#Toshiba CD-ROM?
18 messages in this thread
Howdy all,
Do Toshiba CD-ROM drives get along well in a Amiga?
I've been looking around for a post Christmas gift to myself of an
internal SCSI CD-ROM drive and thought I could find one pretty reasonable.
With the current rage in (gag) MultiMedia appearently they're pretty much
sold out. Except for the MM packs with Soundblasters and mutant IDE
interfaces, all that I've found is a Toshiba 4X (model 340..something) for
about $350 or a 2X for $300.
Does anyone have a Toshiba or heard anything about them or should I go
mail order with one the brands I'm sure I've seen people talk about in the
fora here?
Or am I being silly 'cause I didn't look in the libs for a compatability
list someone's posted?
Thanks,
Robb
I've used a Toshiba 3401 (scsi) on my Amiga and it worked great.
Robb,
I'm using a Toshiba XM-3401B (doublespin, scsi) in my A2000 with A2630 030-card
and an Oktagon2008 scsi controller. Didn't have any problems.
regards,
Joachim Sondermann-Bieker
on Amiga AutoPilot from Cologne, Germany
I use an older Toshiba CDROM with my Amiga, and it works great. And I
have a newer, portable one that I use with my Toshiba laptop, and it
also works great. I haven't tried the portable one on the Amiga yet,
but I suspect it would give me no trouble at all.
Just because you use an Amiga doesn't mean you have to be so
paranoid <grin>! Simply make sure the CDROM drive you purchase has a
true SCSI interface and not one of those CLONE contortions that
require a dedicated interface board. I've been operating a Toshiba
3201 CDROM drive on my A3000 for a LONG time now without any problems
at all and suspect the 3401 will work just as well if not mucho
faster. One thing you might not be aware of when you purchase your
CDROM is that you are going to need a CDROM filesystem to access your
discs. There are commercial and freely distributable varieties
floating around and I have had very good experiences with Xetec's CDx
(commercial), AmiCDROM by Frank Munkert (freely distributable), and
AmiCDFileSystem by Nicola Salmoria (freely distributable). Hope this
helps…
EdV
AmigaOS 3.1 CDROM driver works fine…
Oppsss, I forgot! You're right Dale, OS3.1 has a CDROM filesystem
built-in and it also works just fine (at least on my ancient Toshiba)
🙂
On the other hand, the Toshiba is loved by the cognoscenti because
its firmware ignores the bit on audio CDs which says don't output
digital audio data directly!
Now that is interesting! A Toshiba hooked up with a Toccata/AD516
board could be very fascinating <grin>.
EdV,
I bought the Toshiba 3501.
Works great with OS 3.1 except I still can't get the caddy to eject
without booting. Any ideas anyone?
Now, if we only had people doing some software development…
I had a great time installing it during a major power failure by candle
light.
Robb
Robb,
Glad the Toshiba is working for you! The only CDROM support in OS3.1 that I am
aware of is in the form of a filesystem in ROM. The Xetec CDROM software I
purchased many moons ago came with quite a few utilities, including one called
CDeject — want to guess what it may do <grin>? I don't know if there are any
Public Domain/Freely Distributable versions that may do the same thing, but
then I haven't gone looking for one – my Toshiba has an eject button on the
front that I use <big grin>.
Ahhh, installation by candle light – you really are a CDROM connoisseur
<hahaha>!
EdV
EdV,
My Toshiba has an eject button, too!
I've tried every jumper combination just for the heck of it and can't make
it work without hitting the eject during during a re-boot.
And I'm no CD-ROM expert, but I do know my Amiga well enough that a candle
light installation was pretty straight forward.
There are commercial and PD/Shareware programs, but I was hoping to
continue using the native 3.1 driver. It seems that the utilities supplied
with the other choices require thier drivers to be in control. Perhaps
Xetec or Asim is the way to go?
Robb
Robb,
Are you holding the Toshiba eject button down long enough? I don't
know if this is characteristic of all Toshibas, but mine requires me
to push and hold the eject button for several seconds before it spits
out the CD caddy. You might give that a shot just for grins.
If you want to get real crazy with a software eject mechanism, then
you might want to check out `SCSIUtil.lha' on the AmiNET. It's
description claims one can send SCSI commands and read digital audio
through it, but I don't have any first hand experience with it. Of
course if you don't know the SCSI command to eject for the Toshiba,
it wouldn't do you any good <grin>.
EdV
If you pickup a MAC Warehouse catalog you'll see a Toshiba mechanism
in an MacW enclosure advertised as a 3X speed drive for $199! They
advertise it as a 3.4 times faster than a single speed drive.
Motor driven caddy-less design, includes DB25/50 SCSI cable, power
cord, SCSI terminator and acceleration software (for the Mac of
course I wonder if this where/how the speed increase is atained, may
not really be 3.4x faster without software). Guess someone needs to
ask order taker about "true" speed of drive without the accelerator
program. BRB
Back
Yes it is a true 3X drive, the Toshiba mechanism is a TMX 5201B.
Anyone using this drive? I'd like to hear about how you like it.
One other thing Robert, the O-T at MacW said its on back-order but
they're receiving product and shipping on a daily basis to
outstanding Backorders.
I've been considering the addition of a new CDROM and this one looks
appetizing except I don't know if it can handle music direct from CD
to hard drive like the Apple 300e.
Christopher,
Please post a number (800?) for MAC Wharehouse.
Thanks. Dickoux
I don't have an 800 number for them, but you can type GO MW to get to
their section in the Electronic Mall here on CIS.
Dick,
I posted this info elsewhere, but I'm including it again along with the
number for MacWarehouse.
Quantum Info:
Quantum technical support lines are open Monday through Thursday from 7:00
AM to 5:00 PM and Friday From 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM PST.
The Technical Support telephone number in the U.S. is (800) 826-8022.
The following 24-hour services are available:
o Fax-On-Demand (800) 4DISKFAX
o BBS (408) 894-3214
o MegaHaus Orders (800) 786-1158
o MegaHaus Tech (713) 333-1944 Mon-Fri 9 AM-6 PM CST
o Future Domain (714) 253-0440
o BBS (714) 253-0432
Toshiba mechanism TMX 5201B
o MacWarehouse (800) 255-6227 item# BND 0507 3X-CDROM drive $199
Christopher
Christopher,
I picked up the Toshiba 3501 quad speed. I plugged it in. It works. Now
I'm looking to find some way to use it other than an AmiNet CD-ROM via the
OS 3.1 driver.
Robb