Upgrading a 4000

[Tupin]

I've finally got it basically working, but I want to do more with it. I have several questions:

1. How do I check the current specs of my machine?
2. What program do I need to use a Golden Gate 386SX card?
3. How do I get started transferring files with a CF card? What program should I download first?
4. WHDLoad is pretty much essential, I guess?
5. Would it be better to have a CD drive or an extra hard drive for the 386SX card? If the former, what kind of CD drive will work?
6. As for 3.9, what are the requirements and advantages?

Please excuse my (many) newbish questions, I want to do a lot on this machine but don't know where to start.

[mousehouse]

You can download "WhichAmiga" from Aminet which probably gives you the best detailed info on your machine... As for the 386 card, there is a Janus replacement software set on aminet as well... But maybe the original software for the card works best? As for the CF stuff, I don't know. If you're able to get your hands on a DENEB card that is probably the easiest way. AFAIK 3.9 runs fine on any 4000... I never use a CD drive...

[Tupin]

There can be only two IDE devices, right? Any IDE CD-ROM drive will work? I ask because I want to install 3.9...

[slaapliedje]

I have an A4000, and yes, you have only two IDE interfaces.  Mine is connected to a 160GB hard drive and a 24x10x40x CD Writer.

Make sure when you install OS3.9 that you install all the Boing Bags (at least the first three, I have the fourth, but it is beta and somethings do seem a little less stable for me.)

WHDLoad is awesome, but make sure you set your A4000 to PAL mode, unless you have a video toaster.  I had mine in NTSC mode and couldn't figure out why so many games just didn't work right.  Switched it to PAL and almost all of them worked perfectly afterward.

There is a jumper inside the A4000 for doing this, though I can't recall exactly where at the moment.  I think it's near the sound output.

slaapliedje

[Darrin]

Get a Zorro 4xIDE adapter (FastATA4000 or Buddha).  Before I towered my A4000 I ran a CF card adapter to a slot cut in my blank 3.5" bay cover.  Do this and you'll be able to FAT format it and use it to transfer files between a PC (with a CF card reader) and your Amiga and use it for Amiga formatted cards.  I keep a 2GB card with a backup of my initial ClassicWB 3.x installation for use as an Emergency Boot Disk in case my Hard Drive all decide to fail.

That will enable you to have 2 x Hard Drives, DVD ROM and the CF Card Reader installed.

[SACC-guy]

Basic
does it have 3.1 roms?
memory maxed to 16 megs, 2 chip?
RTG card?
4 gig harddrive?
68060 card with 128 megs and scsi interface?

[Tupin]

Get a Zorro 4xIDE adapter (FastATA4000 or Buddha).  Before I towered my A4000 I ran a CF card adapter to a slot cut in my blank 3.5" bay cover.  Do this and you'll be able to FAT format it and use it to transfer files between a PC (with a CF card reader) and your Amiga and use it for Amiga formatted cards.  I keep a 2GB card with a backup of my initial ClassicWB 3.x installation for use as an Emergency Boot Disk in case my Hard Drive all decide to fail.

That will enable you to have 2 x Hard Drives, DVD ROM and the CF Card Reader installed.

I'll definitely look into getting a Buddha IDE adapter. I want to use a CF card in a similar fashion, though I planned on installing it in a card slot. Did you just cut a hole in the front? I want to avoid that for aesthetic reasons. Unfortunately, the IDE and power cables are too short to mount in a card slot.

I think the RAM is stock...

[Tupin]

Actually, now that I think about it, I would prefer another method. Could I set up a CF card in WinUAE so my 4000 recognizes it as a bootable 3.9 drive?

[Darrin]

I'll definitely look into getting a Buddha IDE adapter. I want to use a CF card in a similar fashion, though I planned on installing it in a card slot. Did you just cut a hole in the front? I want to avoid that for aesthetic reasons. Unfortunately, the IDE and power cables are too short to mount in a card slot.

I think the RAM is stock...

Yes, I used a dremel to cut a slot for the card and the LED and mounted it behind the plate.  I also cut a hole for a front USB slot and run a cable from my Deneb card.

Here's a pic of the result:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b134/darrin01311/SDC10301.jpg

Note the red CF card and a USB memory stick protruding from the lower bay cover.

[Darrin]

Actually, now that I think about it, I would prefer another method. Could I set up a CF card in WinUAE so my 4000 recognizes it as a bootable 3.9 drive?

Yes, but beware.  I did this with a CF Card once and my PC (Windows 7 64 bit) threw a fit when I rebooted it with the Amiga formatted CF card in place and it tried to boot from it.  It ended up doing a massive sulk and did some sort of automatic recovery to my hard drive taht resulted in 2 boot options which I had to edit to remove the non-functional one.

So, if you make an Amiga formatted CF card using WinUAE, for christ sake don't let your PC try and boot from it.

[Tupin]

Hm, Buddhas appear to be sold out. What about a TrueIDE? Would this work?

http://www.vesalia.de/e_trueide.htm

Oh, and how can I tell which is the master/slave drive?

[Tupin]

Nevermind, I found a four-way IDE splitter on amigakit. But for now, I think I will take out the drive it does not boot from and use that for a CD-ROM drive with which I can hopefully install an OS.

My ideal setup for it would be one hard drive to boot off of, an internal CF card for storage, an external CF card for transfer, and a CD-ROM drive. Is that possible with this splitter?:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=599

[davideo]

My ideal setup for it would be one hard drive to boot off of, an internal CF card for storage, an external CF card for transfer, and a CD-ROM drive. Is that possible with this splitter?:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=599

Yes - I don't think it comes with IDEFix though and you need this to use all four channels.

Dave G :cool:

[Tupin]

Update: Trying to get back into Amiga, got the HDDs out of my 4000. The master drive was about 145 MB, slave about 500 MB.

How exactly do I go about installing a new OS through WinUAE, again? My modern PC won't recognize the drives.

[Darrin]

Update: Trying to get back into Amiga, got the HDDs out of my 4000. The master drive was about 145 MB, slave about 500 MB.

How exactly do I go about installing a new OS through WinUAE, again? My modern PC won't recognize the drives.

Boot into Windows.
MAKE SURE YOU RUN WINUAE AS AN ADMINISTRATOR (sorry for the caps, but this is essential or you can't mount the card as an Amiga drive - the option will be grayed out).
Put your CF card in your PC's removable reader
In your UAE prefs, mount the CF card as an Amiga drive and boot into your regular HDF file or Workbench folder.
Format/Partition the CF card using Toolbox as if it was a real hard drive* (make sure you make it bootable)
Copy your files onto the CF card
Put CF card in real Amiga and boot.

*I've had trouble in the past formatting some CF Cards in WinUAE where the Amiga will recognise them.  I discovered that using the updated Toolbox in Amiga Forever's "AMigaSYS" Workbench option works every time.