Hardware recommendations for a new (to me) A1200

[BozzerBigD]

@ggerke

That makes my Zip Drive solutions look like space age technology! :-)

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Is MUI still a thing?

MUI is used for a fair amount of productivity apps, web browsers, etc.  Make sure you get version 3.8 from Aminet and not one of the later 3.9/4.0/4.1/etc. versions, which require a heavily expanded system to work well.  Good progress so far, congrats!  

[dovegrace]

You can still register MUI, too.  I registered it myself last month (after 20+ years) although Stefan issued me a temporary keyfile as his A3000 was down, thus unable to generate a new keyfile.

[Sir_Lucas]

@ggerke
What network cards have you found in your box? If you could transfer the ethernet drivers then you could transfer files via FTP much quicker. Just Roadshow or AmiTCP and AmiFTP. Even with a stock A1200 it's possible.

[ggerke]

I do have a wireless card on the way from AmigaKit but with the talk of no WPA2 maybe I'll need a fall back position...

Wired:
3Com: 3C589D, 3C589D-TP
3Com Megahertz: 3CCE589ET
SMC: SMC8040TX
Netgear: FA410TX
Intel: PRO/100 LAN+Modem56 PC Card

Wireless:
Linksys: WPC54GS v2

[Sir_Lucas]

I do have a wireless card on the way from AmigaKit but with the talk of no WPA2 maybe I'll need a fall back position...

I'm sorry to say that, but no WPA2/AES - only WEP, WPA/TKIP. Can you check if you can set up your router into WPA only and TKIP only. No mixed mode.

These cards work with the 3c589 driver
Wired:
3Com: 3C589D, 3C589D-TP
3Com Megahertz: 3CCE589ET

http://aminet.net/package/driver/net/3c589


SMC: SMC8040TX - this card does not work with Amiga

Netgear: FA410TX
This one uses cnet drivers
http://aminet.net/package/driver/net/cnetdevice


Intel: PRO/100 LAN+Modem56 PC Card - this card does not work with Amiga

Wireless:
Linksys: WPC54GS v2 - this card does not work with Amiga, it's 32-bit card bus. Amiga is 16-bit PCMCIA.

I also suggest you have a look at a Roadshow TCP/IP stack.
It supports DHCP.
http://roadshow.apc-tcp.de/index-en.php

[ggerke]

So I figured I'd give an update on the current status of the A1200 in case anybody has been having real problems sleeping at night waiting for the current state of affairs

I did receive the wireless Easynet card in the mail (surprisingly quick considering it's coming from across the pond from AmigaKit). I don't think there were any problems loading the drivers for it but then I went to go do MiamiDX and started having a few issues. I'm wondering if it's because I still have the base memory & cpu that the thing just doesn't have the horsepower or if it's because I've been slapping on different pieces of software in a desperate attempt to revive long dead brain cells. It's not frustration, mind you - it's just a blast being on an Amiga again. I've added alot of stuff that wasn't what I was expecting or just wasn't worth it to me in the short run... and I wouldn't rule out the possibility that something I added is getting in the way of the Easynet drivers and/or MiamiDX. I do know that the memory was getting sucked up and didn't seem to be getting returned once I killed apps.

Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and get the accelerator + memory and stop putting myself through misery...? Or really save myself the trouble and get the video card at the same time and start out from where I can get to having some real fun...

So at this point, since I'm not that far in to it is to just wipe and start over and see how it ends up. No real reason to back up everything since I've got the packages elsewhere that I can always copy back via Amiga Explorer.

P.S. copying files at 19.2K is a good task to let run overnight... even if the files tend to be on the small side.

I figure once I restart I'll go with the stuff that I know I liked:

- DOpus
- KingCON
- MagicWB
- NoClick
- ReqTools
- WindowToFront
- lha
- MUI
- WBGauge
- TurboText

I did try sending an email off about registering the MUI & MagicWB as the registration for MagicWB wasn't available... but no response yet.

Anyway, still more to come.

[ggerke]

Okay - after some unexpected expenses ("But grandkids - don't you want me to have new toys before you get them? No? Sigh, okay...") I'm back for another round of fun. I did go and order an Indivision AGA MK2cr and the ACA1221ec so now I've got more speed, memory, and better video. What a difference over the stock machine.

I did read about adding in HighGFX from Aminet and that lets me get the screen to use from top to bottom but I've got about 2"-3" black bars on the side of the screen. Since I'm apparently a greedy guy is there something I'm missing that'll let me use that screen real estate as well? The monitor I hooked up is a Viewsonic VS13239 (that is suppose to do 1920 x 1080) if that makes a difference.

Even if I can't I'm a much happier camper now... although my old 1084S is looking pretty depressed since I only seem to drag it out for the odd emergency every decade or so.

With the better video there's now the minor issue of the mouse pointer. It's not exactly a resolution that looks good with this video. I guess I'll start in on aminet looking through the mouse pointer directory for something that'll fit the bill.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

You're not going to get 1920x1080 with that hardware, but you can try the HD720 screenmode for a widescreen experience in Workbench and apps that support it.

[ggerke]

Well, that answered that question. So with the hardware I've got here then a widescreen monitor is pretty much overkill and I could go with a "regular" width monitor and get a full screen... yes?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Well, that answered that question. So with the hardware I've got here then a widescreen monitor is pretty much overkill and I could go with a "regular" width monitor and get a full screen... yes?

Yes. Although most manufacturers no longer produce "old fashion" 4:3 aspect ratio monitors. You can still find them pretty often on the used market, though. I have a nice 20.1" Dell UltraSharp that I use with my A2000, works great.

Alternatively you could use the display settings on your screen to stretch the image to get rid of the black bars on the sides, but some purists hate that look.

[giZmo350]

I did read about adding in HighGFX from Aminet and that lets me get the screen to use from top to bottom but I've got about 2"-3" black bars on the side of the screen. Since I'm apparently a greedy guy is there something I'm missing that'll let me use that screen real estate as well? The monitor I hooked up is a Viewsonic VS13239 (that is suppose to do 1920 x 1080) if that makes a difference.

Have you downloaded and installed the Indi AGA MK2CR tools?

Config/Flash tool V1.1beta and cores V2.6 - for use with all Indivision AGA MK2 models including MK2cr

Config tool version V1.5 - use together with cores V2.6.

http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/Indivision_AGA_MK2

And of course, lot's of tech-no-babble on EAB...

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=78685

Install tips on AmiBay... just in case.

http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?47415-Indivision-1200-AGA-MK2cr-Help-Required

And lots of Google results...

https://www.google.com/search?q=indivision+aga+mk2cr&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=1

These scan doubler config tools can be tricky but they can really help in setting up your screen.

Even if you don't use the config tool, I would advise checking to see if you have the latest FPGA core. A lot of times these don't come with the latest core.

Also, to fill the screen, you could try using the Overscan Tool in System Prefs.

Congrats on all your new toys!

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Also, to fill the screen, you could try using the Overscan Tool in System Prefs.

D'oh, overscan! I've had that turned on for so long on my A500 I quite forgot about it, lol.

[ggerke]

Because I know everybody has been waiting anxiously to hear about what's been going on (other more important life issues got in the way so once again my little A1200 had to sit idle) I figured I'd put out an update.

I went and bought a WiModem232 with the OLED and it arrived last Friday - right at the start of a three day weekend where the weather pretty much says "Keep your large arse inside 'cause it's freakishly cold out here." Not being one to argue I did as instructed. I will say the installation was nothing but easy - plug it in to the serial port and away I go. I'm on my quest to find a comm program that I'm happy with to get to the various telnet bbs sites. So far Terminus is in the lead as the rest aren't quite cutting it. I thought I'd I'd give ncomm a try but it goes right to the guru meditation error every time on my setup.

Anyway, since up until this point I've just been plopping on any old thing from ye olden days the machine was acting all kinds of flaky so I figured since there's nothing really vital I'd go ahead and just wipe it out and start over from scratch now that I've had a little time with it.

Sure wish I'd saved lha and Amiga Explorer off to a floppy before I'd done the big wipe. Oh, well - there's a reason I'm more pretty than smart. Anyway, went through the steps of getting Amiga Explorer back on so I can copy files from the PC over to the Amiga and now I can at least populate files over to the A1200 again. Granted, it's at a blazing 19.2K but still - it works in a pinch.

So now I'm off to reload just the stuff that I know I want before moving forward to more goodies.