How do I build/customise my OS3.9?

[fitzsteve]

On my 4gb CF Cards I can fit Classic Workbench 3.9 and 2500 WHDLoad Games & Demos and a little space to spare (circa 150mb)

You really need more than 2200 Games to play?

[ChaosLord]

I didn't really want Classic WB, but could I hell get OS3.9 Read CF0:, I Added all the dosdrivers from the old 3.1 build into the 3.9 folders but even when I used shell to mount cf0: I got nothing, I couldn't even figure out how to install FAT95. PC's are so easy these days, everything you need is in a package, you click install and it's there, with an Amiga you have to have a degree to understand the instructions, you have to learn how to edit config files and learn simple commands. It's never easy.

You are telling me you can make a custom Windows 7 config that does everything you want and fits on a 4GB CF card?  For real?  You can do that?  Its that easy?


If you insist on abusing your Amiga and starving it of the memory it deserves then I don't know what you expect to happen...

With that in mind, I gave up and tried to install ClassicWB on 3.9, the install Icon that is supposed to appear would not, so I just knocked the whole thing on the head and reverted back to 3.1 with Classic WB.
 
Due to transfer times and installation times, I spent all day trying to do it and failed.
 
I'll probably try again some day and most likely fail again.

I am pretty sure someone warned you this would happen

I think I'd need to be spoon fed how to do it to actually understand.

Next time get a 64GB storage device and use the FREE  ready-made FREE distros that ppl spent thousands of hours making for you to use for FREE so that you would not have a single problem ever.

There must be at least 5 different distros you can download for FREE that have built-in unzip and unlha and that are widely reported to "just work".

[stefcep2]

I did what you did but TBH once you've used the classic wb and then go back to a stock workbench you do miss the goodies in classic wb.

Even so if you want to go your own way:

1.  Download and install fat95.lha from aminet. Dopus should already be set to unarchive .lha.  AFAIR the installer installs fat95 filesystem in L: for you?

2.  Download cfd.lha from aminet version 1.27.  Do what the readme says to install.

3.  open a cli/shell (workbench:system/cli)
type  cd workbench:devs/dosdrivers
type ed cf1 (or cf0 if there is no cf1)
 make sure the following lines are listed:

Filesystem  =l:fat95
Device= compactflash.device

save and exit.

4 For archives you need to download the zip, unrar executables from aminet and copy them to Workbench:C

You then need to configure a dopus button or set up a filetype.  I can't remember how this is done!

or just download one of the many unarchiving utilities on aminet.

5.  ADF's.

Here's where I do thing a bit different.

1. Download and install vfloppy.lha from aminet.  This creates up to 4 virtual floppy discs on your hard drive. Meaning you don't need real floppies and its fast to image the adf.

2. Download and install adf2fms.lha from aminet.  Run it and choose FFx unit ie choose which virtual floppy you want to extract the .adf image to.

This allows you to mount the .adf's on your desktop and install from them as if they were real floppy disks.

If you want to use real floppy disks, the I use adf2disk11.lha from aminet.

[stefcep2]

@chaoslord.

Some of those "distros" are quite bloated, add menus that are "strange", and can change the workbench look and feel dramatically.

I've set up a CGX 1280x1024 hicolor workbench on my A4000 using 3.1 that pretty much does everything that the "distros" do but is leaner, faster, has no double reset, looks damned nice, is rock stable and all the menus make sense, the tools are where I want them to be and I know what they do and how they install so if something goes wrong I can fix it.

He just wants to unrachive zips, rars and adf's and get his compact flash card to mount in PCMCIA port, and get whdload to work.  Why should he bother with every other hack patch utility icon set etc?

[fishy_fiz]

Dopus4.x uses scripts + external commands for uncompressing. If you've been using it and its been working "out of the box", its because the setup youve been using included said scripts + unarchivers.
OS3.9 comes with "unarc" though, so perhaps you dont need dopus for this functionality?

It really is worthwhile learning amigaos though if you want to use the system. You lose so much of the OSes power if you dont, and its quite probably the easiest/most simple OS out there if you spend a little time learning it.
Yes Windows/MacOSX/etc. are perhaps a little more idiot proof "out of the box", but for those that arent overly computer literate do you really know what these installers, etc. are doing ? This is part of why these systems become a bit of a mess and slow down over time because of people not knowing where and exactly what theyre installing.

[sir_bacharach]

Well thanks for all the replies.
 
I decided to have another go, my PCMCIA Card adaptor on the PC is starting to play up now, but so far this is what I've managed.
 
I installed Fat95 from Aminet.net and also cfd along with the compactflash.device file.
 
Was simple enough but the problem I was having as I've had previously was that when the card was inserted the Amiga would freeze for ages. Any activity would be unuseably slow.
 
It worked fine on ClassicWB install that I had previously though, but the strange thing was that ClassicWB doesn't use CF0 file in the DOSDrivers folder to mount the drive, so I was a bit confused at that.
 
I overwritten the Amigas compactflash.device file that came from aminet with the ClassicWB comactflash.device and now it all works perfectly.
 
I've also created a copy of the WB disk with these files so when I boot from it,  I immediately have access to the PCMCIA CF Card. This way I can copy the files from that disk onto the hard disk ready for when I install Workbench again. It means I don't have to open up my Amiga and put the internal CF Card into my PC Card reader.
 
As for Dopus, I think I'm gonna just dump the copy of Dopus from ClassicWB with the config files onto my fresh install of WB then examine the Config file to see what other files I need to copy across to make it work.
 
That will just leave WHDLoad to install.
 
Once I've done that I'll install any other programs as and when I see the need.
 
With regards to the CF Card size, I didn't know you could use anything over a 4GB, but to be honest, I don't really want to spend any more money on CF Cards, instead I've just removed all the CD32 games and CDTV games from the drive and made plenty of room. As far as I've seen, there's no diference in most of them anyway other than BASS which has speech and I have kept.
 
I should also be able to fit all my demos on there now too. So I think I'll be happy with the 4GB CF drive.
 
It's only to play old classic games, and maybe I'll get it online one day so I can download files from Aminet direct.
 
I'm not even sure if I'll bother with OS3.9 either, since I don't really know of any differences that would benefit me. I'll maybe just install some of these icon packs I've seen.
 
Thanks again for all your help.