CompuServe Thread

A-Max w/SyQuest & Supra?

18 messages in this thread
#5778From: Jim SmithNov 10, 1990 11:45 PM
Anyone know how to use a Syquest as an A-Max drive? I have a 2000 with a Supra Wordsynch interface.
#5843From: Steven D. KapplinNov 11, 1990 4:55 PM
When Supra releases the amax driver, which should be shortly. I talked with them about 10 days ago and they were predicting a couple of weeks. They have an amax driver for the ByteSync, but the WordSync is still in the making. You might check with them in a week or so, it may be ready.
#5931From: Ramanjeet Singh AnandNov 12, 1990 3:52 AM
I called them last week and they told me that they would not give me the date when it is released. I asked them if it is still 2 weeks and they said most likely. I have just about given up on Supra and am going with GVPII or TrumpPro. I will still keep Supra for my 2nd HD (faster than gaving 2 HDs on one card). What is the current Supra Formatter version? Raman
#5935From: Steven D. KapplinNov 12, 1990 11:05 AM
Raman, I believe the current version is 1.10 with a letter which I don't recall. They told me on last call that the ByteSync version was done and that work was progressing on the WordSync. In a previous call they had told me that they were having problems with the drive hanging, but that they were nearing completion. I suspect that a driver should be forthcoming pretty soon.
#6092From: Jim SmithNov 13, 1990 11:26 PM
OK, sounds good. Thanks everyone…
#5851From: Steve HallNov 11, 1990 7:32 PM
Shouldn't be anything special…the only thing that might be a problem is seeing the cartridge changes. Most SyQuest drives for the Mac come with a small INIT that sees the cart changes. Now, if one of these INITs would work with the A-Max, you could use that. I would call ReadySoft and ask 'em… – Steve –
#5900From: Mike SchillerNov 11, 1990 10:55 PM
Steve: I run AMax using a syquest cartridge as the boot HD, and I found if i dragged the disk icon into the trashcan the drive would spin down (without even pushing the little button!) and could then possibly be removed and replaced with a different cart. I don't know this is positivly so, as I don't have another Syquest cart formatted for amax. I will try this in the near future though. -Mike Schiller In sunny Fort Lauderdale
#6040From: Steve HallNov 13, 1990 1:41 PM
Thanks…what HD controller do you have? I have had a HardFrame for over a year and a half and I really like it. After talking with MicroBotics a while back, I got discouraged that they were not going to come out with an A-MAX driver, so I bought a TrumpCard Pro only to find out that they weren't going to have a driver out for a couple of months! Well, I just found out that ReadySoft has all the necessary stuff from MicroBotics and will have a driver out for all MicroBotics controllers by the end of November! I thought the TC Pro was supposed to be a screamer, but it's quite a bit slower than the H.F. So…I have to either sell the TC Pro or return it. Any takers? – Steve –
#6106From: Ramanjeet Singh AnandNov 14, 1990 1:52 AM
What controllers are currently compatible with AMAXII? I have a Supra WORDSYNC2000 , which does not work presently with AMAX2. I 'm considering GVPII/SCSI but I don't have enough info on this. Is it compatible? Raman
#6115From: ICD, Inc.Nov 14, 1990 6:30 AM
Include the ICD AdSCSI 2000. The AMAX driver is shipping. Craig
#6668From: Art SteinmetzNov 20, 1990 5:08 PM
I am using the GVP II with the Ricoh 50meg (46 formatted) removable cartridge. It works like a charm. Extremely easy to set up, too. It's nice to have a 46meg Mac hard drive you can turn back to an Amiga drive just by swapping cartridges. Only drawback – the GVP formatting software won't let you partition removable devices. — Art
#6683From: Mike SchillerNov 20, 1990 9:09 PM
Art: What version of Fastprep are you using? I have a SyQuest drive hooked to a GVP series II controller, and have NO problem partitioning cartridges. I usually make all my cartridges the same (one large partition), however I do have one cartridge that I have partitioned with 2 partitions, 1 1meg partition, and one 41meg partition that I use as an AMax drive. (the 1 meg partition is used to boot the machine from right into the AMAX program, so I sort of have a Mac on a cartridge! -Mike Schiller In sunny Fort Lauderdale
#6880From: Art SteinmetzNov 23, 1990 10:25 AM
That's exactly what I want to do! I have the Ricoh drive so maybe that's the issue. I guess I have to call my dealer. BTW, is there a way you can start A-Max without going through the setup screen and clicking "Go A-Max?" — Art
#6923From: Mike SchillerNov 24, 1990 3:34 AM
Art: (And anyone else interested) I just solved a problem with my SyQuest drive that had been driving me crazy for a while now for a while. I have a SyQuest installed in my system hooked onto a GVP SeriesII controller, and the SyQuest seemed to go at about floppy speeds. I was pretty sure this wasn't the way it should work, as many people told me that the SyQuest drives are about the speed of Seagate 157N's. I mount the SyQuest drive as SyQ: in the mountlist rather than relying on the RDB so I can boot the machine without a cartridge in it, and still be able to just pop a cartridge in and go. I just downloaded some info from GVP's new BBS (I don't have the number handy) that mentioned that SyQuest drives had a problem with the disconnect/reconnect options, and that they need to have it set to off or else the drive will run at floppy like speeds! By simply using GVP's GVPCtrl program I was able to set DC to off, and now the syquest flies! -Mike Schiller In sunny Fort Lauderdale
#6940From: Art SteinmetzNov 24, 1990 12:46 PM
That's very interesting. Glad you got it working properly. Is there a way you can automatically create a mountlist entry from the RDB info? — Art via Amiga Whap!
#6974From: Mike SchillerNov 24, 1990 7:25 PM
Art: When you originally preped & formatted you drive (either SyQuest ot Ricoh, doesn't really matter) did you format it from Fastprep? If so there should be a file on the drive called DHn_Mountlist (where n is the unit #) that is the mountlist entry info. Just edit you devs:mountlist file, and insert that file, and that should work. -Mike Schiller In sunny Fort Lauderdale
#6732From: Ramanjeet Singh AnandNov 21, 1990 2:40 AM
How does RICOH compare to SyQuest? How much are RICOH disks and where aRE THEY available (Mail Order)? DO you like the GVPII formatting software? Raman
#6164From: Mike SchillerNov 14, 1990 9:21 PM
Steve: I'm running GVP new series II controller with 2 megs of memory on it. I don't know for sure, but I think the new GVP is faster than the hardframe. -Mike Schiller In sunny Fort Lauderdale