First post here in a while, hope you're all well.

I just tried to resurrect my A1XE, which has been sitting neglected for several years.

Switched it on and it just sat there as though completely dead.

I have a feeling (hope) it may be the CMOS battery, which I seem to recall let me down before.

Anyway, couple of questions, if anyone can answer them:
1) Will any old CMOS battery do? i.e. can I snaffle the one from my Pagasos1 to test it?
2) Supposing it isn't the battery, are there any other common ailments associated with the A1 that might cause this?
3) Supposing I get it going again, does the latest version of AOS work with the A1?
4) If so, is there time limited demo (like MOS) or an upgrade price?


Cheers folks.

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

Quote:

3) Supposing I get it going again, does the latest version of AOS work with the A1?

Yes. 4.1 Update 6.

Quote:

4) If so, is there time limited demo (like MOS) or an upgrade price?

No and no. Last free 4.0 update for A1 was July 2007 Update.

@pavlor:

Thanks for the info.

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

1. Any battery should work so long as it's holding a charge of over 3v.

2. Serial output is useful. If the CPU is dead you won't get any debug output but you won't get it if the battery voltage is too low either. Sometimes taking the RAM out powering up and then powering it down an re-installing helps.

3. The latest version of 4.1 works with the A1

4. There's no demo version but it has many enhancements over 4.0 and is worth the money.

re: A1 black screen.

http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=29542&forum=33

@Rob

Quote:

1. Any battery should work so long as it's holding a charge of over 3v. 2. Serial output is useful. If the CPU is dead you won't get any debug output but you won't get it if the battery voltage is too low either. Sometimes taking the RAM out powering up and then powering it down an re-installing helps.

OK, thanks.
I'm transferring some files from my Pegasos just now but once that's done (could be awhile - USB1 speed) I'll try swapping the batteries over.

Quote:

4. There's no demo version but it has many enhancements over 4.0 and is worth the money.

Anything obvious?
Or, to put it another way, what would be the biggest improvement for you?

Quote:

re: A1 black screen. http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=29542&forum=33

Thanks again, I'll check out that thread.

Last edited by Robert on 15-Jan-2013 at 08:42 PM.

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

Quote:

Anything obvious?

See it yourself (OS4 versions on Wikipedia)

@pavlor

Quote:

@Robert Quote: Anything obvious? See it yourself (OS4 versions on Wikipedia)

Thanks.

Nothing on that list jumps out at me but once I get it working again, who knows. =)

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

You can always wait for os4.2 then you get even more changes :)

@Kicko

Quote:

Kicko wrote: @Robert You can always wait for os4.2 then you get even more changes :)

is it currently in progress?

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

Quote:

is it currently in progress?

When it is done.


I think OS4.2 will be there not before the end of 2013. Semi-announced features are eg. new filesystem API, full OpenGL support (3D on Radeon HD cards) and probably also support for 4 GB RAM and multiple cores. However, there is no official announcement concerning new release, date or features.

Last edited by pavlor on 15-Jan-2013 at 09:35 PM.

Quote:

pavlor wrote: @Robert Quote: is it currently in progress? When it is done. I think OS4.2 will be there not before the end of 2013. Semi-announced features are eg. new filesystem API, full OpenGL support (3D on Radeon HD cards) and probably also support for 4 GB RAM and multiple cores. However, there is no official announcement concerning new release, date or features.

Ah, OK, thanks.

Amazing how out of touch I am these days.
There was once a time when I would have been well up to speed with all this.

-EDIT-
I should add, I didn't even know if it was still being developed at all.
I take it it's still the Hyperion crew?

Last edited by Robert on 15-Jan-2013 at 09:54 PM.

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

Quote:

Or, to put it another way, what would be the biggest improvement for you?

Well for me its Grim Reaper, I also like that I copy audio tracks from cd's, whit using software to rip it, there is rally lots of improvement, long file names, files larger then 2Gbytes, partition larger then 4Gb, graphic composition is really great, its make drawing alpha blended PNG's fast, it's fun to play whit, some minimum memory protection at least some chance of finding miss behaving programs, it runs classic software faster than a 68060 can, USB support for mass storage (cameras, usb pen drives), HDToolBox replaced by MediaToolboxs that does have issue whit large disks, easier to port software from Linux to AmigaOS, it simply looks better and behaves better.

Most issues I have whit the OS is ether that some classic software do not work in AmigaOS4.1 but require UAE, due chipset dependencies, Web browser not being up to 2013 standards, and lack of some modern software like skype, spotify.

On the software side things has also improved some, Abiword whit MSWord document support, Gimp so you can do some real graph work, yes they do not use native GUI systems but they nice substitute.

Last edited by NutsAboutAmiga on 15-Jan-2013 at 09:55 PM.

_________________
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Facebook::LiveForIt Software for AmigaOS

@NutsAboutAmiga

Quote:

NutsAboutAmiga wrote: @Robert Quote: Or, to put it another way, what would be the biggest improvement for you? Well for me its Grim Reaper, I also like that I copy audio tracks from cd's, whit using software to rip it, there is rally lots of improvement, long file names, files larger then 2Gbytes, partition larger then 4Gb, graphic composition is really great, its make drawing alpha blended PNG's fast, it's fun to play whit, some minimum memory protection at least some chance of finding miss behaving programs, it runs classic software faster than a 68060 can, USB support for mass storage (cameras, usb pen drives), HDToolBox replaced by MediaToolboxs that does have issue whit large disks, easier to port software from Linux to AmigaOS, it simply looks better and behaves better. Most issues I have whit the OS is ether that some classic software do not work in AmigaOS4.1 but require UAE, due chipset dependencies, Web browser not being up to 2013 standards, and lack of some modern software like skype, spotify. On the software side things has also improved some, Abiword whit MSWord document support, Gimp so you can do some real graph work, yes they do not use native GUI systems but they nice substitute.

Cool. I've actually been using Gimp at work.

And what's the web browsing drawbacks?
I saw a video of OWB (I think) browsing Youtube nicely awhile back, which was a vast improvement over what I remember.

BTW, doesn't 4.0 do mass storage? I know MOS 1.4 does, as I'm using it for that just now to transfer files.

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

Just reiterating the replies:

1. Yes, a CR2032 is easily obtained from any chemist/pharmacy/drugstore for a few dollars.
2. Several, mostly bad contacts on plug-in boards, like any electrical equipment.
3. Yes, the A1-XE is still one of the top four NG Amiga models, although discontinued.
4. No, the best bet is to upgrade to OS 4.1 when you can. The release of OS 4.2 is not imminent. AmigaKit can give you a price for OS 4.1.

BTW, I suggest you head over to Hyperion's support forum to get the latest goss and informed answers to questions.

_________________
cheers
tony

Hyperion Support Forum: http://forum.hyperion-entertainment.biz/index.php

@tonyw

Quote:

tonyw wrote: @Robert Just reiterating the replies: 1. Yes, a CR2032 is easily obtained from any chemist/pharmacy/drugstore for a few dollars.

And having just looked at how snug the one in my Pegasos is, I think I'll probably just wait and buy one.

Quote:

BTW, I suggest you head over to Hyperion's support forum to get the latest goss and informed answers to questions.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify

@Robert

Quote:

And what's the web browsing drawbacks?

MUI-OWB is buggy, and does not support flash, you need to use js script to download videos.
(YouTube is changing there web page often JS script is often not working.)
Reaction-OWB stable, but lacks so many things.
TimberWolf (FireFox), is too slow on XE, but works great on AmigaONE-X1000, but is not bug free, I have some issues when trying to download files.
NetSurf has nice GUI and is stable, but does support Javascript and Flash.
The only browser on AmigaOS that supports plugins is IBrowse2.4, but it does not support CSS, and has not been updated in years, at least not public.

Quote:

BTW, doesn't 4.0 do mass storage? I know MOS 1.4 does, as I'm using it for that just now to transfer files.

Well yes, but the bugs are no longer there, anyway USB2.0 support is part of 4.1, if you have USB2.0 PCI card plugged in,

Last edited by NutsAboutAmiga on 15-Jan-2013 at 10:54 PM.
Last edited by NutsAboutAmiga on 15-Jan-2013 at 10:51 PM.
Last edited by NutsAboutAmiga on 15-Jan-2013 at 10:50 PM.

_________________
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@Robert
for me the best upgrade from 4.0 to 4.1 is USB 2 support, you must
get a compatible PCI card, but the speed difference it's very great,
and more stable, if you install ntfs/ext2 filesystems there also
automatic recognition and mounting of those filesystems,
unfortunately ntfs support it's read only.

Last edited by pvanni on 16-Jan-2013 at 08:27 AM.
Last edited by pvanni on 16-Jan-2013 at 08:27 AM.

@Robert

The battery is a CR2032, available almost anywhere. I last got a pair of duracell ones from ASDA for a few quid.

Unfortunately for me, this time, it wasn't the battery. My system, it seems, has at long last ran down the curtain and joined the choir invisible.

_________________
Doing stupid things for fun...

@Robert

Quote:

Nothing on that list jumps out at me but once I get it working again, who knows. =)

A lot of things listed here are new to OS4.1 vs. OS4.0

_________________
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Owner of various Commodore and a SAM440ep\OS4.1FE
See them on http://retro.furinkan.org/

@Karlos

Quote:

Karlos wrote: @Robert The battery is a CR2032, available almost anywhere. I last got a pair of duracell ones from ASDA for a few quid.

I may just visit the supermarket on the way home tonight.

Quote:

Unfortunately for me, this time, it wasn't the battery. My system, it seems, has at long last ran down the curtain and joined the choir invisible.

That's disappointing to hear and similar actually happened to mine not long after I received it - CPU died due to Eyetech's dodgy fan.

Luckily I managed to get it repaired at the time for a few hundred quid.
Doubt I'd bother now though.
If it isn't the battery this time, I'll probably throw the towel in.

_________________
Robert
--
A1XE G4, OS4.1. Peg1 G3, MOS 1.4.
Abel Soul - Check out our tunes on Spotify