Blizzard PPC - umm is it working?

[gizmomelb]

Hi all,

I'm trying to test if a Phase 5 PPC for the A1200 is workin or not.  The 68040 is definately recognised and working, but after installing the software for the PPC, I have no idea if the PPC is actually working or not (also not having a manual doesn't help).  Can anyone recommend a program to download, or some instructions on what procedures to take, so I can test the PPC and get it to run some software (or a sysinfo type of program which will identify the PPC unit and if its working or not?).  Many thanks in advance, so far searching FAQs hasn't shed any light on Amigas and PPCs for me at all.

[motorollin]

Can't you just run some software that requires the PPC and see if it works?

--
moto

[amigakit]

Try WhichAmiga to get information on your system including the PPC

BTW: I wouldnt use the Phase5 PPC software as it is quite old now.  WarpOS is more useful as there are more applications for it.

[doctorq]

If you install WarpOS there will be a drawer with demos you can test the PPC CPU with.

Otherwise, you can download UnLZX_WOS from Aminet for instance. If the unarcer crashes, the PPC is most likely not working. Keep in mind though that it requieres WarpOS installed.

[gizmomelb]

Thanks AmigaKit,

the suggested program detected the PPC and gave me some info for it.  I tried downloading WolfPac14.lha from Aminet, but I was a little underwhelmed as this 3D pac-man program appeared to run quite slow (the PPC version).  I also copied across version 46.19 of the PPC.library into my LIBS directory.  Is there any software which I need to have in my startup-sequence to 'enable' the PPC or something?  Or am I expecting too much 'grunt' from the PPC?

[amigakit]

Heres a link to an excellent unofficial Phase5 PPC support site:

http://powerup.amigaworld.de/index.php?lang=en&page=13

I would recommend installing WarpOS instead

The PPC is pretty fast but you need to setup your system to take full use of it.  Software can be slow if you have standard AGA or a slow graphics card.

It is worth having a look at the PPC's startup menu fby holding down ESC when resetting.  This will allow you to tweak the memory speeds, enable MapROM etc

You may have an old flashROM on the PPC so you may want to upgrade the flashROM too.

[gizmomelb]

Thanks again Amigakit!

I tried pressing 'escape' during reset and I can see there is a screen change, however the display is just a fast vertical rolling display (obviously a screen res. or frequency my 1084S monitor cannot display) - so I cannot see anything about which ROM version etc. I have.  Any suggestions?

Thanks again.

[amigakit]

When the screen is rolling as you have described if you hit SPACE it will alternative from 31Khz mode (for VGA monitors) to 15Khz (Amiga native- 1084S friendly)

The previous owner may have set 31Khz mode as the default as he had a PC monitor.

[gizmomelb]

Hi Amigakit,

sorry to be a real pain, but unfortunately pressing space when the screen is rolling doesn't seem to do anything, I've tried pressing space when the screen first comes up, when it is rolling etc. pressing it once, or pressing it multiple times doesn't seem to do anything.

I'm using an RGB cable - I wonder if using composite and hooking it up to my TV (which can display both PAL and NTSC) would do the trick?  I'll try it tomorrow (near midnight at the moment).

Thanks for all your advice.

[doctorq]

@gizmomelb

If you have a 23-->15 pin adaptor, connect this one to a PC screen. You should be able to see the screen on this, but you might still need to press a key to switch the screenmode.

If you have a BVision graphics card, try to connect this to the BPPC. This will definately show the boot menu of the BPPC (in case you hook up the PC screen to the BVision VGA lead :-)