GVP A1200 SCSI/RAM+ User manual

User's Guide

TM
SCSI/RAM+
Installation
Guide

Installation Guide
A1200 SCSI/RAM+
This manual, the A 1200 SCSI/RAM+, distribution dis s and all
related materials are copyright © 1993— and property of—Great
Valley Products, Inc. (GVP). All rights reserved.
Amiga A 1200 and Kic start are registered trademar s of
Commodore International, Ltd. All other product trade names and
designations mentioned in this manual are trademar s of their
respective owners.
No part of the software in this pac age may be copied or transferred
by any means—mechanical, physical or electronic. Users are
entitled to ma e one (1) bac up copy of the original distribution
dis s for archival purposes only. To be used on one (1) computer
only.
GVP assumes no responsibility as to the fitness or suitability of this
product for any purpose whatsoever. GVP assumes no liability for
the loss or destruction of data and programs resulting from the
installation, use or misuse of this product. GVP guarantees that, on
leaving the premises, the product is in wor ing condition and meets
all manufacturing and performance specifications. No further
guarantee is expressed or implied.
Installation of this product does require some small degree of mech
anical ability and precautions against electrostatic discharge. The
user assumes all ris s when this installation is performed by anyone
other than a certified GVP dealer.
Use of this product constitutes your acceptance of the terms stated
herein.
920036 Marc 1993

Contents
1. Getting Started
Overview 1.1
A1200 SCSI/RAM+ features 1.1
InstaUing Hardware 1.2
Insta ation Procedure 1.3
Removing Hardware 1.6
Power-On Test 1.6
2. Software Reference
Insta ing Software 2.2
Uti ity Programs 2.2
MemTest 2.2
GVPInfo 2.2
GVPSCSICtr 2.3
3. Expansion Options
Adding Memory 3.1
Determining current configuration 3.2
Removing SIMMs 3.3
Insta ing SIMMs 3.3
Making Memory Avai ab e 3.5
FPU Options 3.6
Insta ing a new FPU 3.7
FPU Jumper 3.8
Adding a SCSI Drive 3.8
Appendix A. Juniper Settings
Appendix B. Service & Support
Genera Information B.
Reporting Prob ems B.
Your Configuration B.3
Index

Installation Guide
A1200 SCSI/RAM+
FCC Radio Frequency Emissions Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC
Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protec
tion against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communi
cations. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not
occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can
be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of
the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and
receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different
from that to which the receiver is connected.
CAUTION: Only equipment with shield-grounded cables (com
puter input-output devices, terminals, printers,etc.), certified to
comply with Class B limits, can be attached to this device.
Operations with non-certified equipment may result in communi
cations interference.
Your house AC wall receptacle must be a three-pronged type
(AC ground). If not, contact an electrician to install the proper
receptacle. If a multi-connector box is used to connect the com
puter and peripherals to AC, the ground must be common to all
units.
If necessary, contact your dealer or an experienced radio-TV
technician for additional suggestions. You may find the follow
ing FCC boo let helpful: "How to Identify and Resolve Radio-
TV Interference Problems." The boo let is available from the
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402,
stoc no. 004-000-00345-4.

Getting Started
Thank you for purchasing GVP’s A1200 SCSI/RAM+
expansion board for the Amiga A1200. This product
provides greater memory and storage capabi ity and its
68882 F oating Point Unit (optiona on some mode s)
dramatica y increases system performance when
engaged in comp ex mathematica operations (such as
ray tracing, image processing, etc.).
A1200 SCS1/RAM+ features
• Up to 8 MegaBytes of 32-bit wide, 60 nanosecond
FAST RAM (Random Access Memory).
• FAST RAM enhances A1200 system performance
by reducing CPU contention with custom chips for
A1200 CHIP RAM.
• Factory insta ed 68882 F oating Point Unit math
coprocessor or socket for an optiona 68882 FPU.
• Option to enhance coprocessor performance up to
40 MHz by adding a faster 68882 and separate
c ock crysta .
• Advanced SCSI-II contro er onboard provides
hard disk access that outperforms a previous GVP
SCSI and a IDE interfaces.
Overview 1.1

Installation Guide
A1200 SCSI/RAM+
• Connections for 2.5” interna SCSI drive and
optiona externa SCSI port.
• Custom designed circuitry for high qua ity and ow
component count.
• Surface mount techno ogy for increased re iabi ity.
• “P ug and p ay” design gets you up and running in
minutes.
Insta ing Hardware
This section describes how to insta the A1200 SCSI/
RAM+ in your A1200 computer. If you purchased and
wish to insta additiona RAM, FPU options, or an
interna SCSI hard drive, p ease refer to Chapter 3 -
Expansion Options before proceeding.
If you wish to add the optiona externa SCSI
connection port, refer to the insta ation instructions
inc uded with that product.
CAUTION: During installation of the AI200
SCSI/RAM+ board and its optional components, be
sure to observe electrostatic safety precautions.
Electrostatic shoc can damage delicate electronic
components, such as those found on the A1200
SCSI/RAM+. To protect against this, periodically
drain electrostatic potential from your fingers by
touching a grounded metal surface.
1.2 Overview

Getting Started
Installation Procedure
Before beginning, remove a periphera cab es and the
power cord from your A1200.
1. Turn the A1200 over. To protect the keyboard and
finish of your computer, ay it on a towe or other
soft surface.
Figure 1.1 - Remove expansion bay cover.
2. Locate and remove the expansion-bay cover by
inserting a coin in the s ot at one end, prying the
cover up and swinging it away (Figure 1 1)
Insta ing Hardware 1.3

Installation Guide
A 1200 SCSI/RAM+
Figure 1.2 - Position and flip the A1200 SCSI/RAM+ for insertion.
1.4 Insta ing Hardware

Getting Started
3. Orient the A1200 SCSI/RAM+ board as shown in
Figure 12
4. F ip the A1200 SCSI/RAM+ board board over, so
that the component side is facing down (Figure 1 2)
and insert it into the expansion bay as shown in
Figure 13
5. Position the A1200 SCSI/RAM+ as shown in
Figure 1 4
Figure 1.4 - Align the expansion and card edge connectors.
6. A ign the connector on the A1200 SCSI/RAM+
with the corresponding card-edge expansion bus
inside the A1200. Using the finger cut-out at the
eft end of the board, app y pressure unti it seats
firm y against the expansion bus.
Insta ing Hardware 1.5

Installation Guide
A1200 SCSI/RAM+
Removing Hardware
To remove the A1200 SCSI/RAM+, open the expansion
bay cover and gent y pu the board unti it s ides free of
the expansion bus. Then rotate the board up and out of
the expansion bay using the reverse of the procedure
described above.
Power-On Test
1. Reconnect power cab es to your A1200 and
monitor. Reconnect the monitor cab e to your
computer. Leave a other periphera s (printers,
digitizers, etc.) disconnected for now.
2. Turn on power to the computer and monitor.
3. If the power light does not come on, or the
A1200 fails to start normally, TURN OFF THE
POWER IMMEDIATELY!
4. Verify that the A1200 SCSI/RAM+ board is
correct y seated and that no other connections were
shorted or disturbed during the insta ation process.
5. If your computer sti wi not start norma y,
remove the A1200 SCSI/RAM+ and check a its
onboard jumper settings against the tab e in
Appendix A - Jumper Settings.
Check to see if your A1200 starts norma y with the
A1200 SCSI/RAM+ removed.
1.6 Removing Hardware

Getting Started
6. If you insta ed RAM or other options, recheck your
work and make sure that each item is correct y
insta ed with no shorts or incomp ete connections.
Pay particu ar attention to the seating of RAM
SIMMs. Make sure that they are correct y and fu y
inserted (see Chapter 3 - Expansion Options)
7. Rep ace the A1200 SCSI/RAM+ board, reconnect
your computer’s monitor and power cab es and
perform the test again.
8. If the system sti does not work, contact your
dea er or GVP’s Technica Support Hot ine (see
Appendix B - Service & Support)
Power-Up Test 1.7

Installation Guide
A 1200 SCSI/RAM+
1.8 (b ank page)

Software Reference
Insta ing Software
Norma y, your new A1200 SCSI/RAM+ board shou d
begin working as soon as you have comp eted the
insta ation and performed the Power Up test. Any
onboard RAM wi automatica y be added to your
computer’s memory resources and the 68882 math
coprocessor (if one is present) wi intercept and
perform a f oating point arithmetic requests made by
your software.
If you have insta ed either an interna or externa SCSI
drive, you wi probab y need to prepare and format at
east one hard drive partition using either
■ f f r r m m 'B °r I t m a i a f U To do so,
refer to the FaaastPrep 2.0 user’s manua inc uded with
this package. GVP provides the fo owing uti ity
programs on the inc uded f oppy disk:
• MemTest
• GVPInfo
• GVPScsiCtr
• FaaastPrep 2.0
• ExpertPrep 2.0
These programs may be used from the GVP.Insta
f oppy disk or, if you have a hard drive, you may choose
to insta them permanent y.
Installing Software 2.1

Installation Guide
A1200 SCSI/RAM+
To permanent y insta the software, start your computer
norma y, insert the GVP.Insta f oppy disk and
doub e-c ick on the disk’s icon.
Locate the lnstall-SCSI-RAM+ program icon and
doub e-c ick to start it. The insta er program wi copy
the fi es to their appropriate destinations and, if
necessary, modify your ’user-startup’ fi e to
know where they are ocated.
Uti ity Programs
MenTest
MemTest
NemTestisa Workbench program that performs a
diagnostic test on a system memory. When you
doub e-c ick on its icon, a window wi appear
disp aying each segment of memory and the resu ts of
the test.
GVPinfo
GVPInfo
GVPInfoisa Workbench program that a ows you to
examine various characteristics and conditions of your
system. When you doub e-c ick on its icon, a window
wi appear offering severa different ways of “ ooking
into” your system.
Each item in the disp ayed ist:
• Boards
• Chips
• Drives
• Memory
is an active button. Doub e c icking on any item
produces a new window disp aying information re evant
to that item.
2.2 Installing Software

Software Reference
i L t e is o . .J» ... ;*
Boards I
C ips
Drives
Menory
GVPScsiCtrl
" i Bbout r iietp wsmm
.. get .....
Figure 2.1 - The GVPInfo main window.
You can a so use the buttons at the bottom of the main
window to navigate the informationa disp ays in
different ways.
GVPScsiCtrl
If you have one or more of the fo owing externa SCSI
devices connected to your A1200 SCSI/RAM+ board,
you may need to use GVPScsiCtr :
• Tape Drives - may require that Disconnect/
Reconnect protoco be disab ed for the device in
question.
• Removab e cartridge drives - may not
automatica y appear on your Workbench screen
un ess you run a particu ar GVPScsiCtr command.
If you have either of these types of devices, detai s
fo ow.
GVPScsiCtrl
Uti ity Programs 2.3

Installation Guide
A 1200 SCSI/RAM+
Tape Drives
Certain tape backup units (e.g., Commodore A3070)
wi “hang up” in the midd e of engthy reads or writes
because they are incompatib e with the GVP SCSI bus’s
inte igent Disconnect/Reconnect protocol. This
protoco norma y a ows busy hard drives to
temporari y remove themse ves from the bus and free it
for use by another. Most drives can easi y reconnect
themse ves when they are ready to process more data.
Many types of tape drives are not capab e of
reconnecting in this way. If you experience unre iab e
tape drive performance, issue the fo owing CLI
command before attempting your next backup.
GVPScsiCtr Unit_ID DCOFF <Return>
un 7 t_iD is the unique SCSI ID number assigned to
your tape drive. Check the documentation that came
with the tape drive or your Backup Software user’s
manua , if you do not know the drive’s ID number.
NOTE »> You can add the GVPScsiCtrl command to your
’user-startup’ file so that it will be run
automatically each time you power up.
Removable Cartridge Drives
When you start up, the SCSI contro er on the A1200
SCSI/ RAM+ board checks to see if there are any drives
connected. Any that it finds are reported to the Amiga’s
operating system. These wi then appear on your
Workbench screen as avai ab e storage devices.
If there doesn’t happen to be a data cartridge in a
removab e drive at startup, your system may not
recognize when you subsequent y insert one. Simi ar y,
if you have an o der drive that takes a whi e to “spin up”
to speed, this same condition may resu t.
2.4 Uti ity Programs

Software Reference
Doub e-c icking the GVPScsiCtr Workbench icon wi
cause the SCSI contro er to rescan for new y inserted
cartridges in mounted drives. If you prefer to use the
CLI, you shou d type the fo owing command:
GVPScsiCtrl -r <Return>
>>> If you wish this command to be executed each time
you start your computer, edit your’s : user-
star t u p’ file to contain the following line:
Run >NIL: GVPScsiCtrl -s <Return>
Uti ity Programs 2.5

Installation Guide
A1200 SCSI/RAM+
2.6 (b ank page)