A2000 Hardware Questions

[shpinktaar]

Hey everyone.  Been registered for a while, but haven't really had a functional A2000 until recently - I got this free a few years ago and finally had the time to pick up some parts and get it working properly.  I haven't touched an Amiga in 20 years (and even then I was REALLY young), so I'm hoping you guys can help clarify a few things.  Don't worry, I've already spent a while doing my own research.  I've also included a few pics of "ShowConfig" and "Info" off AmigaShell that might help.

1.  As I understand it, I have ECS Agnus, OCS Denise, which means that while I don't get the best resolutions I am able to switch between NTSC and PAL, correct?

2.  I have 6mb of FAST ram, 1mb of CHIP ram, an 8mb HD, a 1gb HD, and a plain old 68000 CPU?

3.  In order to upgrade to OS 3.9 I need at least an 020 accelerator card (that plugs into a Zorro II expansion slot)?  And if I buy an accelerator card that doesn't come with any disks or instructions, what's the likelihood of me getting it working with little-to-no knowledge of this OS?

4.  Also, OS 3.9 says I need 3.1 ROMs (version 40.xx), but under ShowConfig "Board + ROM = ?" What does that mean?  What's involved in upgrading ROMs?  Should I bother with the upgrade?

5. Considering I live in North America, what's the easiest way for me to use my A2000 with an LCD TV?  I guess SCART and SCART converters are UK only, and as such I probably need a Scan Doubler or a Flicker Fixer?  Would this thing work?  http://www.amigamaniac.com/RGB_to_PAL_NTSC_adapter.html?  Is this probably the most cost-effective?

6. Considering I got this computer from someone who knew what he was doing, I'm a little hesitant to format and install a new OS.  I really wouldn't know the first place to start -- how to install drivers for SCSI CD-Rom (for one).  Should I bother, or just thank the lucky stars I have a functional A2000?


**Image -- http://s17.postimage.org/6m79sfy6n/A2000.jpg


Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I'm in the Toronto area... if someone local wants to really walk me through getting this thing "modernized" I've got a spare A1000 w/keyboard, mouse, and monitor if you're interested.  It's got what I think are HDs hanging precariously off the side.  I get it to the Kickstart screen, but that's as far as I've made it on that one.  I have no kickdisk laying around, and I suspect the HDs might be pooched.

[shpinktaar]

Is this the thing I'd be looking for?  How easy is it to replace the old one with this one?  Any special tools?  Software?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMIGA-2000-kickstart-Rom-3-1-VER-40-63-USED-WORKING-/270970131740?pt=US_Vintage_Computers_Mainframes&hash=item3f1714151c

[shpinktaar]

Thanks.  Really helpful stuff!!!

1. Very interesting.  That definitely works.

2. Here's the interesting thing -- In the image I linked to (of my system) it says "DH0 Size 7807k, Used 15316,  Free 1, Full 100%"  So basically it's an 8mb drive that's 100% full.

3. Could I buy this and just swap the CPU out?  Or is it pretty much fixed to the board, and this is only to swap with an accelerator card? http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=40_99&products_id=113

4. Ah yes, you're right... just found the version when I was doing Step 1.

5. The Indivision ECS is in the price range, I'm just worried about being all thumbs when I start to play with hardware in there.  My guess is that it's not as easy as swapping out RAM.

6. I'll probably be using this mostly for games.  I'm quickly realizing I'm nowhere near as good as I used to be.  The only reason I'd want to upgrade to 3.9 is just to see what 3.9 looks and feels like.

7. Looking into it already.  I've lost 1 due to battery leakage (I was really young), and I'll be damned if I lose another.

1: switching between NTSC and PAL should work, hold both mouse-buttons on power-up (or after reset) to get in to the early startup menu

2: 8MB HD Sure it's not 80MB ?

3: Accelerators either go into the MMU-slot (the slighly shorter one directly left of the drive/PSU-bridge) or directly into the 68000-socket (if the were made to also work in A500s)

4. It shows Kickstart 37.175 which is 2.0, you'll need Kickstart 40.xxx (3.1). New ROM should be available at Vesalia,Alinea,AmigaKit or 2nd hand on ePay.
Swapping them means pulling one IC out of it's socket and replacing it with the new one.

5. This should work, but don't expect good picture quality. Better (but somewaht more expensive) option would be the IndivisonECS (look for it the shops listed above) which will allow you to run higher resolutions at execleent picture quality.

6. Well what do you want to do with this A2000 ?

7. Don't forget to check the motherboard for leaking a battery. If it hasn't been removed do it now (even if it's not yet leaking)

[shpinktaar]

Don't mean to threadspam, but I decided to take a look under the hood.  Seems I've already got Kickstart V40.63... so I guess I have to upgrade this in the software somehow?

Also why's it on a riser?

And what's with all the electrical tape in here?

I'm in over my head.  lol

[shpinktaar]

Thanks, Kronos.  That info's a huge help.  I'll try booting with the left mouse button down in a few hours.  

One last question (for now).  I assume that blue thing towards the front of the case is the battery.  Can I just yank that out of there with (careful) brute force and still have the system function properly?  Then if I want to later on I can use one of those new battery kits?  It's not displaying the right time now anyway, so no harm in getting that out of there.

What you got there is a kick-switch (why it's populated with 2.04 and 3.1 instead of the usual 1.3 + 2.0 OR 3.1 is beyond me ...) switching is most likely triggered by holding (only) the left mousebutton at power-up.

No just the 040 CPU won't help you, you need a full accelerator-card (which also comes with more RAM, without you won't feel much speedup).

The 8MB drive isn't an actual drive but just a partition on the 1GB HD. It being full could either mean that it's really full or that it's somehow corrupted.

[shpinktaar]

You guys have been a lot of help.

I did the right-mouse button click, and it seems to switch which version of the ROM I'm using; however, it's  booting to the kickstart screen and not proceeding from there.  The only way I can get into Workbench 3.1 is to boot off the Workbench 3.1 floppy disk.

Also, I found a floppy disk that says "Sapphire 68020/68881 Acceleration card" in all the disks... I'm wondering if i actually have this thing installed on there.  Can you tell by the pics I've included in this thread?  I find it weird he'd have this disk, but not have the hardware installed.  I also have an A1000 he gave me, but as I understand it that card can only be used on A500/A2000, so it's not likely it's in the A1000, right?

Edit - Battery is out.

[shpinktaar]

That's a great idea - just removing the old ROM.  I don't see much use for it.  As for removing it - those wires that lead from the riser to the other chips, can i just get rid of those wires too?  (Nevermind.... I just realized they're not coming from the kickstart switcher)

As for the Sapphire... I found it in the A1000 he gave me.  So out that comes.  I guess I just plug it into the socket.  I have a disk for it, but it seems to have bad sectors.... do I have to install any software for this to work?

Unless you really want that older ROM, consider removing the riser and just plug the 3.1 ROM directly into the socket.

Here's a link to a picture of the Saphire card:
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=214

It was a small board that plugged into the CPU socket rather than the CPU expansion port.  I don't see it in the photographs (I see a 68000 in the socket), so it is likely the previous owner had one, but removed it and replaced the 68000 before selling the A2000.

[shpinktaar]

He gave me 2 computers (A2000 and A1000).  The pics are of the A2000.  I just opened up the A1000 and found the Sapphire in there... so I yanked it out and I'm gonna plug it into the A2000.

I may take you up on that offer.

You don't have the Sapphire installed there. It plugs into the socket where the 68000 CPU is.

I'll be back in Toronto in a few days. If you need any help with the machine, let me know.

[shpinktaar]

Yah my impression of the Sapphire board is that it's the lowest of the low... but I figure if I'm going take the kickstart switcher out I might as well just put that in there at the same time (as long as it doesn't require a bunch of software I don't have).  I guess I can always try it, and if it doesn't work I can just pull it out.

I'll keep my eyes out for a for a better 020 or 030 option though.  My problem is that being in NA it's usually hard to find this stuff here, or it costs more than I'm willing to pay to ship it.

So far my investment on this machine is a meager $50 for a new keyboard and I've got an OS 3.9 *barely* capable machine.  Still need cd-rom & serial cable.

I've gotta look into formatting this 8gb drive, having half for 3.1 and half for 3.9 I think.  I grew up with 3.1, so that's where the nostalgia is, but 3.9 would be cool to see in action.

Once the riser is gone then you wont need those wires.  I just have the 3.1 ROM in my A2000.



I'm afraid I know nothing about the Saphire board.

I will say that it is the "bargain basement" of all CPU options.  It is better than nothing and it will give you some extra speed, but there is no RAM on the card itself so you won't get anything like the performance boost you'll get from a 68020 or 68030 card that will go into the CPU slot.

Honestly, I'd consider leaving the Saphire where it is and look for a "proper" CPU card for the A2000, preferably with some extra RAM on it.

[shpinktaar]

That being said, I'll leave the 68000 in there for now... it looks like a royal PITA to take out.  The 40.63 kickstart rom was hard enough.  Anyway I took the kickstart switcher out, only using the 40.63 now.  I'll keep my eyes out for a good 020 or 030 option (or 40/60 if I hit the lottery)

You guys are awesome.  Thanks for all the help.  I'll be sure to hit you guys up again when I'm upgrading =)

I have a Sapphire. It's actually slower than the stock 68000 for most software. The only advantage it has is that it will allow you to run software that requires an 020 and/or a FPU.