Kickflash OS4 (Zorro) - what exactly does it do?

[motorollin]

I'm planning some cool toys for my yet-non-existent A4000, which I'm hoping to buy soon. I'm thinking about getting a Kickflash OS4 but I want to check it actually does what I think it does. Am I right in thinking that it will let me flash it with a 3.1 ROM image with all of the OS3.9 ROM Updates and some BlizKick modules too, and it will be available even from cold boot? Does it need to run a utility to make the Amiga use the ROM on the KickFlash instead of the real Kickstart chips? What is the significance of the OS4 in the name of the product? Does it only work with OS4, or will it work ok with 3.9?

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moto

[keropi]

the kickflash stores a kickstart image in it, plus whatever other drivers u need (like the poseidon stack) and the boingbag updates you want. in a way it builds a super-kickstart up to 1MB. then when the amiga powers, it reads that instead of the ks-roms, and u have a nice single boot machine with drivers on boot time, so u can boot from usb or use a usb mouse.

edit: all work from cold boot, u can use it in whatever wb u want and the OS4 means that when the software only OS4 ks update gets released, u can store it in the kickflash and not softkick like the BB updates.

[motorollin]

Just what I needed to know. Thanks! Anybody know how it works?

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moto

[Craven1200]

sorry to hijack the thread.. but could the ata3.driver be added or is that out of the question (in another thread i asked if it could be added to rom which was a no)

mayb a stupid question but i just want to know

[motorollin]

I saw your thread about adding the ata3.driver to a ROM image and burning it an an EPROM. The code is not 'ROM-able' so it won't execute even if you insert it in to a ROM image. The same applies for the Kickflash I'm afraid.

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moto

[Craven1200]

thanks,   at least i know ill allways be stuck with a reboot then

[motorollin]

Well, at least until somebody modifies the code to make it ROM-able. Then you will be able to insert it in to a ROM image. That sort of thing is a bit beyond my skills. You may want to talk to Doobrey if you're interested in hacking the drive to make it ROM-able.

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moto

[Doobrey]

motorollin wrote:
I saw your thread about adding the ata3.driver to a ROM image and burning it an an EPROM. The code is not 'ROM-able' so it won't execute even if you insert it in to a ROM image. The same applies for the Kickflash I'm afraid.

The problem with the 4xEIDE.driver and ata3.driver is that they're normal executable files which create the driver in memory. They don't have a valid resident structure until they're created, so they aren't seen when exec scans the ROM for residents

It's not impossible though.. I've almost got my 4xEIDE working on my A1200 from a ROM, it just needs a little fettling and tweaking. It's showing up in Scout's resident list, but still needs a damn reboot to work properly!

[Crumb]

Algor also works great and gives you access to USB devices :-)

[d0pefish]

+1 for the Algor too; if you are lucky enough to get the chance to buy an Algor, you get flash ROM a la KickFlash, plus 3 USB ports which work fantastically with Poseidon.

It has to be one of the best cards in my A4000, it makes bootups quicker as it doesn't have to reboot to load in the updates. I have a heavily modified Kickstart which includes all the 3.9BB2 ROM patches as well as some third party hacks and patches. If the Kickflash allows you to do this, by all means RECOMMENDED. :-)

Good luck with the A4000 project, by the way. I had an unbelievable amount of fun building mine, and I won't be too quick to look back to an A1200. :-)

There are only a few finishing touches I'd like for mine, a proper cooling solution, a Cocolino, and maybe one day a sound card. :-)

[motorollin]

The Algor is much more expensive than the Kickflash, and I don't have any real need to use USB devices with my Amiga. At less than 30 quid including postage, I think the Kickflash is a bargain :-)

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moto

[keropi]

get a kickflash, and when u decide u need usb, just add a subway to it!
on a csppc 060/50 , I got ~670kb/sec.

[motorollin]

Good idea. I'm excited :-)

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moto

[Crumb]

@keropi

An Algor will reach 1MB/s without problems and will use less cpu. I have one and it's one of the best cards I have

BTW, Luciferin is excellent.

[keropi]

true, but an algor is a rarity these days, whereas the subway is available now and new. Also algor is faster because it has a better usb chip.
maybe e3b will make a new algor run, who knows...