Add the readily available and cheap mSATA Solid State Drives to your Amiga!

[@amigaretro4765]

In hopes to clarify the difference between mSATA and the M.2 Specification, as pointed out by several viewers: "M.2 SSD can support SATA or PCle interface, while the mSATA SSD can only support the SATA interface". For more detailed information visit: www.partitionwizard.com/clone-disk/msata-vs-m2.html The interface Adapter Voltage Switch, that many have asked questions about is explained here: In the video @6:45 , you will see the somewhat legible text "Please Select the Input Voltage" on the silk screen pointing toward the switch. This switch is for changing the the Input Voltage, between 5 Volts and 3.3 Volts. This enables the onboard voltage regulator to power the mSATA drive at the correct voltage. Since the Amiga supplies 5 volts on the IDE header, the switch needs to be in the 5 Volt position. If this switch is set to 3.3 Volts, the mSATA device may be damaged by overvoltage.

[@75slaine]

I like the idea of using the SDBox to host the AmigaOS CD. I must try that one myself on next install. I was primarily using it for file transfer between my A500's 1.3 WB install and my PC.

[@amigaretro4765]

It is a great solution to the usual problems when trying to install the most modern Amiga OS's onto a new or existing devices. The install came as one of the options when I purchased my SDBox, I added the latest updates later on.

[@tomfrodetaksdal6348]

Nice video. I like that you left in the error with the T assign, as this is probably an error many would get and now they know how to fix it 😊

[@amigaretro4765]

Thanks. I like to leave my mistakes/errors in my videos so others can learn from them. This practice can have it's downsides, such as drawing harsh criticism from time to time, but it's worth it.

[@milk-it]

Me too. It shows users, that the Amiga OS uses T: as a temporary folder for storage during installations. It's such an easy fix when you know what it is and how to fix it. That caught me out a couple of times back in the 1980s when I first got an Amiga 2000 during a hard disk installation. A friend had to come over and fix it exactly with those two commands.

[@epremeaux]

@9:20 not sure if youll get to this later in the video but note the NOTE on the adapter top left with the switch saying 5V 3.3V. the A1200 is a 5V IDE device, so the switch should stay left like yours. it may be tempting for someone to flip the switch, especially since the mSATA drive sticker says 3.3V. I think flipping the switch to 3.3V may directly connect the drive to the A1200 5V rail?

[@amigaretro4765]

I believe this switch enables the Voltage regulator when using 5 Volts to supply the mSATA with the required 3.3Volts. If this is the case, setting the switch to 3.3V may harm the mSATA device. I would need to perform some tests to confirm this. I added further clarification to the pinned comment at the top of this video forum. Thanks 😀

[@jensschroder8214]

At that time I had a hard drive larger than 4MB. For this I had to use a different file system. This was loaded into the bootloader area of ​​the hard drive. Another method was to make the first drive smaller than 2MB and load the file system from there. Then the Amiga did a soft reset again with the new fast file system.

[@amigaretro4765]

One of the best features of OS 3.1.4+ is that it natively supports partition sizes greater than 2GB/4GB . No more patches for larger drives :)

[@off1k]

@@amigaretro4765 I thought the limit for Workbench 3.0/3.1 was 8GBHD with 2GB Partitions using FFS (fast filesystem), I remember buying a 13GB HD for my A1200 back in the day only for it to detect 8GB only. Had to change the filesystem to break the 8GB limit, think it was either PFS (professional filesystem) or SFS (smart filesystem). But as you say once KS 3.1.4 and WB 3.1.4 and 3.2 arrived then this was fixed but they still didn't update the file system fully. I've changed all my partitions to PFS3 for my A1200 and using WB3.2, My A500+ with ACA500+ uses PFS3 already as default. So my A500+ with ACA500PLUS and with the ACA1221LC accelerator or 68k@42Mhz, on a Compact Flash HD. The drive speed I was getting was over 6MB/s. It would be interesting to see the mSATA drive with PFS3 installed.

[@al.d9592]

thanks for the video! I like the advantage of the case, as isolating the adapter is always a must. On the other hand you need the sd box. Cf cards can alternatively be put into a pc where one can install the os via winuae

[@amigaretro4765]

I am glad you liked the Video. I use both solutions as well. I really Like the SD Box since you can use it on any Amiga model. Cool stuff.

[@MrLukealbanese]

Fantastic to see you back Allen 😊😊😊

[@amigaretro4765]

I'll try not to let another 4 months pass until my next video 😁

[@Boris_Amiga1200]

Very good video! Nice explanation of all! Keep on!

[@E5150.]

A quick correction: mSATA is not m.2. They are different size, have different connection and are not interchangeable. Great video! Cheers

[@316diag]

True. Mini-SATA ("mSATA") is the same connector as the PCIe Mini connector, but does not provide PCIe to the interface, SATA only. M.2 connector is narrower, but does provide PCIe, as well as SATA and USB 3. The 4 extra pins on an IDE44 connector are for power.

[@gjvidrine]

Great video as always, Excellent

[@felixokeefe]

Using a mSATA has a number of advantages over compact flash. Typically CF cards do not support wear leveling. Do not have a DRAM cache and do not support SMART. mSATA drives typically do.

[@amigaretro4765]

Indeed. I plan on performing a series of proper comparison tests between mSATA and CF cards on the Amiga 1200, in a future Video. Thanks for watching!

[@BillAnt]

CFcards have the advantage of being cheaper and easier to replace being external. But of course for higher performance mSATA is a better solution.

[@amigaretro4765]

@@BillAnt The ease of swapping CF Cards is a definite advantage 👌

[@felixokeefe]

Maybe an adapter for CFexpress would be a best of both worlds solution.

[@SeeJayPlayGames]

cheap drives don't have a DRAM cache. It can be difficult to determine which ones do while trying to buy one.

[@mikedefoy]

Good stuff. I would put electrical tape over the exposed metal bits that are exposed under the case just to play it safe for any potential shorts on the motherboard. I always had problems with ribbon cables, so I would entertain a molded 90° connector to use instead in my own machine.

[@amigaretro4765]

A good idea. I am not sure why the case didn't come with a bottom cover. Currently the 90 Degree connectors I have cannot accommodate thew case the controller is mounted in. If removed, it will. As you suggested, if I did that I could always supply some insulation at the bottom of the card, as I have in the pas on the CF to IDE adapters.

[@billcarson9565]

Excellent vid, i have just ordered them but went for the 128gb drives as they were stupidly cheaper.

[@amigaretro4765]

For reasons unknown 😄Less popular brands can be cheaper still, though the trust factor may match the price.

[@billcarson9565]

@@amigaretro4765 i'd stick with known brands, worth the extra cost and peace of mind

[@SeeJayPlayGames]

@@amigaretro4765 supply and demand and economies of scale. 128GB or even 256GB is the minimum that is in demand lately for PCs so that's the cheapest option because they make them by the truckload. It's starting to make more sense to get 500GB or more in terms of GB/$. I semi-recently (April 2024) got a SATA 2.5" SSD (I don't have an m.2 interface of any kind), 240GB for $18 US.

[@stephenwhite506]

I wonder if you can also use it in a compact flash to USB adaptor connected to a PC to work with WinUAE? That would be a convenient way to set up the drive and copy files over.

[@amigaretro4765]

It does work with a USB interface that accepts 44-pin IDE drives. I tested this earlier yester day 😀

[@ChrisThomas-lt8jd]

@@amigaretro4765 IMHO using WinUAE for setup and transfer would be a better solution. Its faster, you can backup the original drive along the way, then transfer its files onto the new device, pop some cheeky new files on there (VERY quickly) if needed and THEN put the Sata device in the real machine. Im a big fan of REAL hardware, but using WinUAE for drive setup and data transfer, is a bit of a killer feature of it...

[@fmlazar]

One way that would have made this faster and a lot less complicated would have been to just put an ISO of the 3.2 disk on the P Drive. With 3.2 you would just click on it to mount and just run the installer.

[@milk-it]

Nice work. Thanks for the walk through!

[@amigaretro4765]

No problem 👍

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

4096MB is being used as a buffer or is being used as the VFAT.

[@KretOen]

9:10 Hi. It makes me wonder why you didn't switch in the upper right corner from 5v to 3.3v, after all you have mSata on 3.3v?

[@amigaretro4765]

Thanks for watching. The switch is for the Input Voltage, this enables the voltage regulator to power the mSATA drive at the correct voltage. Since the Amiga supplies 5 volts on the IDE header, the switch needs to be in the 5 volt position.

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

1024MB might have been a good starting point.

[@NightSprinter]

What to do with it? Oh, I don't know, maybe the entire WHDLoad archive (given it IS a 1200), all the Amiga-compatible songs from the MOD Archive, and whatever creativity and productivity software you want. WHDLoad alone is gonna take up at least 10GB decompressed.

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

Does the AMIGA not have SCSI interface that could have been used with a SCSILVD to mSATA adapter.

[@amigaretro4765]

Only the AMIGA 3000 had SCSI natively, that I am aware of. All other models require an Add-on SCSI card or Interface. The behavior of these devices with new hardware may vary depending on their design (Bus Width, DMA, onboard SCSI ROMs. etc.).

[@ChrisThomas-lt8jd]

Hey, if you can swing the cash, buy a pair of RODE Wireless II Go microphones. A single mic is all that is needed for your setup. Turn it on, pop it on your lapel and record the video. Then sync its audio with your cameras audio and you'll get a MUCH more professional output. No background sounds, just your voice. Think about all the food you wont spoil :)

[@amigaretro4765]

I have tried different microphones in the past but haven't found anything that seemed to work as well as I expected. I will definitely give your suggestion a shot., probably in time for my next video, Thanks :)

[@ChrisThomas-lt8jd]

@@amigaretro4765 I bought the pack, which has the receiver and two microphones. The receiver is not necassary, I mainly use a single microphone which can be setup to auto record when turned on. I have found it works very well. The 2nd mic has been useful for interviews, but other than that it COULD I suppose be put next to a noisy thing, a hard disk or fan to show it off in video. I have not tried a lavalier ext mic with it, but that might be on my list to buy, as the RODE is a little big and can hang awkwardly off some collars. But overall its been pretty epic. BTW, if you want, I think you CAN connect the receiver to your phone/camera and get the mic to record ONTO the video audio, replacing it. BUT I find the video audio is usefully sometimes as it picks up more background sound, which can be mixed into a video if i imroves it. Anway, try the RODE kit, you wont be disapointed :)

[@amigaretro4765]

I shall, Thanks :)

[@martinclark1411]

do u have a link to this adapter as i have similar ones but they leave the hdd light glowing slightly but constantly and often do not boot first time unless i connect them to the amiga through a right angles ka47 ide board

[@amigaretro4765]

Here you go: www.amazon.com/Profile-Half-Heigh-Enclosure-Notebook-Laptop/dp/B083LXPF91/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NJ7RIEYULEST&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wxqyn-g5xQkbsz8blr-H3sSk_CCwW9aDMRqmqLCWdn8xGTbZR_uZhe0TgUXEw3famiWkIsFaAVWda-IZ1pRHn-uDhTcZ26itWwtjpBXpOemr2fWV3yxrygbSbTS849xAjxp6gt6NZFQslHqckbrSYVEe5NWxfdj5ZVMF8034rud25bLIRPKGFSP-9X_sLI-royNoxhJnvOsP0GcwQgQk1a1LY5fSUEJ3iQkcFjj-uK0.2lw05WBhFSV32VnQLj_GWTOgzH3_7wG1WfwE94k4ujk&dib_tag=se&keywords=chenyang+mSATA+Mini+SATA+SSD+to+IDE+44Pin+2.5+inch+Half-Heigh+Hard+Disk+Case+Enclosure+Box+for+Notebook+Laptop&qid=1725637699&sprefix=chenyang+msata+mini+sata+ssd+to+ide+44pin+2.5+inch+half-heigh+hard+disk+case+enclosure+box+for+notebook+laptop%2Caps%2C66&sr=8-1

[@martinclark1411]

@@amigaretro4765 tried them now, hdd light slightly glows and then wont boot, if i use the ka47 and plug it into that it boots just fine and hdd light works properly but as the ka47 needs the drive to face left in the amiga instead of the right then the interface is too long so cant shut the amiga case, so the interfaces i already have physically fit better (both these and my interfaces both need the KA47 to work correctly), for anyone else who wants to do this then you will need a KA47 & the interfaces i use which are M811 (pls note there is other M811 types with another letter in model name and they dont work at all)

[@HenrikG1963]

Nice video. Clearly explained. But should the adapter switch be set to 3.3 volt instead of 5 volt. 8:48 in the video you can see the mSATA is running on 3.3 volt an the adapter is set to 5 volt. 🙂

[@amigaretro4765]

Thanks for watching. The switch is for the Input Voltage, this enables the voltage regulator to power the mSATA drive at the correct voltage. Since the Amiga supplies 5 volts on the IDE header, the switch needs to be in the 5 volt position.

[@AnthonyPaulus-ub6mx]

I've got one of these in my A1200 HD very good and cheap. The only issue with it I've noticed that the HD light stays on all the time regardless if it reading or writing to the drive which should not be happening. I'm just wondering if a jumper is needed to make it Master or Slave as the item doesn't come with any paperwork to say what those 4 pins are used for so in my case I need to find out why the HD light stays on as this wasn't happening when using a CF card reader as that does have a jumper to indicate if Master or Slave. Hope someone can come up with an answer on this. The drive it's self is working great just this light issue that needs sorting.

[@amigaretro4765]

I'll see if my A1200 Setup behaves this way later this month and get back to you.

[@AnthonyPaulus-ub6mx]

@@amigaretro4765 I've now tried out two boards and getting the same results HD Light remains on so not a good upgrade. Until there is data available regarding those 4 pins which I think are for setting to Master/Slave but without information you just don't know. On CF card carriers you get a jumper to set to Master/Slave and in turn gives no HD light issues. But I've now reverted back to using CF card and no more HD light issues and to be honest I've not seen any speed gains when loading on my system. Your idea is very good but not a great solution unless you can live with HD light staying on all the time on the Amiga 1200. Myself I can't hence my return to CF card usage.

[@amigaretro4765]

I'll see if I experience the same behavior, on my A1200 and A600 in a couple of weeks and report back, perhaps in Video format. Thanks for the Feedback.

[@johnpaulbacon8320]

Very interesting.

[@rossedwards6503]

How did you calculate the amount of Buffers you needed? I see you increased to 80

[@amigaretro4765]

No calculations were used. Amiga OS > 3.1 defaults t0 80 versus the usual 30 (for FFS). I guess they assume you would have more system memory available in this day and age. SFS recommends 200 buffers. This can eat a bit of memory if have multiple partitions that use this filesystem.

[@rossedwards6503]

@@amigaretro4765 ok thanks, I'm trying to figure out best setting with A600 and 9.5MB ram (Furia) & 3x4gb partitions. I went with PFS as it seemed to work well on my A1200.

[@amigaretro4765]

@@rossedwards6503 I found this on the internet of things, it may help since the author explains disk buffers in a bit more detail than the Amiga OS Manuals... www.jaruzel.com/amiga/amiga-os-command-reference-help/addbuffers.html#:~:text=The%20default%20buffer%20allocation%20is%205%20for%20floppy,by%20taking%20RAM%20away%20from%20other%20system%20functions.

[@symosys]

Are there 2 x USB on the rear of your A1200?

[@amigaretro4765]

Not at the moment, why don you ask?

[@ThorstenDrews]

M.2 SATA and mSATA are different form factors and different connectors and not interchangable. You should clearify that.

[@amigaretro4765]

Noted and added to the pinned comment.

[@skideric]

Actually the mSATA Mini is Half that Size @ 26.8mm....

[@karolwojtyla3047]

Nice, but one question, what for? SD to IDE adapter are much cheeper and SD cards too, internal controller from ice age in A1200 sees no difference. 😉

[@amigaretro4765]

There was a slight speed increase over the CF card, thought in real world practice it would not be very noticeable. in general mSATA drives can cost less than most CF Cards and you have a choice of larger capacities. Also, some CF cards do not play well with the Amiga, this may help resolve this issue. That being said, as with most things in life, use what you believe best suits your needs. It's always nice to have options.

[@oleurgast730]

Actually he wrote about sd2ide, not cf2ide. You can get sd2ide adapters quite cheap - and SD/ microSD cards also cost a lot less than cf or mSata. Also there are extension cables for SD and microSD, so you can make it exchangable without opening the case. So quite simple to setup in an emulator on PC and also quite easy to backup and restore. Anyway imho the best solution is using two ide2sata adapters (one master, one slave) in the A1200. One SATA inside to a Sata2mSATA or SATA2SD as internal harddrive, second SATA to an external eSATA connector. This allows to easaly connect a SATA CD/DVD drive externaly - or an IDE-CD/DVD-slim line drive, if you use an IDE slim drive adapter and a Sata to IDE-adapter. Last seems a bit silly on first glance, but actually is the best way to connect a cd drive to the internal ide of an Amiga. While the internal IDE is unbuffered, the IDE2SATA also acts as a buffer. So the SATA/eSata can be quite long without problem. The reason to use an IDE-CD/DVD drive externaly with Sata2ide and ide to slimline adapter and not a Sata cd: SATA CD/DVD do not have analoge audio out. So with SATA CD you only can read audio-cd's digitally, while many Amiga CD-player software just use the drive to play the audio. The IDE to slimeline adapter provides the analoge out... I do not have an A1200 but tested it on an A2000 with buddha IDE. Actually the reason for testing was less about adding a hd, but to reuse a CDTV (replacing the drive with a slim-line slot-in cd/dvd drive + using a pistorm or vampire)

[@amigaretro4765]

@@oleurgast730 I have not had a good experience with SD Cards and the variety of adapters they can be paired with, usually compatibility issues, more so than CF Cards. That being said, the intent of my Video is to introduce another storage option for the Amiga, to those who have not explored that avenue. I should have made that more clear at the begging of the Video, for that I apologize.

[@oleurgast730]

​@@amigaretro4765You are totaly correct about the relibility of mSATA over SD. The two main advantages of SD are the price and the easy way to put it into a PC to do a backup. As flash storage isn't a reliable long-term storage, neither USB-storage sticks, nor SD, nor SATA drives nor mSATA, nor CF are realy optimal for a Retro Computer. So personaly I prefer to backup the final installation as an image. An SD with the slot easy acessible makes that much more easy. So for mSATA it might be a good idea to use an IDE2SATA-Adapter, a SATA cable and place an Sata2mSATA Adapter under the trepdoor, so you can access the hd without having to unscew the Amiga. You still need an mSata2usb to use it for connecting it to the PC. Of course, it very depends on the Amiga used and other extensions inside. Using mSATA definitly is the most compact solution. However, on bigbox Amigas I use normal SATA-Drives with IDE2SATA. It depends a lot what you already have. I have some normal SSDs with 128GB, barely used, as I swapped them for bigger ones after about 6 months. Quite nice to use in bigbox Amigas.

[@madigorfkgoogle9349]

@@amigaretro4765 never had any problems with those cheap Chinese SD2IDE44 adapters. The overall cost is around 12USD for entire solution, yes the speed is probably slightly lower, but then again I use a thin flat SD adapter with cable to bring the SD card to back door on A1200 for easy card changes. And I can use the SD card in my PC with WinUAE...

[@mariolozetolo1406]

Nothing new - I've long since fired up the A600

[@BigLebowski1337]

The M2 module makes no sense. Not cheaper. Not faster as Amiga IDE is the bottleneck and a CF you can stick into a Card Reader on a PC to install images or whatever on. Good luck doing that with the M2 module.

[@amigaretro4765]

This Video is to demonstrate other storage options for the Amiga that are available of which may have not been realized. As always, the decision to use such things is up to the user.

[@cullmaster7361]

Nice video. I’m guessing you didn’t want to use the PCMCIA port with a PCMCIA to SD adapter due to the FastRAM off the Individual computers Accelerator? If you had a Phase 5 or something with 32-bit FastRAM then I would look to do something similar with Compactflash.device and FAT95 👍🏻