Retronaut
Well-known member
Yeah, it IS Summer, I had thought maybe he was on his hols
Help needed getting A2SCSI card visible on Apple IIgs
- Thread starter Retronaut
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Retronaut
Well-known member
I'm agree, there may be some kind of mis-configuration between my card and the GGLabs design. I have a feeling it could be the ROM, maybe it has been incorrectly written with the original Apple SCSI ROM. The GGLabs product page states it has altered the original ROM slightly to remove its ID configuration and instead hard-coded this to 7 in hardware and on a PATCHED ROM and Driver set. Maybe the ROM on my card does not have this patched, so it does not work with the patched drivers (or any others).
I was wondering, if anyone here with a working (on IIgs/GSOS) A2SCSI has an EPROM burner? If so, would it be possible to read the data from their working card and post it here? I can then check this vs my cards ROM and see if they match. What also would really help is a decent, well lit, 4k photo of the chip side of a known working card. I have read others saying when a certain chip was replaced on their card, it started working. Though I think this was more from a totally dead state...
I was wondering, if anyone here with a working (on IIgs/GSOS) A2SCSI has an EPROM burner? If so, would it be possible to read the data from their working card and post it here? I can then check this vs my cards ROM and see if they match. What also would really help is a decent, well lit, 4k photo of the chip side of a known working card. I have read others saying when a certain chip was replaced on their card, it started working. Though I think this was more from a totally dead state...
You can save the ROM banks to files using the built in monitor. Based on my notes I think this dumps the rom of the card in slot 7, first bank 0 as a file ROM0:
i may have mistyped something. Perhaps someone with better assembly knowledge could review and confirm?
Code:
call-151
lda #0
CFFF
C700 # read slot 7 should activate it
C0FA:0
1000<CC00.CFFFM # copy 1024bytes rom to loc 100
BSAVE ROM0,A$1000,L$400 -- save 1024 bytes starting at 1800i may have mistyped something. Perhaps someone with better assembly knowledge could review and confirm?
waynestewart
Well-known member
I have a BlueSCSI and a ZuluSCSI that I’ve used with an Apple Rev C SCSI card.
I had problems with the BlueSCSI card and the Rev C. Sometimes it’d boot, sometimes nothing would happen.
The ZuluSCSI worked well all the time with the Rev C, Hi-speed and Ramfast SCSI cards.
I had problems with the BlueSCSI card and the Rev C. Sometimes it’d boot, sometimes nothing would happen.
The ZuluSCSI worked well all the time with the Rev C, Hi-speed and Ramfast SCSI cards.
Retronaut
Well-known member
I have a ZuluSCSI, but it uses a 50 pin internal SCSI connector. I DO now have an adapter that goes from 25pin external to 50 pin internal. Only issue is, that adapters 25pin is female, and it needs to be male to connect to the A2SCSI card. I have some gender changers ordered from Amazon. Those should then allow me to try the ZuluSCSI with this card. Apart from that, ideally I need a ROM image from a working example of the GGLabs A2SCSI card, I need to verify that MY card is using the same ROM data as in a working example.
Retronaut
Well-known member
Quick update, the SCSI gender changers just arrived, and I put a ZuluSCSI 1.1 into use, as a replacement for the BlueSCSIv2 external model I have been using until now. Luckily they can use the same images, so I used a previous GSOS 6.0.4 image to boot into, and.... no change, same complaint during boot that the SCSI drivers are missing.
I guess now I'll have to wait and see if someone can dump a ROM from a working A2SCSI card, or if Mr GGLabs comes back from their Summer holiday.
I guess now I'll have to wait and see if someone can dump a ROM from a working A2SCSI card, or if Mr GGLabs comes back from their Summer holiday.
As per the GS/OS source, the following ROM detection is done to determine if an "old" (not High Speed) Apple SCSI card is installed.
It then checks code in the I/O select space at $Cn00 thru $Cn57 where n = slot number.
It points to bank $00 then checks $C8XX for $02 (this is a check for the ROM revision, driver only works with Rev. C)
It then checks code in the I/O select space at $Cn00 thru $Cn57 where n = slot number.
It points to bank $00 then checks $C8XX for $02 (this is a check for the ROM revision, driver only works with Rev. C)
Retronaut
Well-known member
Yes, they have been
Retronaut
Well-known member
Are you saying if X value is in mem address Y then the driver will not work with the card? I'm not up to speed on how you would check this, not used the memory monitor on the II or IIgs. Any chance you could write how to check this down, step by step?
Retronaut
Well-known member
Interesting, Tindie have a sign up for reminder feature, it will email me when GGLabs flips the switch back on
Retronaut
Well-known member
My card has the same ROM version. On the back of the card, there is a number, 610-0013-001, I assume that may be some kind of version number? Apart from that, there is a sticker with a QR code and a VERY long number. Images attached. I think it may be the same revision. Are you able to dump the ROM?
Attachments
nglayton
Active member
The back of mine is the same. Except the long number is different. Perhaps a serial number of some kind? I'll get the ROM shortly....
Attachments
nglayton
Active member
I have attached a zipped dump of my ROM.
However I believe it to be nothing other than the standard Apple Rev C version.
You can download that from here https://downloads.reactivemicro.com/Apple II Items/ROM_and_JEDEC/Apple_II_SCSI_Card/
However I believe it to be nothing other than the standard Apple Rev C version.
You can download that from here https://downloads.reactivemicro.com/Apple II Items/ROM_and_JEDEC/Apple_II_SCSI_Card/
Retronaut
Well-known member
Well, thats the thing, this is a line from the GGLabs product page for the A2SCSI
"1- Removal of the 74LS240 chip used for the card SCSI ID. The ID has been fixed to 7 in the patched SCSI ROM and patched GSOS driver."
At the bottom of that page is a link to the GSOS SCSI driver, and one would expect the ROM on the card to be the patched SCSI ROM they mention here. As a pair the modified driver and ROM would work. But if one of the two WERE just the stock item then you can imagine that the driver may not work with the ROM. Its a theory, I can now compare your working ROM with mine, and also I shall compare their data with the stock ROM, they should NOT match it...
Retronaut
Well-known member
Well nglayton thanks for dumping the ROM from your card, I have now also downloaded the original Apple ROM and also dumped mine and then compared all 3, and.... they appear to be identical. So, paint me confused. What exactly is GGLabs on about on their product page that they have patched the driver AND the ROM... It appears the ROM is verbatim the Apple one.
Still no sign of GGLabs comming back from their PTO, at least on Tindie. Its is now 20 days they have been away. Guess this could be up the Orinoco. Anyone here have a personal email for GGLabs they could use to check if they are still in the game. I'm worried that some illness has befallen him or...
Still no sign of GGLabs comming back from their PTO, at least on Tindie. Its is now 20 days they have been away. Guess this could be up the Orinoco. Anyone here have a personal email for GGLabs they could use to check if they are still in the game. I'm worried that some illness has befallen him or...
nglayton
Active member
So if you rule out your ROM, then it has to be one of the other chips. I think GGLabs product page is referring to rev2 or 3 of the card. I believe ours are rev1 cards.
GGLabs has done this in the past, they seem to disappear and then come back quite often. But for how long I can not say.
Well, that makes it an impossible fix for me. I have no schematic, no idea what chips do what. I have to hope that GGLabs returns from their hols soon to give some tech support on this $159 paperweight here. As it stands, it could mount only a SINGLE SCSI device. And I get a driver moan, which I have to click past on each boot. So its kind of useless. A Booti is cheaper, can mount 8 devices and just works.
I did a little digging on mr GGLabs, turns out he is employed by a leading electronics manufacturer, so I suppose a 21+ vacation could be on the cards OR he is super busy in work with some nutso release that demands 150% of his time...
