Disk-swapping problems with Amiga 1200

Katzii · Groupie in Training Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 40

Wow, huge thanks for the pictures, MIK! I will have to have a tinker; wish me luck!

MIK UK · Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:18 pm Post subject:

What you do with the drive there after is your business. Not something I've looked in to my self... Basic cleaning fine. Just be careful and ask others for advice for anything more technical.

Good luck! Very Happy

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A1200T, Apollo 1260, 32MB RAM, 3.1 ROMS, 4GB HD, Z4 Board, Picasso II, IOBlix (Serial/Parallel), Squirrel SCSI, 2X CD, IDE 100MB Zip Drive, OS - DOpus Magellan II. Plus an A500+ Yum.

Katzii · Groupie in Training Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 40

Thanks muchly!

I did take apart the Amiga today and well... There was a shameful amount of dust in there. The inside condition isn't great and I can probably take responsibility for that seeing as it was in the loft all that time (I don't even remember from whom we got it but I don't think it was well-kept).

At the very least, I managed to blow all the dust out of it with an air can, and had a go at blowing out the disk drive. It now reads the first KQ6 disk again (hooray!). But I still can't get it to read any disks beyond that so goodness knows. I suppose that may mean the drive is conking out in which case I would probably have to look for a replacement one?

I have my external drive coming to me in the mail, so we will see what that does. If I have an external drive, am I able to use that as my primary drive over the one in the system itself?

If that doesn't solve the problem, I will either be in the market for a new internal disk drive or I may have to bite the bullet and buy an Amiga that's in better nick.

Thank you again!

Katzii · Groupie in Training Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 40

YESSSS

External disk drive did the trick!

Thank you all again for your brilliant help!

It would seem the drive in my Amiga itself can't detect disk changes. Would it be a good idea to replace it?

MIK UK · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 11:41 am Post subject:

Cool.

I would be tempted to replace it my self, something up with it any way. If no one else can help as to why it's messing about then yeah another drive would be your best bet. Don't give up on that DF1 as it's perfect for what your doing now and ultimately will save any DF0 from wearing out sooner.

At least your sorted for now. Very Happy

You can try holding down both mouse buttons as you switch your machine on to get the menu's up. Disable DF0 from there and see if everything will boot from DF1. If this works with some games then just remember when you switch off your have to disable DF0 every time by holding both mouse buttons down as you boot up.

Good result so far! Have fun. Smile

_________________
A1200T, Apollo 1260, 32MB RAM, 3.1 ROMS, 4GB HD, Z4 Board, Picasso II, IOBlix (Serial/Parallel), Squirrel SCSI, 2X CD, IDE 100MB Zip Drive, OS - DOpus Magellan II. Plus an A500+ Yum.

Katzii · Groupie in Training Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 40

Cheers Mik - is there anything I should search for in particular, or should I just look for an "Amiga 1200 floppy drive"?

Also, is there any way to find out how much RAM my system has and whether it has a hard drive? I got told by one of my Dizzy games that I have more than 1MB of RAM but not how much. I don't think it has a harddrive, since the H.Disk light never seems to do anything, but do I really need a harddrive?

MIK UK · Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:05 pm Post subject:

If you can find an A1200 internal drive then great, not sure where tho. Another way could be to buy another A1200, cheap as possible. Have one great clean and in good working order A1200 out of the two you own and keep the other for spares. Anything that comes with it is a bonus such as software, joysticks even a monitor if your lucky ect...

If no harddrive light ever shows up on the case after switching it on with no disc in it then that's a no, no you don't have one.

All A1200's as standard come with 2meg of Chip Ram. If there is a memory board in the trap door, on the underside to open and you would of seen it when taking it apart then you could have more. 2 MEG is great for gaming in general covering many of the classics.

You don't need a harddrive if you want to play many of the classic games. If you plan on getting hold of original games, 99% are on floppy disc so your be fine. Originals rule if the price is right. Wink

Today some people have a CF cards, it works like a harddrive. This is so they can download games off the web and use something like WHLoad to play them. In this case extra memory is required most of the time as the machine has to bootup which will eat into your 2meg chip ram and then your need some to load a game... Harddrive or CF drive and a memory board go together really.
_________________
A1200T, Apollo 1260, 32MB RAM, 3.1 ROMS, 4GB HD, Z4 Board, Picasso II, IOBlix (Serial/Parallel), Squirrel SCSI, 2X CD, IDE 100MB Zip Drive, OS - DOpus Magellan II. Plus an A500+ Yum.

Katzii · Groupie in Training Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 40

Thanks, MIK - I tried looking on eBay for Amiga 1200s, but they're a bit too expensive for my budget right now! It's okay though because I suppose I should exercise SOME form of restraint Wink

Looks like I haven't got a harddrive, but I suppose as long as I can play some games, that's all I need! If I've got at least 2MB of RAM then, I think I will also be good in that respect.

Again, I really appreciate all your help! I feel like I'm becoming slightly less of a "newbie" in Amiga knowledge thanks to this thread!

Katzii · Groupie in Training Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 40

Just wanted to thank you all again for the help; I sourced another internal drive and not only does it read and swap disks beautifully, it also doesn't make nasty grinding sounds like my other one did!

MIK UK · Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 2:51 pm Post subject:

Wow it didn't take you long to find another internal drive. Awesome to hear you all sorted and running like a dream!

Happy times a head on you Amiga once again. Enjoy! Very Happy

_________________
A1200T, Apollo 1260, 32MB RAM, 3.1 ROMS, 4GB HD, Z4 Board, Picasso II, IOBlix (Serial/Parallel), Squirrel SCSI, 2X CD, IDE 100MB Zip Drive, OS - DOpus Magellan II. Plus an A500+ Yum.

Katzii · Groupie in Training Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 40

Managed to get a good deal on an internal and an external with someone (cheaper for both than it would be to just get an internal), so I couldn't pass it up, and now I can load three disks at once!

Definitely gonna be having some good times; thank you again for all your brilliant help, MIK, and I'm definitely keeping this thread bookmarked for future reference! Smile