Thanks motorollin.
I downloaded WinUAE, removed the CF from the amiga (which has WB2.1 etc on it) and plugged it in the PC. i added the CF card as a drive (it was recognised as having an RDB) and bobs your uncle - UAE boots. if i 'add pc drives at startup' then i can drag and drop files from my PC to amiga. Once the card is back in the 600 all works as expected...
:pint: