My Amiga Experience

[Robert17]

hey all sorry to moan but ever since I've got my A1200 it's been nothing but trouble with various programs not working, faulty equipment from ebay and the like, how did things get so bad, I thought amiga was meant to be stable and easy to use... :-(

Robert

[Brian]

It is if you use it right... what is not working? what's faulty etc?

If my VCR would die, give crappy picture or start chewing takes I wouldn't start blame the hole VCR market.

[seer]

Hm.. Well never had any serious problems with my A500 and A4000 (till she died that is). Most problems came from stupid software hacks and unstable programs or overheating problems (2 HD's, CyberstormPPC/Cybervision and a KCS PC emulator (Also PowerPC';-), used to have a Cybervision3D in it as well).. When using the standard OS install + CyberGFX and PPC software with no shareware kinda hacks everything worked fine.

Then again, I hardly ever kept my Amiga's powered on when I wasn't home or was sleeping unlike my XP machine which is kept on almost 24/7.

[Robert17]

Well the latest thing is my External Scsi drive which i just got had packed up, just after I got myself a terminator and was trying to use it, also the squirrel was a pain to get in all the time, and the installation 3.0 disk doesn't modify the startup-sequence for you... to name but a few problems. I was quite lookin forward to seeing the old amiga with a cdrom as well :-(

[Holley]

You're talking about a 12 year old computer, very old add-ons, and programs that have been patched to heck an back.  The reliability and ease of use when they were new was through the roof, to get that now you need good hardware, and to be selective over what software you use - Classics are a steep learning curve I'm afraid (and most Amiga die-hards take that knowledge for granted).

What hardware did you have problems with?

[Robert17]

The only hardware problem I have is with the Squirrel SCSI device, firstly the seller didn't include a terminator or software (apparently it came from a working set up, methinks not) so now I've tracked those down and tried to use it only to find out the drive is in fact knackered, the point being I've spent a fair amount of money on a lemon... The A1200 I have is okay, The Blizzard 1230 is good and not problematic at all so I'm happy with that, it just jars me off that I've spent so much money on this machine and now I don't even have a cd rom :-( :pissed:

[Holley]

Sorry, posted while you were replying ;-)

SCSI CDRoms can be found cheap (around £10 + p&p), and all drives fail sometime, usually due to the moving parts wearing out.  It's a boon having a CDRom for the first time, so don't give up now!

Again, stuff like having to manually edit the startup-sequence isn't unusual I'm afraid, though the squirrel setup oughtta be able to do that.

[HopperJF]

Hi Robert,
I have a Squirrel SCSI Interface with software here if you want it, it comes in the original box with manuals, although I'm afraid I shifted the CD-ROM drive a while ago so I can't really test if it works..

[ent0mbed]

Robert17 wrote:
also the squirrel was a pain to get in all the time :-(

Well, I can tell you right now that is one of your main problems.  Having a small furry creature stuffed into your computer could result in no end of damage!!!  :lol:

Obviously, I'm just kidding.  Hope you aren't too angry at the computer to laugh at it.  Anyway, I bought my A1200 somewhere around 1989 (sound about right? can't remember when they came out) and it has never given me the slightest burp of a problem.  I tend to leave my software simple and my hardware hasn't chenged in a looong time (last thing I added was an external hard drive in 1993).  Anyway, as someone else said... any piece of electronics can fail eventually without warning (my vcr died yesterday and it's only 9 months old!) but I think on the average you'll find the Amigas were made with extreemly superior quality considering where computers were technology-wise back then.  I doubt you'll find as many people having a blast with their x486 IBM clone machines today!

I hope your problems clear up and things become more fun soon.

[Holley]

Erm, A1200s were launched in '92 ;-)

[seer]

Having a small furry creature stuffed into your computer could result in no end of damage!!! :lol:

Now he tells me....

[Robert17]

I just purchased a 8x NEC scsi cd reader from ebay for £4.99 hehe so hopefully it will fit in the power computing external housing and solve my problems, how much are you looking for for the squirrel Hopper?

Robert

[ent0mbed]

Holley wrote:
Erm, A1200s were launched in '92 ;-)

Right you are.  I actually got my A500 in 1989 and my A1200 somewhere around early 1993.  I just happened on my issue of Amiga World January 1993 where the announce the new A1200.

[Wibbly]

Not helpful I know, but my Amiga experience has always been excellent. My A500 is 14 years old (still working, despite being hacked to pieces and resprayed), and my A1200 is 10 years old (still working, despite being hacked to pieces, expanded dubiously, and resprayed, not that there's much case left to appreciate the respray)

I couldn't say if my PC's would be that enduring, none of the parts stay in there long enough to find out. I suspect however, that my old Amigas are likely to run another 10 years (maybe because they'll get used only once in a blue moon for nostalgic purposes, or because WinUAE won't play ball with a particular game)

[TjLaZer]

Tis a shame people hack up and ruin their Amigas.  All of mine are in pristine and mint condition, and non yellowed.  I like them that way.  Nothing worse than a yellowed trashed Amiga. lol