External Gotek on Amiga 500 with Drive-Selector Switch

[@patzik1910]

Hi Noel, you are actually wrong about needing an external drive! You can solder a floppy cable directly to a db23 (or modded db25) connector and this work fine for the gotek. If you are interested I can mail you the schematic, you can even 'steal' the 5v and ground from the db23 connector to power the gotek. I make these cables myself and use them for a gotek and a 3d printed housing and these look and work perfect.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Really? And all of that while the internal floppy drive is also enabled? I'd love to find out more and give it a try!

[@patzik1910]

@@NoelsRetroLab Yes, the internal floppy also works, this is a copy/paste from Keirf's GitHub that refers to it, and I think also a link where you can buy the cables. It is however quite easy to build them yourself. How can I send you the schematic of the cable? One other nice feature I have installed is the kickstart switch from Keith, I am using one of the signals of the address lines to switch the bootselector (which I also installed). This way you not only have a switchless kickstart but also switchless bootselector :-) Replacing an external drive depends on the enclosure or cable being used. Amiga external drive enclosures usually include the circuitry to allow the Amiga to identify the presence of the drive. In this case the Gotek with S0 jumper is usually a straight swap for the old floppy drive. If using a passive cable such as this Ebay item then be aware that this identification circuitry is missing, but for arcane reasons identification will typically happen to work as long as the Gotek has an image mounted when the Amiga boots. If you are having problems with your drive being identified, seeForcing Drive Identification below.

[@gonzalo1972]

Hi Patrick. May you share more info on that cable schematic and 3d printing files for the external gotek?

[@patzik1910]

www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/designs/Floppy_Adaptor_V2/External_drive_wiring_V2a.png Here you can find how to wire it up, I used a normal floppy idc cable and soldered the wires to a modified db25 so it will fit the db23. I cut 2 not used wires from the idc connector side and connected a power connector to these and soldered them to 5v and gnd on the db25 side.

[@jensvillebro9637]

Yes, this is a very important point that Patrick Kerkhof is making. As a user I can verify that the described setup works flawlessly, I use it on my Amiga 500 where the Gotek is connected to the external disk drive connector via a modified DB25 connector cable that also provides power. I bought the cable on ebay, it was cheap and easy. I think Noel is right about keeping these old systems as original as possible, so this is a really good solution. If you have the ACA500+ you can actually switch the boot select (DF0/DF1) in the start-up menu instead of installing a fysical switch.

[@GurjVirdee]

Thank you so much for the help and guidance and explanation of this. It will surely help me with my newly acquired GoTek which I have no knowledge of how to install or setup. Brilliant video.

[@BokanoiD]

3:45 - Yes the port at the back of the drive allows you to chain another two drives to it, allowing for a total of four drives including the internal one. (DF0 to DF3)

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Right. That makes sense since a lot of the copy programs have the option for 4 drives but there's only one drive connector. Thanks for clearing that up.

[@RMCRetro]

I've tried chaining multiple goteks in cases in this way and it works just great

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Oh, neat! I didn't think about that. I assume each would need to have its own disk controller, right? What would be the main purpose of having multiple drives chained like that? Massive copying of disks, or would a game with multiple disks be smart enough to check all available drives for different disks?

[@heidirichter]

@@NoelsRetroLab It depends on the software. Some software only looks for DF0:, some only look for DF0: and DF1:, and some can and do use all 4 drives if you have them all connected. The main purpose was to reduce disk swapping, as many games would load something from say Disk 1, then Disk 4, than Disk 2. If you only had the one drive, obviously you'd have to swap each time it wanted a different disk, with two drives you'd only have to swap one disk (so in this case, eject Disk 1 and insert Disk 2, and if the game supported all 4 drives, you could just pop each disk in a drive and off you go.

[@regisdumoulin]

​@@NoelsRetroLabcontrary to an Ms DOS PC the Amiga always checks all drives for an inserted disk. Note the message says "Insert a disc in ANY drive". Back in the days I had an external disk drive and it was a breeze playing 2 floppies games

[@stephenelliott7071]

Fantastic timing! I received a Gotek and Floppy Drive Boot Selector Switch a few days ago. I did wonder if I could just copy my floppy disks to the Gotek, so you answered that in your video - thanks!

[@IDPhotoMan]

Thanks for the video, i have all the parts you have, i just haven't installed them yet. i like your explanation about the 2 pins and how the switch works.

[@james5583]

Yes please! please make a complete video all the other steps that you ast if we would like to see in a new video, and please name all the specific partnames etz. regards

[@kingforaday8725]

Dang!!! This was three years ago and Im just now getting aboard! 😐 Crazy how a 36 year old computer is still being supported! In human years it would be almost 700 years old!

[@digitalbeat666]

Neat. I recently modded gotek to my Amiga 500. Now I know what to do next with my external floppy disk drive.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Right! Especially if you already have an external one, that's a no-brainer. That's a great upgrade!

[@jasedobson2793]

Another great video thanks Noel will be doing this shortly to my A500

[@NoelsRetroLab]

You won't regret it. It's a great way to set it up. Good luck!

[@heinejohansen5450]

Man I was looking for a solution like this :) Now I can load up those Cannon Fodder saves from waaay back ;)

[@alexodis]

Ola Noel. Muito obrigado pelos teus videos, já aprendi muito com eles! I think installing a switch to the back of the amiga, to toggle df0 df1 ended up being a more intrusive mod than just taking the internal drive and replace it with the Gotek. The original drive would be carefully stowed in a drawer, ready to go back inside the amiga anytime you'd feel like having it back. Again, thank you very much for sharing your knowlege, I'm a subscriber and a fan. Greetings from Alhos Vedros, Portugal.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

I can see that. I really like having both the Gotek and the real drive functional, so for me it was worth the small modification, but I get why people wouldn't want to do that. There's probably a way to put the switch on the external drive with a minor cable. Heck, I wonder if the drive connection has an unused pin that could be used for this. Que bom que gostou dos videos :-)

[@painkillergko]

Yesterday i was mounted BS on my A500. Now i am waiting for a Gotek :)

[@samuelbanya]

For 3:13, crazy cables aside, is it possible to do this or would you need to solder power to make that work? Couldn't you 3D print an enclosure to make that happen as well?

[@johnseamons7455]

Great and very precise video. I am in the middle of purchasing a Gotek for the A500 . I want to also leave my internal drive as a floppy disk. I have been told that if I dont use the switch (DF0/DF1) to select the Gotek (External) I will not be able to boot from the Gotek. This also means the floppy drive will not show up, so I cannot copy disk from the floppy to the gotek using x-copy. If I want to copy from the floppy to the Gotek I need to ensure that the floppy boots first. This is using a supply cable, Not the one from an old external drive. What your thoughts on this. Is tht correct or will the cable from an old external drive work better ? Thanks

[@JamesPearson]

Fantastic solution and very clearly explained... thank you. I just need to get my hands on an Amiga now as I sadly no longer have one :( Trying to resolve that now :D

[@porto197]

I'm planning the same setup for my Amiga 500, thank you for the info.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Good to hear. Good luck with it!

[@CPMG2000]

Awesome set up with the vibrating mechanism.

[@filevans]

can you have the switch coming out of the trapdoor on an amiga 600/1200 so it's not untidy?

[@frankowalker4662]

Yes, please show us how to mod the Gotek. OLED, Piezo ect. I did'nt know that was possible.

[@andymorrow6273]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmfJg2uirMySeKc

[@frankowalker4662]

@@andymorrow6273 Thank you.

[@batukeskinbora7257]

Wonderful and useful video , but I would like to use this device without open my Amiga case. How is A590 works with extended port at the left side, is there any option to use that port with this device or is there any option to switch the pins with any program ?

[@75slaine]

I must check my adapter with the multimeter actually. I was hoping to reverse DF0/DF1 when I setup something similar on mine. But iirc, when I toggled my switch, it disabled the internal drive and made the external DF0: I had hoped to have the internal become DF1 in that instance.

[@jurgmesser7723]

I've just made the same disappointing observation! The vendor of the drive switch Noel mentions, actually mentions it! Big bummer.

[@TEBLify]

I didn't have any convenient pre-existing hole in my case for a switch, so I installed it on RF shield so that it can be reached from expansion bay instead.

[@sviru007]

Hi! I have the same setup and big problem internal floppy drive set as DF1 and cant be seen in the workbench. Gotek is fine but internal drive is not visible in the system. Please help ;)

[@ignac2004]

I am waiting for a delivery with A500 which I bought on the internet auction

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

I had that external floppy drive, but I cannibalised the interface PCB and remade it in 3-fold so I could have 4 floppy drives without forking out huge amounts of cash. And it worked, but unfortunately I don't have that setup anymore. I do still have my A500 in a box in the attic, waiting for a restoration.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

That's a pretty cool hack! Anyway, time to take the Amiga out of the attic 😃

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

@@NoelsRetroLab Rest assured, that time will come. First we (my GF and I) have to finish renovating the attic - It's going to become our leasure palace, and my (retro) mancave - no association with RMC haha - I have already built the workbenches that will host a lot of retro and non-retro work. Might I take this opportunity to compliment you on your channel, your way of doing things and ready to go to great lengths to get a job done, even if it means doing some fringe stuff and trying out new things. I really like that. Oh and kudos for your very clear english, and especially your vocabulary!

[@jurgmesser7723]

Switching my external GoTek clone (from Simulant) is disabling the internal floppy drive. The vendor of your DF0/1 switcher actually says so, too. So I wonder, how you can use the external DF0 GoTek and the internal floppy simultaneously. Is it because I only dare to switch when the A500 is off? Did your A500 so far survive the floppy switching while being on??

[@Tossphate]

Perfect video thanks

[@maighstir3003]

All the DF0/DF1 switches I find on ebay say that the internal drive is disabled when DF0 is set to the external drive. Is that just a mistake in wording (in that booting from the internal is disabled, since it's not DF0), or is it actually the case that the internal cannot be used when the external is DF0? If the latter, could you point me to one that makes both drives available in both switch positions.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

That makes no sense. The switch is a really simple switch that moves a couple of signals around. It sends DF0 enable to DF1 and viceversa. So they must mean that when you have the switch on, BOOTING from the internal drive is disabled and you boot from the external one instead. But you're right, even the one I bought sais that. Weird! www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273053625803

[@thomasquemar969]

Inside an external floppy case there is a small circuitry that does two things : activate the motor only if required and identifying the drive type connected. Inside an amiga 500 there is also the circuitry to activate the motor but nothing for identifying the drive. This is no problem since the ROM assumes that DF0 is "double density" and always present. The problem happens when you logically swap DF0 and DF1 : the external drive become DF0 and works perfectly but the internal drive which should become DF1 isn't recognized since it lacks the identifying circuitry... Mods are possible but quite hard to carry out ;)

[@lucagentile4247]

@@thomasquemar969 so it means that if I want to copy from external gotek as DF0 to internal drive as DF1 I can't? thanks for a reply

[@thomasquemar969]

@@lucagentile4247 Yes you can but you'll have to flip the switch several times during copy to read from one drive and write to the other, as if you were using only one drive (DF0) and swapping source and destination discs.

[@lucagentile4247]

@@thomasquemar969 thks. I still have to buy a gotek, how about this one for my purpose (without modding anything)? I can see there are 2 switches but I wonder if they can be useful to my goal, I asked the seller but never replied www.ebay.it/itm/Gotek-USB-Externes-Floppy-Disk-Emulator-3-5-Amiga-16GB-USB-mit-vielen-Zubeh%C3%B6r/324415054532?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

[@jaykay5486]

What connectors did you use, my external drive has female connections and my USB emulator uses a small ribbon cable and power cable but these are both female at the business too :( I can only find 40 pin Male to Male adaptors online

[@jaykay5486]

Would love to work this out

[@pledg]

Can you do a like mod for the Atari STFM that doesn't involve cutting chip pins as the current Atari mod does? I have a Gotek replacing my internal floppy but would have liked to keep the internal and mount the gotek in my external drive case as you have done with the Amiga. I don't want to cut my chip pins...

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Haha... I've been looking for that exact setup myself! I might have to figure it out. If I do I'll make a video for sure.

[@Mind-your-own-beeswax]

Having just dug my old A500 out after 30 years and powered it on no surprise that the floppy drive doesn’t work too well. This looks like something to solve that however the gotek’s aren’t that cheap anymore. Also where did you get the OLED display from? Finally how do you get disc images on to the USB drive?

[@davidef6621]

I'm using gotek fully external driver without the df selector i have not touch any internal part of amiga and since some of the games are not booting from DF1 the external drive (gotek) i'm using the usb of the gotek and then move to phisical floppy with X-copy so i can boot from df0 without doing anything to my amiga. Ofc you need to have some working amiga floppies but this is the solution to not touch anything of amiga.

[@peddersoldchap]

Thank you for the video. I was expecting a way of installing an external gotek that did not have the need to cannibalise and external drive, though. Any chance of this happening? And do make a video about the mods, please.

[@CaptainDangeax]

The Amiga has special timings when talking to the floppy drive. Is any gotek compatible ?

[@jdryyz]

My particular external drive (which shares a common form factor amongst many brands) has pin 1 on the opposite side so I had to twist my short ribbon cable to make it work. I was concerned that it would slide off when reinstalling the cover. Seems to be okay so far. It is bugging me, though. I have another external drive I can use to hold the Gotek. I wonder if it has the same PCB design.

[@linuxboi2869]

Nice video!

[@davethebulb]

I noticed you have no S0 or S1 jumper on the Gotek? Should I remove this?

[@carlosalbertosuarez1546]

i need help have amiga 500 rev 5. the internal drive dont read floppys i think the jumpers are not in the correct place con you help me? the internal fdd is a chinon f-354e reva, and have a jp3 set of 5 x 3 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x jp3 please carlos suarez mexiko

[@petar6906]

Hey Noel, what OLED screen do you use?

[@rodrigosaez9999]

Noel, did You do any modifications on the external drive circuits? I have tried exactly the same on a similar config without any luck. Did you change any pins on the gotek?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

No, I didn't change any pins. I don't remember the exact configuration. Maybe it's displayed in the video at some point?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

At 2:11 you can see the jumpers and I don't have any set.

[@hasfidanken]

I want to do this but I have never done anything like this and I am afraid to break the chip while pulling it out to install the adapter. Should I do it? Is it easy? Any recomendations?

[@hasfidanken]

Also the flat connector on my gotek is larger than tha flat cable in the DF1, so I am stuck.

[@Dettol68]

Yes would really like you to do a Gotek Mod's video

[@maniacsatwork]

Great video, where can I purchase the parts for the Gotek modification?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks! I usually get the parts from Aliexpress. Search for .91" OLED and piezo buzzer. You can buy Goteks there pretty cheaply too.

[@maniacsatwork]

@@NoelsRetroLab Great, thanks for the info.

[@Kenny-bw2cz]

Ok so 1)where do you find an external floppy drive? 2) does this also work with the amiga 1200?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

1) Probably off Ebay. Look up "Cumana" which is supposed to be a pretty good brand, but others also work fine. 2) No idea! I haven't messed around with a 1200 yet. Maybe someone else can chip in if they know.

[@frankowalker4662]

The Gotek works fine inplace of the internal A1200 floppy, but I don't know about the external. I reffer you to your own question 1. I can't find one either.

[@Kenny-bw2cz]

I found this amigastore.eu/440-amiga-external-floppy-disk-drive-adapter-m1.html And this. The switch doesn't say it compatible.with the 1200. But I'm including the links for those who are looking for these amigakit.amiga.store/product_info.php?products_id=12673

[@IDPhotoMan]

@@Kenny-bw2cz That's what i have, i haven't installed it all yet though.

[@rodrigosaez9999]

The gotek works with all amigas as External Drive. The Switch itself i think only with similar build amigas like a2000

[@RetroAnachronist]

I don’t see any external power going to that thing. So it’s getting power over the cable? Didn’t you just say it couldn’t?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Good point. There's power to be had in the Amiga connector, but not in the Gotek data cable itself. That's why there's always need of extra cables (although sometimes they can be more tidy and they split up closer to the Gotek than the Amiga). Still, it means connecting multiple things to the Gotek, which is a slight inconvenience.

[@charlesdorval394]

@@NoelsRetroLab Thanks for the clarification, I was wondering what part I had missed hehehehe Keep up the good work and have a nice weekend :)

[@TaberBucknell]

Another great video for my continued learning. Question: Are you grounded with a wrist or shoe ground when working on the boards? I notice you handle the boards and components quite freely. I remember, from my high school electronics lab in the ‘70s and my TRS-80 & Atari days in the 80’s, the horror stories about damaging chips (especially CMOS) with static electricity. I’m probably too reluctant to handle boards because of those stories. Any recommendations about handling PC boards safely? Thanks again!

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks! To be honest, I'm probably not being careful enough. I've been told I should be wearing one of those ESD wrist straps and probably have an grounded ESD mat as well. It's in my list of things to look into, and I'm sure it's not a bad idea, but on the other hand, I'm not blowing up chips on a regular basis as far as I can tell (except the video I'm recording right now coincidentally). Hope you continue enjoying the videos.

[@oleurgast730]

@@NoelsRetroLab If you went bare foot and dont have a carpet on the floor but wood or tiles and do not wear syntetics, its nearly impossible to get staticly charged. A style of clothing you normaly do not wear in school or at work in the old days. Of course with home schooling and home office, at least in Germany working barefoot in underwear seem to have become the actuall normal office outfit, so ESD equipment had gone obloete now....

[@ojkolsrud1]

My case doesn't have any holes in it, so I was thinking that I could put the switch behind the trap door somehow. It's useful to have the switch, if you ever need the internal to be DF0, but I can't imagine the need to switch it up that often if you have everything you need on the Gotek.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Absolutely. 99% of the time you want the Gotek as DF0, so that seems totally reasonable.

[@toxotis70]

How do you select games from usb drive!

[@NoelsRetroLab]

There are two buttons to navigate different images (which is the equivalent of switching disks). Wherever you stop, that's the image you have currently selected.

[@10p6]

Nice video. Interestingly the ST/E/Falcon could only have one internal Floppy drive as the internal PSU blocked space on the left side. What was the Amiga's excuse. Hmmm Lol

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks! Yeah, probably just cost savings 😃

[@james5583]

i was wondering if there is a way to mod the Oled display so you can get it retro style ? like orange or green maby. i havent found a video like that. do you think its possible ?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Not sure. I imagine you'd need a different kind of Oled display, but I don't remember seeing them anything other than blue or white. You could leave the segment digit display the Gotek originally came with for a more retro feel (although it's a lot less functional).

[@james5583]

​@@NoelsRetroLab Im trying to find our old messages where you told me exakt witch buzzer you used :) but i can't find it again so if you can tell me witch one to buy :) thanks J

[@beszt95]

Does it work similarly for the A1000?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

I don't know! I have never used an A1000. I would think so, but someone else can confirm that.

[@d_vibe-swe]

Nice hack! The Amiga 1200 can boot directly from external drives, but they will never be interpreted as DF0:.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

I didn't know that. Booting from the external drive is the most important thing I wanted to achieve from this. Is there a drawback to having the external drive never being DF0? I can't think of anything.

[@oleurgast730]

@@NoelsRetroLab Many games assume the drive their are booted from is df0: So they start to boot, than access to df0: to load a file and fail. Simply a bad art of programming. Quite a big drawback... The CIA on the A1200 are PLCC44, not DIP. No socket, so no adapter. But of course, you have df0_select on the internal connector for the floppy drive and df1_select on the external connector. So cut the df1_select pin of the external drive connector and solder one wire to the pcb (to get df1_select) and one to the external connector (to put df0 or df1 select depending on switch position there). Also cut df0_select line on the internal floppy cable, sending the df0_select to the switch and the signal selected by the switch back to the internal drive.

[@aaron03071991]

Anyone knows music name that starts in 10:13?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

This this one, by nene: opengameart.org/content/theme-song-8-bit (updated in description, thanks for the reminder).

[@aaron03071991]

@@NoelsRetroLab Thank you! ♥

[@RETROMachines]

Really interesting.

[@SteveHacker]

Amazing! I hope similar mods will be available for me on my Atari STs…

[@NoelsRetroLab]

That's something that's still in my list of things to do. I would love to set up an external Gotek on an Atari ST instead of replacing the internal one, which is what you see most often.

[@SteveHacker]

@@NoelsRetroLab … Can’t wait to see and learn about anything and everything you can do with Atari STs! 😊😊😊

[@tetsujin_144]

10:42 ah yes the finest of dentistry games

[@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029]

I know what I want for Christmas..

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Oh man, if you don't have a Gotek right now, that would give you hours and hours of enjoyment on your Amiga for sure! Do it! 😃👍

[@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029]

@@NoelsRetroLab It is still a stock machine at the moment, only purchased it this YEAR. (I had a batman pack back in the day) kzbin.info/www/bejne/moCToXeXq86EesU

[@GhettofingerGaming]

SWITCHLESS BOOT SELECTOR is th new bees knees.

[@oleurgast730]

Can´t you simply use both drives internaly? There is so much space inside the A500... The backdoor is available at thingiverse. So without damaging the case of the A500 you might simply print a new trapdoor with a hole for a small USB drive like the Intenso Slim Line sticks to connect it there. Also a switch (of course a flat one). For display and push buttons print a smal "external" case. You only need a 6 wire connection (the buttons both use a signal and a GND, one of the OLED is also GND). You can route them inside the A500 out on the top (ventilation slots). Something like www.thingiverse.com/thing:2701629 , but the two buttons (or an encoder wheel) added. Of course you have to route the df1 select to the internal floppy connector (like it is from stock on A2000/3000/4000). But thats only one wire on the underside of the PCB. Of course you have to make a drive cable to connect both drives. As you have to make it yourself to connect both drives, you make the turn of df0 and df1 select in the cable (like it is done in A2000). It would be a completly reversible mod, no permanent modification - and much more comfortable than having always an external drive to connect.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Yes, I believe you could. The only thing is that you need the Gotek and a controller for it. Or at least so I thought. Someone told me it's not necessary, but I haven't confirmed that. In any case, yes, there's definitely space internally and that would be a lot more convenient than pulling out that brick of an external drive 😃

[@oleurgast730]

@@NoelsRetroLab Actually there seems to be much more interesting projects than a gotek. In 2013 there have been at least two projects to use a Raspberry Pi with a bunch of discrete parts for about $5 simulating an Amiga Floppy drive. At that time the Pi Zero W did not exist; I wonder if its possible to port that projects to it. It would be about 5$ more than a gotek - but transfering adf´s via wlan and selecting image to load via webbrowser would eliminate any need of case modding, as you use the sd of the pi and do not need swapping it arround to transfer data. It even emulates two floppys in parallel (if df1_sel is at the floppy cable like on A2000 A3000 or A4000, or added manualy to it). So using the Pi Floppy Emulation + internal drive would allow 3 floppys at the same time (if you also route df2_sel to internal cable). Have not gone into details of the projects now, only read summary articles. Edit: Sorry, now found out the Pi +5$ Hardware solution does not use an operating system on the pi, so no wlan available (but still an interesting solution) while the wlan version uses a pi and a SB HxC Floppy Emulator (>>100$), so out of range in price (and also cant write to image). But there might be an interesting alternative: It should be possible to use an ESP32 (or even ESP2866) in i2c-client mode to put the i2c output for the oled into a web-server. Also with up/down buttons using two I/O-pins it should be able to select images. So you can select images via smartphone and avoid button and display on the Amiga. Also there is a simple mod for making SD-Cards accessible via webdav using an esp (de.aliexpress.com/i/4001031573171.html). This in combination with SD->SD adapter (instead USB-Stick) might work to transfer adf between PC and gotek...

[@BokanoiD]

Hah, I wanted to do the exact same thing and bought the exact same selector on Ebay. :D Only crucial thing missing is a proper external drive, they're getting to be quite rare - I bought one online that was sold as not working for use with the gotek but I think the controller itself is what the problem was because the gotek's LED works but it refuses to boot from the thing... so the search continues.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Oh really? I didn't realize external drives were becoming rare. I bought mine last year and I seem to remember it was around 30€. But things keep going up all the time. Are there external drives that are not compatible with the Gotek, or is any external Amiga drive good enough?

[@BokanoiD]

@@NoelsRetroLab Not to my knowledge, I would assume that if the controller is good for any regular Amiga drive it'll also work with your modded Gotek.

[@rodrigosaez9999]

BokanoiD there at least 2 types of external drives. The ones that use a regular amiga floppy drive and the ones that use a regular pc drive with special circuits. The first ones work right away with the gotek, for the second ones you need to modify the circuit but I’m not 100% sure how.

[@BokanoiD]

@@rodrigosaez9999 Thanks for you response. It might very well be possible that it was such a drive; I also tried a working Amiga disk drive and that also wouldn't work. I did luckily managed to get an external drive that does work with a Gotek, so I'm happy now. :)

[@rodrigosaez9999]

BokanoiD nice. I just bought another gotek to try it on one of my external drives. The previous one didn’t work on the external one I disassembled . I still haven’t found a detailed explanation of what to do.

[@jensschroder8214]

with ROM 3.x you do not need a switch

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Oh, I didn't know that! Do you switch with some key press or something like that? Where do you get that ROM?

[@diablothe2nd894]

@@NoelsRetroLab you press and hold both mouse buttons on boot. Amigastore.eu has the rom chips.

[@Snowwie88]

I bought a Gotek device from Amigastore and the darn thing does totally have NO mounting options whatsover to put it in the external case. And those screws are needed, not only hold normally the drive into place, but also keep the cover tight. Now I can't do both of them..... Jeeezz

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Really???? That's so weird! I've never seen a Gotek case without mounting brackets. I have an empty Gotek casing and you're welcome to it if you want.

[@sebastianbattaglia6330]

wtf...? nice video and neat work but.. what happened with "I wanna keep my hardware as close as possible to the original"? you even had to screw a hole on the amiga itself!

[@garyjordan2019]

Take my money!!!

[@peejay71]

Great video - very helpful and well made - thanks! I have one question though - is it really safe to use the boot selector switch while Amiga is powered?

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Thanks! I never considered it would be unsafe to be honest. All it's doing is routing a single signal differently, so I expect it should be totally fine.

[@DikkeBetha]

@@NoelsRetroLab I've read in several places that it's NOT fine. It can damage the CIA chip.