Technical information

© Jean Louis-Guérin – V1.2a – September 2014 Page 2 / 69
Table of Content
How to Read this Document ............................................................................................... 5
PART I – ATARI HARD DISK FILE SYSTEM PARTITIONING GUIDE ............................... 7
Chapter 1. Partitioning Information ................................................................................. 8
1.1 Hardware Consideration .......................................................................................................... 8
1.2 Hard Disk File System Primer ................................................................................................. 8
1.3 Preparing a Drive ..................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2. Types of Partition used on Atari ..................................................................10
2.1 TOS Partitions ....................................................................................................................... 10
2.2 DOS/FAT Partitions ............................................................................................................... 10
2.2.1 Type and Limit of DOS/FAT Partitions .............................................................................. 10
2.2.2 Small DOS/FAT Partitions ................................................................................................. 10
2.2.3 Large DOS/FAT Partitions ................................................................................................. 10
2.2.4 Huge DOS/FAT Partitions ................................................................................................. 11
2.3 TOS&DOS Partitions ............................................................................................................. 11
2.4 Notes on Creating and Installing Partitions ........................................................................... 11
2.4.1 Creating TOS Partitions ..................................................................................................... 11
2.4.2 Creating DOS partitions ..................................................................................................... 12
2.4.3 Creating TOS&DOS partitions ........................................................................................... 12
2.4.4 Creating Bootable Partitions .............................................................................................. 12
2.4.5 Installing Disk Partitions on the Atari Desktop ................................................................... 12
Chapter 3. TOS/GEMDOS Limitations ............................................................................13
3.1 TOS and Long File Name (LFN) ............................................................................................ 13
3.2 TOS Maximum Path Depth .................................................................................................... 14
3.3 TOS Maximum Number of Folders ........................................................................................ 14
3.4 TOS Maximum number of files .............................................................................................. 15
3.5 TOS Maximum number of partitions ...................................................................................... 15
3.6 Discussion of OS Pool (from Rainbow TOS release notes) .................................................. 15
3.7 TOS Version Specific Limitations .......................................................................................... 16
3.7.1 ROM TOS 1.0 - 520ST and 1040ST ................................................................................. 16
3.7.2 MEGA TOS 1.02 - 520ST, 1040ST, Mega 2/4 .................................................................. 17
3.7.3 Rainbow TOS 1.04 – 520ST, 1040ST, Mega 2/4 .............................................................. 17
3.7.4 STE TOS 1.06 - 1040STE and 520STE ............................................................................ 17
3.7.5 STE TOS 1.62 - 520STE, 1040STE .................................................................................. 17
3.7.6 Mega STE TOS 2.05 - Mega STE ..................................................................................... 17
3.7.7 TT TOS 3.01 - TT030 ........................................................................................................ 17
3.7.8 TT TOS 3.05 - TT030 ........................................................................................................ 17
3.7.9 Falcon TOS 4.X ................................................................................................................. 17
Chapter 4. Atari Hard Disk Drivers Packages ................................................................18
4.1 Hardware Configurations Tested ........................................................................................... 18
4.2 Information on Removable Drive ........................................................................................... 18
4.2.1 Disk Change Support......................................................................................................... 18
4.2.2 Specification of the Maximum Logical Sector Size ............................................................ 18
4.2.3 Number of Partitions on a Card ......................................................................................... 18
4.3 Things to check before you start ........................................................................................... 18
4.3.1 Satan device ...................................................................................................................... 18
4.3.2 UltraSatan device .............................................................................................................. 18
4.4 HDDRIVER 9.02 Driver Package .......................................................................................... 19
4.4.1 Partitioning a drive ............................................................................................................. 19
4.4.2 Enabling and Disabling Auto boot ..................................................................................... 20
4.4.3 Configuring the HDDRIVER Hard Disk Driver ................................................................... 21
4.4.4 Accessing DOS Partitions ................................................................................................. 21
4.4.5 Accessing TOS & Windows Partitions ............................................................................... 21
4.4.6 Special Care to boot from device other than ACSI ID0 ..................................................... 21
4.5 PPDRIVER 1.0 Driver Package ............................................................................................. 22
4.5.1 Partitioning a drive ............................................................................................................. 22
4.5.2 Installing the Auto boot Driver ........................................................................................... 23
4.5.3 Removable Medium Drive Support .................................................................................... 23