Newish '95 tree J250 PC2100

[gunshack]

Hello all. This is my first post here, nice forum.

My question: What is the largest capacity hard drive that will be recognized by the A2100 control PC? I'd like to buy a new hard drive to image and store as a back up, and want to make sure I don't get one that's too big to be read by the system bios.

Background: I just scored practically new Tree Journeyman 250 with Vickers Acromatic 2100 PC control. The machine was originally purchased by my previous employer in '96. I put about 50 hours on the machine while employed by the company, and that's more than anyone else. It has less than 100 hours total cycle time on it. The machine has never seen an inadvertent move!

I don't think the machine has even been powered up for 400 hours total in it's lifetime, but none the less I'd like to have a back up for that 13 years old HD.

TIA,

'Shack

[ions82]

Are you planning to store a LOT of programs or just very big ones? Either way, I would assume it's easy enough to just store any excess offline and load them as needed. Have you posted any code for that control? Does it just use G code? I was surprised at how little room code takes up.

Anyway, I know nothing about that control or how to upgrade the memory. It sounds like a fantastic machine with a very obscure control. If it works, I'd just run it as is (and be thankful that it even works). It seems that many folks in the Tree forum are desperately trying to resurrect machines that are slowly giving up the ghost.

[gunshack]

No, I have no intention of "upgrading" anything, not even the memory capacity. I store programs on a network drive anyway, and the memory capacity of the control is plenty big enough. It is a great control and the machine functions perfectly. It reads standard ISO G-Code, so yes program size is not an issue.

I just want to have a new hard drive to make an exact copy (image) of the original to use as a back up. The original is 13 years old, and I would feel better if I had a spare to plug in when it takes a hike.

However, the bios of the PC will only recognize hard drives up to a certain capacity, and it seems pretty hard to find a new hard drive with less than 40 gigs of capacity.

A fellow replied on another forum with the information I need. Odds are this bios will only recognize hard drives up to 6.5 gigs.

[Sterlingtech]

Siemens now owns and supports the Acromatic product line. Ask for Tech bullitin A2100-049C. This covers the officially sanctioned procedures for creating a back-up image or copy of your A2100 hard drive. Be careful not to connect your drive directly to any computer running WIN 2K or Win XP before reading and comprehending the information contained in this document. Siemens may soon charge for "Legacy" support. As of May '09, they may elect to charge for some support issues related to the A2100. They do offer recovery and replacement of the various versions of the A2100 hard drives and software components that Vicker's provided. See my post @ Tree A2100 service for more interesting info. Give us call @ 704-821-3300 http://www.sterlingservices.com if you need additional help. We have been able to re-image to a readily available 2GB solid state flash drive if you want to bypass the new old stock mechanical hard drive back-up.

[gunshack]

Thanks for the advice. I was planning on using Norton Goast from a bootable CD to image the drive. I'll have to disconnect my other drives to have room for both the A2100 HD and the back up in the PC anyway.

I just scored pack of 3 used WD 4.3 gig hard drives from eBay; hoping at least one will make a good back up. I'll image all three while I'm working on it.

[cncwapner]

http://members.shaw.ca/jasoncmckenzie/A21_049C.pdf