AmigaOS 2.x consensus

[Cass]

Don`t bother, unless you have an unexpanded A500+/A600.
That`s the only way to see the advantages over 1.x and the problems while trying to install/run 3.x apps...

P.S. You may play with it under UAE (safer, less headache!)

[stocksj]

I got an A2000HD with a 030 CPU upgrade running 2.1 with upgrade Kickstart ROMs and was lookng at upgrading to 3.1 so I can get my CD drive mounted. I attempted to load 3.1 last night and ran into problems during the upgrade that failed and now when I power up I only get to the > prompt and WB 2.1 doesn't load. Maybe 3.1 is not worth the effort since it can screw up your current OS build. Anyway, what can I do to fix the startup problem so WB 2.1 shows back up?
 
 Thanks,
 Jim

[stefcep2]

I got an A2000HD with a 030 CPU upgrade running 2.1 with upgrade Kickstart ROMs and was lookng at upgrading to 3.1 so I can get my CD drive mounted. I attempted to load 3.1 last night and ran into problems during the upgrade that failed and now when I power up I only get to the > prompt and WB 2.1 doesn't load. Maybe 3.1 is not worth the effort since it can screw up your current OS build. Anyway, what can I do to fix the startup problem so WB 2.1 shows back up?
 
 Thanks,
 Jim

What Kickstart ROMS version is in the A2000: 2.1 or 3.1?  To upgrade to 3.1 you need 3.1 ROMS AND Workbench 3.1 disks.  You can't upgrade from 2.1 to 3.1 by just installing Workbench 3.1 from the floppy disks.

[orb85750]

By the way, is the upgrade from 2.1 to 3.1 a non-destructive one, or do you need to reinstall all other software too?  And 3.1 should be fully backward compatible with virtually all software and hardware working under 2.1?

Has anyone experienced a headache doing this upgrade?

[Matt_H]

By the way, is the upgrade from 2.1 to 3.1 a non-destructive one, or do you need to reinstall all other software too?  And 3.1 should be fully backward compatible with virtually all software and hardware working under 2.1?

Has anyone experienced a headache doing this upgrade?

Been a while since I've done it, but I'm fairly certain it's non destructive. It'll replace your startup-sequence and... I think that's it. Any non-standard files it replaces, the installer backs up to SYS:OLD.

Do a manual backup to be safe, though. It's just a simple copy #? all clone command. And you can even store the backup on the SYS: partition in a subdirectory.

[Tenacious]

Wondering who all here uses 2.x in their machines. Kickstart and Workbench that is. Can you use Workbench, etc. with Kickstart 3.1 well enough? Any glaring issues or incompatibilities doing so?

Reason I ask is because I am thinking about turning my A2000 (which currently has KS and WB 3.1 on it) into a 2.1 machine. I've got the full original disk set, begging to be used and I believe I have a 2.04 ROM somewhere too. And before some asks WTF? I'm only thinking about doing this because:

a) I'm thinking I want to play around with 2.1, since I never really spent much time with it ever.

b) the A2000 sits there, idle. Since I have a 1000 that's happy with 1.3 and a 3000 with 3.1 on it, thought it might be nice to have a different OS on that system for shits and giggles.

...what do you think? Waste of time and effort? Or go for it? Might be neat showing the evolution of AmigaOS's across various machines...

I run OS2.1 on my A500s, A600s, and one A2000.  It's a much bigger leap from 1.3 to 2.1 than it is from 2.1 to 3.1.  On some of these machines, I installed a rom switcher to get back to OS1.3.

2.1 is very compatible with most software.  There is even a cool animated busy pointer that only works in 2.xx (I've never found one for 3.xx).  The OS released just before 2.1 (2.05?) was the last that included all the files for Speech Toy.  IIRC, this version was enhanced over the one that came with 1.3.

If you have 3.1 roms, there is little reason (other than preserving and collecting another OS) in running 2.xx.   On the other hand, if you can't find 3.1 roms, OS2.1 is completely usable.  There are utilities (like WhatIs.library) that add some 3.1 functionality.

[A1260]

i gave up 2.1 shortly after i got a a600, it was totally wack.. so for me it was 1.3 -> 3.1.. and never looked at 2.1 again..

[Tenacious]

Don`t bother, unless you have an unexpanded A500+/A600.
That`s the only way to see the advantages over 1.x and the problems while trying to install/run 3.x apps...

@ Save2600

Maybe you need to collect/rescue an A600 or an A500/A570 or hard drive combo, , to go with this version of the OS.

[redfox]

Many years ago, we upgraded our A2000HD from 1.3 to 3.1, bypassing 2.x entirely.  If I recall correctly, the only program we had problems with was the Music program from our Amiga Appetizer package from Gold Disk Inc.  For some reason, it played music too fast after the upgrade.  Never got that one sorted out.  There might also have been some problems with speech synthesis.  The A2000HD is currently down for repairs.  We never had an accelerator card, so the machine was running on the 68000 CPU for its entire life.

---
redfox

[bbond007]

I have found that the PPS 040 board for the Amiga 2000 works great with Kickstart 2.04 and Workbench 2.1.  I can not get this board to work properly with Amiga OS 3.x.  Most likely there are other Amiga hardware that acts the same way, works great on Amiga OS 2.x but not 3.x.

I had a early PP&S 040/28 with 3.1, CV64/3D, 1MB agnus, GVP 4008 with GuruRom & Hydra Ethernet.

Worked well together... even with rev 4.2 A2000...

[magnetic]

selles

For your PPS 040 you need the updated Roms for it to work with 3.x..

[motrucker]

I have found that the PPS 040 board for the Amiga 2000 works great with Kickstart 2.04 and Workbench 2.1.  I can not get this board to work properly with Amiga OS 3.x.  Most likely there are other Amiga hardware that acts the same way, works great on Amiga OS 2.x but not 3.x.

Odd, I have one of these boards in my A2000, running 3.1 with no problems at all.
I see no reason in this world to run 2.x these days. I tend to agree with the 1.3 to 3.1 jump (I am about to add 3.5 to the A2000 though - see how that works out)

[RAM0]

As I recall, I had no issues with 2.x (stability etc) 28MHz 68010 w/ 0.9 GB HDDs and 9MB (A2000). I recall re-booting a frozen Workbench from  my I.R. remote (CanDo's serial-handler FTW). Dunno about games tho. I wasn't playing them then.

C:

[Digiman]

All I do on my A1200 is play games, due to that horrible keyboard (ditto A500/A600s).

So for me it's not a big deal whether I use 2.x on my A1000 or 1.3, which I prefer the look of...yes I am strange but that blue/white/red(orange is just wrong!) is perfect with that drop shadow utility too..sooooooo probably not the person to be asking about 'the greys'