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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:	AMIGA NOTES
Notice:	Join us in the NEW conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:	HYDRA::MOORE

Created:	Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:	Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5378
Total number of notes:	38326

3970.0. "Can Bridgeboards run w/o floppydrive?" by MSVAX::BARRETT (I must not waste chalk) Fri Jul 27 1990 13:36

	I have a few questions concerning Bridgeboards, floppy drives, and
    harddrives. These may be also be general PC/XT questions.
    
        I currently have a 2000 with 2080 XT bridgeboard, IBM WD controller,
    and a 5.25" ST drive connected to it. Since I have the 5.25" floppy
    drive mounted in the bay, I currently have the HD running external;
    housed in a plastic case with power and ribbon cables leading
    into the 2000 through one of the removable plates. Since the system
    runs as a tower and the computer and HD are "out of the way and
    almost invisible", this works fine. However, Since I run with all
    my IBM software already on the HD and hardly ever use the floppy
    drive, I have been thinking about "switching" them and making the
    floppy drive external instead. If I could disconnect it and connect
    it at will - even better.
    
    1) The bridgeboard does not boot if the 5.25" floppy drive is not
    	connected. Is there a way to remove this drive and still have
    	the bridgeboard boot and the HD function (preferably, but not
    	necessarily, with the device "letters" not being changed)? If
	this ends up involving some sort of "fakeout" connector, what
    	would it look like? Are there PC/XT systems running with only
    	a HD?
    
    2) Is there a way to "tell" MS-DOS not to bother checking for or
    	testing the floppy drive? It may help me disconnect it and it
    	would certainly be nice to have the XT bootup be quicker by
    	immediately going to the HD rather than "playing" around.
    
    
    I have known a few others who would like to "tell" the bridgeboard
    to ignore the 5.25" for similar reasons. I also intend to check
    out the PC/MS-DOS conferences and will post info here if I find
    it.
    
    
    			Thanks!!!  Keith

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
3970.1	Still looking	MSVAX::BARRETT	I did not see Elvis	`Fri Aug 03 1990 13:51`	4
	Well; I've asked this on USENET, here, and on the IBMPC conference - no answers. I can't believe I'm the only person to ever have an "XT" with autobooting HD and wanted to remove his floppy drive ("A:") and still have the system work.
3970.2	I think it's required for the BIOS to work...	CGOFS::CADAMS	Clint Adams - Calgary, Canada	`Fri Aug 03 1990 14:14`	7
	I'm no PC weeny, but from what I understand most PC ROM BIOS's expect to see at least a drive a: or they won't work. Unless you fool it into thinking there is a drive there (which doesn't sound easy to me) you may have to leave your drive A: in tact. Clint
3970.3		BAGELS::BRANNON	Dave Brannon	`Sat Aug 04 1990 00:47`	10
	You should be able to have the floppy drive external, I remember reading about dealers doing some sort of CBM blessed hardware mod to do that. Perhaps a service center might have a memo on what needs to be done. If the 5.25" drive attaches directly to the bridgeboard, I suspect the mod was simply to connect directly to the 5.25" drive in the CBM 1020, bypassing the amiga drive id hardware. Dave
3970.4	the mod exists	SAUTER::SAUTER	John Sauter	`Mon Aug 06 1990 08:37`	4
	I believe there was a Technical Note in late 1987 or early 1988 that described how to modify a bridgeboard so it would boot from an external drive. My bridgeboard has the modification. John Sauter
3970.5	I settled for the second choice	MSVAX::BARRETT	Most useful white thing at home	`Tue Aug 07 1990 10:48`	13
	Hummm. I have never heard of this mod - if someone could try to track it down and post it I could use it. For now what I did was make a very long ribbon and power cable and have them come out of the back of the 2000. I mounted the floppy dirve in a plastic case and it now sits on my desk. The 5.25" bay now has an RD32 mounted in it. I used an old Atari 1080 floppy drive case -- looks like it was good for something :-) If you are looking for an external 5.25" cheap plastic case and don't need a power supply, this seems to work well. Thanks, Keith
3970.6	hard to find	SAUTER::SAUTER	John Sauter	`Tue Aug 07 1990 12:10`	3
	System Eyes once looked for the modification for me, but was unable to find it. It was made to my A2088 by The Memory Location. John Sauter
3970.7	Easy to do.	MQOFS::LEDOUX	Reserved for Future Use	`Fri Aug 10 1990 15:23`	15
	The signal that enable drive 0 goes only on the internal drive bus All you have to do is to solder one wire from the pin that addresses floppy 0 (A) and connect it to the external drive bus that accesses drive 0. I did a similar modification to be able to address 2 floppies internal to my A2000. If you do it though, you won't be able to use the internal connector if you have an external drive connected at the same time. The external bus layout is in your A2000 owner manual and the Internal bus is a standard floppy bus, as in any IBM drive bus books. If you can't find them, let me know. I have some information at home. Vince.
3970.8		WILARD::BARRETT	This is my brain on Notes.	`Sat Aug 11 1990 11:38`	11
	My setup is that the external connector is not inuse. I have a hardcard for the harddisk. If I understand you correctly, the modification would not affect the usage of the harddisk in any manner. I can live with the external connector not functional. How would this change apply to someone trying to eliminate the floppy drive altogether? Could give more detail behind the actual connection? Thanks- this sounds like it might apply.