Is hot swapping TrueIDE mode Compact Flash possible?

Hi.

I am using an off the shelf PC motherboard with a TrueIDE boot flash. A RAM-resident system loads from the CF card. From that point on the CF card is not used (no filesystems mounted).

Is it electrically ok to swap an idle card? Will the new card configure itself into TrueIDE mode upon insertion?

I haven't mentioned an operating system on purpose. Host software I can deal with - it's the CF card itself and its IDE connection that I'm concerned about.

Tips, advice, scary stories appreciated.

Regards, Paul.

Reply to
Paul Marciano
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It is explicitly not supported in the CompactFlash specification. The power supply pins are mechanically sequenced before any control or data lines (look at the connector), therefore the card will not see TrueIDE strapping at powerup.

If you attempt it, you'll find it does work sometimes, particularly if you ram the card in quickly. It's not something you want to design into your user interface, though.

Reply to
larwe

Thanks for that. I'd heard before that it wasn't supported, and so it's not a requirement for the project. However I had read some comments on a Linux board regarding changes to their IDE driver to possibly support it in the future and it started me wondering if it was a software issue or a hardware one.

Thanks again for the quick response.

Regards, Paul.

Reply to
Paul Marciano

Many devices with a CF slot run in IDE mode have a FET switching the power rail to the card so that it can be power-sequenced after full insertion, precisely so hot-swapping can be supported.

Reply to
larwe

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