Clean install on My A1200 & A600

[fatboy]

Hi!,
    I have 2 rather nice machines to mess around with!
A 2MB A600 with 4 GB HD and 32MB A1200 with Blizzard IV '030' with FPU and 30GB HD.

I also have CF adapter (512MB)

I have a genuine copy of OS3.9 on CD (but no Amiga CD-Rom drive) and various copies of WB for the A600???

I currently run an install of ClassicWB on a 4GB HD in the A1200, however I am considering installing the special OS3.9 version of it or Amigasys4 AGA...but it all seems a bit complicated?

The A600 will run some WHD games but also AMOS/BLITZ and a few other productivity warez, just for fun!

The A1200 will run some sort of OS3.9 set-up and tons of games demos etc.

I need an 'idiots' guide to prepping and installing a nice WB environment on both machines...any advise?

Cheers
Fatboy

[TheGoose]

Hi fatboy,

I'm not going to try to do a guide in full first off here, but this would all start by re-setting the HDs with new bootable partitions perhaps...?

Or just use the two for different purposes:

A600 for WHDload (ECS games only you know) and other things

A1200 - perform a full re-do on this machine, make a clean AOS3.9 install.

Nice machines...

[NovaCoder]

http://gregdonner.org/os39faq/os39faq.html

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=27171

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29554

[fatboy]

TheGoose wrote:
Hi fatboy,

I'm not going to try to do a guide in full first off here, but this would all start by re-setting the HDs with new bootable partitions perhaps...?

Or just use the two for different purposes:

A600 for WHDload (ECS games only you know) and other things

A1200 - perform a full re-do on this machine, make a clean AOS3.9 install.

Nice machines...

The strange thing is a couple of years ago I had another A1200 (3.1 Roms and Appolo '030') and 60GB HD with OS3.9...and I did it mostly through WINUAE!!! I remember prepping the HD and installing SFS to break the 4GB barrier on the A1200 and it all seemed quite easy....2 years later my brain must have turned to 'mush' because there now seems to be a ton of options?......just can't get my head around it all :-?

I have seen loads of guides that seem pretty clear but alas I am still struggling :-(

[stefcep2]

What do you hope Os 3.9 will give you on the A1200 that you don't already have?  IMHO the only improvements worth bothering with are support for hard drives, a TCP stack and built in CD-ROM support.  The eye candy ie glowicons is just that: eye candy.  OS 3.9 will use more ram, icons will take longer to draw so windows will open slower, you'll have to put up with a longer boot time, and nothing of note really NEEDS OS 3.9 to run.  If you want a WHDLoad machine than classic WB has all the functionality and speed that your A1200 need, IMHO.  I have an 68060 in my A1200 with 32 MB ram and I could stick OS 3.9 on it, but Classic WB has everything I need.  And its FAST.

[jj]

Well apart from all the bugfixes to some of the main parts of the OS.  Im sure Piru will fill you in on this

[stefcep2]

I know there was a list of bugfixes, but if all you want to do is play games and run the occassional bit of AGA software eg Dpaint, Scala, on an A1200 with 4 gig hd, no cdrom, then IMHO 3.1 is more than adequate, faster and more efficient.

[TheGoose]

Well, without going into hardly any detail my favorite, least complex way of starting a new machine goes like this:

1. get a tv with composite connection to A1200
2. get AOS 3.1 install floppy (yeah floppies are still needed)
3. Boot and use HDTools box to setup the bootable(s) and partitions

Your done really.

WINUAE and all that; I don't do it and don't know about.

[fatboy]

...... Classic WB has everything I need.  And its FAST.

I am actually running ClassicWB ADVSP on my A1200 on a 4 GB HD...I just assumed that the OS3.9 version of it would be better???

I guess I could just prep the 30GB HD and install ClassicWB on there (what about the 4 GB limit?....does ClassicWB deal with that?)

[NovaCoder]

ok a little idiots guide for installing 3.9 on your CF via WINUAE (I'm sure there are better ones).

This is what I did with my 1200 setup.

1) Get a bigger CF (4GB SanDisks are nice).
2) Stick the CF in your PC's reader and perform a slow format under XP.
3) If you want to use SFS instead of the default FFS you can follow this handy guide
4) Start winuae hd with the saftey check disabled (eg winuae disableharddrivesafetycheck).
5) Setup a WINUAE config that matches your real miggy (rip your ROM from your real Miggy and use it under WINUAE).
6) Insert the OS 3.9 startup disk in your virtual floppy drive.  Choose your CF as the one and only HD.  Disable the 'add CDROM drive' option (the CDROM drivers on the startup disk should be enough to get your PC's CDROM driver mounted under WINUAE).
7) That's it, start WINUAE and you should boot to a 3.9 desktop with your 3.9 install CDROM mounted for you ready to be installed on your CF.

Alternatively you could just install AmigaSYS AGA and then bang in your OS 3.9 CDROM which will automatically upgrade it.


 :-)

[fatboy]

NovaCoder wrote:
ok a little idiots guide for installing 3.9 on your CF via WINUAE (I'm sure there are better ones).......

 :-)

Great that sounds more like what I'm after!
Just ordered 8GB CF-IDE card and will go down the AmigaSYS route.

I'll let you know how I get on?

Now what about my A600?.....thinking of sitting under my TV and us it as an MP3 player...or is that too ambitious.

[save2600]

Under the TV, an A600 would be better suited as a game machine FatBoy!

68000 isn't going to cut it for mp3's, PLUS... the fidelity for that kind of thing out of Paula blows chunks. May as well listen to the radio or CD player.

[fatboy]

save2600 wrote:
Under the TV, an A600 would be better suited as a game machine FatBoy!

68000 isn't going to cut it for mp3's, PLUS... the fidelity for that kind of thing out of Paula blows chunks. May as well listen to the radio or CD player.

Thought as much?

Just like the 'diddyness' of the A600....OK dedicated games machine it is :-)