Good day all,

Three months ago, my wife and I agreed to switch her PC's OS from Windows2000 to Ubuntu. (Her Windows2000 installation was buggy, and we did not have a restoration disk.) After the switch to Ubuntu, I noticed two big problems.

First, I could not figure out how to get a CAT5 network setup between my AmigaOneXE and her PC. Her PC has two 10/100 cards, one connected to the DSL "modem", the other connected to my Amiga via a CAT5 cable. It has been three months of tinkering with Ubuntu (dhcp & firestarter) without success. All I had to do in Windows2000 was check the box for "Internet Connection Sharing" and the CAT5 network was established with mi Amiga. What is the trick in Linux/Ubuntu to get ICS over a CAT5 to work?

Second, I have not figured out how to do old-fashioned file sharing over various media. Before using a CAT5 cable, I had used a 256MB USB flash drive, and 100MB Zip disks for file transfers. Such file transfers worked fine between the AmigaOneXE using OS4 final and Windows2000. Now that I am using OS4.1 and Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10, I can't get any media from one machine to be recognized by the other machine!

1) Zip disks formatted as FAT by either Iomega or Windows are recognized by Windows and Ubunu, but not AmigaOS 4.1. This is strange because they were recognized under OS4.0 final using ZIC. ZIC has not changed, but CROSSDOS has.
2) Zip disks formatted as FAT by AmigaOS4.0 are recognized by Windows, but not Ubuntu and AmigaOS4.1.
3) Zip disks formatted as FFS under AmigaOS3.x to OS4.0 are not recognized by OS4.1. What's up with that? Both mountlists for ZIC and ZIP have not changed. Has FFS and CROSSDOS changed so much that anything formatted before OS4.1 is useless?
4) I've tried Giggledisk to mount my FFS and FAT Zip disks; however, Giggledisk returns a mountfile without any filesystem.
5) USB flash drive formatted as FAT under Windows is recognized by both AmigaOS4.1 and Ubuntu, but is read-only under Ubuntu.
6) USB flash drive formatted as FAT under Ubuntu is recognized by Ubuntu, but not Amiga or Windows.
7) USB flash drive formatted as FAT under AmigaOS4.1 is not automounted by Ubuntu. It must be mounted via sudo mount in a terminal.

First, how can I get a CAT5 network going. Second, how can I get the FAT format recognized by both systems (I should also note that I have tried both FAT16 and FAT32, when the options are available)?

Thanks,

The Phantom "?"

Last edited by PhantomInterrogative on 21-Apr-2009 at 06:37 PM.
Last edited by PhantomInterrogative on 21-Apr-2009 at 06:19 PM.
Last edited by PhantomInterrogative on 21-Apr-2009 at 06:03 PM.

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative
My recommendation is to give-up trying to use a PC as a router (it should be possible but probably more trouble than it's worth), and just buy yourself a router to plug directly into the DSL modem (if it is a horrid USB modem then you need the router to replace your DSL modem). This works flawlessly, and does not require the PC to be on for the Amiga to get a net connection. Routers are quite cheap now. I recommend Netgear.

Something seems to be wrong with your Ubuntu installation. I can just plug-in a USB flash drive into Ubuntu, and it works perfectly. The only problem with Linux is that if something *doesn't* work as it should, you are usually stuck (without a bearded linux guru).

Last edited by ChrisH on 21-Apr-2009 at 07:33 PM.

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

@ChrisH

I had heard of the router solution, but wanted to save money using a CAT5 cable. Can SAMBA also be set up via a router?

On the various Ubuntu forums I have visited, many people have had the "read-only" FAT flash drive problem. Some are able to format their drives in Ubuntu with success. Others like myself have been able to do so with various problems (no automounting enabled, unreadable on other OSs).

Thanks for the info.

-The Phantom "?"

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative
Samba & other stuff is not a problem with a router. However, you might find Vista causes problems with Samba...

The nice thing about routers is that you can just set all (*) computers to use DHCP, and that's pretty much all the network configuration you need to do. However, if you are using Samba, then you might want to have static IP addresses (which is still actually possible with DHCP on some routers but it's not quite so simple).

(* = excluding Amigas without OS4 or Miami, since Genesis/AmiTCP/etc does not support DHCP.)

Last edited by ChrisH on 22-Apr-2009 at 08:13 AM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 21-Apr-2009 at 09:14 PM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 21-Apr-2009 at 09:14 PM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 21-Apr-2009 at 09:12 PM.

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

Hmmn...

Still no advice on the Zip disks. I would like to be able to read my old OS3.5-4.0 FFS formatted and FAT formatted Zip100 disks. The ZIP and ZIC mountlists are the same under 4.0 and 4.1. What changed that I am no longer able to read these disks? I would like to be able to get all of my info off of the Zip100s and put it on CDROM.

-The Phantom "?"

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative

First off, it's been a while since I've used Linux, Gentoo specifically. So, using my advice, YMMV. I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies, misconceptions, or misinterpretations I may put forth in this post!


Like ChrisH, I just use a residential router. There relatively cheap and pretty easy to setup. But if you really don't want to spend the cash on one, google "linux internet connection sharing" or "linux nat", or you could ask on an Ubuntu forum about using your Ubuntu desktop as a "residential gateway". If you can get the Ethernet connection working you should be able to share files via Samba or in a pinch FTP. Hence, practically eliminating the Zip disk and flash drive.

But you could also see about using something other than FAT.

Linux does support the Amiga Fast File System and I even compiled it into my third kernel for Gentoo. It supported both reading and writing, could be compiled into the kernel or loaded as a module, but was experimental. After some googling, I've found that Ubuntu 8.10 does include support for AFFS. However, I'm not sure how difficult it would be to add after installation as the reference I've found warns against under a normal Ubuntu system. If you do decide to try this route, you should probably ask on an Ubuntu forum the ins and outs of adding a file system that probably should have been installed when installing Ubuntu.

BTW, I never did use FFS under Linux. I was planning to use FFS under Linux to recover data from my dead A4000. However, I found another solution before I ever got around to obtaining a SCSI controller for my Linux box. I have no idea how well or poorly FFS operates under Linux.

Further googling turned up this. It's a file system driver for SFS, the latest release includes experimental write support. You should read the "asfs.txt" about the limitations of this driver before trying it out. I've never used this driver on Linux or even SFS on an Amiga, I make no personal claims as to the efficacy of this software.

Even more googling turned up this. It's an application that can "detect the content format of a disk or disk image". disktype may help you identify why certain combinations of FAT formatting under one OS prevent reading from another. It runs under various Unices and derivatives. I haven't used this software either so it may be no help at all.


I don't know who maintains CrossDOS (for AmigaOS 4.x) these days, but you might consider tracking them down and advise them of your 'compatibility' problems.

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@ShadesOfGrey

Thanks for the information. Ubuntu now recognizes all of my Zip disks. I noticed that in the disk properties, that the FAT disks are FAT16. Does the mountlist for ZIC need to be modified from FAT32 to FAT16 in any way?

-The Phantom "?"

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative

Honestly, I don't remember. It's been so long (8-10+ years I think) since I fiddled with FAT on Amiga that I've forgotten all the tweaks that were necessary to get things going smoothly. However, It's quite possible certain parameters in a mountlist ( Size of sectors, sectors per track... Or is it sectors per block?) may explain why your Amiga isn't seeing some of the disks formatted under Linux/Windows and vice versa.

I seem to recall that there was a feature of CrossDOS and/or perhaps other FAT implementations on the Amiga that could auto-detect some of these parameters when handling disks formatted on other platforms. Again, it's been so long I could be thinking of something else.

Good luck.

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Unless otherwise explicitly stated, this message is not meant to affirm nor deny, defend nor offend any faction within the 'Amiga' Community.

@ChrisH et al,

I got the router, and set the cables, dsl modem, and router up according to the supplied LinkSYS wired router directions. Both Ubuntu and Amiga can't connect via DHCP. They can't connect using static addresses. When I put 192.168.1.1 into Firefox or OWB, I can't connect to the router to see its settings. Any advice would be appreciated.

BTW: With all of the apt-gets, sudo's, problems with fglrx, and everything I have had to do with Ubuntu, the easy-to-use "linux for humans," I have truly come to appreciate how elegantly simple AmigaOS is to configure.

-The Phantom "?"

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative

Is that without the machines trying to see eachother? That is each machine fails to get an IP address from the router? That is no good, it should work out of the box. On OS4 go to a shell and type:
ShowNetStatus

That will tell you if anything is happening. Perhaps check your connection in OS4. Try and set up a new connection otherwise with the Wizard or just by adding a new intewface in Internet Prefs.

@PhantomInterrogative

Such file transfers worked fine between the AmigaOneXE using OS4 final and Windows2000.
...because CrossDos was updated to handle FAT32 to SFS and FFS2.
Now that I am using OS4.1 and Ubuntu Intrepid 8.10, I can't get any media from one machine to be recognized by the other machine!
Linux/Ubuntu doesn't use FAT32 for it's file system. Is it something about MBR and EX2 FS.

_________________

@Snuffy

I realize that Ubuntu usually formats drives as EXT2. (Again I have plagued myself with ambiguity. ) Most of my Zip100 disks and my flash drive are formatted as FAT16. I was just wondering why when I format a Zip100 or my flash drive as FAT16 on Ubuntu, I have problems on the Amiga side, and when I format my flash drive on the Amiga or Windows side, I have problems on the Ubuntu side (see my original post for a list of the incompatibilities)?

In one sense this is all now irrelevant. I updated my Ubuntu from 8.10 to 9.04 and am no longer able to boot the system. Aaaaargh! Stupid ATI fglrx drivers!

-The Phantom "?"

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative

Hmm... That's odd. Try this, disconnect the Ethernet cables on the router to all but one of your computers. Set whichever computer to use a static IP of 192.168.1.[2 through 254] and subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 (you won't need a default gateway just yet). That's all you should need to connect to the router at http://192.168.1.1. If you still can't access the routers settings from your browser, try just pinging 192.168.1.1 then there's something else going on here.

To offer further advice I'd need to know what model Linksys router you have and whether it's retail or second hand (only because if second hand, the router may not be using 192.168.1.1 as its IP).

_________________
Unless otherwise explicitly stated, this message is not meant to affirm nor deny, defend nor offend any faction within the 'Amiga' Community.

@PhantomInterrogative

Quote:

BTW: With all of the apt-gets, sudo's, problems with fglrx, and everything I have had to do with Ubuntu, the easy-to-use "linux for humans," I have truly come to appreciate how elegantly simple AmigaOS is to configure.

Quote:

In one sense this is all now irrelevant. I updated my Ubuntu from 8.10 to 9.04 and am no longer able to boot the system. Aaaaargh! Stupid ATI fglrx drivers!

Not try to make light of your situation, I do recall how much difficulty I had get my first video card working on my first Amiga (an A2000 and a GVP Spectrum). It was no picnic. That said, I had just as much 'fun' with Linux when attempting to use any driver other than plain vanilla VESA frame buffer drivers (though I did have syncing issues at times) when making major changes. I learned the hard way that it is far better to downgrade to "fbdev" before upgrading your distro, X Server, and/or kernel. Invariably the new stuff broke the DRI drivers for a particular video card.

Have you tried switching to another console, Ctrl+Alt+F1? IF the problem is with your video driver, then you should be able to access a text console in order to login and hopefully fix things. You may have to try using Recovery Mode? I believe it dumps you at at a different runlevel before your desktop manager (or X for that matter) gets a chance to startup.


BTW, these threads discuss how to switch off/on your desktop manager under Debian/Ubuntu in case you'd find that useful.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/trying-to-change-my-runlevel-on-kubuntu-8.04-need-to-boot-without-an-x-server.-690569/

http://www.debianadmin.com/how-to-disable-x-or-gui-on-boot-in-debian.html

Last edited by ShadesOfGrey on 27-Apr-2009 at 07:42 PM.

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Unless otherwise explicitly stated, this message is not meant to affirm nor deny, defend nor offend any faction within the 'Amiga' Community.

@ShadesOfGrey

My wife's Ubuntu machine is working fine now. I changed from fglrx to the Mesa graphics drivers. Thanks for the info. I'll be trying your suggestions for the router. I have a notion that it is using a different address, being a used router (.99 + shipping on eBay!).

-The Phantom "?"

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative

Quote:

I have a notion that it is using a different address, being a used router (.99 + shipping on eBay!).

In that case, you should reset the router to its default settings. Check the Linksys web site for the proper procedure for your specific router.

BTW, you may want to look into whether your router can use a third party firmware. I'm currently using DD-WRT on my WRT-54G. I have to say it is much better than Linksys' own firmware. There's also OpenWrt (X-Wrt provides a better web interface for OpenWrt) which is also a very popular firmware replacement. I haven't tried it myself, yet. I hope to change that soon.

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Unless otherwise explicitly stated, this message is not meant to affirm nor deny, defend nor offend any faction within the 'Amiga' Community.

@PhantomInterrogative

I was just thinking... Given how cheaply you go that router, it's possible it's just not functioning. So before you reset the router, you may want to look into whether your router has been bricked. In some cases you can unbrick a bricked router. However, since I don't know the specific model, I can't give you further advice. Try googling your router model and "bricked" for procedures on how to identify whether the router is bricked and if might be unbricked.

Last edited by ShadesOfGrey on 28-Apr-2009 at 03:06 PM.

_________________
Unless otherwise explicitly stated, this message is not meant to affirm nor deny, defend nor offend any faction within the 'Amiga' Community.

@PhantomInterrogative

You are using a regular cable and not a crossover one?

Erik

@ShadesOfGrey et al.,

Just to revive an old thread... I gave the LinkSYS Router to a friend to see if he could "unbrick" it. In the meantime, I got a 3Com OfficeConnect Router/Gateway for free. I hooked it up and it worked under Ubuntu, but not AmigaOS4.1. When I visited the router's address under Ubuntu, the router showed my Amiga as being hooked up. I tried pinging from the Amiga side and also used "ShowNetStatus." When I tried using the "New Connection" wizard, it always gave me an error about not being able to find the right rout. So... I opened Devs/Internet/routes in notepad. It had around four duplicate entries. I deleted all entries and ran the "new Connection" wizard again. The result is that both my Amiga and my wife's Ubuntu are now sharing an internet connection over a LAN through a free 3Com router! I am currently typing this message in OWB 3.9!

If anyone else has a working router, but AmigaOS can't find the correct route, then delete all entries in Devs/Internet/routes, and set up a new connection.

Thank you ShadesofGrey, ChrisH, Snuffy, and eric for all the help and suggestions.

The Phantom "?"

_________________
I sold my SAM460ex lite... waiting for money to buy a Raspberry Pi... or a Classic A1000 with Buffee... or an A1222... and OS4.3 FE update 11

@PhantomInterrogative

You're most certainly welcome. Glad to here you've finally resolved your net connectivity issues.

_________________
Unless otherwise explicitly stated, this message is not meant to affirm nor deny, defend nor offend any faction within the 'Amiga' Community.