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   /  Amiga OS4.x \ Workbench 4.x
      /  The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
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NutsAboutAmiga 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 27-Jan-2008 14:10:47
#301 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 9-Jun-2004
Posts: 12825
From: Norway

@my_pc_is_amiga

what's the maximum memory your hardware supports?

There might things you can do to free more ram, try the GUI prefs

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twizzle 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 27-Jan-2008 14:57:53
#302 ]
Member
Joined: 26-Dec-2004
Posts: 66
From: taunton. england

@my_pc_is_amiga

i have been getting the same system error, not a dos disc in dh0,??
i think this is down to the cd not spinning up fast enough to be reconised
re insert and it boots up,

and bad block on dh3 cyl 0?? i dont have a dh3 ????
used os3.1 toolbox partioned /formated and checked the blocks no fault found.

had to do another re-install , using the media toolbox from the os4 cd system drawer,
the easyest way i have found is to use the os4 template then re-adjust the partions ,
as it auto selects the std filesystem.
and formated the partions at the same time.


the problem that i now have is LOCKUPS during installing??
i have changed the hd AGAIN, but makes no differance LOCKUP??

now on my 5th time trying to install ??

mmmmm it has just finnished installing without any lockup`s, and booted into os4 screen.

i wont hold my breath yet



p.s tried again to access my os3.5 hd? it now looks like it is totaly gone.
lost everything on it?

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zipper 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 27-Jan-2008 15:57:31
#303 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 11-Jul-2005
Posts: 275
From: finland

@twizzle

Quote:

thad to do another re-install , using the media toolbox from the os4 cd system drawer,
the easyest way i have found is to use the os4 template then re-adjust the partions ,
as it auto selects the std filesystem.
and formated the partions at the same time.


Saved the filesystem to RDB and changed the identifier to444f5307 (DOS\07)?

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my_pc_is_amiga 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 27-Jan-2008 16:28:27
#304 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 13-Jan-2006
Posts: 122
From: Unknown

@NutsAboutAmiga

Thanks --- wil check on the GUI prefs some

I have max'ed out on mem --

128MB on PPC
16 MB on A4000T motherboard (doesn't show up in OS4)
2 MB chip memory

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my_pc_is_amiga 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 29-Jan-2008 6:40:01
#305 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 13-Jan-2006
Posts: 122
From: Unknown

I finally got things almost working on my IDE installation...the "NOT a DOS disk" must have been the same issue that some others have seen --- to fix it, the filesytem needs to be DOS\7 and not DOS\3

Here is my problem now...I have a Kickflash card which I loaded the OS3.9 kickstart modules into the flash memory.

1) When cold booting and I *disable* kickflash from loading, the IDE HDD just hangs (light stays on for a long time and then goes off and the screen stays blank)

2) When cold booting and I enable the kickflash, the computer boots up normally until it starts loading the OS4 kickstart modules from the IDE hard drive. After the screen turns purple, I can see that during the reboot the kickflash trys to loads its own stuff (blue) and then I see purple (infinite loop of reseting)...only way to get out of it is to disable the kickflash at that point. It gets out of the loop and then I get a 80000007 guru and then it boots up nicely....

Basically, I think the OS3.9 scsi.device fixes some IDE issues to allow the Amiga A4000T to boot with this IDE hard drive that I have....

What would be nice is to have the kickflash not load anything when OS4 kickstart is already loaded....or to somehow load the OS4 stuff or at least some of the stuff into the kickflash....

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Klowna 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 23-Oct-2009 18:42:12
#306 ]
Member
Joined: 29-Feb-2004
Posts: 24
From: Manchester, UK

@my_pc_is_amiga

I see that this topic has not been active for over 18 months, and wondered if after the February 2008 "FIX" everyone else's installation problems were solved by it when they tried to install Classic OS4 on whatever Classic hardware they/you owned.

I, like many, got to the AGA part of the install, which seemed to go OK, then when I tried to switch to CybergraphX with my Mediator it just locked-up, or just rebooted/crashed time after time, and then no more access to the hardware as a result.

I gave up, & so far have not been back to it, as it was like an old wound, but I need some encouragement to give it another try if anyone can reassure me it is worth the battle with the software, and hardware.

I was, and still am sceptical about starting trying to install OS4 again onto the Classic PPC hardware as I found it nothing but problematic/frustrating/troublesome/badly-thought-through by the developers & betatesters who should have put in place enough testing BEFORE releasing it to the public. It was worse than many Betas that I have tried through the years on the Amiga, and basically a disgrace after such a long wait.

I too, as other people have mentioned in the forum, thought my original OS3.9 installation was overwritten in some way initially, but after a lengthy switch off the original hardware/OS3.9 returned to normal.

I was stunned at the lack of information as to how to install the software in the booklet. There was virtually no information about solving installation problems on either Hyperion's or ACube's websites about F.A.Q. In fact, this, and a few other Amiga website forums are the only places I have seen help on the subject. There is still no further information in this regard on either Hyperion's or ACube's site. It's dead software as far as Hyperion are concerned, after 4 months being released to 1 (ONE) FIX to resolve ALL issues, but even now ACube are still trying to offload it. It was never FIT-FOR-PURPOSE and those of us who bought it should have been offered better support by Hyperion & ACube from the start.

I still use OS3.9, and the software usually does what you expect of it. That cannot be said of Classic OS4. It was a Classic ####-up from day of release, and I almost gave up on the Amiga from that moment on, but my OS3.9 setup is what I use still, as much as I can.

I refuse to pay the exhorbitant cost for an ACube PPC board, and Hyperion's OS4.x as the software, as far as I can tell in no way justifies the high cost. I hate to say it, but when I can use PC hardware & Windows on a faster machine, with more support, and for a tenth of the cost, or less, then there is no way that spending what Hyperion/ACube want for there Amiga OS 'Solution' can be justified.

I have PPC hardware in my Amiga A1200, which is towered. but the PPC side of things is barely used, as Classic OS4 was virtually useless, running out of Chip RAM on AGA, 256 colour, screens is not my idea of using OS4.

I remember seeing that HJ Frieden was surprised at how much interest there had been in Classic OS4, but then did little, as far as I can tell, to resolve the problems everyone had experiened at trying to get Classic OS4 running OK. It seemed as though we the OS3.9 or PPC Amiga users had been forgotten while little work was done to get Classic OS4 released, which still seems like it was only a half-hearted attempt to get it finished properly.

It still seems to me that the bulk of the work had gone into developing the ACube PPC hardware for more commercial release of OS4.1+, and the Classic hardware was the afterthought, that finished up half-baked. The compatibility list for Classic OS4 has not been updated since December 2007 so that's how much interest Hyperion and ACube have had in the Classic users since then. Got your money, now get lost.

I would still like to be able to hope that now Hyperion have won their legal wrangling with Amiga Inc. they could look back at the Classic OS4, and finish off properly what they started, and were paid for by the people who had been extremely patient while waiting in the wings for such a long time for OS4 to appear for Classic REAL Amiga PPC hardware.

I saw fairly recently that Acube were selling off OS4 Classic at SALE PRICE, and maybe still are, but who wants to buy shoddy software whatever the price is?

I'd just be interested to hear if anyone else out there has been satisfied with Classic OS4, and been able to use it on a day-to-day basis, or was it just an expensive box, floppy disk, and paper manual that we all look back on, and brush the cobwebs off every now and then, and sigh !!

Here's hoping (I am not holding my breath)

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nubechecorre 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 23-Oct-2009 19:06:49
#307 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 21-Nov-2003
Posts: 895
From: San remo -Italy-

@Klowna

I have the same problem.. for some strange reason, sometimes i am able to install the february update and use it and sometimes ( too many times.. ) it didn't work... so i switched back to 3.9 that runs without problems.. so i understand your frustation about os4 for classic..

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cv643d 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 23-Oct-2009 20:08:23
#308 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 29-May-2009
Posts: 262
From: Stockholm - Sweden

IMHO, OS4 for classic was just a teaser for those who had PPC on their classic to get their mouths watering.

It worked for me. Cant say I found a use for OS4classic besides playing around with it and trying to get Hippoplayer to work, but I wanted more and now I got it :)

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Klowna 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 24-Oct-2009 2:33:12
#309 ]
Member
Joined: 29-Feb-2004
Posts: 24
From: Manchester, UK

@nubechecorre

Quote:
I have the same problem.. for some strange reason, sometimes i am able to install the february update and use it and sometimes ( too many times.. ) it didn't work... so i switched back to 3.9 that runs without problems.. so i understand your frustation about os4 for classic..


Thanks for your very prompt reply, much appreciated.

I'm sorry to say, that I suspect other users continue to have the same/similar problems with installing Classic OS4 on their PPC based Amigas, even with the Feb 2008 "FIX" which it seems just doesn't do enough. More support was and is required, which in reality was not really there because all the effort was going into OS4.1 - for the other children who wanted to spend a lot more cash on newer PPC hardware, and an even more expensive Amiga OS, which they have fortunately enjoyed much better support.

Not enough hard work, and REAL Betatesting went into the Classic OS4 release as far as I see it. Although it seems to me that more work went into the A4000 hardware that was PPC based, than ever went into the A1200 PPC based systems.

HJ Frieden said that OS4 Classic hardware development was "dormant for a good while, which is also the reason why it came so late", so was that no development for 3.9+ years out of 4+ years for the Classic hardware, so ACube's board could be developed? He also said that more work was required for the A1200 release as there was more "exotic" hardware for it. So that seems to me like an about turn . . . more exotic hardware, so let's not bother supporting it, so virtually no support for it was the final result.

He also said that, "The Mediator is as obscure as it can get.", and that because of the way the hardware worked that they "do not support any bounce buffer tricks." He also said that the Mediator works only "because it was made to work, not because it was designed to work that way." Isn't that one and the same thing, design / made ? He also said that "Mediator support came really late in the game" .... No, really, what a surprise. He also said that he didn't even want to implement Mediator support in the first place, mostly because he felt that due to the "unique design" of the Mediator there wouldn't be that many cards that could be supported "without resorting to bounce buffer hacks."

Elbox who make the Mediator were on the Official OS4 Betatesters list after all, could some consultation/agreement not have been resolved to get the Mediator support improved greatly.

After all it was never going to be a big market, the Classic Amiga OS4 release, so what was the harm in doing what WAS possible with the software, rather than saying no we just WON'T do it, even though it is possible to work around the way the Mediator does things.

Not that they couldn't work around the problem, but that they WOULDN'T, so that all we Mediator users, and other owners of Amiga add-on hardware have to put up without viable features that could have been made to work, just not liked by Hyperion. So, no you children just cannot have that feature, beacuse we don't like the way it is done. It is not to our liking, so we will not do it.

At least that is my take on it.

He also said that they could not test adequately all the "exotic" pieces of Amiga Classic hardware for Classic OS4 due to the "flaky" nature of the hardware.

He also said that development on Classic OS4 with his A1200 for Betatesting suffered a broken keyboard interface which stopped "development" for a while, WHAT?

So everything stopped for A1200 development, approx 2weeks to get a new keyboard interface, out of over 4 years "development" to get the OS4 still un-useable. Maybe they should have kept a spare machine, just in case they had such a problem. Obviously the shoestring budget they were on for development could not stretch to that sort of expense !! No, I mean it, stop laughing there at the back, at once . . . . as I can't hear myself laughing, or was it crying.

Frankly I don't know how ACube and Hyperion had the cheek to not refund purchasers of Classic OS4 for the non-event that they produced, and have failed to support.

I hope I get other replies that are more positive and uplifting than yours, but I'm not so optimistic if I'm being realistic.

Frankly, if there is no REAL Classic PPC or 68k OS4 release that actually works, as easily as OS3.9 has done, that can be used on a day-to-day basis, then I am extremely likely to walk away from the Amiga OS, as I feel the developers cannot be trusted enough to deliver and SUPPORT a fully useable Amiga OS that they imply they have worked hard on for years.

OS4.1 may be a reality, but it is also extremely expensive for what it is, and there are lots of other alternatives that come a lot cheaper, even Amiga OS hybrids.

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Gothmog 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 24-Oct-2009 17:38:20
#310 ]
Member
Joined: 10-Mar-2006
Posts: 68
From: Unknown

@Klowna

I have to agree with your sentiments. I have spent a small fortune on old Amiga (and new!) equipment and, while I have had a ton of fun with it, I am dismally disappointed at the lack of manuals/details/instructions/guides that go along with these products.

I'm currently having a headache with getting Inet set up on my SAM. It's likely a mistake I am making in setting things up, but that is just my point... a better manual would help (or more informative/interactive wizard). I've gotten a lot of help on Amigaworld.net, but it is also obvious that all lot of the experts online know much more of the intricacies to the system that are not documented anywhere easy to find with the system you purchase. Like you, this isint my first "problem" of this sort and I also have some issues booting into AOS4 classic, but I also came to the conclusion others have that it was more of a "teaser" than something to be supported for a while.

My SAM's internet another story though. I love my amiga and the community, but until some basic things get organized (like tested and functional installations) and knowledge is spread to the masses, the amiga community might be stuck with people like me who are very fond of the system and will put up with partially working and/or undocumented merchandise. I tend to think newbies or the "computer masses" would put up with such nonsense too long.

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Gothmog 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 24-Oct-2009 17:41:44
#311 ]
Member
Joined: 10-Mar-2006
Posts: 68
From: Unknown

@Gothmog

I tend to think newbies or the "computer masses" would NOT put up with such nonsense too long.

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Klowna 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 25-Oct-2009 15:02:49
#312 ]
Member
Joined: 29-Feb-2004
Posts: 24
From: Manchester, UK

@Gothmog

I agree with both your comments, after my last comments, but the lack of any other replies from other users who actually bought Classic OS4, who have had a GOOD experience with it, are noticeable by their absence.

If Hyperion, and Acube, took the time to realise this error of theirs, it might occur to them that their selling of an unusable, unsupported, half-baked Classic OS4 has poisoned many die-hard Amiga fans, like me, from ever buying anything from them ever again.

I find the price for Amiga OS4.1, and the PPC hardware from ACube to be exponentially out of step with the real world comupting price structure, and hopefully they will only attract a limited number of "Rockefellers" who have money to burn investing it on OS4.x, and associated hardware.

I will not spend a penny on OS4.x until it is worth it, especially after Classic OS4's MAJOR disappointment.

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stevieu 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 25-Oct-2009 16:36:00
#313 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 23-Apr-2003
Posts: 647
From: England, UK

@Klowna

Generally, installing OS4.0 on my A1200 was a fairly painless experience (after making the common mistake when partitioning the HDD).

Of course, it had the nasty graphics trashing bug when using the Mediator initially, but things were relatively painless after that.

Problems are to be expected when installing on such machines. Like they said, not every piece of hardware can be supported and there are only so many developer resources.

I'm still happy that I purchased OS4 for my classic. I don't use it extremely often, but it's still fun when I do.

All in all, OS4.x deserves new hardware

Steve

_________________
A1200T - OS4.0,OS3.9: 603e PPC 200mhz,060 50mhz, 256mb ram, FastATA MK-III, BVision, 160gb,20gb HDDs

A1200 - OS3.1: Blizzard IV 030, 64mb ram, 400mb HDD

OS4.x - Flying the AMIGA flag

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ChrisH 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 25-Oct-2009 17:25:46
#314 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 30-Jan-2005
Posts: 6679
From: Unknown

@Klowna Quote:
I find the price for Amiga OS4.1, and the PPC hardware from ACube to be exponentially out of step with the real world comupting price structure

The cost of a new Sam440 is pretty similar to both new Blizzard PPC accelerator AND new AmigaOnes (when they came out), so I don't see any reason to complain. The Amiga has never had the scales of economy that the PC world has!

Last edited by ChrisH on 25-Oct-2009 at 05:26 PM.

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Klowna 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 26-Oct-2009 2:40:23
#315 ]
Member
Joined: 29-Feb-2004
Posts: 24
From: Manchester, UK

@stevieu

Quote:
Of course, it had the nasty graphics trashing bug when using the Mediator initially, but things were relatively painless after that


Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

I didn't get much success using the Mediator VooDoo card when OS4 was initially released, in fact I got nothing on the screen after I opted to use the Voodoo, after initially having it load onto AGA.

My reason for using the Voodoo, like yourself I suppose, was that OS4 soon ran out of CHIP memory, and only 256 colour screens wasn't what I expected of OS4.0, but I expected even less of no screen, total lockup/constant reboot screens after opting for the VooDoo as my 1st choice of viewing OS4.

Did the Feb 2008 fix this problem, or did you find another solution to fix it, and how did you get back to accessing the HDD, which I seem to remember you had problems accessing.

There was also nowhere that seemed to have an answer about what screen meant what, and what you could do to get back to access the HDD and a basic boot-up without any kind of startup-sequence, after such a problem, so basic problem solving was non-existent.

I also wondered if you were able to get a DUAL-BOOT system working, so that you could opt to use either OS4, or OS3.9 from an early startup position?

Did the PCI based 8029 Ethernet installed in a Mediator board also work under OS4? As I've not heard much about the usablility of OS4 "online" on this forum.

I seem to remember you "stevieu" left quite a few posts about frustration with Classic OS4 when it came out. Would you still say you had a bit of a learning curve from changing from OS3.9 to OS4.0 on your PPC A1200.

I ask because I also have a towered A1200 with a Blizzard 060/50 / 240Mhz PPC with SCSI, a Mediator TX, VooDoo 3 3000, FastATA Mk3, Spider2 USB, Soundblaster CT4750, 8029AS Ethernet, Clockport card with HyperCOM3 card, so I wondered if you had any similar hardware that continued to worked under OS4.0, and any problems you had to fix to get them working if it didn't all work "straight-out-of-the-box".

I am quite prpepared to accept that the Spider USB may well not be usable under OS4.0 for the memory/Mediator/driver issues initially setout by Hyperion, which of course was a disappointment when it was announced, but I am hopeful other hardware may well continue to work, if you can give me some encouragement that Classic OS4 is worth having another stab at installing.

Would you have any advice to give, about what part of OS4.0 gave you the most trouble, and how you got it resolved.

I know there are some considerable differences with the way OS4.0 boots up compared to OS3.9, but have you got any pointers about what to isolate, and what to leave alone, and why? All this information would be very helpful, and may save me hours in a fresh attempt of trying, and for any other readers in the same position of course.

I ask for this information as there has been very little, if any, information or documentation, apart from the small quick start guide with Classic OS4, in this regard put out by Hyperion or ACube, which is a disgrace.

It was of course not needed for the Betatetesters, but then we were all not privy to this information as we were not all Betatesters, were we !

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Klowna 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 26-Oct-2009 2:55:15
#316 ]
Member
Joined: 29-Feb-2004
Posts: 24
From: Manchester, UK

@ChrisH

Quote:
The cost of a new Sam440 is pretty similar to both new Blizzard PPC accelerator AND new AmigaOnes (when they came out), so I don't see any reason to complain. The Amiga has never had the scales of economy that the PC world has!

I see your point, but surely new hardware should encourage people to buy it, not encourage them to avoid it, as it is overly expensive for what it is.

A comparison with an add-on board for the Classic Amiga, when the PPC hardware was "cutting-edge" is not really a fair comparison with "out-dated / end-of-production-line" PPC chips and hardware. I am of the opinion that it matters not what hardware we use Amiga OS on, as long as it works.

The hardware that ran Amiga OS of course used to matter when Commodore made the hardware, but as that era has passed, we should be more realistic and use hardware that is readily available. We will only be using PC type GFX cards, Soundcards, etc. in the end, so what does it matter which CPU or motherboard we use, as long as it does the job.

Besides I did not buy my Blizzard PPC board new, so it only cost me a third of the price of a new one, at the very most, as to pay £300 or more for it would have made it too expensive for my Amiga enthusiasm.

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ChrisH 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 26-Oct-2009 14:07:31
#317 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 30-Jan-2005
Posts: 6679
From: Unknown

@Klowna Quote:
surely new hardware should encourage people to buy it, not encourage them to avoid it, as it is overly expensive for what it is.

Of course I'd love all Amiga gear to be cheap. But that doesn't mean it's realistic for it to be so!

Why then did Phase5 not charge less for their PPC accelerators? Why didn't Eyetech sell AmigaOnes at a lower price? (Never mind that Alan Redhouse said they lost money on every AmigaOne, taking everything into account.)

Rather than continually complaining about the price, I think it is more constructive to vote with your wallet - buy or not buy, according to the price. The manufacturer will make his own decision, based upon their actual costs. If you really want to send a message to the manufacturer, it would be better to send them one private email, than make multiple posts in a forum they probably only rarely read.

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Klowna 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 26-Oct-2009 20:01:16
#318 ]
Member
Joined: 29-Feb-2004
Posts: 24
From: Manchester, UK

@ChrisH

Quote:
I think it is more constructive to vote with your wallet - buy or not buy, according to the price.

I agree with you about choosing to buy or not to buy is part of the answer.

However, my other impetus, after trying to find if other people had good experiences while installing and using Classic OS4, was about getting other people's opinions about the almost complete lack of support there has been for OS4 for Classic users.

In fact more to the point it is about Hyperion basically abandoning Classic OS4 almost as soon as they had released it, and considering the amount of time they had to produce an outstanding version of OS4 for the Classic Amiga they did a really poor job, don't you think?

All those years wasted for the Classic Amiga users, clutching onto a PPC board waiting for the release of Classic OS4.0, only to find little support for it.

I mean you had basically to strip any towered A1200 back to just the PPC board, and a BVision card if you had one, as little else worked with it.

The Mediator board with a VooDoo card did not work on initial release, 29th November 2007, of OS4, which they said did, and the RTL8029 PCI board did not work, as they said did.

Must have been some extensive Betatesting to fudge those features don't you think?

Basically no other addon card worked as the PPC OS4 software/hardware would not allow other 68k drivers to work, so using your PPC A1200 you could only use the AGA, until you ran out of ChipRAM, and you could not use the GFX card at all, unless you had a BVision or some Micronik ZORRO board based GFX card.

You could not even get online with it. So for 2 to 3 months you could stare at the Classic OS4 box, floppy disk and quick start guide and sigh, if you hadn't jumped up and down on it in frustration.

I just looked again at ACube's site, and back on 1st December 2007 they stated "Here follows the compatibility list, please note that this list will be improved further." So where has been the improvement, as there has been NO improvement or update to the list from that date ..... THAT IS MY POINT - 2 years down the line - NO SUPPORT.

An OS with a development time of about 7 years, with a shelf life of 3 months.

Frankly I don't know why you are defending Hyperion. They botched the Classic OS4, and then did almost nothing to support it, before dropping it like a rotten boing ball.

I said all along there should have been a list and explanation of what could be expected of the Classic hardware, and what would be supported years before the OS4 for Classic Amiga hardware was ever released, but this was left to a couple or a few weeks before release, at which point people who had bought PPC and other Amiga hardware boards, software anticipating it would all be useable with Classic OS4, which in the end was far from the truth.

It was a poor exercise in communication and using their own webpages to highlight supported hardware, and unsupported hardware, well in advance.

The Blizzard & Cyberstorm SCSI incompatability was just one of many incompatability issues that should have been addressed, and made puiblic, and easily accessible to anyone owning a PPC board.

Anyone looking for compatibility information for Classic OS4 just could not find it anywhere, and that was from an early stage in the development of OS4, and apart from the virtual world cobwebbed/dusty compatability list is still the case.

Do you not think that information should have been made known to anyone contemplating hanging onto a PPC card for it to be used with Classic OS4 during development, for all those years?

I personally never saw any information about any hardware incompatibility issues until the compatibility list came out on the ACube site, only weeks before Classic OS4 release.

I bought Classic OS4, expecting that the compatability list would be enhanced over time, but Hyperion, and ACUbe have not kept their word.

Why should I trust them?

I don't.

It seems to me that they had both put almost all of their effort into the new hardware they had developed, behind closed doors, to the exclusion of the Classic Amiga hardware, which came almost as an afterthought, and a promise they said they would keep, so they fudged the Classic OS4 and then dumped it.

However in my, and I suspect, in many others people's opinions was just a major disappointment and the cause of frustration to the nth degreee.

I did get chance to ask a few questions along these lines of Hans Joerg Frieden, who just dismissed them saying the Classic OS4 was a success, and he had had lots of satisfied customers with it. When I asked about other "exotic" (Mediator) hardware he quoted the compatability list, the compatability list, the compatability list and that if it's not on the list then it doesn't work.

So I got the impression then they never intended to support what they had started for Classic OS4..

I asked if he would allow some features that some of the Classic hardware boards, in particular the Mediator, as that affected me most, to function within the PPC functionality of OS4, but he said that he did not agree with the way it functioned, and he/Hyperion would not allow it.

Not that it couldn't be done, just that he/Hyperion would not allow that to happen.

I also asked what he/Hyperion could do to get more hardware to function under Classic OS4, and increase the compatability list, or allow some hardware to function by allowing certain non-standard Classic Amiga-type hardware to run as it always had by opening up OS4 for the Classic Amiga hardware functionality, but I again only got the compatability list thrown back at me.

It seems to me that Hyperion's agenda was to release Classic OS4, and dump it all along.

I, and, I feel sure, many others were let down by Hyperion and ACube by Classic OS4, and that hurt a lot. So, I am not giving them a penny of my money in the future unless they make the hardware and software more appealing both in price and what it does for that price.

To me, in some regards, Hyperion are the new Amiga Inc., with all those undertones.

I prefer the Amiga Intuition system, as long as it keeps up with technology, but price is a considerable factor, and if they can't deliver in that part of their sales strategy then I just won't take part, unless they provide a further incentive to do so.

Amiga OS was great, up to OS3.9, but the change of hardware and OS is going to cause some, possibly a good deal, of the software titles I own for Amiga OS up to OS3 will just not work on OS4, however good JIT is.

What software is there to replace some of the established office, graphics, 3D software, & other titles too numerous to mention here? So again it's a leap of faith, and essentially having to start all over again, along with the learning curve, for hardware, software that does not come with extensive instructions.

Bottom line, I will not be buying any new Amiga OS or Amiga OS4+ intended PPC hardware until circumstances change - thanks to Hyperion and ACube.

Last edited by Klowna on 26-Oct-2009 at 08:07 PM.

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ChrisH 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 31-Oct-2009 11:12:54
#319 ]
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Joined: 30-Jan-2005
Posts: 6679
From: Unknown

@Klowna Quote:
Frankly I don't know why you are defending Hyperion. They botched the Classic OS4, and then did almost nothing to support it, before dropping it like a rotten boing ball.

I would no doubt feel less positive about Hyperion if (a) I still owned a classic PPC machine, (b) had bought OS4 for it, and (c) IF it didn't work well.

I have read that some people find Classic OS4 to work fine for them. And some who don't. I don't know what percentage of people it works well for them or not, nor the time to investigate it, so frankly I have ignored the it. Which has been helped by the fact that very few people seem to complain about it, so one can assume that the majority are happy with it.

But it does look a bit like Hyperion have stopped supporting OS4 for Classic. Now they aren't paying for legal fees, and now that their Most Ambitious Project is maturing, I hope that they can afford to put more effort into OS4 for Classic again. Even bug fixing of OS4 for the Sam440's has been slow (probably due to the same reasons), and you know how high-profile that is.


Personally I am not sure whether they shoud have released OS4 for Classic in the first place, because they always said it was difficult to support the vast range of Classic hardware & kludges. Perhaps they did it because Amiga Inc's license restricted their hardware choices. But since they did release it, they should definitely support it.

Last edited by ChrisH on 31-Oct-2009 at 11:16 AM.

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niobyte 
Re: The Classic PPC OS4 Installation Thread
Posted on 17-Nov-2009 16:24:44
#320 ]
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From: Unknown

I must admit I have not been able to get any of the PCI cards I have to work under Amiga OS 4 Classic through the Mediator TX I own. Everything I have tried has resulted with the system locking up.

I'm not sure if this is caused by me having the B-Vision connected to the Blizzard PPC as well as using the Mediator TX busboard with a SB128 Sound Card, a Realtek RTL8139D NIC and a Voodoo 3 2000 PCI 3D graphics card.

I originally had a Radeon 9200 PCI 64MB and 128MB connected I have both versions. Both of course do not work, due to the fact that the for this card Amiga OS 4.0 only contains the BIOS related version used for the AmigaONE.

I do realise that the SB128 will never work with AmigaOS 4 unless the fake 'DMA' access is allowed. Then again if this is true, how do the PCI NIC cards work using the Mediator drivers? Do some of the PCI NIC's on the Mediator not use DMA?

I have tried multiple Mediator driver versions, including the latest ones. None of these seem to work for me at all. Including all of the Radeon.card ones

I have all the Amiga OS 4.0 Classic updates installed "February 2008 update" included.

Using the Mediator config tool found on the Mediator MutiMedia CD, it has detected all of the devices connected to the Mediator PCI busboard.

I did find when I had my Radeon card connected at the time once I applied the February 2008 update the system would just go on an endless infinite reboot sequence.

Then again, I am having the exact same issues under AmigaOS 3.9. Especially in relation to the Mixer application used for the Sound Card totally crashing the machine on boot. I tried this on multiple OS 3.9 installations with no luck either.

I read somewhere else that you should change the position of the mixer application execution in the user-startup sequence. This did absolutely nothing.

I wasn't able to get the B-Vision to work under OS 3.9 while the Voodoo 3 2000 PCI was connected. It would not release a screenmode to the B-Vision card. Under OS 4.0 the B-Vision works fine while the Voodoo 3 2000 PCI is connected. No idea why under OS 3.9 it refuses to do so. This was happening with both CyberGraphX Version 3 and 4. All I would get was CyberGraphX boot splash screen.

Taking the Voodoo PCI Graphics Card out I could assign a screenmode to it. No idea why this would cause it. The Voodoo card doesn't seem to share the same memory address space as the B-Vision. Well, you would certainly hope so.

Also, it being on a completely seperate PCI Bus (one on the A1200 Blizzard PPC Accelerator), would make one think it would be out of the equation.

Then again a passthrough connector is used between the A1200 expansion connector the Mediator PCI Busboard and the Blizzard PPC Accelerator. They all use different memory address ranges, so one would think this would not cause too many issues.

Then again I am unable to get powerpc.library to work which is supposed to reference PowerUP which likes to be addressable from the Video memory, hmm. It still does not work with all the other PCI cards taken out of the mediator. Maybe the mediator just being present is enough to cause problems.

So, how do others get the PowerUP, or powerpc.library stuff to work then? I have got Terminate 2 set and hide alerts. I do know about blizzardppcfix MUI tool. That removes the powerup stuff on boot, I haven't tried that yet.

I have also tried to get the B-Vision under OS 4 to work with Warp3D and the powerpc.library the modified one for Amiga OS 4.0 available on Aminet, the system just crashes when trying to use that.

Disconnecting the Voodoo 3 PCI allowed it to do so. Also trying to use the Voodoo 3 2000 PCI card under OS 3.9 or anyother devices refuse to work.

Under AmigaOS 3.9 similar issues with PowerUP just crashes when trying to use the powerpc.library on boot. I have also tried different versions of that with no luck.

I somehow think if I was to disconnect the B-Vision under Amiga OS 3.9 I would no longer have these issues. That is the only thing I have not tried to date. I am just reluctant to do so

Also, under AmigaOS 3.9 installing BoingBag 1 and 2 through the InstallerNG package (wishes never installed it from contributions) totally ruined the OS installation after the 2 updates. So, for me AmigaOS 3.9 and 4.0 is causing me grief.

I was finally able to get the B-Vision to also work under AmigaOS 3.9 too. But, once of course the 2 BoingBag updates were applied the OS install is totally useless. For instance I get loads of assign errors and I have to launch workbench manually, nice.

I have not tried the Radeon.card driver under AmigaOS 3.9 yet. I will have to start from scratch again in order to do that. Since my OS3.9 installation is now useless.

Apolgoies for the long post which is a hybrid of both OS 3.9 and OS 4.0 related issues I have been experiencing. Most likely worthy of a new thread.

I have not contacted Elbox about any of these issues I have experienced. I usually like to work things out for myself first.

In regards to AmigaOS 4.0 Classic I do definately consider it a non-finished product by far. I am astounded that A1200 Blizzard PPC SCSI support was missed. Blamed for lack of schematics, datasheet information, device information, etc.

I would think at least for Mediator related users at least make an optional hotifix to support the obscure mediator hardware. At least making it an optional kernel update for some.

I do realise adding such hacks to the kernel can open up stability issues and a can of worms, then again that should be at the risk of the user. I do understand Hans-Joerg Frieden's concerns in adding such hacks. It is rather messy and can potentially break things. At least making it available is better than nothing.

Then again, you cannot expect a huge amount from such a limited developer base. I think it is great what Hans-Joerg Frieden and his brother are doing. If it wasn't for them their would be no Amiga OS 4.x at all. They do an exceptional job considering it is only the 2 of them that make up OS 4 for the most part and other ambitious projects.

Talk about being a niche and almost a total vaporware platform Hyperion have done a great job.

Last edited by niobyte on 17-Nov-2009 at 04:58 PM.
Last edited by niobyte on 17-Nov-2009 at 04:40 PM.
Last edited by niobyte on 17-Nov-2009 at 04:39 PM.
Last edited by niobyte on 17-Nov-2009 at 04:26 PM.

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