HELP!!!! (MicroA1 Problems)

I will look into that

Get back to you, thanks :)

A basic 3512

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digitus-2-Por ... 1&sr=8-1&keywords=sii3512

Or possibly more use as you can fit external drives too:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/I-TEC-PCISATA ... 9&sr=8-2&keywords=sii3114

@Mikey_C

Ok, do you have a a1ide_conf variable in Uboot?
If set incorrectly, it can lead to a partial boot.

If you have one, remove it.
It's not needed since a long time ago. The drivers can check what is connected by themselves. At least on recent hardware, but it should be the same with the MicroA1.
If you want to remove it, do from uboot:
printenv a1ide_conf => Write it down. Just in case.
setenv a1ide_conf
save

An update for those of you who are interested

Right. I have been at it for over 3 evenings trying to get the damn thing to work. (Tried SFS\0 and FFS - No joy)
I have managed to Put an image on it, but that involved using a standard dvd/cd rom (5.25 size) on the same cable as the SSD (40 Pin IDE cable) - I cannot for the life of me, get the Slimline CD/DVD drive to work on the 2.5 inch IDE (44 Pin) at the same time as the SSD.
Both work as long as the other one isn't plugged in. Obviously the case doesn't have room for a 5.25 cd/dvd - So, I have had to splash out on another £11 and got myself a 3.5 inch (IDE to JAE50) adapter. I know this will mean a performance hit on the SSD, but hopefully I'll be able to make it work and fit inside the case.

EDIT (Am reluctant to use the PCI port because I am hoping to try a low profile USB card in there at some stage) The MicroA1 comes with USB1.1 which is sooo bloody slow, It would be quicker to burn the data on to a cd.

@Mikey_C

Silly question but have you set the master/slave jumpers on the adaptor? Sounds like the slimline cd and the ssd are trying to use the same unit.

@Severin

Yep, different combinations/permutations still no go.
Hopefully tomorrow evening I will be a happy bunny :)

BTW, the MicroA1 was released 12 years ago!!! It's about time to replace it with a more recent (and faster) board, IMO.

I did have a SAM440EP but the performance on that was way worse than my MicroA1 - So I swapped it back!

@Mikey_C

Sounds like you need to sell those two and get a SAM-flex 766Mhz with a top end R9250 in it or maybe a 460 although I've never even seen one so can't say how good they really are, obviously a lot faster than the flex but still quite a bit slower than the X1k due to the lack of an altivec.

The flex is almost as fast as the micro, you won't notice any difference on most things, more gfx ram, sata etc. but most importantly compared to a micro it's rock solid (not including user error ) I have far fewer required reboots with the flex than the micro.

I have an interesting story about the stability of this MicroA1 - which, I will verify first before actually posting anything.

Anyhow I am pleased to say that the second solution has worked, I now have a fully booting MicroA1 with working optical drive. - All I have to do is put it all back together again, its all in bits at the moment, so I have to afix all the cables, drives, etc back into their proper position. Once that is done, I can think about putting all the applications/games etc back on.

Will post a progress report later :)

@Mikey_C
Maybe OS4 USB mouse/keyboard input has improved but back when I had a µA1 it was far more stable using serial mouse/keyboard that USB mouse/keyboard. Back then a lot of keyboards and mice included a USB to serial adapter. You'd probably need to find or buy them seperately now. The µA1 also has the advantage of having a "real" serial port with all the pins connected instead of the 3-wire serial ports on some newer hardware. It worked much better with a serial modem and my fax progrms.