Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Gaming => Topic started by: bazza1975 on July 09, 2008, 06:59:38 PM
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Hi folks,
Im a newbie in the amiga scene, dont have that much experience in this field, only thing i ever did was play games on my 500 many years and years ago. Now having bought a 1200 8mb ram and 80mb hd, yes a whole 80mb's i wanna install some games on it, i hear this should run smoother than with floppies. I dont want 100's of games so 80mb should do fine. Is whdload the best way to go? Are the games for this slightly modified, and made bigger and beter? I have purchased a PCMCIA ethernet network card kit from ebay a while back for this purpose.. Anybody have info for me?
cheers Baz
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Hi and welcome, i think that whdload is the way to go, with this software you can get almost every amiga game installed on your harddisk.
Good luck and have fun with your new a1200.
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bazza1975 wrote:
Is whdload the best way to go?
Yes.
bazza1975 wrote:
Are the games for this slightly modified, and made bigger and beter?
No. They're the original versions of the games. Sometimes they are patched with trainers or to remove copy protection, but the game itself will be identical.
bazza1975 wrote:
I have purchased a PCMCIA ethernet network card kit from ebay a while back for this purpose.. Anybody have info for me?
http://www.whdload.de/
Download and install WHDLoad itself and installers for whichever games you want to install.
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moto
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Thanks for the replies :-)
What part does the pcmcia card play exactly, currently the 1200hd is installed with standard amiga software. How i get whdload to work exactly?
Sorry if this question has already been asked a 100 times already... :rtfm:
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Your use of the RTFM smiley is well placed... ;-)
The PCMCIA ethernet card can get your Amiga online so you can download software directly on to the Amiga, and also transfer files from your other computers (if you have any).
WHDLoad has an excellent manual, but basically you just install it by running its installer, then download individual installers from whdload.de for whichever games you want and then run their installers. Each one will prompt you for the game's floppies in turn and install them to your hard disk. Then you double click the installed game's icon to run it.
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moto
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I know the icon is very well placed :-)
So the setup can be done with floppies on the 1200. Does it run on the existing amiga OS which is presently installed?
Get the amiga online, you mean connected to a pc?
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bazza1975 wrote:
So the setup can be done with floppies on the 1200.
Yes - the floppies are *required*.
bazza1975 wrote:
Does it run on the existing amiga OS which is presently installed?
Well I don't actually know what you have got installed :-) But since it's an A1200 I would assume at least 3.0, which is fine for WHDLoad.
bazza1975 wrote:
Get the amiga online, you mean connected to a pc?
To a PC, Mac or other Amiga using SMBFS (on Aminet - lets you connect to network drives to share files) and/or to the Internet.
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moto
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Thanks, i can finally get started :-)
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Have fun :-D
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moto
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before you can install whdload you will need the installer ver43.3 from aminet, just copy the installer to your C:drawer
http://aminet.net/util/misc/Installer-43_3.lha
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With all the access WHDLoad is going to give you game wise, I think that 80mb hard-drive is on the verge of being swapped out for a bigger one soon :lol:
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I am not clear on one point, do you need the original disks, or can you download the games as well.
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A6000 wrote:
I am not clear on one point, do you need the original disks, or can you download the games as well.
If you have a downloaded ADF which is identical(ish) to the original floppy then it won't make a difference to WHDLOAD. If you're really lucky you might even be able to find some complete WHDLOAD packs out there in good old cyberspace.
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Not really true...
The 'installation' of WHDLoad is essentially copying one file to C\ :D
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Will the pcmcia card be of any use in this process, seeing im working with a prehistoric floppy drive??
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bazza1975 wrote:
Hi folks,
I have purchased a PCMCIA ethernet network card kit from ebay a while back for this purpose.. Anybody have info for me?
cheers Baz
If you're using the original floppy games and WHDLoad installs (as opposed to packs [install + game data]) then no, you do not need your PCMCIA network card.
What most people do is buy a Transfer kit (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=440&osCsid=ed33a06c8d180a2dd805f333570f4795) (get the card at the same time) to transfer data easily between the PC and the Amiga.
You can even run WINUAE on the PC to test/setup programs (including the OS!) before transferring to the real thing. This way your floppy drive is pretty much redundant :-D
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Well dont own any original games, been a long time... The transfer kit would be the best option, so will probably be choosing for that option.. How would i set up the OS then?
cheers Baz
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Although I have no need for a transfer kit (DVD drive in my tower'ised A1200), I would presume full instructions would be provided.
At least I hope so lol
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A very good approach to the WHDload problem is setting a winUAE in the peecee, then use it to make your WHD games, zip 'em (or better, lha 'em), save the lha archive onto a CF (for PCMCIA)or CD-RW (if you have a CD unit on your Amiga) to transfer the already installed game in da real thing. :idea:
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Good thread!
I've never used WHDload myself and was wondering how easy it is to install and install the games with it? Are you aware the games aree installed using it when running them, ie. does it come up with a requester or graphic etc when you load the game?
Thanks,
Robert
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WHDLoad comes with it's own installation package so you only really need to follow the on-screen instructions.
It's also very easy to install WHDLoad games ... just de-archive them onto the hard drive into their respective folder and that's it ... simple! :-)
The games operate as if you are loading them from the original floppy disks. There's a minimal amount of loading time from the HD (as you'd expect), plus if the original is a multiple disk set then that's taken care of within WHDLoad itself.
Of course, there is a comprehensive FAQ on the WHDload website and failing that there's a wealth of WHDLoad experienced people here to ask if you get stuck.
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I can't resist restating the obvious: WHDLoad is brilliant. It makes everything so easy. As for all the people making slaves and downloadable packs of slaves (KG! is the man) and helping newcomers get WHDLoad working, cheers and beers to the lot of them.
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Hi folks,
Im back again, now with a pcmcia cf-card kit, so now i copy all the whdload onto the cf-card and transfer it to the amiga right? Thing is the amiga wont recognise it seeing its another OS, whats the answer?
cheers Baz
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OS is not important; filesystem is. Make sure the CF-card is FAT16 formatted (this is what Windows can read) and that your Amiga can read FAT16. If you bought the CF-card system from an Amiga dealer chances are that you already have the needed software for Workbench to mount the CF-card with FAT16 and read it on your Amiga.
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Nope, there was no software with it, are there no tools i can download in order to format it in FAT-16? And after i have done this, what's next?
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Just use the PC to format is FAT16.
Then look here (http://aminet.net/package/disk/misc/fat95). Download this and use a 720k floppy to get this to your Amiga; your Amiga can read these disks when you mount PC0: which is in your Devs/Storage drawer if you have a correctly installed WB on your HD.
This takes care of the filesystem. How to mount this CF-card I don't know unfortunately as I don't have the hardware. I use FTP with a network card for my transfer needs.
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aah i never knew you could still format fat16 in xp...
Ok so then the floppy for the file system,,
then just a matter of mounting the cfcard, with the whdload files.. on the amiga OS.
There is a ADF-transferkit floppy supplied, so that will help.. was still in packet.
:idea:
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Hi,
How do i open the programes i download on the pc (on a 720k disk) on the amiga... on 3.0. When i enter the disk, a df0:???? icon appears. When i go to devs/dosdrivers. it appearsa cf0. I click this it says its already mounted.. cool.. but how do i actually open the disk and install fat.lha in order to access the cf-card....
cheers Baz
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You should start PC0
It is on your Storage disk.
You'll find in the drawer names Dosdrivers, like the one you found CF0 in. Copy it into Dosdrivers on your harddisk for future use :-)
When you start PC0 you should be able to read/write to PC formatted 720kb disks :-)
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You need to mount the PC0: driver.
It is in the Storage/Dosdrivers drawer. Open the drawer and double-click the icon.
After this steps the dos-formatted floppy icon will show on the Workbench screen.
Note doing the double-click thing just mount the driver for this time. If you want to be permanently able to access pc-formatted floppies you need to move the PC0: icon from the Storage/Dosdrivers to DEVS/Dosdrivers. Then every time the Amiga boots the driver/mount-file will be already available.
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I found pc0 and started it,
then another icon appeared underneath df0:, its called no name, when i click on it a window opens but its empty :-?
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Hold right mouse button, select "window" then "show" and then "all files"
That should do it :-)
It is because that there are no ".info" (icon) file attached to the files on the disk.
Diskmaster or DirOpus would be a great help for you ;-)
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Affirmative! i see them no :-) :-)
Now on the floppy i have fat.lha , which i think i need in order to see the cf-card contents,, but when i click it says "enter command arguments" and then its not an executable.......?
How do you install files on the amiga?
no setup.exe to be found :-)
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Ok yeah right,,,
lha is the compression program, so copy lha into c:
then run it by typing lha x {location of lha} {destination}.
So for those of you with the same problem i had try this.
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bazza1975 wrote:
Hi folks,
...Now having bought a 1200 8mb ram and 80mb hd...
Caution: 8MB fast ram might cause conflicts with PCMCIA use - they share the same address range unless there is extra logic to circumvent the problem. 4MB does not conflict and is still enough for most games.
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What would happen if there was a conflict?
Can i change it to 4mb, in the OS itself?
Can i install whdload + games on the cf-card thus avoiding using the HD altogether...?
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Don't worry ... as long as you don't plug anything into the PCMCIA slot then there will be no conflict.
Install the games to the HD as per usual and happy gaming! :-)
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I am Finally playing stealth fighter on whdload, it only way i can run it is by installing whdload on the ramdisk everytime, and then copy stealth to the ramdisk also (seein i still get errors when trying to install it on the HD)but..... i can't save the game, i have entered a formated floppy into the drive, but seeing its a whdload game it doesnt save the game. This is vital to this game otherwise its pretty useless.. anyone??????
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WHDLoad will fix the problem of saving the game on HD, but you need to install it there first. What are the problems with the HD installation? If it works on RAM: it should be the same for your HD.
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Nope still doesnt work on the HD, i have the workbench, where c: can be found, this volume is full, so i try to install on HD1: here there is space left, it installs all the files there, but then when i copy games into the whdload directory, they wont startup, then it say "cant find WHDload tool".
I have also unpacked "installer ver 43.3" into c: and hd1:
Still noluck :-o :-o :-o :-o
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Make sure the whdload executable is in the C drawer of the disk you booted from and that the icon you use to launch the game has WHDLoad as the default tool in the icon information menu. This menu can be opened by clicking the icon once and then select Icons and then Information from the right mouse button menu.
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Ive just make a mistake, ive changed my c: drive size, and now the whole lot is gone... how do i install wb3.0 to the hd? ive got the 4 disks...help!!
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So I reckon you don't have the install disk then. In that case just copy the contents of all disks to the HD root drawer. Make sure you copy all files and not just icons when you use Workbench.
In your case I would just make one partition of 80mb (sure you don't want a bigger HD; I use several gigabytes already); make sure it's bootable.
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Thanks, it works, the whole problem was that the partition was only 8mb!!
Im mising some cool stuff i used to have though like Opus :-( :-( :-( :-(
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You can find a lot of Amiga software on Aminet (http://www.aminet.net).
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I thought i had all 4 disks installed to the HD, thing is when i reboot now i get the 3.0 rom screen, it doesn't load up the workbench,,
Anyone???
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Like I said in my previous post; make sure the partition is set as bootable in HDToolbox (the program you use to make the partitions with).
If there's still anything wrong with it then you won't get the purple rom screen but a shell window.
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I do get the purple rom screen, but i want the workbench to load,,
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That's what I'm saying; the HD doesn't boot. That's why you get the purple screen. To fix this make sure the partition you copied the WB disks to, is set as bootable in HDToolbox.
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I did get a purple rom screen,now all i get is the amiga dos shell. Even if i enter the wb disk or install disk.
Yes i have checked that the HD is bootable, using the HDtoolbox, i have installed the hd with the 5 disks, never came back with any errors..
fast file system is selected, and boot sequence is 0 for HD, this right?
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So you do have the Install disk. Do this then:
1. Boot from the Install disk.
2. Use HDToolbox to make one partition for the full HD.
3. Make sure it's bootable and save the changes.
4. Quickformat the partition. It should have an icon on WB.
5. Use the Installer to install WB BUT don't use the Novice install! This is important as it will stupidly try to install onto your floppy disk itself. When you use Intermediate you'll be able to select the destination for the install. Choose the root of the partition you just made.
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See thats the thing even if i boot with the install disk it ends up in a dos shell screen.. and stops booting, the smae with booting with wb, same result.
Only way i can get anywhere is to boot from software disk i got from pcmcia kit seeing this is bootable.
Then i end up in wb screen, open install disk, then select hdtoolbox, and made 1 partition,, fast file is already selected, good bad?, boost sequence 0 good bad? And yes bootable is selected...
Reboot, and end up in the same ds shell screen, Even is i enter install disk. Thats the problem
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Are you only seeing a screen something along these lines when booting from either the HD or a floppy disk?
(http://www.mtb.ee/~mac/museum/amigados.gif)
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You have probably set the boot priority of the HD higher than the floppy. Hold the two mouse buttons on boot and select DF0: as the boot device. Make sure you have the floppy already in the drive. This will override the priority of the HD for one boot sequence.
In HDToolBox you can set the bootpriority for your HD to something else. Floppy is normally 5. The higher the number the higher the priority. My boot partition DH0: has priority 1.
You can see these numbers in the early startup menu by holding the two mouse buttons during boot/reset.
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Yes thats the screen i was getting...
yes df0:5 cc0:3, dunno what that is and hd0:0, so i disabled hd0: to enter workbench, thing is in the hdtoolbox, it wont save the changes when i change it to say, 6 seeing the floppy has a value of 5.., it stays boot priority 0.....whenever i close the program, and how do i give the floppy a lower value...
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Floppy drives always have a priority of 5 so no need to lower or raise it.
DHO: (hard drive) should be set to a priority of 1
It seems to me that you have either bad copies of Workbench and/or a bad copy of the HD install disc as both should load directly to the Workbench environment.
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CC0: is the PCMCIA device. Anyway if your HD0: has priority 0 then your 1200 will boot from floppy before HD. Remember the higher the number the higher the priority. So there's nothing wrong there. As far as I know you can't change the floppy priority.
Are you sure the disks you're using are ok? You haven't overwritten them by accident by trying to install Workbench? Are they still write-protected?
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@ Flashlab
I'm going to post a quick tutorial on HD prep and formatting for bazza1975 to follow ... hopefully that will do the trick and get him back on track :-)
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Good idea! I'm afraid though that he busted his WB disks... The Novice install mode really can be annoying; especially for novices... the irony.
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I agree ... C= really screwed up the novice mode on installing, very very badly thought out and implemented :-(
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First off, load and run HDToolbox off a floppy disc. DO NOT remove until this procedure is finished.
The partition layout in the following screens are mine. Yours will differ greatly because of the size of the drive you are installing. All numbers the boxes labelled Start Cyl, End Cyl , Total Cyl & Buffers should not be manually adusted unless you know what you are doing!
Look at the picture below. The box on top shows what kind of drive(s) you have. If you have a 1200 or 4000, don't be alarmed if your IDE drive interface is listed as SCSI. This was done for compatibility with older software. There are three gadgets on the left side- LEAVE THEM ALONE!!! They are way beyond the scope of this article, and you should not touch them unless you know what you are doing. The "low level format" (which NOT the same as the regular format disk menu item in Workbench!) in particular can be bad for IDE drives, and can render some IDE drives useless. Most newer drives will simply ignore this, but don't take a chance.
(http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd328/amiga-org/fig1.gif)
The button we're most concerned with now is the partition drive button on the right side. Click on it. Now you should see the actual partitioning window (See Figure 2). The long horizontal bar is a visual representation of your hard drive. Depending on your configuration, you may have one or more sections in the bar. Each section is a partition. The information directly below shows the size of the partition. You can click on each partition to make it active (it turns black). Then you can use the slider (blue arrow) below to resize it. You can also use the gadgets below to Delete a partition, make a new partition, change back to the default setup, or get help.
(http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd328/amiga-org/fig2.gif)
Below that you can see more information. Notice the Advanced options box is checked. This is required if you are going to make additional boot partitions, but we'll leave most of the options at their default. The Partition Device Name box allows you to enter a name for your partition. Usually this will be something like HD0 (under OS 2.04 it might be DH0,) HD1, HD2, etc. The is another box labeled bootable. If you want to boot your Amiga from that partition, this needs to be selected. If it is selected, you can enter the boot priority in the gadget below it. This will normally be 1 for the main boot drive, the one you wish to use under normal circumstances. Other partitions should be set to 0. The Amiga will boot from the highest priority drive (1) unless you use the boot menu to select a different drive to boot from.
Click on the partition, and make sure the settings are O.K. You want the partition (colored black) to be bootable, with a boot priority of 1 so check all the boxes are correct before proceeding.
If you make a mistake or decide not to go through with it, click on cancel and exit. You should be safe, with no damage done. If you're happy with the changes, click on OK, and then Save Changes to Disk. A warning message will pop up (See Figure 3 below). Clicking on Cancel is your last chance to bail. Click on Continue, and the changes you made will be saved to the HD. Click on exit, and HDToolbox will inform you that you must reboot. Make your your Amiga Install disk is in your floppy drive and click on OK.
(http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd328/amiga-org/fig3.gif)
After rebooting (if all went well) you will need to reformat all the partitions. Click on the partition (which will most likely have a funny looking name) and select Format Disk under the Icons menu. Next you will need to reinstall or restore from backup the Amiga OS and all your programs and data.
Troubleshooting:
If something bad happens, you can use the Default Button in the HDToolbox partition window to get reasonable values for your hard drive partitions again. One last warning- some programs invite exploration and fiddling. HDToolbox is not one of those. Don't change anything unless you you know what you are doing. The actions I've detailed in this article should be safe and effective (I've done this procedure dozens of times without mishap), but if you are careless or too curious, you could end up with a useless hard drive.
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Hi folks,
Thanks for all the very useful help, tried it all, even copying the workbench disk.. It does boot from the floppy drive, but the floppies are both suddenly not bootable anymore... very strange. I can boot with adftransfer software pcmcia floppy, that way i can get into the workbench, then using the install floppy into hdtoolbox.
I have done it step for step, bootable, etc, but it has no effect.... :-? :-? :-?
cheers Baz
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I'm afraid you bleeped up your disks. Are you sure you didn't overwrite part of them?
As a last resort you can try this:
1. Unwrite protect you disk.
2. In the shell write "install df0:".
You need to have booted from a disk that has the install command in the C drawer. This command will make a floppy bootable. Make sure you write protect the disk again!
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I think the only conclusion we can arrive at then, is that you have somehow overwritten some crucial files on your Workbench and HDToolbox discs.
When you turn on the A1200 and get the purple screen, there is a set of numbers on the left side ...
Mine says: 3.1 ROM 40,068
What does yours say?
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Hi chaps,
Copied the wb floppy and it worked, copied all contents to HD, rebooted and bingo its now booting from HD.
Finally :-)
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(http://www.papyrusgifts.co.uk/pics/11598793911368SFwelldone.jpg)
And now WHDLoad :-)
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Exactomundo :pint:
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Hurray!