A3000 with Superkick and 3.1.4 possible?

[Firestone]

Just curious about this one. I got an A3000 with Superkick and 1.3 and 3.1 dualbooted.
I really like cool this feature on the A3000, and that's why I have not swapped out the 1.4-kickstart with the 3.1 ones

As far as I can remember, the kickstart-files used by the Superkick-ROM were slightly different from regular grabbed ROM-files.

Is it possible to use the 3.1.4 rom files with the Superkickstart?

[TjLaZer]

You can try to, there is a tool to convert a 512k KS file to a SuperKickstart disk.

http://aminet.net/package/util/misc/MakeSuperDisk

[hth313]

The MakeSuperDisk tool writes existing super-kickstart files with bonus code to a floppy. It will not create the suitable file from a plain ROM image file.

You need another tool to piece combine the A3000 ROM image and the appropriate extra bonus code.

[Fook42]

yes, it is possible to run 3.1.4 as SuperKick ... you need to add the BonusCode from an >=2.0 SuperKickstart-File to the original ROM from Hyperion and thats it.

[barryn]

If you have a Linux or MacOS computer, or a Windows computer with the CygWin Unix tools installed, or a version of the dd command for windows, like the one linked below, you can follow these instructions:
http://www.chrysocome.net/dd <- dd for windows

dd if=old_2.x_a3000_ks_with_bonus_code_file of=bonuscode bs=524288 skip=1
# This will create a file named bonuscode containing the extra code needed for an A3000 soft kick rom image.

# Next if using windows
type kick.a3000.46.143 bonuscode >Superkick-3.1.4

#If using Unix or MacOS
cat kick.a3000.46.143 bonuscode >Superkick-3.1.4

You should now have a file named Superkick-3.1.4 that you can copy to DEVS:kickstart on your WB_2.X drive partition on your Amiga, or use with the MakeSuperDisk command as shown below to make a new super kickstart disk. On your Amiga:

MakeSuperDisk 2.x=Superkick-3.1.4

or if you have a 1.3 A3000 super kick file, and want to be able to boot either 1.3 or 3.1.4:

MakeSuperDisk 2.x=Superkick-3.1.4 1.3=your_1.3_superkickstart_file

I have tested this procedure under MacOS, and it worked for me. I have used it to create super kickstart disks and super kickstart files for rom versions 2.0, 3.1 and 3.1.4. Note you the rom image you use to start with MUST be a A3000 image.

[gdonner]

Hmm; interesting--my A3000 (16MHz version) actually had the 1.4 ROMs, but I installed 3.1.4, as I understand that you obviously can't run 1.4 with a 68040 or higher CPU..?

So if you have no plans to upgrade to anything faster than stock, you should be good to go.

[Firestone]

Thanks a lot everyone!
I got it working!

barryns method worked perfectly. I did it from macOS and transferred it back to the Amiga via SMBFS.

I tried it first on a floppy using MakeSuperDisk, and it booted fine, but I found an interesting discovery I was not aware of:
If you read the kickstart from a floppy, then the wb_2.x-partition on the harddrive is recognized as "not bootable" in early startup.
Actually both wb1.3 and wb2.x-partitions are recognized as not bootable and it will throw the kickstart-screen at you.

Moving the kickstart-file to wb_2.x:devs/kickstart results in expected behavior and the system gets kicked fine.
I am now sitting by my happy A3000 running 3.1.4 via Superkickstart!

But what about the modules? Do I have to add them too or is everything in the ROM-file?

@gdonner:
Yes I know this limitation. I got the Blizzard 4030-board in it, and this is probably the "best" board you can get and at the same time maintain Superkickstart-compatability.

[slammers]

I could not seem to get this to work with 3.1.4 ROM. I wrote a small Windows program to copy the bonus code from my 2.04 ROM on my original HD to any other ROM.

If anyone is interested I can share this program.

I have tested it with 3.0, and 3.1 ROMS and it works great.

But if I do the same for 3.1.4 ROMs, the a3000 will load the ROM image (I get the loading 2.x splash screen) but then the PC dies. It will not recover even after a Ctrl A A sequence so the ROM must be resident and not functioning.

I tried the same ROM in WINUAE and it works, so I am not sure why it will not work on my real hardware. The one I have is supposed to be a A3000 3.1.4 image, but maybe its not? How could I tell?

[Toni Wilen]

Originally Posted by slammers

I tried the same ROM in WINUAE and it works, so I am not sure why it will not work on my real hardware. The one I have is supposed to be a A3000 3.1.4 image, but maybe its not? How could I tell?

Did you enable 68030 MMU emulation? If MMU emulation is off, simple A3000 superkick hack is enabled.

[slammers]

Sorry, I do not understand the question. I mentioned it works fine in WinUAE. Its the real A3000 hardware where it does not work.

How does 68030 MMU emulation apply to the real hardware?

[Toni Wilen]

Originally Posted by slammers

Sorry, I do not understand the question. I mentioned it works fine in WinUAE. Its the real A3000 hardware where it does not work.

How does 68030 MMU emulation apply to the real hardware?

Because UAE SuperKick support (without MMU emulation enabled) is a hack and has absolute nothing in common how real A3000 does it by using MMU. You need MMU emulation match real A3000 behavior.

[Overmann]

I have an A3000 that used to have 1.4 with 3.1.4 softkicked. I didn't set it up (the guy I bought it from did) but it sure worked flawlessly.