes
SHI 04 10
SH204, SH205, and 4-6-10
MEGAFILE 20
MEGAFILE 30 10-10-10
MEGAFILE 60 15-15-15-15
Depending on what you want to do, you may not need to perform all the
operations described in this chapter. Look over the Hard Disk Preparation
Table to find the sections with the instructions you need. Read each
section in the order listed.
11

HARD DISK PREPARATION TABLE
If You Want To... Read These Sections
Use the factory-set Installing Logical Drives
partitions
Change the factory-set
partitions Running the HDX Program
Partitioning
Installing Logical Drives
Reformat the hard disk Running the HDX Program
Formatting
Partitioning (only if you want to
change the default partition sizes)
Installing Logical Drives
Note: Formatting the hard disk is necessary only if the factory format
becomes erased due to mishandling or if the hard disk develops bad
sectors. See Marking Bad Sectors in Chapter 4and Appendix Afor more
information.
Running the HDX Program
The HDX program has the options you use to format and partition your
hard disk.
Warning: The HDX Format and Partition options described in this
chapter completely erase all data on your hard disk. If necessary, back
up all valued files before proceeding.
Follow these steps to start the HDX program.
1. Make sure both the hard disk drive and computer are switched off.
2. Switch on the hard disk. The power and activity lights on the front
panel light up as the drive initializes. After afew seconds, initialization
is completed and the drive’s activity light goes off.
12

3. Insert aworking copy of the Atari Hard Disk Utilities disk into drive A
and switch on the computer. When the system finishes initialization,
GEM Desktop appears with hard disk icon C, as well as floppy disk
icons Aand B. (The AHDI.PRG program in the AUTO folder allows
the system to recognize the hard disk.)
Desk File View Options
0
0
0
i
4. Display adirectory of the HDX folder on disk Aand select HDX.PRG.
The HDX menu bar contains three headings (Desk, File, and Disk),
and each heading has adrop-down menu of program options.
Desk File Disk

Formatting
Formatting the hard disk creates magnetic patterns called tracks and
sectors, marks and logs bad sectors to be avoided during your hard disk
operations, and divides the hard disk into storage areas called partitions
or logical drives.
Follow these instructions to format adrive.
1. Display adirectory of aworking copy of the Atari Hard Disk Utilities
disk and select HDX.PRG from the HDX folder. Then select the
Format option from the Disk menu to run the HDX program.
2. Read the alert message that appears on screen.
A's Fornat aPhysical Unit M
HORNING!
Formatting aphysical unit will
destroy all information on it,
The system will reboot when
you quit HDX,
IOK IICANCEL I
14

If necessary, back up all valued data on the disk before proceeding.
If you have valued data in RAM, back it up also.
Select OK to continue.
3. Select aphysical unit (hard disk drive) for formatting. If you are
formatting the first or only hard disk on your system, or if you are
formatting adrive that has never been formatted, select UNIT 0. (An
unformatted drive must have its DIP switches set for unit 0.) If you are
formatting an additional hard disk, select aunit that corresponds to#
the hard disk’s DIP switch settings. (See Connecting More Than One
megafile in Chapter 1for information about DIP switch settings.)
Units in shadowed boxes have already been formatted.
Select the physical unit
1UNIT 0II UNIT 1ll UNIT 211UNIT ZI
IUNIT i1rUHim IUKIT 611UNIT 7<1
IDK IICANCEL I
Select OK to continue.

4.Select ahard disk type by selecting the box that shows your drive’s
model name.
Select the unit type:
GHEl MHSMDIIWflHHil
IIMIUMI
IOK IICANCEL |
Select OK to continue.
5. Read the alert message that appears on screen.
AFornat aPhysical Unit A
LAST CHANCE TO QUIT!
Formatting unit B
will erase everything
on it!
IOK IICANCEL I
Select OK to format the unit.
16

During formatting, the hard disk is formatted, scanned for bad sectors,
and divided into partitions. First, amessage appears informing you
that formatting is in progress. This is followed by the Physical Unit
Markbad box. Markbad scans the hard disk cylinder by cylinder, dis-
playing the number of previously marked bad sectors and keeping a
tally of all the newly marked bad sectors. Finally, amessage appears
informing you that partitioning is in progress.
APartition aPhysical Unit A
Partitioning. .
.
When the partitioning message disappears, the formatting operation is
complete.
The number of partitions that are created and the size of each is deter-
mined by your Atari MEGAFILE or SH hard disk drive model and listed in
the Default Partition Sizes Table at the beginning of this chapter.
Partitioning
Partitioning is the process of dividing your physical hard disk into data
storage areas called logical drives. Each logical drive is used as asep-
arate disk drive and assigned its own drive letter when you install the
logical drives from GEM Desktop. Partitioning allows you to store and
access your data efficiently.
Though formatting automatically creates partitions with default sizes,
you can use the Partition option to create partitions in sizes best suited
to your disk storage needs. The Partition option lets you use an editing
menu to set the size of each partition or select asuggested partitioning
scheme as explained in the next two sections.
17