Need some help here...

[DGB]

Hi Folks,
I't's been a long time since I I last posted here but I found my way back because I need some help.  My last post was 2005.  That was when I pulled together lots of old Amiga stuff and souped up my old 2000 with a Toaster 4000 I found on ebay.  I put about everything in that box I could get in it.    I haven't used it much because I have moved on to didgital with other computer platforms.  I did however want to keep the Amiga and Toaster going because every once in a while I need to dive into the old analog video archives and pull something that needs a little work and editing before it gets converted to digital.

OK, fast forward to last week.  I fired up the 2000 and it booted up just fine.  then I went to start up the Toaster and it was a no-go.    Came up as "Unable to open tool CDH0:Toaster/VideoToaster".  I have no idea what the problem is.  Six months ago it worked.  I am hesitant to jump in and just go at this and that on a trial and error rampage.  It occurred to me that there are probably still people out there that know these things much better than I do.  I put it all together back in 2003.  I honestly do not remember that much about building it and putting on the software.  The machine is running OS 3.9 and Toaster4.0/3.0 software.  It has an acellerator board with as much RAM as I could get on it.  There are also two DPS TBC 3 & 4 boards, and a Y/C converter board that put S-video out from the toaster via inside jumpers and a DPS Personal Animation Recorder with a 4GB IDE drive There is also a Catwesal FloppyDrive board running PC type HD 3.5" floppy drives.  There is so much stuff crammed in the box that the SCSI hard drives and the CD drives are located in an outside drive tower.  I even cut the sides out and installed air vents and extra fans inside to keep it all cool.  Up until last week it all worked.

I'd like to save this thing for occasionbal use but I'm not up for spending money on it.  I also do not remember enough about it to go at it intelligently.  That is why I need some help.  If there are any of you folks out there that are really up on this stuff I'd like to talk with you.  Send me an e-mail at db1@pvpmedia.com and I will call you at my expense and your convenience so long as you are in the contingent 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii or Canada.  I feel that actual converstaion will be a far better way to resolve the situation than endless slow correspondence by way of this message board.

Later Folks...

[DGB]

Begin with re-seating all expansion cards, maybe swapping slots in the process.

That was the first move I made.  Everything else and every other program works.  I paid special attentiomn to the Toaster card and its daughter board but no luck.  Thanks for replying.

Dave

[DGB]

Indeed.  'Unable to open tool ' is usually meaning that the path to the application is incorrect or the software is not installed.

Before you start digging in, though.  Let me guess.  You're trying to open a saved project from its icon, right?  Amiga saves the application (tool) path in the project icon.  Try opening the Toaster software directly, then loading the project from within it.  Most likely, the project icon is outdated, and pointing to some old path that the toaster software is no longer present at.

No saved projects on the machine.  Have never started a project on it. I always open the Toaster directly  but now this is what Im getting.  Since I have no projects or particular settings I am tempted to install the Toaster software again but I haven't been able to do that either.  I have no projects because I mainly used the Toaster for switching, transitions  and the TBCs.  From there the video goes via the Y/C conversion as S-video into the Pinnacle Studio 8 system ion a PC to be converted to digital formats.

[DGB]

Is your partition named "CDH0"? or maybe the link should be DH0. Check in WB if the files are there, check your assings in s:user-startup, make sure it points in the right folder. Ther is a icon in Toaster folder to "Check Software", when you click on that, it will verify if all files are there. Mine had 2 errors, but it still worked.
If that doesn't work, just reinstall the sw.
I was just messing with my Toaster 2000 last week, so I'm kinda fresh.

This is why I actually need to be talking to someone directly as I do as asked and report the results.  Kind of like having my hand held and led stsp by step as tech support ofted does with people.

[DGB]

Somewhere around here I have a few more Toaster 4000 boards.  Maybe I should change the one I am using out. Could it be the one I have is bad???

[DGB]

It seems to be looking for a external drive. Did you have a external drive hooked up somewhere  at one time?

Mech

mechy,
If you lok at my opening post you will see where I stated the following, "There is so much stuff crammed in the box that the SCSI hard drives and the CD drives are located in an outside drive tower. I even cut the sides out and installed air vents and extra fans inside to keep it all cool. Up until last week it all worked."

There is no room in the case for a drive so I use the external SCSI connector to connect to a drive tower where there are four SCS! CD drives and two SCSI hard drives.  There is a drive in the case but it is an IDE drive with a short cable connecting it to the DPS PAR board.  It is used only to record annimations from the Toaster.  It has no connection to the operating system.  The system has alwasy been as it is now with no additions or deletions.

Thanks...

[DGB]

If the toaster is bad it will give you different error and then freeze the system.
check if REXX is running at startup, that was my problem on time.
The StartToaster is actually a AREXX script (I'm pretty sure).
Here is good support for Toasters: http://forums.newtek.com/forumdisplay.php?f=101

 animan99,
You may be onto something here.  Problem is I have become so brain dead regarding the OS and workings of the 2000 and the Toaster that most of this jargon goes right over my head.  I've been PC brain washed for so long now that all else is lost.  I'll go to that site and see what I can learn.  I probably need to dig out all the books on the Toaster and the 2000 plus the stuff I have regarding the other boards and ad ons in that thing..

Thanks...

[DGB]

OK Folks...
I looked back through the old posts back from when I put this thing together and found them all.  If you want an understanding of what I have and how it was set up you can go to

http://www.amiga.org/forums/search.php?searchid=2260606&pp=25

and read through the posts I made and their responses.  I am also going to do this in hopes of figuring out what I did and how.  I need to do this because I don't remember what I did or how.  If any of you figure something out for me to try let me know.  Later Folks...

Dave

[DGB]

Here's an idea...

While digging through my cache of Amiga junk I came acroiss a bunch of SCS! drives I have, some of them NOS that have never been used.  I'm thinking I will format one of them, disconnect the external drive tower and plug in another one I have with this new drive and star putting on the 3.9 OS and then the toaster software.  If I get that far I will see if the toaster will come up.  If so, I will set this drive up with what I need.  I have no idea why it is looking for CDH0.  If you look at Directory Opus it finds CDH0 and the toaster software looks to be there.  Obviously there is something amiss someplace.

[DGB]

or try to overwrite the "VideoToaster" executable and its icon. (maybe is gone corrupted)

Sounds like a great idea...  Soon as I figure out how to do that.  Keep in mind, it's been seven years since I did any of this.  I'm lucky if I can remember any of that stuff.