Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

HxC Floppy Emulator on Amiga support
Jeff
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jeff »

Hello,

Then you should wait my firmware update.

Before this a last thing you can try :

-> Format the usb stick in fat32 (on your computer !)
-> put the attached hfe to the stick
empty.hfe.zip
(18.05 KiB) Downloaded 220 times
-> try to write something on this image with the amiga.
-> eject the image
-> try to read the file back to the amiga

If you still read error this probably means that your usb stick is too slow (high write latency...).
In this case you should try another usb stick (another brand/model)


Anyway i am currently changing how the write support works with the ADF files to fix it on these low-end gotek, i hope to release here a new firmware into the next week (maybe today...).

Jason
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Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2022 6:27 pm

Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jason »

It looks like I incorrectly reported the software update having fixed my Gotek. It appears to write, but when you try to use the file later it is gibberish.

lowlevel
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Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2022 7:08 am

Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by lowlevel »

Hi Jeff, thanks but the Empty.hfe you've provided here is not formatted, so I can not even try to copy anything to it from the amiga.
I tried to format it, but I get the same result as when I try to format the .hfe file I made myself with the hxc software.... Can not format cylinder 0.
I'll wait for your next update I guess. Thanks again

Jeff
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jeff »

lowlevel wrote:
Mon Jul 04, 2022 6:37 am
Hi Jeff, thanks but the Empty.hfe you've provided here is not formatted, so I can not even try to copy anything to it from the amiga.
I tried to format it, but I get the same result as when I try to format the .hfe file I made myself with the hxc software.... Can not format cylinder 0.
I'll wait for your next update I guess. Thanks again
It is definitively correctly formatted. This means that you can't even read reliably an hfe ! Which usb stick are you using ?

Jeff
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jeff »

Hello to all !

Please find attached a first version fixing the ADF write support on Artery 32KB Gotek.

This is an alpha version but i am interested by your feedback !

(empty adf attached too)

EDIT : UPD file removed, the fix is in this post :
viewtopic.php?p=24887#p24887
empty.adf.zip
(1.39 KiB) Downloaded 194 times

lowlevel
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by lowlevel »

Slightly better. The HFE file now appears as an Amiga formatted disk.
Everything I copy to the drive seems to be slower than it was before.
Everything I try to read from the drive is still corrupt/damaged/no good.

As for the USB stick I'm using... I've tried a few.

Mainly I'm using generic ones, but I've tried two more expensive SanDisk ones with no change in result/so I'm not sure I can blame the USB stick.

Jeff
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jeff »

lowlevel wrote:
Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:30 pm
Slightly better. The HFE file now appears as an Amiga formatted disk.
Everything I copy to the drive seems to be slower than it was before.
Everything I try to read from the drive is still corrupt/damaged/no good.

As for the USB stick I'm using... I've tried a few.

Mainly I'm using generic ones, but I've tried two more expensive SanDisk ones with no change in result/so I'm not sure I can blame the USB stick.
Nothing was changed regarding the HFE :
The point of interest is now the ADF write support :wink:.
Please test it against the attached ADF file !

ljmarent
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Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:26 pm

Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by ljmarent »

I installed the new Alpha firmware on two Artery Gotek's one large and one small MCU.

I can report that using the provided blank.adf
I can write small text files and they 'stick' across mount -> unmount -> remount of the ADF file.
However... when I copy a larger file like an 80kB MOD music file, the file written to the ADF is corrupt, if it plays at all, it's badly broken
Also, when I copied these larger files to the disk, I lost the small text files I had written previously, their file names just disappeared.

It seems the Alpha firmware can write files and the writes 'stick', but it also corrupts 'larger' writes and possibly the file table.

Jeff
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jeff »

Ok then this mean that you have definitively a worst usb stick than me :wink:

I will try to optimize this. For the moment the write cache is not enabled. Once enabled the results should be better.

ljmarent
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Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:26 pm

Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by ljmarent »

Here is what I did to help
I used one USB stick
I created two empty.adf files
One called emptyold.adf the other called empty new.adf
I write a MOD file using my old Gotek to emptyold.adf
I then moved the USB stick to the new Gotek and copied the same MOD file to empty new.adf

emptyold.adf works great

emptynew.adf the MOD file is corrupt

This eliminates the USB stick
AND gives you a copy of the corruption we are getting
emptyold.adf.zip
(239.57 KiB) Downloaded 208 times
emptynew.adf.zip
(220.06 KiB) Downloaded 221 times

Jeff
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jeff »

ljmarent wrote:
Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:16 pm
Here is what I did to help
I used one USB stick
I created two empty.adf files
One called emptyold.adf the other called empty new.adf
I write a MOD file using my old Gotek to emptyold.adf
I then moved the USB stick to the new Gotek and copied the same MOD file to empty new.adf

emptyold.adf works great

emptynew.adf the MOD file is corrupt

This eliminates the USB stick
AND gives you a copy of the corruption we are getting

emptyold.adf.zip
emptynew.adf.zip
Thanks!
This doesn't eliminate the USB stick from the equation at all unfortunately :|.
What i try to explain is that old Goteks have enough RAM memory to store at least 2 tracks. So even with slow USB stick the firmware can write top and bottom sides in one operation. This is simple, fast and reliable !
This is unfortunately hardly possible with the current Goteks : Because of the smaller FIFO/buffers the firmware need now to flush the incoming data in real time to the USB stick. Unfortunately if the USB has a write latency too important the internal write FIFO can become full and a part of the track can be lost... So we are now sensitive to the USB stick behavior...
(BTW you can try to update your old Gotek with the last HxCFEUSB_V4_2_10_12a.UPD and you will see that all is working fine on this old unit even with the last firmware. With bigger buffers/FIFO, these USB stick latency are not an issue).

I am now optimizing the memory usage to increase the cache available to reduce the USB write latency sensitivity, or better, if possible, to eliminate completely this issue. Stay tuned ! :)

Jeff
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by Jeff »

New version with the write cache enabled and some internal memory arrangements.
Tried with my Amiga 600 and 3 different USB sticks and a uSDCard reader. This seems promising. :)

EDIT : UPD file removed, the fix is in this post :
viewtopic.php?p=24887#p24887

lowlevel
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by lowlevel »

This one doesn't behave any differently for me... seems to write, but I think it trashes the image resulting in a read error when trying to pull the file back off the floppy image.

ljmarent
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Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by ljmarent »

I also gave this one a try...
Flashed the new firmware
Put a fresh copy of empty.adf on the stick
Copied the same MOD file to this empty.adf

It actually loaded into HippoPlayer without errors this time, but playback is messed up

here is the empty.adf that was created with that one MOD file written
empty.adf.zip
(220.34 KiB) Downloaded 216 times

ljmarent
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Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:26 pm

Re: Some of my HxC Goteks are not writting ADFs

Post by ljmarent »

I've now tried a SwissBit 1GB SLC UHS-1 S-455u uSD card which can maintain 38MB/sec write speed in a USB adapter in the Gotek
The MOD file written will load, but I still get corruption

The next step is to order a SwissBit 2GB SLC USB U-500K stick for $116.62 CDN from Mouser, as that can sustain 90MB/sec write
But honestly... I think this USB stick speed dependancy needs a rethink...

Even if we find sticks that 'work' now, the latency and throughput speeds of store bought sticks are going to drop as the stick is cycled and ages.
That's just the way it is with NAND flash.
TLC \ QLC \ PLC NAND that is found in commodity USB sticks degrades rapidly, at well below 100 cycles you'll see performance degrade and data retention suffer enough to impact performance.

I've tested quite a few new USB sticks with this Gotek and now the SwissBit uSD as well and I'm not having any luck with Kingston or Sandisk's standard offerings.

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