MYIDE(tm)-INTERFACE.

(Edited 17/09/2000)

The IDE-CONNECTOR is nicely fitted above the expansion-port.

The IDE-Interface (version 2b) is in the white circle and very cheap to build!

A harddisk attached to my Atari is something I always wanted. But spending more than 100 USD on some hardware was to much for me. So I designed and build my own interface. It started all in 1998 for a German Atari-club called Abbuc. The interface I had than was a 'cartridge' version and consists basicly of two chips, IDE-cable and a empty Atari-cartridge-print. It only worked on Quantum Prodrive and sometimes on Seagate. They couldn't believe this thingy could drive a hardrive, so I wrote 3 articles for there magazine and some software. In the summer of 1999 I rewrote an ATARI800 operating-system for the next Abbuc-meeting. They were impressed that I could directly boot from harddisk and load 'rescue from fractilus' in 5 seconds flat! Now it is summer 2000 and I just updated my interface so it handles all IDE-Harddrives.

Here is a pictures of my rebuild XF551-drive. It houses now a 840Mb Quantum trailblazer. The main modifycation you have to make is to place a (486/pentium) cooler-fan under the big heat-sink. If you don't, the heat-sink will become to hot and can damage your circuit. In a normal drive this wouldn't be a problem, because the drive-motor is off most of the time, but a harddrive is always spinning!

The XF551 power-circuit needs some extra cooling.

The older hardware on this page (chapter 2a/2b) are without a databus-isolator, so you have to disconnect the harddrive when it is off. The newest version (MYIDE) has one build-in. For using S.O.S.(c)2000 (my operating system) you have to make some more modifications inside your atari. S.O.S.(c)2000 is now available to download, the only thing you need is a EPROM-burner. The full-version is still in debug-progress.......

(When there is no link, the text or software is not ready yet. Sorry about that)

Hardware and Software discription:

• Chapter 1, IDE-protocoll for ATARI-computers.

• Chapter 2A and 2B, Schematics for interface in a cartridge (2A) or internally (2B)

• Chapter 3, Discription of MY-Partitioning and MY-Driver

• Chapter 4, Version MYIDE(tm). Print-layout included !

• Chapter 5, How to modify MYIDE to run S.O.S.(c)2000 (Internal-interface only)

Software and drivers:

• FDISK.BAS (Partition-software)

• HPNW2D1.OBJ (driver for internal interface)

• HPNW2D5.OBJ (driver for interface in a cartridge)

• TESTER.BAS (Interface and Harddisk test-software)

• S.O.S.(c)2000 (16kB Binary file, ready to burn in a Eprom)
  

S.O.S.(c)2000 includes this features (*= full version only):

• Fully XL/XE-compatible.

• Fully RAMDISK-compatible.

• No translator needed for older 400/800-games.

• Boots from the first drive (1-8) found containing a good boot-block.

• Cold start when SELECT is hold down during RESET.

• toggle BASIC on with OPTION down during a cold RESET.

• Holding START during cold-RESET will do cassette boot
  (*) OR a simulated diskboot from harddrive. This feature can also copy diskettes to/from harddisk. After this boot you can use SHIFT-CONTROL-1 through SHIFT-CONTROL-8 to switch between diskkettes 1 through 8 (for multi diskette games).

Remarks/Warrenty:

• The IDE-Interface is a design by my own and has no warrenty what so ever.

• The Software is written by me for you to use with the interface and has no warrenty.

• If you need help, have remarks or found bugs, please contact me here: MYIDE@ATARI.MYWEB.NL

• All software and hardware on this page is (c) and (tm) by Mr. Atari.