Help installing OS3.9 on to a A4000D

[dangermouse]

Hi

I've been away from Amigas for a few years and recently decided to come back into the fold. Just recently I've picked up an A4000D and am having some issues installing OS3.9 onto it.

Anyway, onto the system. She is:

* A4000D w/3.1ROMs
* WarpEngine 4028 accelerator w/128MB RAM
* Indivision AGA adapter
* Retina Z3 gfx card
* Toccata sound card
* 200GB IDE hard drive
* Sony IDE DVD-ROM

The hard drive and sound card are both connected to the internal IDE bus with the hard drive as 'master' and the CD as 'slave'. The CD works via IDEFix.

The problem is this. I can install WB3.1 onto the HDD (currently configured with a sole 1GB partition) without any issue. Amiga reboots fine. I then run the 3.9 installer and everything installs without issue. The system then reboots....and goes into a crash cycle (green 'power' light flashes a few times then the machine resets itself and starts the cycle over).

Browsing the web I found some other people over the years have had issues with the 'SetPatch' command so I went digging around in the Startup-Sequence. Sure enough the following lines are present:

If $SCSIUpdate EQ 1
   SetPatch QUIET
Else
   SetPatch SKIPROMUPDATES "scsi.device" QUIET

So I commented out that whole statement block and rebooted. OS3.9 booted to the desktop with the following error:

'Cannot open "workbench.library", version 45. Unable to run "AmiDock".

This was a minor annoyance but I thought fine I can live without AmiDock. Then I went to change the screenmode using the tool and, after double clicking, nothing happens. The 'Amiga Workbench' toolbar at the top of the screen flashes but ScreenMode does not appear. I then tried 'Sound' and 'PrinterPS' and, again, the toolbar flashes but no program appears.

So, I reinvestigated with Google and found people saying that the crashing appears to be a common problem with the WarpEngine and to install BB1 & BB2. So, I unzipped my BB1 LHA archive to the RAM disk (using lha x BoingBag39-1.lha) and run the install. The installer gets to 40% and then just hangs..the hard drive and CD-ROM are both doing nothing.

Finally, after even more research, I heard someone else suggested to install the 3.1 'SetPatch' over the 3.9 version and reboot. I did this (with the uncommented Startup-Sequence) but I get a shell error message saying the an invalid number of arguments have been passed to 'SetPatch'.

And this is the current 'broken' state of affairs that I can't figure out.

If anyone can offer any tips / assistance I would greatly appreciate it and my Amiga will too

Thanks

[Thomas]

You must not remove Setpatch. It's an essential part of AmigaOS (no matter which version) and becomes especially important with OS 3.9.

Your problem most likely is the Warpengine. It's known to be a non-standard 68040 accelerator which often causes problems.

After installing OS 3.1, you should install the 68040.library which came with the accelerator. Then make an OS 3.9 emergency disk (I don't know why people always ignore this. It's the very first choice in the installer and selected by default). Make sure that the same 68040.library has been copied to the disk. If it's not, copy it manually. Now boot from the emergency disk. If it boots ok, install OS 3.9 to the HDD. After installation again check 68040.library and copy the right one if needed.

If you don't get it to boot, try to delete the file "AmigaOS ROM Update" from the Devs drawer. This will deactivate half of OS 3.9, but probably solve the boot problem.

BTW, you should only make one small partition on the HDD and leave the rest empty. The boot partition must be within the first 4GB of the drive anyway and OS 3.9 by default cannot access more than 128 GB. If it tries, it will crash. Only the latest patch from Aminet fixes this.

Regarding BB1 installation, make sure that you have only one (the latest) version of the program "Installer" installed anywhere on your HDD. It belongs into the Utilities drawer. If there is an older version in the C drawer, this makes installation fail.

Bye,
Thomas

[dangermouse]

Thanks for the prompt reply Thomas.

As part of installing IDEFix I did have to copy an 'Installer' to C: which I left in there after installing 3.9. Removing that fixed my BB1 install issues to the point where it now hangs at 40% after requesting the 3.9 CD.

I also copied over the 68040.library as you suggested from my WarpEngine disk to Libs:, uncommented the SetPatch lines and rebooted...same flashing light crash again I'm afraid.

Finally I renamed the AmigaOS ROM Update and the machine booted..success!

Feeling lucky I went an installed BB1 and BB2 (accepting the choice to install the new ROM update in BB2) and rebooted..again success! Feeling curious I went back into my Devs: directory where I had renamed 'AmigaOS ROM Update' to 'AmigaOS ROM Update_old' and noted the entry of a new AmigaOS ROM Update file (presumably from selecting 'Yes' during the BB2 install question). Am I correct in assuming that my Amiga is now booting without skipping any ROM updates (as it should be I guess)?

Now, I do have 2 final questions if someone can answer them:

1. The Amiga boots but a warning appears - 'Can't install BenchTrash'. Any ideas what this might be?
2. As I said above I have a 200GB drive but HDToolbox is giving me 2 strange issues. a) It is reporting the size to be 127.9G b) when I partition it the partitions don't add up to anywhere near that amount. I've got a 1GB Workbench: partition, 2GB Apps: partition and a 4.8G Games: partition. For the Games: partition 4.8G was the maximum size I could get the HDToolbox 'slider' to represent. I can live with this issue as those sizes are probably more than I'll use anywhere but it would be nice to use the whole 200GB if possible.

Regardless, many thanks Thomas..I really appreciate this and has no doubt saved my hair from greying any more than it needs to

Happy Miggie 4000 owner

[Thomas]

Am I correct in assuming that my Amiga is now booting without skipping any ROM updates (as it should be I guess)?

Select "version/copyright" from the Workbench menu. If it says "ROM 3.9" in the title and both versions are 45, then yes, it's working with ROM update now.

1. The Amiga boots but a warning appears - 'Can't install BenchTrash'. Any ideas what this might be?

Don't know, never saw this. If you don't need a global trashcan, you can remove BenchTrash from the WBStartup drawer, then the message will go away.

a) It is reporting the size to be 127.9G

That's the LBA48 issue. Install either this or that to fix it.

b) when I partition it the partitions don't add up to anywhere near that amount.

That's because Kickstart 3.1 cannot see more than 7.8 GB (and access more then 4GB). Now that the ROM update is working, you can use this to extend the partitionable area.

Make sure that you update the FastFileSystem which is stored in the Add/update dialogue of HDToolbox. Otherwise you may loose all your data sooner or later.

Bye,
Thomas

[dangermouse]

No, I must not be using the update somehow.

It says:

Kickstart version 40.63
Workbench version 45.3

with the title being "3.1 ROM"

Looking in the Devs: drawer I see

* AmigaOS ROM Update (321,768)
* AmigaOS ROM Update.BB39-2 (321,768)
* AmigaOS ROM Update_old (127,956) - this is the original one that you told me to delete; I just renamed it

Another oddity I've noticed is that WB is reporting 890,740,216 other mem..I wish but this WarpEngine couldn't even support that. 'ShowConfig' is reporting the correct amount of RAM on the WE but WB does not?

[Thomas]

Do you still use the 3.1 version of SetPatch ?

If you enter setpatch into a shell window, it lists what has been patched. Should look like this:

Code: [Select]


AMIGA ROM Operating System and Libraries
Copyright © 1985-2002 Amiga, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

SetPatch (V44.38) has already been installed.  Patch list:
        68040 Support Code Loaded
        Enabled Advanced Graphics Modes
        HWG IEEE Single Precision Mul/Div/FPU Fix
        ramlib signal usage
        stack size check for CON:, RAW:, RAM:, PAR:, PRT:, SER:
        graphics/WritePixelLine8()
        graphics/WriteChunkyPixel()
        Enabled data cache
ROM updates installed by SetPatch:
        shell, shell 45.7 (13.01.2002)
        console.device, console 44.8 (12.6.2001)
        ram-handler, ram 44.23 (8.4.2001)
        scsi.device, IDE_scsidisk 43.43 (16.1.2002)
        FileSystem.resource, filesysres 45.10 (3.8.2001)
        filesystem, fs 45.13 (3.8.2001)
        bootmenu, bootmenu 44.7 (25.2.2002)
        exec.library, exec 45.20 (6.1.2002)
        AmigaOS ROM Update, ROMUpdate 44.57 (25.2.2002)


Bye,
Thomas

[dangermouse]

Hi Thomas

Well I left the Amiga for an hour or so and, when I turned it on, I was back to the green flashing reboot cycle. I've since booted without the Startup-Sequence and renamed the "AmigaOS ROM Update" again so that I can at least get into 3.9 with the Startup-Sequence enabled.

My SetPatch output as the Amiga stands at the moment (booted into 3.9 w/Startup-Sequence and without a 'AmigaOS ROM Update' file in Devs) states:

SetPatch (V44.38) has already been installed. Patch list:
68040 Support Code Loaded
BOOL CheckIO() workaround
Enabled Advanced Graphics Modes
exec/ReleaseSemaphore()
AmigaOS Copyright
HWG IEEE Single Precision Mul/Div/FPU Fix
ramlib signal usage
stack size check for CON:, RAW:, RAM:, PAR:, PRT:, SER:
graphics/WritePixelLine8()
graphics/WriteChunkyPixel()
Memory Pools
Enabled data cache

And that's all. Nothing about ROM updates though.

I'm assuming then that my SetPatch is the correct version judging by the sample you provided.

So, I guess the state of play as it stands is still:

* Unable to boot with the 'AmigaOS ROM Update' file present in Devs:

Only other thing that may be pertinent is a message is flashed up briefly just prior to the WB screen becoming visible. Something about 'Intuition' is all I could see. I seem to remember having this error on my A4000s/A1200s from a few years back and it never seemed to cause any problems I was aware of. I resized the WB window in the hope the message was lurking in the background but it disappears without any mouse input.

In case it's useful, the pertinent parts of my Startup-Sequence at the moment are:

Set SCSIUpdate 1
If EXISTS C:IDEFix
   C:IDEFix
   Set SCSIUpdate 0
EndIf
...
If EXISTS SYS:Prefs/Env-Archive/NOSCSIUPDATE
   Set SCSIUpdate 0
EndIf
If$SCSIUpdate EQ 1
   SetPatch QUIET
Else
   SetPatch SKIPROMUPDATES "scsi.device"
EndIf
Unset SCSIUpdate

The 2nd SetPatch line will fire as I do have C:IDEFix

And finally my memory is now showing the correct amount again on the WB toolbar

Many thanks

[Thomas]

Something about 'Intuition' is all I could see.

Probably some program is writing some text to the initial shell window, which should not happen normally. Edit s:startup-sequence and insert a line between loadwb and endcli reading

ask "press enter"

This will keep the shell window open until you press enter so that you can read any messages which appear earlier.

I was back to the green flashing reboot cycle.

Does this only happen if you let it cool down for some time, or does it also happen if you switch it off and only wait a few seconds before you switch it on again ?

If it is a heat (or rather coolness) problem, then there is nothing we can do about it in software.

[dangermouse]

OK.

The message that disappears is:

"Intuition is attempting to reset the Workbench screen. Please close all windows, except drawers" with or as options.

In regards to the crash it appears whenever I have "AmigaOS ROM Update" present in Devs:

The sequence is basically as follows:

1. Place "AmigaOS ROM Update" into Devs:
2. Turn the machine OFF
3. Turn the machine back on
4. After a few seconds the power light flashes screen..the system then reboots
5. On this reboot a "Software Failure" Guru message appears..after leaving that for a while (no mouse action) the machine reboots
6. I've had 2 things appears here - either a yellow screen or another Guru message...either way the machine reboots again.
7. Let it reboot by itself enough times and AmigaOS 3.9 will eventually boot but the available 'other mem' shown in the toolbar is completely wrong. Also, even when it does manage to boot, the 3.1 ROM (Kickstart 40.68) is still shown in the 'About...' box.

Interestingly, if I don't have the AmigaOS ROM Update file present in Devs: the machine will always boot straight away AND show the correct amount of 'other mem'.

So, it appears that once every now and then the machine will boot even with the ROM update in place but, even after booting, it appears to have not taken effect. I checked that the ROM update was still present in Devs: when it finally manages to stop reboot cycling and it is.

Whether the machine booted with or without the ROM update present the Intuition message still appears.

I hope I've explained that clearly

Many thanks

[matthey]

The AmigaOS 3.9 (including BB2 update) "AmigaOS ROM Update" doesn't work with the WarpEngine. It's probably the new exec.library in the "AmigaOS ROM Update". I haven't heard of anyone getting around this problem.

[dangermouse]

Oh

Well, at least this means I haven't just been a complete idiot and missed something. I guess I'll have to hunt around for an A3640, a Cyberstorm or stick with what I've got.

Thanks for the info Matthey and thanks again to Thomas for your help thus far.

[matthey]

I wouldn't trade in your WarpEngine for a 3640. You get much more and faster memory. I would upgrade it to a 40MHz 68040 though. You could try Piru's exec.library replacement and see if it works. You would need to use LoadModule instead of the AmigaOS 3.9 ROM update thing. You can split the "ROM Update" with Piru's Blizkick utility and LoadModule those updates (with fixes) too.

[doctorq]

The AmigaOS 3.9 (including BB2 update) "AmigaOS ROM Update" doesn't work with the WarpEngine. It's probably the new exec.library in the "AmigaOS ROM Update". I haven't heard of anyone getting around this problem.

Ehmm, then I would be the first one I guess. My A4000 w/WarpEngine works fine with OS3.9 (can't remember which BoingBag version installed though). In fact it is the most stable machine I have ever used.

As for exec.library you can stop setpatch from loading it by adding SKIPROMMODULES "exec.library" to the setpatch line.

[matthey]

That's good news if the ROM update is actually installed. You should have version info in the Workbench as Thomas wrote...

Select "version/copyright" from the Workbench menu. If it says "ROM 3.9" in the title and both versions are 45, then yes, it's working with ROM update now.

If your ROM update is working fully then please post your hardware configuration.

[doctorq]

That's good news if the ROM update is actually installed.

I'll see if I can get it checked this weekend.

You should have version info in the Workbench as Thomas wrote...

Not quite. If only BoingBag1 is installed, version will still report Kickstart 40.68/3.1. It's first switched to Kickstart 3.9 with BoingBag2 installed.