Query re upgrading ROM's and WB

[Hodgkinson]

Hi all,
Im looking to upgrade my OS...
Firstly, can my existing A1200 WB3.0 system run OK - And reliably - on a set of new WB3.1 ROM's, which I would probably buy from amigakit?

Secondly, can my WB3.0 system be upgraded to WB3.1 without having to rebuild and re-install the entire system (E.g., install over the top of WB3.0)? And without having to reinstall drivers or re-construct the entire startup-sequence from a backup of the old system?
Would there be any negative aspects to upgrading in this manner rather than rebuilding the system from scratch?
(Installing the new WB3.1 ROM's first, of course...)

And, what’s WB3.1 like for backwards compatibility to WB3.0 and earlier applications?

Thanks in advance,
Hodgkinson.

[Hodgkinson]

Thanks for your advice.
Although I have a set of WB3.1 floppies, my only decent A1200 is currently in pieces as part of an upgrade project, so unfortunately I can't check to see if WB3.1 can actually install over the top of an existing WB3.0 system.

Can anyone positively confirm this before I splash out on some new ROM's?

Matt_H:

The 3.1 installer will not completely purge your system. Most things will be left alone, but anything in danger of being overwritten will just be moved into SYS:OLD. This does mean you'll need to manually restore commands from the startup-sequence and user-startup.

Perform a backup to be 100% safe. This can be as simple as copying SYS: to a subdirectory on another partition.

So basicially anything that already exists is automaticially copied to SYS:OLD as part of the install process? Is the user prompted for this? And existing files that don't need updating are left alone?

Thanks,
Hodgkinson.

[Hodgkinson]

Ah, but im aiming to upgrade...
Would WB3.0 work on KS3.1 ROM's, until I get around to upgrading the OS?

Thanks again,
Hodgkinson.

[Hodgkinson]

Problem areas if they are altered...
-Libs
-Startup sequence
-Screen prefs and overscan settings (Colours...)
-Additional system tools in C: (One or two have appeared   from somewhere)
-Some special additional files added by AmiTCP into the system folders
-HyperCOM PortJunior device driver

What would be better - Installing WB3.1 over WB3.0 with KS3.0, then upgrading to KS3.1, or installing WB3.1 over WB3.0 with KS3.1 already installed?

Thanks for your help,
Hodgkinson.

[Hodgkinson]

@Jasper
Somthing like this, perhaps:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=522&osCsid=10960a1a2d5e7350778691421bd9c65d

Oh, and do it slowly...Sometimes chips have a tendancy to "Flop over" when there are just a few pins in a corner of a socket left engaged and the force with which you are pulling the chip causes the chip to lean over, bending the pins.

(Pins can be straightened, but they are affected by metal fatiuge)

This is also a good idea:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=110&osCsid=10960a1a2d5e7350778691421bd9c65d

Hodgkinson.