A4000 Video

[carnid]

I used to consider myself somewhat competent as far as Amiga stuff goes, however I have been out of the scene for a very long time.  Just recently I purchased an A4000(D?) 040 desktop off ebay.  I got this for $300 and it came with a video toaster (which I probably don't really need), spectrum EGS video card, 240Mb hard disk and some software.  In the long term I hope to upgrade the hard disk and eventually install OS 3.9 (if the ROMs support it).  Anyway - it is on its way and I hope to have it in the next day or so from UPS.

My question concerns the video.  I currently have an old Sony SVGA Monitor and a newish Dell LCD display.  I had thought initially that one of these would be fine since the spectrum card comes with VGA port, however as I dug deeper on this I discovered I will need a scan doubler or is it called a flicker fixer?  So I am assuming neither of my displays will work once my Amiga arrives and I will need to order one of these additional pieces of hardware.  I found a product called: Internal Scan Magic - Scan Doubler w/ Flicker Fixer for A1200/A4000D on softhut.com.  Would this be the best option for me to get my 4000 running on one of my monitors?  I intend to use this machine mainly for gaming and maybe some tinkering about with OS 3.9 if I ever purchase this.

Anyway - any advice would be appreciated (please be gentle as I am a newbie)

[beller]

I'd wait for the 4000 to arrive and try using your monitors.  I'm not familiar with the Spectrum card, I'm sure others are, but it might handle the video for you.

The Scanmagic would be a good alternative, but I'm sure that Softhut has long sold out.  They are hard to come by.  I just sold one on auction that went for $150.

Individual Computers is making a new scandoubler/flickerfixer for the A1200 that looks to be miles above the current old units.  An A4000 version is in developement.  Haven't heard a release date but, hopefully, it should be next year.

Good luck with your A4000.  You might want to take a look on the message base for information on battery leakage.  Hopefully you won't suffer that problem.

Good luck!!

Bob

[Rbby]

This link might be of some help.  
http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/egs28

[Ilwrath]

Yeah, beller gives good advice... Wait to get the system before purchasing anything additional.  The A4000 can output a signal compatible with a standard VGA monitor with no additional hardware.  

The problem is, it can only do that in Workbench and compatible applications.  (Typically not games, nothing you have to autoboot into, etc...)  But, those screens can be displayed on a TV, if need be.

So, you'll have a way to test the system in the configuration it arrives, and then can decide from there if the purchase of a scan doubler is necessary for what you'd like to do with it.

Honestly, if you're planning on selling on the Toaster and installing 3.9...  You'd probably want to look into a Cybervision 64 (or CV3D with attached scan doubler option) or a Picasso IV card, instead of just the scan doubler...

[carnid]

Ok, so my Amiga arrived and I found that the previous owner had nicely re-located the battery before any harm was done on the motherboard.  I realized right away none of my vga monitors were going to work with this computer.  I looked everywhere for a scandoubler for the 4000 and contacted the nice folks at softhut and amigakit, unfortunately only 1200 flicker fixers seem to be available at this time.  Anyway I spent the last few weeks scouring ebay waiting for a decent deal on an old monitor to come up.  I didn't realize these old RGB monitors still really hold their value.  I am now finally up and running with a Magnavox RGB monitor (it looks like the old phillips one I remember from the UK) - it is a little painful on the eyes though - it is sharp but the scanlines are very noticable.  I am sure this shouldn't be a huge problem for gaming though.

Anyway - so all excited I decided to load up workbench from floppy.  The previous owner had formatted the HD, however when WB booted I could see the hard disk icon and was able to drag files back and forth.  Unfortunately I only have the main Workbench 3.0 disks and not the HD install disk.  I also noticed I only have kickstart 3.0.

Does anyone know if there is a way I can simply copy the files from the WB disks over to my HD or is the install process needed from the WB install disk?

If I do get up and running with Workbench 3.0 on my HD, and I buy a CD ROM, will I be able to bring my ADF files across from my PC and create new floppies (or will I need to upgrade to 3.1 for this)?

Thanks again I really love this forum and it feels nice to be working with an Amiga again!

[Darrin]

I use that same Scan Doubler/Flicker Fixer on my A4000D (robbed it out of my old A1200T) and it does the job well.  I also threw in a Cybervision 643D so that I can surf the web with a good display and don't forget to add a Deneb USB card.  :-)

[Ilwrath]

I realized right away none of my vga monitors were going to work with this computer.

Sure they will... for workbench.  Not having the install disk for Workbench is a pain, though.  But, if you can use the Magnavox or a TV to manually copy all the Workbench files needed to your hard drive, you should be all set.

The files you need for using a VGA monitor on an A1200/A4000 are located on the.... Storage disk, I believe?  (Might be Dosdrivers or something, I forget the way they were broken up, it's been a LOT of years...)  Anyhow, you need the screenmode definitions to put into DEVS:Dosdrivers (for 3.0) the files you'd need would be a screenmode (like DblNTSC, DblPAL, or MultiScan Productivity) and the file VGAOnly.

A reboot later, and your Amiga is outputting a standard VGA frequency signal on the 23 pin port on the back.  ;-)  (Which then will be out of range for the Magnavox or TV.  lol - can't have everything...)

[Sandman]

Hi and Welcome!

I have also just recently jumped back into the Amiga scene after a long absence and have picked up a couple of 4000d's and a 1200....

I was having a blast but just recently purchased a Picasso IV.... they're pricey but I had NO idea what I was missing!  Seeing WB and games playing on a modern monitor (crt or lcd) is unreal. Well worth the investment in my opinion if you can stomach it..

Just my .02..............  ;-)

Tim

[carnid]

I would love to purchase a Picasso or better card later on, but my Amiga Budget is overspent this month as is!  I tried copying the files from my workbench disk to the hard disk (I selected show all files from the menu) and dragged them across.  Unfortunately it won't boot - just sits there on AmigaDos.

That is good to know that the VGA driver might work - I will try that if I can manage to get my hard disk installed with the OS.  Also - I have an old dvd/rw drive that also reads CDs - I tried plugging it in to the 4000 but can't access a disc - I am assuming I need a driver of some sort?  Anyway - thanks for the advice.

[countzero]

what you really need is a set of working workbench floppies. and do a fresh install of workbench. you don't need 3.1 rom for writing adf's to disks. but transferring those adf's from PC to amiga will be a problem. you can format a 1.44 floppy at PC (normal PC format) and use it on amiga with crossdos. It should read 1.44 as a4000 drives should be HD. you can transfer one adf at a time this way (880 k)

as for your question about the cd rom, I think 3.1 workbench had some cd rom support albeit very buggy. You need a cd rom filesystem, what was it I used ... amicdfs ?

[Darrin]

countzero wrote:
what you really need is a set of working workbench floppies. and do a fresh install of workbench. you don't need 3.1 rom for writing adf's to disks. but transferring those adf's from PC to amiga will be a problem. you can format a 1.44 floppy at PC (normal PC format) and use it on amiga with crossdos. It should read 1.44 as a4000 drives should be HD. you can transfer one adf at a time this way (880 k)

as for your question about the cd rom, I think 3.1 workbench had some cd rom support albeit very buggy. You need a cd rom filesystem, what was it I used ... amicdfs ?

Yep, if he can track down some ADF images of WB3.1 then he can make a simple bootable disk off his 3.1 floppies and if he drags the PC0: out of the storage Devs draw and sticks it in his booting Devs draw then he can make a set of disks.

Do a hard Drive install off OS3.1 and you have everything you need on the floppies to read a CD.  The only problem I had was that the CD needed to be in the drive when I booted and it didn't recognise a change of CD without rebooting.  I didn't investigate it because the next thing I did was install OS3.9 off CD.

[darksun9210]

if the hard disk is partitioned how you'd like, formatted, and bootable,
then you should be able to:

insert workbench disk and type,
copy df0: dh0: all clone.
this will give you a basic system.
for more stuff, (like missing preferences)
insert extras disk and type,
copy df0: dh0: all clone
insert storage disk and type, (monitors and dosdrivers)
copy df0: dh0:storage all clone
insert fonts disk and type,
copy df0: dh0:fonts all clone
insert locale disk and have a look see what the files are, as to where they go. obviously keymaps goto dh0:storage/keymaps etc. (i can't remember what is on here and where it goes) :-D

for day-to-day use. 3.0 is fairy indistinguishable from 3.1 and i certainly had no problems with it for years. can be patched up with TD64, newicons, reaction etc.

for VGA, once you're all installed, drag "VGA only" and a selection of VGA sounding monitors (DBLpal/ntsc, multiscan, super72 etc) out of storage/monitors into devs:monitors and reboot. go into prefs/screenmode, and select one of the new monitors. hit "use". once you find a monitor driver that works with your monitor, hit "save". i hope you have a 23pin to 15pin VGA adapter for the amiga's video port. - but obviously this won't work with games, only workbench launched applications that don't force standard pal/ntsc resolutions.
you'll need a scan doubler for that... :-)

for CDrom, you can attach an IDE device to the IDE cable in the machine. you'll just needs something like AmiCDFS, installed to give you a filesystem in your L: like amiCDFSfilesystem, and device driver in devs:dosdrivers that looks like CD0:
aminet should be able to come up with the goods for CDrom driver software. i think IDEfix97 works fine, but if it is unregistered, it has nag requesters.

sorry i forgot, did you say you had a GVP spectrum28 graphics card in there? should be either a 1 or 2Mb card, fully zorro2/3 sensing, and supported by cybergraphics versions2, 3, and 4, picasso96 and EGS.
i suggest downloading P96/CGX3 (CGX4 is commercial ~£20) aswell to see how good workbench on a graphics card looks  :-D

[carnid]

Well I just found out the 'a' button along with a couple of other ones do not work on my keyboard!  I guess I need to tinker with it and if I cannot fix this I will need to track down a replacement A4000 keyboard or connector - back to ebay again  Do the A2000 keyboards work with the A4000?

Thanks again everyone for all your help and advice so far!!!

[countzero]

carnid wrote:
  Do the A2000 keyboards work with the A4000?

yes but you need a standard DB5 - PS2 adapter.

[Iggy_Drougge]

Don't worry about getting lots of new expansions immediately. You have quite a good system, considering you got a graphics card with it. Install Picasso96 and it's ready for use. You can hopefully fix your "A" key by opening the keyboard and writing on the "A" pad with a pencil.