31 steps to AmigaOS 3.9 usability

[Gulliver]

I allways enjoyed my classic 3.1 severly patched install of amigaOS, but decided to give a go to the last 68k compatible OS for my not so nippy Miggy.
Once my A1200 with 68040 25mhz, 32mb fastram had 3.9 installed, I started to notice several disgusting aspects of the OS that required urgent fixes.
So to start with I:

1-Installed boing bag #1
2-Installed boing bag #2
3-replaced serial.device for the older less buggy one
4-replaced all buggy printer drivers for the original AmigaOS 3.5 ones

Later i realized many semi-official patches could help me fix some of the bugs still remaining:

5-Amigaguide.datatype 45.6
6-Console.device 44.10
7-FastFileSystem 45.14
8-Icon.library 45.4
9-MultiView 45.10
10-RAM-Handler 44.24
11-Rexxsyslib.library 44.2
12-Shell 45.12
13-Workbench.library 45.130

So installed them all, it took a while, but it wasn´t nothing i couldn´t master. But Lord it took time!
Ah! and how could i have forgotten?

14-copied the new 68040.library to LIBS:
15-copied mpega.library to LIBS:

But soon afterwards i realized those last moves were not the most clever:

16-replaced the 68040 libs by the mmu.library package with its own libs
17-replaced mpega.library with a new one which has better precision

Of course i updated the web stuff:
18-replaced Aweb 3.4SE with Aweb 3.5.08 apl

And did some other bit tweaking:
19-replaced the old xadmaster.library, and its associated apps with the most recent ones v12.1a
20-changed the awfully slow performance backdrops (slow for AGA), to others which could cope well and fast with AGA

So yes the system was running, but still there was some sluggish things to correct:
21-replaced slow 3.9 datatypes, gif, jpg, png, etc for the faster Andreas Kleinert ones (AKsomething)
Warp datatypes seemed a better choice, but do you imagine paying $$ to let your amiga display a jpg or gif file?
I dont, i´m sorry.

I needed a reliable backup and cloning disk system, not BRU (OS3.1), by any means:
22-got Abackup 5.22 from Aminet, its so cool!

23-got T.H.E to edit the workbench "tools" menu, and add my own hotkeys, in an OS friendly way

Then i digged for the usual speed-up patches and system hacks:

24-Fblit
26-Iconbefast
27-envhandler
28-NewWPA8
29-rpp
30-taglife


Just when i thought that was it, i remebered retargetable sound
31-installed an updated AHI version

And only then, i felt the AmigaOS 3.9 was nearly adequate...
Adequate enough, to start to fill up my HDD with games and apps!!!

Don´t you feel there should be something like OS 3.91 or whatever for classics? (I mean a bugfixed enhanced 3.9 OS)
What would you add or modify from those 31 steps?

[-BobW-]

I'd like to see an unofficial boing bag put together.  Either an installer that includes all of the important upgrades or maybe a script that grabs the individual packages from the net.

[Gulliver]

I totally agree, in fact i'd prefer some tool like the Amiga counterpart of the windows Nlite program. Its just so cool!

[K7HTH]

Amiga Forever 2005.

[amigadave]

Nice work Guliver,

Yes, there should be a preconfigured upgrade patch to help people take advantage of newer code written to enhance OS3.9.

If I had more free time and just a little more confidence in my ability to script such an upgrade program.

Thanks for doing the research and providing the list of your steps.  I hope other knowledgeable Amiga users here will review it and make their own recommendations or alteration to your steps, so a consensus can be attained regarding the best upgrades that should be used. :-)

[Dandy]

Gulliver wrote:

...
I started to notice several disgusting aspects of the OS that required urgent fixes.
So to start with I:

...

Later i realized many semi-official patches could help me fix some of the bugs still remaining:

...

Could you please describe the bugs of each item you replaced?

The only problem I encountered when installing OS 3.9 to my A1200/030 and to my A4kPPC was to get the correct CD drivers copied to the emergency boot disk when creating it...

Gulliver wrote:

Warp datatypes seemed a better choice, but do you imagine paying $$ to let your amiga display a jpg or gif file?

While I had to pay for the AK-datatypes when I bought them back in 1997/98, I could download the WarpDatatypes for free from
here.

Interesting it was just the other way round for you...
 :-?

[Zac67]

While they're free to download and evaluate, these datatypes are shareware:

"The WarpDT package (WarpJPEG, WarpPNG, WarpTIFF, WarpBMP, WarpPCX, WarpPSD and WarpDTPrefs) is shareware, which means you are expected to register if you find the datatypes useful after an evaluation period of 30 days, and wish to continue using them. "

[Martin_Lee]

It would be good to have all those pieces in one download?

[swift240]

I have looked inside my OS3.9 CD and can see no Printer Drivers in the OS3.5 side of it.

Where do you get the better Printer OS3.5 drivers from?

Mike.

[Lemmink]

Probably from the OS 3.5 CD I guess. Where else ?

[stopthegop]

WarpDT is well worth the shareware price.  It is still registerable, too.  

[swift240]

Ok fine, I shall attempt to get a OS3.5 CD.

[AmiKit]

I'd like to see an unofficial boing bag put together. Either an installer that includes all of the important upgrades or maybe a script that grabs the individual packages from the net.

There already is such an automatic script (included in AmiKit):





If anyone is interested in adapting the script to the "real" Amiga, just let me know (PM).

All the unofficial OS3.9 patches can be found here.

[lionstorm]

you missed 3 additional patches :

2 from amigaos3.9 FAQ (http://www.gregdonner.org/os39faq/miscellaneous.html) :
- ShellUpdate
- PatchRAM

the 3rd one is AutoUpdateWB (http://aminet.net/util/wb/AutoUpdateWB.lha)

[amigadave]

AmiKit wrote:

I'd like to see an unofficial boing bag put together. Either an installer that includes all of the important upgrades or maybe a script that grabs the individual packages from the net.

There already is such an automatic script (included in AmiKit):





If anyone is interested in adapting the script to the "real" Amiga, just let me know (PM).

All the unofficial OS3.9 patches can be found here.

I am sure I asked you for such a script for "Real Amigas" last year, but the answer was maybe later when you had more time.  Do you have more time now?  I think that many users would like their high end (at least 68040/40mHz or faster) Classic Amigas to look as good and have all the features you have put together for Amikit.  I know that I do!

And thanks again for all the work you have done in putting together Amikit.  I have donated and will probably do so again soon.  It is a great way to demonstrate the AmigaOS to non-Amiga users that don't know anything about our "Hobby OS".