Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Software Issues and Discussion => Topic started by: Abou27 on January 23, 2004, 09:22:45 PM
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I know most are awaiting the possible release of OS4 but I am someone who takes a while to catch up with the latest goings on. Consequently, I am currently pondering a change from 3.1 to 3.9. I was wondering whether it is worth it - what extra features does it have? For instance, are the internet tools ones that you would actually use or just average ones that do the job? Are there any significant changes? Also, is there the option to install it as an upgrade or does it have to be a clean start? I have quite a lot of things on my Workbench partition and wouldn't particularly relish the task of re-installing them all! However, if the OS was a sufficient upgrade then I would. So, for a semi-serious user who has CDROM, is it worth upgrading? Both sides of argument would be interesting :-)
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Here are some answers to your questions.
- more stable
- can be installed as an upgrade over OS3.1
- requires 6MB fast ram and cd-rom drive
- comes with UnArc unarchiver (WinZip like, point and click)
- supports large hard drives
- TCP/IP stack included
- Demo Aweb browser included
- nicer looking icons
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abou27: as always i answer you :)
listen carefully to what i will say now..
BUY OS3.9 NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
seriously i hated 3.5 and removed it after first install and went back to 3.1 , but when 3.9 came i installed it and its been on my hdd since!!!
remeber when you do, do an recovery disk! (write to floppy) and use the update to 3.9 option..
after that, install BB1 and BB2 (boing bags) .
after that... you will come on this forum and scream that 1. you love it or 2. AAAARGH :)
my 2 cents on that you will say "1" :)
cheers
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Thanks for two comprehensive answers.
@Lempkee
Indeed you do! And I shall follow your advice once more. Come payday, I shall upgrade and I look forward to screaming that I love it ;-)
Are the "Boing Bags" on the same CD or are they extras I should buy?
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Another thing is you want to make sure you got a fast Amiga, such as a 030 50Mhz or above if you want to be happy. Otherwise life with Amiga OS will slow down a bit.
I've been VERY impressed by OS 3.9 myself, I really can not see any reason not to update unless you are waiting for OS 4, or simply have an unexpanded Amiga.
Life with OS 3.1 kinda sucked in that I had more Guru errors and I had to download and istall a TON of extra crap to get it to work half as well as OS 3.9. So basically I'm saying 3.9 is a GIANT leap!
Works with Dopus Megellan too!
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boing bags are free , downloadable from the website (haage and partner)
if u cant find em , i will then provide with links!
remeber you need 3.1 roms to use 3.9 , so if you dont have em...buy that aswell (not a bad thing either)..
cheers
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The biggest improvement is stability. It's the same reason for upgrade as with Windows. Win98 serves you well enough, but it does crash here and there. Windows 2000/XP are similar looking, ok they are noticeably nicer, however way more stable that the old 98.
When you install 3.9, you will be amazad by the more fresh environment, but like I said stability is the most noticeable improvement.
Add to that some useful system patches/patchers such as BlizKick and you'll have a rock solid and stable machine.
My A4000 OS3.9BB2 setup prety much only becomes unstable after I play and exit like 5 or 6 WHDLoad games, which is understandable. :-)
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FREE!!!! :)
Here's the link to the boing bags and what not.
http://amiga.serveftp.net/downloads.html
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OS 3.9 - worth it?
Nope.
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3.9 is much more modern, and has some more standard features like a web browser with it and automatic datatype recognition which made things a hell of a lot easier when i was on 3.9
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when i installed 3.9 on my amiga 2000's it's as if I suddenly had new amigas! i had changed nothing else! i just upgraded form 3,1 or 3.5
it did make a big difference!
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3.9 is absolutely worth it in my opinion. Bought it for my A2000 and haven't regretted it for a second. Much better than the 3.1 that was before it. :-)
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Definately worthwhile, certainly wouldn't want to go back to 3.1 now, and had a go on a 3.5 system just before christmas it was horrible, there were loads of little extras I'd got use to using on 3.9, so would go straight for 3.9 and skip 3.5.
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It depends on how long you are willing to wait. If OS4 comes out a month from now then OS3.9 will be a waste of money, won't it?
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If you do more with the Amiga than play some games occasionally you just have to get OS3.9 (couldn`t imagine there was one serious user today without it).
BoingBag 1 is a must as it adds multitasking to the WB (so formating a floppy or copy operations that take some time do not block your WB anymore).
BoingBag 2 is a different story, there wher more users reporting problems then the actual benefits were worth it.
You can try it, but I recommend makeing a backup before installing BB2.
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Get AmigaOS v3.9 now!
At AmigaWorld we have set up a Amiga Shopping Guide for you.
AmigaWorld - Amiga Shopping Guide (http://www.amigaworld.org/AmigaShoppingGuide.html)
Yes, you should buy it for sure! It also allows you to have big HD partitions.
I had some problems with SFS and had to re-install, but couldnt find my AmigaOS v3.9 CD first, so I installed 3.1 and suddendly all of my 20gb++ partitions was gone. When I installed AmigaOS v3.9 they came back.. what a nice reilef :)
Regards,
Michal, www.amigaworld.org
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Yep. :-D
I have no regrets about upgrading to OS3.9. It's well worth the £20 I spent on upgrading, thanks to things like Amidock and the ability to address more than 4.3Gb capacity drives. It seems to be a stable platform too, as I haven't had any stability problems despite adding hacks like Magic WB, ReqAttack, VisualPrefs etc.
The only issue I had was with one of the Boing Bag updates which didn't like the RemApollo utility I was using for my Apollo accelerator card. However, the offending script can be commented out of you startup sequence.
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To "fix" the slowdown problem:
C:SetPatch QUIET SKIPROMUPDATES=exec.library
This will disable the slow exec written in C (so you use the older and faster assembler version).
Patches that is a must (assuming you got MMU and AGA):
FastBlit
FastText
BlazeWCP
MMULib
Using SmartFileSystem (SFS) will also speed things up significantly (especially sys:). AddBuffers will also help. Using FFS is generally not a good idea since it is unstable (cannot validate large HD's) and unsafe (write errors).
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@itix
You seem to be on your own in suggesting that it is not worth it and, whilst you put forward a very compelling argument, I must admit that I am still more tempted to side with those who recommend 3.9 :-P
Seriously, though, are there any major disadvantages?
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I see no disadvantages of upgrading, especially from OS 3.1, OS 3.9 is like a totally different Amiga OS. :-D
Amiga OS 3.9 came with my Amiga 4000 preinstalled, however I wanted a freshinstall and unfortunately lost the 3.9 that was on it, however I have 3.5 installed, I miss 3.9, I need to buy it soon... if I get some money. :-P
Yes, 3.9 is VERY much worth it!
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abou27: stop stalling ok? , go BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!
it will be the best os upgrade u have done so far!..
anyway 1 problem , there is 2 diffrent versions floating , 1 has the so called " update problem " (if you use UPDATE without making a recovery disk and boot from that first)
but then again i allready told you this to make sure, do it with any version of the cd print u have, you wont regret it.
cheers
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From the case:
"Minimum system requirement:
CD-ROM drive, Hard drive, 68020 or higher processor, Amiga 3.1 ROMs (version 40.xx), 6 MB Fast RAM."
I did have this in my Amiga 3000D but couldn´t install it. It went weeks after weeks before I suspected my acceleratorcard wich was an A3640 with a 68040LC or EC, I don´t remember now.
Anyway, I changed it to a "real" 68040 and suddenly I could now install OS3.9. So make sure you have a "real" 68xxx before you start to install.
My 2 cents. :-)