Software for building custom Kickstart

[fiat1100d]

Hello!

This is my first post here and I hope this is the right forum for this subject :-)

I would like to program a couple of EPROMs for my A4000T with a custom 3.9 Kickstart, since now I have been using a "3.5" ROM (made with an Exec patch found on the net) for a while but would like to have in ROM the very latest updates from the AmigaOS ROM Update file.

So, does it exist a piece of software which, given a base Kickstart ROM file (in my case, the A4000T's 40.70), can extract from it the various parts (e.g. devices), then let you substitute them with new code (e.g. newer Exec and devices), finally assembling a file which can be programmed into ROM?

I hope my English is quite understandable, thank you!

[alexh]

Search for ROMSplit and Remus

[keropi]

maybe it is time to consider a KickFlashOS4.
1MB of flash, store there your own KS, a single reboot amiga. it is cool.

[McVenco]

I would like to program a couple of EPROMs for my A4000T with a custom 3.9 Kickstart, since now I have been using a "3.5" ROM (made with an Exec patch found on the net) for a while but would like to have in ROM the very latest updates from the AmigaOS ROM Update file.

Check THIS thread, there are some people who have made their own 3.9 ROMs. Maybe they can help you out.

[motorollin]

In particular check my post dated 2006/6/16 11:04. It details exactly how to do it.

--
moto

[fiat1100d]

Well I just built a 1 MB ROM file using Remus, now I am going to burn it into a couple of 27C400s, I hope it will work fine :-) In case of success I would produce a 3.9 for my A1200 too!
Otherwise I will have a look at that thread, thank you guys!

[motorollin]

Is the A4000s Kickstart ROM 1MB in size?

--
moto

[fiat1100d]

motorollin wrote:
Is the A4000s Kickstart ROM 1MB in size?

No it is 512 KB however there should be provision for 1 MB ROM code. At least, I hope so... This is because on the A600 the ROM socket has two more pins, for using larger ROMs, so maybe the A4000 can, too.

[motorollin]

So does the A1200, but it won't use it. The extra 512K will be ignored.

--
moto

[TjLaZer]

I have a question.  How are BlizKick modules added to a ROM? Just add them in with that ROM tool?

[motorollin]

Yes you just select the module in the right pane of Remus and add it to the ROM image, just the same as a component of a ROM image.

--
moto

[fiat1100d]

motorollin wrote:
So does the A1200, but it won't use it. The extra 512K will be ignored.

I thought I managed to get a 512 KB 3.9 working on my A1200, (much better for "debug" than the A4000T, one doesn't have to mess with the CPU board). I say I tought because I get the insert disk screen, yes, but if I start to load a floppy then it reboots with "Software failure" :-(
Same if I connect an hard disk...

Will also try with 1 MB, but it is a pity if it doesn't work :-(

[motorollin]

The only way to get more than 512KB in your Kickstart ROM is if you use exec from the CD32 ROM (which does have a 1MB ROM). As for the hanging problem, what does your ROM image contain, and what did you try to run? Did you follow my instructions exactly, including the operations in WinHex and the swap byte operation before burning the chips?

--
moto

[fiat1100d]

motorollin wrote:
The only way to get more than 512KB in your Kickstart ROM is if you use exec from the CD32 ROM (which does have a 1MB ROM).

Interesting... Who knows if AmigaOS ROM Update contains an updated version of the CD32 Exec too?

As for the hanging problem, what does your ROM image contain, and what did you try to run? Did you follow my instructions exactly, including the operations in WinHex and the swap byte operation before burning the chips?

Well I had actually missed the "shell", which is a required component :-) As for the operations, I do them under DOS with the utilities of my burner.
Now I have a 512 KB 3.9 ROM containing all the A1200-related updates from OS 3.9 Boing Bag 2, less the workbench.library loaded from hard disk thanks to FindWB from A4000T ROM, plus some BlizKick fix.

Next step, the A4000T release  8-)

[motorollin]

fiat1100d wrote:
Interesting... Who knows if AmigaOS ROM Update contains an updated version of the CD32 Exec too?

I don't know. Just open the ROMUpdate in Remus and it will show all the different versions of exec and which architecture they are designed for. If there's not a CD32 specific version and you really must have a 1MB ROM, then you will have to use the 3.1 version of CD32 exec.

fiat1100d wrote:
Well I had actually missed the "shell", which is a required component :-) As for the operations, I do them under DOS with the utilities of my burner.

Ahhh, that would explain it :-)

fiat1100d wrote:
Now I have a 512 KB 3.9 ROM containing all the A1200-related updates from OS 3.9 Boing Bag 2, less the workbench.library loaded from hard disk thanks to FindWB from A4000T ROM, plus some BlizKick fix.

Congratulations :-)

fiat1100d wrote:
Next step, the A4000T release  8-)

I would be interested to hear how you get on with this, since I will hopefully be changing my A1200 for an A4000D fairly soon. Are the chips the same?

--
moto