MorphOS2.4 Efika install problems

[save2600]

@Kronos, yes - I performed an update last night before bed of 2.4 over 2.3. All seeme well now. Placed the tag BM after the efikaintall.img command and that allowed me to choose a 1024x768 screen thta was semi-Acer x223x friendly. I say "semi" because the screen was all washed out and I could barely make out what was going on. Clearly, the refresh rate or something built into the Cybergrafx driver is a little off for this monitor.

@ Ruud: speaking of monitors, Yes, I go into System/Settings from the pull down menu and clicked on Monitors (or screens as you called it). Doubled clicked on the video card edit setting, which brings me to the Ambient setting. Save, reboot and it doesn't change the screen mode. BTW, this has always been my experience using Cybergrafx on a real Amiga. And in fact, even P96 with this monitor. On my Amiga, not only will it not save the change, but it will often crash the computer! Okay, back to this Efika deal... ONLY way I am able to change Ambient's screen mode is by going directly through Ambients MUI setting and changing/saving it there. Yay! That works  :-)   Just curious as hell why it doesn't work through the other way.

BTW: am using OWB right now to read and reply! Was also amazed to find that simply hooking up my ethernet... the comptuer and MorphOS knew it was there! Didn't have to fudge with a TCP program of any kind like you have to normally do on an Amiga. Just need a good mail/news program now, though I suspect YAM is still the best?

Gosh and I just thought of something else if someone doesn't mind confirming... on my boot partition, I noticed several AmigaOS like drawers. 'C' is one of them, but nothing is in there! There's a drawer labeled 'MorphOS', which has the same type of files of course, but it's 'C' directory is jam packed with goodness. Does the OS or EnvArc know to point to all these files within  the MorphOS folder or do I need to copy this stuff over? If they're supposed to be empty...what are they there for? Will programs or Amiga programs install and do there thing outside of the MorphOS folder?

[yakumo9275]

make sure the system is live when you change the battery!! otherwise you'll loose your mac address and your MOS license. The MAC is algorithmic but can be a REAL pain to try and re-roll until you find the correct original mac.

[Kronos]

Dunno mine came back as registered on the 1st try ....

[Ruud]

@ Ruud: speaking of monitors, Yes, I go into System/Settings from the pull down menu and clicked on Monitors (or screens as you called it).

There are too different setting one called "screens" (top left) one called "monitors" (bottom right).  Not sure which one you tried :-?

BTW: am using OWB right now to read and reply! Was also amazed to find that simply hooking up my ethernet... the comptuer and MorphOS knew it was there! Didn't have to fudge with a TCP program of any kind like you have to normally do on an Amiga. Just need a good mail/news program now, though I suspect YAM is still the best?

Yes still YAM :-)  Morphos version is available.

Gosh and I just thought of something else if someone doesn't mind confirming... on my boot partition, I noticed several AmigaOS like drawers. 'C' is one of them, but nothing is in there! There's a drawer labeled 'MorphOS', which has the same type of files of course, but it's 'C' directory is jam packed with goodness. Does the OS or EnvArc know to point to all these files within  the MorphOS folder or do I need to copy this stuff over? If they're supposed to be empty...what are they there for? Will programs or Amiga programs install and do there thing outside of the MorphOS folder?

The MorphOS drawer is used by the MOSSYS: assign.  The idea is you don't touch anything in there.  You just add extra libs, devices, commands etc. in the Amiga-like places which will be pretty much empty after a clean install.  This is really great as it separates third party and core system files and means when you update Morphos in the future you can keep all your settings, user startup etc. without them being overwritten.

[Ruud]

Dunno mine came back as registered on the 1st try ....

Mine too.

[save2600]

There are too different setting one called "screens" (top left) one called "monitors" (bottom right).  Not sure which one you tried :-?


Yes still YAM :-)  Morphos version is available.



The MorphOS drawer is used by the MOSSYS: assign.  The idea is you don't touch anything in there.  You just add extra libs, devices, commands etc. in the Amiga-like places which will be pretty much empty after a clean install.  This is really great as it separates third party and core system files and means when you update Morphos in the future you can keep all your settings, user startup etc. without them being overwritten.

Ahh.... found the 'Screens' icon... its' in the upper left. Monitors is in the bottom right. Sorry 'bout that. Still strange though that even within monitors and then editing the 'screen', it doesn't take. Oh well. Some of this MUI/Ambient/Workbench/Screenmode/Monitor business is VERY confusing to me sometimes.

And yes, sounds great the way system files are now handled. Totally makes sense (unlike the screens/monitor business - lol) and should help curb install disasters.

About the battery... I did experience some quirky stuff there too, although I did change it out with the power off. Seems to me that as long as the system gets rebooted AFTER your morphos.key is in Devs:, then you should be fine. And yeah... I need to get a router someday. As it sits now, I'm in the habit of resetting my cable modem each and every time I switch between the Mac & Amiga. Hmm... I have this wireles WiFi 54M USB adapter sitting here... I wonder if Efika/MorphOS will be able to make use of it yet?  That's a big negatory... Poseidon doesn't like it  :-(

[Kronos]

In Monitors you tell the system what kind of monitor you have, what resolution it supports and can change the timings for each resolution if needed. Changes may require a reboot to take effect.

In Screens you select one of the modes (pre)defined in Monitors for use with Ambient, select a skin,backdrops and such. You can also predefine costum-screens for use with apps that should not appear on Ambient's screen.

[save2600]

Thanks for the clearer explanation Kronos. So is it just a glitch then when you're in Monitors, but editing Ambients screen mode that it doesn't take? An omission maybe?

Well... I'm trying to get a long with this little system, but before too long, I experience freeze ups. It does get a little warm in there, even though the 9250 video card does have a heatsink. The CPU sits right underneath this HD, so the system seems a little too warm for my tastes. I just added a small fan inside the computer and it resides right between the power connector and on/off switches blowing air through the case and over the CPU. Hope this resolves the crashes! System would freeze randomly after some time, but usually when messing around with a window or if a window was supposed to pop up. In the case of a requester, you'd see the outline of its box and then the system would hang  :-(  One of the attractions to Efika was supposed to be its silent operation, but like I said, it really does get warm in there. This is quite the buggy system, isn't it? Anyone else experience these hang ups?  And sometimes, you have to let the damn thing sit for 15 or so minutes before she'll start back up again  :-(   This whole experience is leaving me wondering if the MacMini is the way to go  :-)   MorphOS seems really nice, but as of now and even considering the speed difference, I'm not about to trade in my 060 equipped A2500 for this experience  ;-)

[Ruud]

Hmm... Something isn't right.  My Efika runs non-stop running the dnetc client crunching OGR-27 (so full cpu load), and I don't experience what you're describing.  There's no fan in its case and it sits next to a warm PC in my small office at work.  Sure I don't have a conventional hard drive in there creating heat but even so it can't be any less warm than yours.

[save2600]

Weird. Well, ever since adding the fan, she's been more reliable. Just "installed" YAM. Same probs here as on an Amiga. Installer crashes, says it can't find a source file or something. And then copying files got me there for the most part. Still, program didn't know where the MUI files were or where .lib was - copied those to their respective drawers... fixed the .lib prob, but not the MUI stuff. Found you you have yank the MUI drawer out of the Install folder and place it in the root YAM drawer. LOL  Program doesn't care that there's a drawer in SYS: called MUI.  Thankfully, we Amiga users are used to not using Install scripts. Amazing and frustrating that all of these problems remain, follow amd haunt us! lol  Still, it's a lot of fun learning this system. Using a Microsoft 2-button mouse now and that really helps. Will be looking for a scroll wheel'd mouse here soon!

[Ruud]

Weird is most certainly the word!  I don't remember having those problems with YAM either!  Oh well maybe these Efikas each have a different personality :-)

[save2600]

Well, that's using an Amiga too. I'd say I have more trouble than not using installer scripts. Kind of like Cybergrafx drivers. lol  But they seem fine with this Efika system now.

So... no dock? I remember reading somewhere somebody didn't get the license to use that? Apple has dibs on the concept I guess? Maybe I can install the Dock from OS3.9 disk  :-)   Just found this 'Panel' thing though... seems like that'll be good enough - LOL!

[amigadave]

Thanks for the clearer explanation Kronos. So is it just a glitch then when you're in Monitors, but editing Ambients screen mode that it doesn't take? An omission maybe?

Well... I'm trying to get a long with this little system, but before too long, I experience freeze ups. It does get a little warm in there, even though the 9250 video card does have a heatsink. The CPU sits right underneath this HD, so the system seems a little too warm for my tastes. I just added a small fan inside the computer and it resides right between the power connector and on/off switches blowing air through the case and over the CPU. Hope this resolves the crashes! System would freeze randomly after some time, but usually when messing around with a window or if a window was supposed to pop up. In the case of a requester, you'd see the outline of its box and then the system would hang  :-(  One of the attractions to Efika was supposed to be its silent operation, but like I said, it really does get warm in there. This is quite the buggy system, isn't it? Anyone else experience these hang ups?  And sometimes, you have to let the damn thing sit for 15 or so minutes before she'll start back up again  :-(   This whole experience is leaving me wondering if the MacMini is the way to go  :-)   MorphOS seems really nice, but as of now and even considering the speed difference, I'm not about to trade in my 060 equipped A2500 for this experience  ;-)

Well I hope you won't blame the Efika, or the MorphOS developers totally for your frustration, as I suspect that you have not yet taken the time to READ all the documentation that you can find for MorphOS yet.

I had very similar trouble when I first got my Efika last year, but I can't remember what I did to resolve it.  I do remember that the fix was simple once I found it and I felt kind of stupid for not finding it, or figuring it out for myself earlier.  I suspect that once you do work it all out, you may feel the same way.  The Efika is a great little computer for the price, but it does have it's short comings and quirks.  MorphOS is very Amiga like in many ways, but it does have enough upgrades and differences to have a learning curve, even for seasoned Amiga users.  Part of the problem I have found is that most of the people that offer help on MorphOS have been using it for so long that things just come naturally to them and they often don't realize that when they are trying to help a newbie to MorphOS, they need to include some of the steps that they learned about MorphOS 4 or 5 years ago, so as a result, many times their help is missing some of the more basic steps that they assume you should already know about the OS.

I still consider myself a newbie on MorphOS, but have to say that it is getting easier, now that I am using it more often with it installed on my MacMini.

Hang in there and try to find some of the earlier MorphOS documentation to read completely so you will understand the subtle differences and basic workings of the OS and I think you will begin to appreciate it more with each passing day.  I know it is not fun and I rarely do the required reading myself, as I would rather just jump in and hope to understand how things work by common sense and trial and error (I am lazy at heart these days).

I will try to remember how I figured out my monitor/screens trouble, but to tell the truth, the version of CyberGraphx built into MorphOS is so good at automatically recognizing which monitor is connected to the video card, I haven't had to think about screen resolutions, or bit depths since I first got my Efika and finally got it set it up correctly, so I have forgotten what I did back then.

[save2600]

Hi Dave, you're absolutely right I haven't taken the time to read up much on this system. The Efika came with no docs at all, but I've read how to install (and it's pretty basic actually) it from a USB card, mount the .iso et al. For about a year, I've kind of passively been keeping a pulse on MorphOS/Efika & Sam/OS4.1 for that matter - so this wasn't a total 'blind' or impulsive purchase per se. Sure does "feel" a little different than I was expecting though. Problem was, you had to dig deep to find that there's a boot menu switch that I needed for installation with my Acer X223w monitor. Up until then and being a hardware guy, I was suspecting something was wrong that way. The other install problem (and I was doing everything everyone suggested, including the install directions in Docs) I could not overcome was the fact that a clean install of 2.4 would absolutely not recognize my Acer monitor. Even with the BM switch. Only way MorphOS would see that monitor and include all of its settings was to first install 2.3 and then upgrade to 2.4. I'm sure maybe all I had to do was find a config file somewhere and drop it over, but seems to me something is goofy with the srtaight 2.4 install and my situation. Either that or my 2.4 .iso got corrupt somehow.  

Still... got it worked out now and am now starting to enjoy the system finally. Been running for hours with the fan. Will have to try it without the fan and see if things become less stable. The best docs and adviice sure seem to be from users with experience though - so thanks all for the help. Gonna see if I can get M.A.M.E. running on this puppy now  :-)

-update-

So maybe it wasn't a heat issue why I'd get the random crash. Might just have been the flaky USB hub that came with the machine! I noticed most of the ports are super loose. Contact not the greatest, so considering the quirkiness of Efiak's USB bus, perhaps that was the problem? Not one crash now going on a couple of hours without the fan. Next up, I want to learn how to get the flash plugin or even the Arexx .swf file grabber for OWB to work :-)   Not having luck with *anything* that relies on an install script yet. MorphOS obvious has an installer, but put Amiga Installer 43.3 in the 'C' drawer for "good luck". Guess I'm going to have to get down and do some serious reading :-(

[Kronos]

ARexx-Filegrabber for OWB  ??

May it be that I again missed something ?

The only thing I know is tubexx, a semi-standalone script for YouTube which can be found on Aminet.
Note, you will need a full ARexx-installation for it (requires files from AmigaOS-disk) and a few other things (the script will tell you what is missing). Intregrating it OWB ? Should be possible, never tried.

[Ruud]

So... no dock? I remember reading somewhere somebody didn't get the license to use that? Apple has dibs on the concept I guess? Maybe I can install the Dock from OS3.9 disk  :-)   Just found this 'Panel' thing though... seems like that'll be good enough - LOL!

The Panel's work pretty well but I use PolyNet NG myself. Available from http://polymere.free.fr/index_en.html.  It is very configurable.