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Author Topic: TF536 on Amiga 500 and KS 1.3 - Total n00b  (Read 1830 times)

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Offline CalabTopic starter

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TF536 on Amiga 500 and KS 1.3 - Total n00b
« on: September 28, 2021, 02:30:06 PM »
To start with, I am a total Amiga n00b... My total experience on Amiga was about a week with an A1000, and a day with the A500 that I just received.

With my A500 v6a I also got a TerribleFire 536 accelerator/RAM/IDE upgrade. I do know that with my KS1.3 ROM that the RF536 won't do much without any drivers... that's about all I know at this point.  I do have a KS3.x ROM coming, but I'd like to learn a bit in the meantime.

I've been told to install MMU, but I don't really know how to do this.  I have copied several files to the /libs directory on my WB1.3 boot disk, but don't see any change in operation and my free memory still sits around 890k free. The files that I copied to /libs are:
680x0.library
68030.library
memory.library
mmu.library

What do I need to do to install MMU properly?

Secondly, is there a way to enable the faster clockspeed of the TF536 CPU?

Finally, what should I do to access the 8GB CF card attached to the IDE port of the TF536?

I have my A500 connected via serial to my Windows PC and am using Amiga Explorer to transfer files to floppy disks.
 

Offline Matt_H

Re: TF536 on Amiga 500 and KS 1.3 - Total n00b
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2021, 09:56:55 PM »
Welcome!

I don't know anything about this particular accelerator, but the mmu.library package requires Kickstart 2.04 or newer. I would guess that the IDE controller also requires a newer Kickstart - many accelerators with IDE ports mimic the native IDE port on the A600, the driver for which is contained only in Kickstart 2.05 and newer.

Which version of Kickstart 3 do you have coming? 3.X (note the capital X) is a custom release from Cloanto that roughly corresponds to OS3.9, but does have some bugs/compatibility problems on some systems. 3.1 is the traditional maximum version for the A500, but 3.1.4 and 3.2 have recently become available. If you're new to the Amiga, 3.2 is a good bet since it incorporates some important ease-of-use updates with regard to hard disk drivers and filesystems.

Two other new-to-Amiga notes if you weren't already aware:
1. Never, ever, ever plug or unplug *anything* from the system while it's powered on. Chips *will* fry.
2. Aminet is the single most important software resource.
 

Offline CalabTopic starter

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Re: TF536 on Amiga 500 and KS 1.3 - Total n00b
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2021, 03:53:34 AM »
Which version of Kickstart 3 do you have coming? 3.X (note the capital X) is a custom release from Cloanto that roughly corresponds to OS3.9, but does have some bugs/compatibility problems on some systems. 3.1 is the traditional maximum version for the A500, but 3.1.4 and 3.2 have recently become available. If you're new to the Amiga, 3.2 is a good bet since it incorporates some important ease-of-use updates with regard to hard disk drivers and filesystems.

Two other new-to-Amiga notes if you weren't already aware:
1. Never, ever, ever plug or unplug *anything* from the system while it's powered on. Chips *will* fry.
2. Aminet is the single most important software resource.

It's 3.X 45.064 from sordan.ie.  I would have went for a 3.2 ROM, but every one I could find required an OS 3.2 license before you could purchase it. Hopefully the 3.X is good enough to keep me busy for a while.

#1... Really? Nothing is buffered? The only port that I might be plugging powered up would be the serial port. I'll keep that in mind.

#2... Already have it in my Amiga favorites folder.  :)

Thanks!
 

Offline Matt_H

Re: TF536 on Amiga 500 and KS 1.3 - Total n00b
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2021, 05:30:19 AM »
So, a follow up question: do you have a 3.x OS for use with your new Kickstart ROM? Because Workbench 1.3 is not going to give you a good experience with a 3.x ROM. ;)

With the Cloanto 3.X ROM, you should probably aim for OS3.9 or copy the OS3.X distribution from Amiga Forever. 

And do you have access to Commodore’s user documentation? Almost everything can be found as PDFs these days. I definitely recommend spending some time with that. In particular, the AmigaDOS 3.1 and Workbench 3.1 manuals will give you the best foundation on shell commands and the Workbench. If you’re into inter-process communication scripting, also look for the ARexx manual.
 

Offline danbeaver

Re: TF536 on Amiga 500 and KS 1.3 - Total n00b
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2021, 04:58:58 AM »
Hi,

Generally speaking, to access and setup the CF card properly, you really need OS 3.1 or higher, then use the HD tools to select, define and partition the CF drive. I haven't used OS 1.3 since the early 90s, so I am worthless in that regard.

You will benefit from a book or manual about using the Amiga; many are free downloads from archive.org. Questions cost nothing, but be prepared for delayed, and sometimes wrong, answers.