a600 noob questions (Hard drive, cpu upgrades etc)

[baz136]

I just opened up my a600 today for the first time, Biggest upgrade i did was when i was 10 when i installed 1 meg ram with a rtc/battery. Now though I want to upgrade the a600, firstly with a hard drive (bigger the better, i have many 2.5" drives kicking around. Then want to upgrade the cpy but to be honest I have no idea where to start. Do I have to buy a ROM first? Could someone possibly give me a few pointers?

Cheers

[InTheSand]

Hi,

See here for hard drive-related stuff (it's geared towards an A1200 and 3.x, but is a very similar process for an A600 and 2.x).

As for a new ROM - what do you use your A600 for? You might be better off saving the money spent on a ROM and 3.x install disk set, and going for a second-hand A1200 instead as this is much more flexible in terms of the expansion options available...

 - Ali

[amigakit]

Some Amiga A600's have Kickstart ROMs that are limited to hard disks that are only 40MB or less in size and some have Kickstart ROMs that can not use a hard disk at all.

If you have a kickstart ROM less than version 37.350 then you will need to upgrade the ROM to use a larger than 40MB hard disk:

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=380

Please be aware that the A600 will still not be able to use hard disks larger than 4Gb unless it was expanded with an accelerator/OS 3.5 or 3.9.

If you wish to double the standard chip memory and add a clockport then you will need:

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=533

[baz136]

My rom version is 2.05 37-229. I would like to use os 3.9 as I have the cd lying around sometme so I would require an accelerator right? And there is no hope in hell running os 4 without a ppc accelerator, is that right? or would I need an a1200 plus an accelerator for that?

[baz136]

Oh and how much should i pay for an a1200? I have seen them for like £99 which I thought was rather steep? Or am I just a tight *******?

[rkauer]

Maybe I'm wrong, but the "historical" of 600's ROM revisions are:

- 37299 or less: no IDE controller in ROM;
- 37300 : IDE controller up to 2 Gb HDs, partitions up to 1 Gb;
- 37350 : IDE controller up to 4 Gb HDs, partitions up to 2 Gb, like A1200.

Changing ROM version to 3.1 version and you'll be able to put any HD, up to 120 Gb (but you need TD64 or other patch in order to use it).
 :-D

[baz136]

Changing ROM version to 3.1 version and you'll be able to put any HD, up to 120 Gb (but you need TD64 or other patch in order to use it).
 :-D

When you say patch do you mean hardware or software?

Grats for you and your wife btw  :pint:

[a1200]

Shameless plug:

For tips and advice on doing things to the A600 visit www.amiga600.net (happens to be my site). Also, check out www.amiga600.de. Another great Amiga 600 site.

[Argus]

You may be better off as suggested just getting a second hand A1200, but even then I recommend the following upgrades:

1) 3.1 ROM (2 chips for A1200; 1 for A600)
2) IDEFix IDE adapter board (for using up to four external or internal 3.5" drives on two channels).  You may even use an internal IDE to compact flash adapter instead of a harddisk for booting in under 3 seconds.
3) 68030 or better cpu upgrade (there are many for A1200; Blizzard, Microbotics and DKB Cobra/Mongoose allow up to 128MB fast ram; there are a few *rare* 030s for the A600 which clip onto the 68000 cpu and Jens Schoenfeld may release his new modern 68030 board sometime).  Some A1200 68030+ boards also offer SCSI functionality.
4) PCMCIA network card (RJ45 or wireless using Prism2 chipset), make sure you get a 16-bit Type I/II card.
5) Internal or external scandoubler (to use large modern flat screen or standard SVGA monitor); I personally think the external ones may be better because they generate a lot of heat and the internal ones are clip-ons so cooling may be an issue.
6) Clockport expansion: depends upon what you want to do, but there are 16-bit soundcards, a USB card (Subway), and fast serial/parallel adapters available for this little header next to the ROM chips on an A1200 and available via either a Gayle clip-on board or new 1MB chipram board for the A600 (both available from Individual Computers/Jens Schoenfeld).

[baz136]

Thank you for all the info Much appreciated. I am currently looking for a 1200/4000. Looking at amiga kit and £99 for a 1200 seems a bit steep to me. One went on ebay for £20 though. Ill just have to be lucky I guess.

Argus wrote:
You may be better off as suggested just getting a second hand A1200, but even then I recommend the following upgrades:

1) 3.1 ROM (2 chips for A1200; 1 for A600)
2) IDEFix IDE adapter board (for using up to four external or internal 3.5" drives on two channels).  You may even use an internal IDE to compact flash adapter instead of a harddisk for booting in under 3 seconds.
3) 68030 or better cpu upgrade (there are many for A1200; Blizzard, Microbotics and DKB Cobra/Mongoose allow up to 128MB fast ram; there are a few *rare* 030s for the A600 which clip onto the 68000 cpu and Jens Schoenfeld may release his new modern 68030 board sometime).  Some A1200 68030+ boards also offer SCSI functionality.
4) PCMCIA network card (RJ45 or wireless using Prism2 chipset), make sure you get a 16-bit Type I/II card.
5) Internal or external scandoubler (to use large modern flat screen or standard SVGA monitor); I personally think the external ones may be better because they generate a lot of heat and the internal ones are clip-ons so cooling may be an issue.
6) Clockport expansion: depends upon what you want to do, but there are 16-bit soundcards, a USB card (Subway), and fast serial/parallel adapters available for this little header next to the ROM chips on an A1200 and available via either a Gayle clip-on board or new 1MB chipram board for the A600 (both available from Individual Computers/Jens Schoenfeld).

[McVenco]

baz136 wrote:

Looking at amiga kit and £99 for a 1200 seems a bit steep to me. One went on ebay for £20 though. Ill just have to be lucky I guess.

If you don't mind any yellowing you can grab an A1200 for next to nothing. For this I recommend to stay away from Ebay though (it sucketh!) and take a peek at non-auction, adverts-website, or a local yardsale/2nd hand shop. You should be able to pick one up for 5 or 10 quid.

You can always get a spraycan of paint and make it white again (or black, or purple) :-)

[gertsy]

A purple A1200 with beige keys.  Hmmmm wouldn't take a queer eye for a straight guy to pick out that clash..
Good ole digital pearl. Thats the only A1200 colour.  + a new keyboard and you're in business.
 :lol:

[baz136]

LOL if i got an a1200 i'd stick it in a tower so doesn't really matter about the yellow'ness of the keys etc Might just spray it black and purple for the sake of it though lol

[McVenco]

You can of course always make your own custom keyboard

You can choose your own font to put on the keys!
Topaz 8 on a keyboard, how Amiga can you get? :lol:

[baz136]

LOL that keyboard is funny, Im actually used to the Apple Keyboad (Also an Apple fanboy) Don't Kill me But i'd buy that keyboard, Bit pricy though lol