CompuServe Thread

It won't fit. Bob

Mark, A 3.5" drive can be used inside an A1200, but there are several catches that might make you think twice about trying: Once you shoehorn it in, the whole she-bang is awfully tight. getting the case closed again is not for the weak hearted. You'll need a bigger power supply. Even if you don't have any expansion on the machine, you'll need a bigger ps. The 5V section should be able to shoulder the load, but the 12V section doesn't cut it. A typical drive would probably need a full amp peak at 12V, while the A600 supply shipped with many A1200s is only rated at .5A @ 12V. There are no data cables supplied commercially (that I know of) that go from the small form-factor connector on the motherboard to the 3.5" connector (or realistically, the connector on the 3.5" drive – not the full width of the drive). There are several hack files available for creating a custom data cable for the drive, but it is not a job for the electronically inexperienced. It can be done, but it is a hassle. Joe (A guy with a 213MB Maxtor 3.5" HD in his A1200!)

The short answer is "yes" the 3.5" IDE can be used… with a little re-working. The 2.5" IDE's the A1200 was designed to accept were designed for laptop (IBM/compatible) machines. These computers often run on batterys. The 2.5" IDE's have very low-power consumption compared to the 3.5" IDE drives. If you use a 3.5" with the A1200 it is highly advised that you upgrade the A1200 powersupply or use a separate powersupply to power the 3.5" IDE. The A1200 has a bracket for holding a 2.5" IDE. The bracket also doubles as a support for keyboard. If you try to install the 3.5" internally there will be problems in fitting the drive — you will have to do some hacking. If you mount the 3.5" IDE externally in its own case, with it own powersupply, you should have few problems. There are cable that extend the IDE-interface through the breakout connector, just for this purpose. — Since your keeping the A500, you might consider a ParNET cable. My A1200 doesn't have its own harddrive, instead it uses the AdIDE harddrive that is installed inside my A500. The ParNET uses a custom parallel cable to connect the parallel port of both machine together. A driver is then run on both machines that allows them to access the other Amiga's drives as storage devices. The ParNET software creates a "NET:" device, with icon. The Floppy, Hard, and RAM drives of the other Amiga appear as "drawers" (or partitions) inside the "NET:". I boot the A1200 from a stripped floppy, which mounts the "NET:" then re-assigns the system to a subdirectory on the A500's HD's "DH2:" partition. I can then run all the the software located on the harddrive. from both systems. Accessing the HD (and other devices) over the Parnet is slower than directly accessing an internal HD, but the Parnet is almost free. The software can be downloaded, or copied from a Amiga dealer. The software package contains info on how to make the parnet cable (I paid someone to make one for me.) Ron. – ap'ing with AP. (Eagles may fly, but weasels aren't sucked into jet engines.)