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Offline p@rityTopic starter

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AmigaKit - A1200 & CF HDD
« on: July 05, 2010, 06:14:50 PM »
I recently purchased an Amiga 1200 from AmigaKit.us and can say I am pleased with the order. I would definitely do business with them again. Here is an overview of my experiences... I am not very familiar with the 1200 yet, so keep that in mind.
 
After placing the order, it took about 10 business days before the product was shipped. The reason for this, is that they carefully test the items before shipping them out. Once shipped though, it took only 3 days for the items to arrive at my doorstep.
 
The package was wrapped up tightly with a cardboard cover and plastic. No visible damage to the box. When I opened the box up, there was some slight damage to the cardboard holders, but the Amiga itself was flaweless. For a collector, I can see the cardboard tears may be an issue... but I can live with it.
 
I ordered a CF HDD to go with the Amiga. I seem to recall that AmigaKit used to provide a service to have it installed, but when I placed the order they no longer presented that option. The CF card did have some tools installed to make the installation easier. Keep in mind that adding the drive to the Amiga requires you to break the 'warranty' seal AmigaKit applied over one of the screws. Understandable... but it does make sense to hook up the Amiga and test it a bit before you do so.
 
It is very easy to install the CF HDD. It is basically an IDE cable, a small adapter and the CF card itself. It comes with a plastic shield at the bottom to prevent short-circuiting it (it is placed on a metal shield). Instead of gluing it, I secured it with some special tape. Both would work, but securing it is always a good idea.
 
After installing it, I booted up the Amiga. An installation program appeared that required the installation of the AmigaOS software. It also asked for a few configuration settings. Fairly straight-forward...
 
I ran into a bit of an issue when attempting to boot from the HDD the first time though. Apparently, there was a default tool installed (IDEFIX) that did not have a full license. A window popped up asking confirmation of the intend to buy the full product. Only the 'yes' button made the window disappear. Unfortunately, after pressing yes, the Workbench screen came up gray. No icons... just a gray background. A bit sloppy in my mind.
 
A quick question sent out to Amigakit was quickly followed with a response (two actually) suggesting some solutions. Since I couldn't boot from the HDD yet, I had to change the startup file using my boot-disk. Doing so, did allow me to see the HDD. Changing the config file turned out to be a bit tricky... if you enter 'ed [hdd path][file]', the system consistenly opened up the startup file from disk as opposed to the one on the HDD. The way I ended up being able to edit it, was to use the 'Open->File' option in the menu... that allowed me to open the right file. I simply commented out the lines related to IDEFIX, popped out the diskette, and reset. All was fixed and the Amiga booted from the CF card without further issues.
 
So far, most everything works well. The only item I am having issues with, is the EasyADF software. I can't seem to mount an ADF file yet... when running thru the steps, the screen briefly changes color, but nothing appears to be mounted in the end. Another question sent to AmigaKit was quickly followed up with a response, but no solution yet.
 
 
In the end, I am happy with my purchase and AmigaKit. Everything works fine and I am sure the issue with EasyADF will in the end be resolved (and probably be attributed to my unfamiliarity with the product). Their prices are fair (especially compared with eBay) and they are very responsive to questions and concerns. Taking in account the niche market and comparing their services to other amiga stores I have dealt with (all of which, by the way,  have so far also been fairly positive), I would most certainly recommend AmigaKit and would gladly purchase from them again.
 

Offline som99

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Re: AmigaKit - A1200 & CF HDD
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2010, 09:39:19 PM »
Well if you got trouble with EasyADF then try TSGui. It works like a charm for me :)
 

Offline mikefr24

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Re: AmigaKit - A1200 & CF HDD
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2010, 11:49:28 PM »
I placed a order for the same thing on June 26th.  I got an update today saying my order is being "picked".  I am not sure what that means exactly but I guess it would mean they are testing and packaging a A1200 for me.  Do these ship all ship from California if you live in the states?
 

Offline p@rityTopic starter

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Re: AmigaKit - A1200 & CF HDD
« Reply #3 on: July 09, 2010, 01:44:20 AM »
The UK actually... but mine arrived in only a few days, and the packaging was great so it survived the trip without problems. I have another order I placed in Canada around the same time, and that part has yet to arrive.
 
By the way, when your order ships, it'll show with status 'delivered'. They have a place on their page explaining what each of the status options mean.
 

Offline fitzsteve

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Re: AmigaKit - A1200 & CF HDD
« Reply #4 on: July 09, 2010, 05:23:36 PM »
EasyADF is for writing ADF files back to a floppy disk, you cannot 'mount' the ADF and run it, at least thats what I think you are trying to do from your description?

Also when the screen flashes like that it normally suggests you are trying to write to a 'write protected' disk or one that is at the end of its useful life.

Steve.
« Last Edit: July 09, 2010, 05:25:40 PM by fitzsteve »
 

Offline amigakit

Re: AmigaKit - A1200 & CF HDD
« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2010, 07:53:45 PM »
If you have goto the EasyADF Write window and select RAD: as the destination drive, it will automatically mount the Recoverable RAM drive and mount the drive image on the Workbench.  However this only works for DOS disks, NDOS disks will not be able to be mounted, they can only be written to a real floppy disk.
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