ICD AdSCSI ST host adapter software update 10/8/92 -------------------------------------------------- This file documents the ICD AdSCSI ST host adapter software. These utilities are packaged with all ICD ST Hard Drive Systems and ICD ST host adapters and WILL ONLY WORK WITH AN ICD HOST ADAPTER in your system (except the PRO level, which will work with or without an ICD host adapter). They are all Copyright 1987-1992 by ICD,Inc. Companies using this software with their products must include an ICD ST host adapter as part of that product, or have licensed the PRO level of ICD software, or they will be in violation of United States and/or International Copyright Laws! If you have any questions: ICD, Inc. 1220 Rock Street Rockford, IL 61101-1437 Voice: (815) 968-2228 BBS: (815) 968-2229 FAX: (815) 968-6888 The ICD BBS always has the latest versions of the ICD ST host adapter software, as well as various handy utilities, etc., all yours for the downloading. Our BBS has a US Robotics 9600 baud HST modem and is usually up 24 hours a day. Support and updated files are also available on GEnie (ICDINC) and CompuServe (76004,1600). Suggestion: make a printed copy of this file for future reference. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ This documentation only includes changes made to the ICD AdSCSI ST host adapter software since the latest manual was printed. The latest manual has the number 36-90 in the lower-right corner of the back cover. If you would like to receive the latest manual and the latest software on disk, send $15 to ICD (Canadian customers send US $20 and overseas customers send US $25). +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Changes to the ICD AdSCSI ST host adapter software since the latest manual was printed: - 3 levels of ICD software are now in distribution. These are: PRO, LINK, and STHA (or regular) levels. See notes on ICDBOOT below. - This software supports the IDE drive in the Falcon 030 computer. The PRO version of ICDBOOT is suggested for use with the Falcon. The IDE drive is treated as SCSI ID 16. ICD's driver emulates the required SCSI functions on the IDE drive. Partitions on the IDE drive will be the first identified (i.e. C: D: E: etc.) followed by partitions found on SCSI drives. - The PRO and LINK levels of ICD software support Flopticalū drives. - CHANGE IN FLOPTICALū DRIVE SUPPORT: (Link and Pro level only) Previous versions of ICDFMT and ICDBOOT only allowed you to set up the 21 Mb diskettes according to the Insite Peripherals standard for information exchange between different computer systems. These disks would not auto-boot and were not useable under TOS 1.0 - 1.2. Because of popular demand, you are now given the choice in ICDFMT and INSTALL to set up the 21Mb diskettes either with the Standard (Insite Peripherals) or Atari format. If you choose Atari format, the diskettes are useable with all TOS versions. They can also be made to auto-boot if the the drive is the lowest ID in the system. - A new hard disk installation program is included. INSTALL.PRG is intended for the user who is totally unfamiliar with hard disks and wants an easy installation. The program will automatically format the disk if necessary. It will verify sectors, partition the disk, sets up the auto-boot, and create a DESKTOP.INF file and AUTO folder on partition C. There are no user-selectable parameters. Several warnings are given allowing the user to quit. After that, all data on the disk is destroyed. This program is also ideal for dealers to set up hard disks for their customers. If more than one hard disk is connected, the user must choose which one to install. After that, this disk is set up AS IF it is the only disk in the system. In other words, the installed disk may then be taken to another system and plugged in. It will auto-boot and show a desktop with the correct icons for the number of partitions on the disk. - The TIMESET function is now incorporated in ICDBOOT. This means that the hard drive clock will automatically be read and the system clock be set upon bootup, when using a host adapter with real-time clock. This option may be disabled in the "Config" option of HDUTIL for those choosing to use their Mega internal clock or other clock device. It is no longer necessary to have ICDTIME or TIMESET in your AUTO folder to set the system clock. You must still run ICDTIME to install the clock handler in memory before using the Control Panel or other software to reset the clock in the ICD host adapter. - ICDBOOT now recognizes hard disks formatted and partitioned with MS-DOS and FDISK on a PC. This should simplify the transfer of files between PCs and STs using removable media (SyQuest, etc.) much easier. NOTE: (a) although reading and writing MS-DOS partitions is supported, most of the ICD utilities will not work with MS-DOS partitions. (b) very large DOS partitions have too many data clusters, which confuses TOS, so some DOS partitions will not be entered into the drive tables and will not be useable. - Previous versions of ICDBOOT would always change the screen to medium resolution when booting with a color monitor. The resolution is now configurable with HDUTIL, allowing you to boot in any ST/TT graphics mode available on your system. As of ICDBOOT 5.5.0, you can also choose to completely skip any resolution change; this will be useful for those with 1024x768 color monitors which require special driver software to load before any other program. - ICDBOOT will now work without an ICD host adapter connected to the system. An ICD host adapter is still required for the use of the utilities such as HDUTIL, ICDFMT, etc., unless you own the PRO level of ICDBOOT. This feature was added so that people using an ICD tape backup system on an Atari TT or Mega STE can continue to boot their internal HD even with the tape drive disconnected. This feature, unfortunately, will NOT work on the STacy. When booting without an ICD host adapter present, unless using the PRO level of ICDBOOT, the ICD caches will be disabled, resulting in performance similar to the hard disk drivers from other companies. - This release now fully supports the Atari TT SCSI port as well as the ACSI port. For the most part, hard drives connected to the SCSI port of the TT can be treated just like drives connected to the ICD AdSCSI host adapter. The primary difference is that the devices connected to the ICD AdSCSI are numbered 0-7 and the devices connected to the TT SCSI port are devices 8-15. Since the TT itself is a SCSI device, it uses one of the device numbers. The ICD software sets the TT to SCSI ID #7 (device 15), so that number is not available for any other devices. Drive letters are assigned to devices attached to the SCSI port before those attached to the ACSI/DMA port. Keep in mind that an ICD AdSCSI host adapter is still required to use the ICD host adapter software on the TT, unless you have the PRO level of ICDBOOT. - You do not always need to run HDUTIL to install a new ICDBOOT on your hard drive. If the drive is already set up to auto-boot all you need to do is to copy ICDBOOT.PRG to the root or main directory of drive C:, rename your old ICDBOOT.SYS (to .SYX) or trash it, then rename ICDBOOT.PRG to ICDBOOT.SYS and reboot. - COPYFIX.PRG has been updated to fix a bug which caused compatibility problems with several applications. There should no longer be any problems with it. - All programs have been tested and modified as necessary to present a proper display in the Atari TT's new graphics modes. Be advised, though, that any programs which didn't work in the ST's low-resolution also will not work in TT low-res (256 color mode). - Several minor bugs have been fixed. Because of this, it is advisable that you always use the latest version of the ICD AdSCSI ST host adapter software. Updates to all programs (except the PRO and LINK levels of ICDBOOT) are available on the ICD BBS, GEnie, or CompuServe. - When using the ESC key to disable the booter options, only the caching gets disabled. The TOS buffers are still allocated so that BGM partitions can be accessed. If you need the additional memory, use HDUTIL to disable the buffers and reboot. - Simple statistics on the cache effectiveness are maintained and can be checked with CACHEHIT.TOS. - It is now easier to bypass the hard disk auto-boot and force bootup from floppy disk drive A. See HDUTIL below. - HDUTIL now has a new feature, called "Wipe". See HDUTIL below. - STacy users, using ICD PRO software and ICDFMT, see special note below about determining drive size. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Changes to files on the distribution diskette: ADSCSI.CPX This is an extension for Atari's Extensible Control Panel (XCONTROL). See the file ADSCSI.TXT for additional information. BOOTFIX.TOS This has been updated to support drives attached to the TT SCSI port as well as the ACSI\DMA port. This version also disables Parity checking on Quantum ELS series 3 1/2" hard drives. Of course, to do this, the drive must be connected to an AdSCSI or Advantage series host adapter. CACHEHIT.TOS This program displays the effectiveness of the caches. It displays the percentage of reads which were satisfied by the cache, and the percentage of writes which updated entries already in the cache. This can be used to determine what cache settings are the most efficient for your system. It's important to note that this only gives statistics for the cache buffers, and not the TOS buffers. The TOS buffers are maintained by the operating system and can't be checked. The ICD AdSCSI ST host adapter manual explains the TOS buffers in more detail. CACHEOFF.PRG CACHEON.PRG These programs are used to enable and disable the write cache function of ICDBOOT. Users of the Supercharger PC emulator must turn off the write cache before running the Supercharger intialization program or the Supercharger will NOT be able to write to the hard disk. Turning the cache off this way does not reduce memory usage. CFGCBOOT.PRG This program configures COLDBOOT.PRG to skip selected ACSI/DMA devices. See section on COLDBOOT.PRG (below) for additional documentation. CLEANUP.PRG Detects and corrects structural and logical errors on GEM/BGM partitions. This is included only on the PRO level version, and is also available for separate purchase. COLDBOOT.PRG This has been updated to support devices attached to the TT SCSI port as well as the ACSI/DMA port. Versions 1.30 and later of ICD COLDBOOT.PRG are configurable to allow skipping of the ACSI/DMA ID of the Supercharger from Talon Technologies. To configure COLDBOOT run CFGCBOOT and specify the ID(s) you wish to skip when doing a coldboot. The Supercharger is normally shipped as ID 3. This should only be necessary for those users who do not have Quantum, Seagate, or other drives which autoboot upon power-up, and who are also using the Supercharger. COPYFIX.PRG This has been updated to fix a bug which caused compatibility problems with several applications. There should no longer be any problems with it. DESKTOP.PRG This program (formerly a desk accessory) has been updated to be compatible the Atari TT and all TOS versions. See DESKTOP.DOC for a more complete explanation of changes since previous versions. DO NOT RENAME DESKTOP.PRG TO DESKTOP.ACC; attempting to do this and installing the file as an accessory will give you grief. This program is NOT designed to be renamed to .ACC. EJECT.TOS A program to eject diskettes from the Macintosh versions of Flopticalū drives. This may be renamed as EJECT.TTP to run from a command line, or you can create a file EJECT.LST for it to run from. For more information, run the program with no parameters, see example file EJECT.LSX, or read HDPARK.DOC. This program is included only with the Link and Pro levels of ICD software. HDPARK.TOS This has been updated to support the TT SCSI port. This program replaces MAKEPARK.PRG. See HDPARK.DOC for complete documentation. HDPARTS.TOS This program displays various statistics about each hard drive partition on the system. For the most part, this information will only be of use to people who have some understanding of disk structures. HDUTIL.PRG There is now an option to set the bootup screen resolution in ICDBOOT (it previously defaulted to medium resolution on a color monitor). This has been updated to support the TT SCSI port. This affects several functions: - Setting a hard disk for auto-booting will result in either TT-SCSI boot sectors or ACSI/DMA boot sectors being written to the drive based on which port the drive is connected to. If you ever move the drive to the other port, you will have to reinstall the boot sector with HDUTIL. - If run on a Falcon 030, the auto-boot code will be written on the internal IDE drive. - It is possible to disable scanning of any of the 16 devices. The device number of the TT itself will never be scanned, regardless of the button settings. It is now easier to bypass the hard disk auto-boot and force bootup from floppy disk drive A. Just hold down ALTERNATE only. It is no longer necessary to hold down SHIFT-CONTROL- ALTERNATE. You must use HDUTIL to reinstall the "Boot" to take advantage of this. HDUTIL now has a new feature, called "Wipe". Previously the only partition-blanking feature was "Zero", which blanked the directories and File Allocation Tables. The data was still present and a talented snoop could possibly recover it. "Wipe" will zero out every sector of the partition, so that you do not have to be concerned about any of your confidential data falling into the wrong hands. HOST.TOS This is a utility to tell you what kind of host adapter you have connected to each hard drive on line. Note that it is not always possible to differentiate between Link, AdSCSI Plus ST, AdSCSI ST, and AdSCSI Micro ST host adapters. This is particularly true when multiple host adapters are connected. It is also not possible to differentiate between one of ICD's original STHA boards and one of those made by another manufacturer. These items do NOT have signatures. We are merely seeing which ones do full SCSI commands and which ones have ICD real time clocks. ICDBOOT.PRG The names of SCSI hard disk devices are now displayed as they are found, followed by the partitions logged from these devices (if any). If you wish to pause ICDBOOT to read the information it prints, press ; press to restart the program. There are 3 levels of ICDBOOT now in distribution. (1) The PRO level, which installs on all ST and TT computers regardless of whether an ICD host adapter is found. The PRO level supports Flopticalū drives. This level is available only for purchase. To obtain updates, original disk must be returned to ICD with a $10 fee. (2) The LINK level, which supports Flopticalū drives. This level is shipped only with the Link host adapter. To obtain updates, original disk must be returned to ICD with a $10 fee. (3) The regular level. Flopticalū drives are not supported. Updates are available from ICD on disk for $10 (original disk not required), or on the ICD BBS, GEnie, or CompuServe. Now supports most MS-DOS formatted/partitioned hard disks. Some MS-DOS partitions have too many data clusters and give TOS problems. These partitions are not supported. Can now be used without an ICD host adapter present. An ICD host adapter is still required to install the booter and to use the various other utilities. The caching will be disabled when running without an ICD host adapter, except for the PRO level of ICDBOOT. This has been updated to support devices connected to the TT SCSI port as well as devices connected to the standard ACSI/DMA port. Full SCSI arbitration is supported on the SCSI port, which offers great potential. A few other minor bugs were fixed, so it is advisable to use this version even if you don't own a TT. ICDFMT.PRG This program can now format drives connected to the TT SCSI port as well as the ACSI/DMA port. As with the other software, the devices attached to the SCSI port are numbered 8-15. Calculation of DEFAULT and SPLIT partitions now make one 5.00 meg drive followed by equally-sized partitions. This is to encourage you to use a small drive C. In case your first drive gets destroyed (which seems to happen randomly on Atari computers, although it is VERY rare), you do not lose a lot of data. This feature may be disabled by holding down the Alternate key while clicking on DEFAULT or SPLIT, or while clicking on OK in the dialog headed "Split into several partitions...". However, you are VERY STRONGLY encouraged to use a small drive C. STacy users with Conner drives: because of a severe bug in Conner drive firmware, it is necessary to avoid the standard methods of determining drive size. You must use any ordinary ASCII text editor to create a file called INTERNAL.HD in the same folder as ICDFMT. The first line of this file must match EXACTLY what the Conner drive returns when you run IDCHECK. Spaces are important. The second line is the number of the LAST SECTOR on the Conner drive. Here is an example of INTERNAL.HD: CONNER CP3020 41117 If your drive is not a CP3020, you will have to determine the last sector through trial and error. Start with a value large enough for your drive (i.e. 45000 for a 20 meg, 90000 for a 40 meg). Run ICDFMT and select Partition, then Partition Entire Hard Disk. The program will verify the sectors and will stop when the Conner bug kicks in. If the sector the program is at is a multiple of 32, add 31 to that value, use that value as the second line of INTERNAL.HD, and repeat the test. Note that the drive will have to be turned off and back on again to rerun ICDFMT. This time subtract 1 from the sector showing and that should be the correct value. ICDFMT.DAT This file is updated from time to time to include more hard drive models. (See additional documentation below). This file is used for and necessary for ST506/412 type drives only. It is not used for SCSI drives; information about these drives is needed by asking the drive for it. If ICDFMT.DAT is needed and not found, you will be able to fill in the heads and cylinders and proceed. ICDTIME.PRG IDCHECK.PRG This has been updated to check devices connected to the TT SCSI port as well as the ACSI/DMA port. When running on a TT, the left-hand column shows the devices attached to the SCSI port (including the TT itself) and the right-hand column shows the devices attached to the ACSI port. Also shows IDE drive on the Falcon 030. INSTALL.PRG Automated setup of a hard disk. Formats (if necessary), verifies, partitions, sets up auto-boot, and creates a desktop. Ideal for the novice user who wants a quick setup, and for dealers setting up hard disks for customers. When done, the disk should boot up when connected to any ST or TT with any TOS version and display a desktop containing all the icons necessary for the number of partitions. RATEHD.PRG This has been updated to test drives connected to the TT SCSI port as well as the ACSI/DMA port. See RATEHD.DOC for complete documentation. SCSI.PRG This is a SCSI Command tester which can also be used as a sector editor. This is included only on the PRO level of ICD software. TIMESET.PRG WHEREIS.TOS +---------------------------------------------------------------+ The ICDFMT.DAT File ------------------- The ICDFMT.DAT file contains information about ST506/412 compatible hard drives only (not drives with embedded SCSI controllers). The ICDFMT.PRG gets data about SCSI embedded drives by doing an Inquiry and Mode Sense to get the necessary data directly from the drive. To add a drive, enter the following information about your drive in the EXACT same format (position sensitive) as the others listed as follows: a. The letter 'd' to indicate a drive b. The name of the drive c. The number of heads on the drive d. The number of cylinders on the drive e. The cylinder number at which to start using reduced write current (if not sure, then just put same number as # of cylinders) f. The cylinder number at which to start using write precomp (if not sure, then just put same number as # of cylinders) g. The parking cylinder (usually 40-50 cylinders beyond the last cylinder). h. The step rate; normally 2 (unless very old). 0 = 3ms non-buffered step for older drives (ST506) 1 = 28us buffered step rate (ST412 and maybe others) 2 = 15us buffered step rate (Almost all new drives) Presently we support 98% of all hard drives and SCSI controllers that can be used on the Atari ST. Some may not work on the ST at all. If in doubt, try it, or you can call or write our technical support department. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Miscellaneous Notes ------------------- Connecting Supra/Atari Drives: Supra drives are initially set to SCSI=0, LUN=0, so if you want to boot off your ICD drive, you may wish to change the ID of the Supra drive. Alternatively, you could set the SCSI ID of the controller or drive in your ICD drive to a different value and boot off the Supra drive. Contact ICD Technical Support for assistance if necessary. Atari SH204 drives are also set to SCSI=0, LUN=0, BUT they have a bug in their hardware. They respond to ALL LUN numbers causing havoc to the system. A provision in the drive handler has been made to only see LUN=0 with a SCSI ID of 7. Therefore you will need to set the 3 position dip switch in your SH204 to ID 7 (flip all three switches to the other position). Atari Megafile (SH205) drives are set as SCSI=0, LUN=0. The SCSI ID # is changeable inside the box. It uses a combination host adapter/controller board but can be formatted with our software as an Adaptec 4000 for their 20 Meg and Adaptec 4070 for the 30 and 60 Meg drives. Clock Battery: If the clock is way off or seems to return crazy times, the battery may be low. For a replacement battery, send $5.00, unless your host adapter is in warranty. If it is in warranty, call us and we will send a batter at no charge. A new battery socket is available for an additional $3.00. Soldering is usually required with older original ICD ST Host Adapters. The newer units already have the socket installed and replacing the battery is a very simple operation. We will install battery and/or socket for $20 when unit is out of warranty. If your clock seems to run fast or slow it is probably adjustable. Look for a variable capacitor labled VC1 near the clock battery. Use a subminiature flat-bladed screwdriver. Insert the blade into the opening and turn clockwise to speed the clock up, counter-clockwise to slow it down. Start with 1/2 turn, let it go for a day and recheck and go from there. It is possible with a little patience to calibrate these clocks very accurately. If your host adapter does not have VC1 about the only recourse is to try changing the clock chip. Host Adapter Mounting: There are four mounting holes on the board; mount it as you see fit. ICD makes a mounting bracket kit for the host adapter which you can probably use in your application. It is called the ST/MK and is US $8.95 plus S & H (contact us to order, or for more information). Using Multiple SCSI ID's and Host Adapters: When using multiple SCSI ID's and host adapters a few rules apply: - Power up the device closest to the computer first (plugged in). Then power up the next out in the chain and continue in this fashion until all devices are powered. Now BOOT the computer. - SCSI ID #0 will be the first device seen and will provide the booter and AUTO folder for the system. It will be assigned as C, D, E, etc. The next SCSI ID found will provide the next partitions beginning after ID #0's and so on. It does not matter physically where these drives are in the daisy chain except for power up procedures. The SCSI ID #s also do not need to be consecutive although that is recommended for proper software support by other companies. Setting Up Your AUTO Folder For Programs Which Use GDOS: It is usually necessary to have GDOS be the last file in the AUTO folder. Since the ST displays files in sorted order, the only way to insure this is to create a JUNK folder, copy all files except GDOS to it, delete the AUTO folder, and recreate it. Then copy all files back to the AUTO folder from JUNK, delete JUNK, and finally copy GDOS to the AUTO folder. To avoid these problems try G+PLUS from Codehead Software. Setting Up Your Hard Drive To Boot pc-ditto From A Partition: First, set up the partition to boot with the HDUTIL program. Create a JUNK folder on another drive and copy ICDBOOT.SYS to it. Now run the pc-ditto program's formatter which sets MS-DOS to boot. Finally copy ICDBOOT.SYS back to the root directory of your boot drive. Now when you boot, the ICD Boot Program will run...then pc-ditto will boot. CAUTION: If you disable autobooting with HDUTIL, you will probably destroy your pc-ditto boot information as well. What To Do When You Get "Locked Out" Of Your Hard Disk: Installation of certain .ACC files may cause you to bomb every time you boot and you can't access your hard drive to remove or rename the offending file! To cure this: turn off the hard drive, place a copy of the ICD ST host adapter disk in Drive A, and boot. Double click on IDCHECK.PRG and let it scan through drives. At the end it will be blank. Now, turn on your hard drive. Let it come up to speed. Click on Rescan and repeat until your drive is shown. Then Exit. Now locate ICDBOOT.PRG and double click on it. Install an icon for Drive C: (click on one icon to make it dark, then go to the menu bar under options for Install Disk Drive; use a capital C!) and double-click on it. Now you can rename the offending .ACC file to some other extension, and then you should be able once again to boot from your hard drive. If this doesn't work, call ICD, and we will help you regain access to the hard drive. Suddenly your hard drive won't auto-boot: Something has trashed partition information or corrupted the ICDBOOT.SYS file. First try re-running HDUTIL and resetting the boot drive. If this doesn't help, or if the Boot dialog shows no hard drives, something has wiped out your partition sector. Try running Cleanup ST to try and save the partition. Alternatively, you you can rewrite partition info using the ICDFMT.PRG. To do this, run ICDFMT and select PARTITION. Re-enter your partition information (of course you have kept a record of this). Make sure all partitions are enabled (check mark under "On"). Select REWRITE PARTITION INFO ONLY at the bottom left side of the dialog box. Be careful here! This is one place you want to be ABSOLUTELY SURE that your information is 100% correct. +---------------------------------------------------------------+