Amiga cd32 & sx1 help. newbie here!

13 March 2005, 02:58

Hello fellow amiga fans.
I am a video games fan from sunny Greece, and i would like to let you know that you have a great community here.

I was looking for such a place to get into the amiga, since i never really had the chance to do so in the past. Almost a year before, i won an amiga cd32 along with sx1, keyboard, mouse, many many cds, a hd, plus more for a few money (i was lucky). The amiga works fine, i have played some games fine. BUT, when i try to use the sx1, i have the following problem:

1)If i boot the machine up without the external floppy drive, it gives me a warning window saying to insert fd(0) if i am correct.
2)If i boot it with the floppy connected, it goes into a mode, where my tv is flickering and rolling. Since i am a long time video gamer, i know that this is probably something to do with the refresh rate.

After reading some faqs today about the rgb output of the sx1, i found out that it doesnt output a true vga out, (meaning it cant connect to todays monitors) since the refresh rate is 15-30 khz. So, is the above effect happening because the previous owner of this setup, set it up so it was connected to a monitor, and thus, it works on a refresh rate the tv cant support?

Thats the first problem.
After reading the sx1 manual, i understood that i could use the workbench floppy to boot the machine and then reinstall everything as i wanted. Correct? I think so. BUT, the problem is, that although i can find the workbench os online, i cant find a way to put it back on amiga compatible floppies to use it.

So, my problems are that i cant use the sx1 as it is setup right now, cause of the flickering and rolling of the picture, and that i dont know what to do in order to produce compatible floppies with the workbench os.
Would a db25->vga cable on a multisync monitor work with this. Or a 1084 monitor using the amiga cable?

quite a long post, enouph questions, but i thought of no other place to ask!
thanks a lot!

Slayer · 13 March 2005, 04:54

I would suggest resetting the CD32 with a ctrl+both (A)miga keys and then holding down both mouse buttons
until the early boot up selection screen appears.

Navigate the menu until you find the option to boot
up without a startup-sequence.

reboot with this option selected...

When the shell appears on the screen (if it doesn't then
you have something else going on)

type into the shell

delete sys

refs/env-archive/sys/screenmode.prefs

if you don't have a hd access and a return to the
shell prompt... use dir and/or cd to navigate the
above directories to find the above file to delete

this will remove the settings and use the default of
640x256 which might solve your immediate flicking
problem...

also, have you considered using the SVHS or even RCA
composite of the CD32 to see if you have the
similair problem...

hopefully the screen settings is the answer...

good luck!

Slayer · 13 March 2005, 04:58

ahh...

the :P above is meant to just be : then a p
if you don't quite understand... *grin*

also I forget to say, if it works as it should as
above and the file is deleted first time simply
reboot again but this time instead of getting to
the work bench and causing you grief visually it
gets to the workbench and you can see fine...

13 March 2005, 11:06

thanks for the reply, i ll try this and report back.

13 March 2005, 13:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slayer

I would suggest resetting the CD32 with a ctrl+both (A)miga keys and then holding down both mouse buttons
until the early boot up selection screen appears.

Since i cannot really tell if the amiga keyboard (a genuine commodore one) works or not (there is no action if i press any keys, either at the insert fd(0) screen or when the screen is rolling) i am not sure what i should do. I tried hitting some combinations but no luck. I also tried a windows keyboard through an AT connector. But, in either case, which buttons are the Amiga ones? On the amiga keyboard the only different ones are in the shift button place, and the printed language on it is german so i am not sure really.

I know this is getting confusing, but i cannot tell if my mouse is working too. It came with an adaptor so i think the adaptor must be nessecary. Its really small in length so i suppose its a convertor. I will try to post pictures later if i can. I dont think this is a genuine amiga mouse. I will try to find one but i dont think i ll have luck.

Tried booting the cd32 with both mouse buttons pressed, but with either the adaptor or not, it does nothing.

Sorry for such newbie questions, but i am trying to find out what works and how!
thanks anyway

13 March 2005, 13:59

well, after some trial and error i found that the keyboard works. i found the combination of control+f11+f12 to reset the os. BUT, since now, i was thinking that the rs232 port on the right side of the sx1 is for a mouse...

After reading the sx1 manual i found that there is no mouse port on it.
Does that mean i have to use an original amiga mouse for the cd32 port only?
Or can i get away with using the pad in some way to get to that menu instead of using both mouse buttons?

I am asking this because the guy that sold this package to me had only this mouse inside.. Which makes me think that it can either work in some way or that i can use another way, such as the pad.

Oh, and i am using the rca cables to the tv.

13 March 2005, 14:13

its ok, i got in!!!
i did what you said.
I was a total fool, i was connecting the mouse to the rs232 instead of the second port of the cd32....

more questions later!!!
thanks

Slayer · 14 March 2005, 05:03

well, in the end all is well...

th4t1guy · 14 March 2005, 06:52

I have that same problem with the floppy drive on my cd32+sx1, but I never really bothered trying to fix it. If you are using OS3.9, I think the problem has something to do with installing the OS from the emergency boot disk.

13 March 2005, 02:58	#1
whorse Posts: n/a	Amiga cd32 & sx1 help. newbie here! Hello fellow amiga fans. I am a video games fan from sunny Greece, and i would like to let you know that you have a great community here. I was looking for such a place to get into the amiga, since i never really had the chance to do so in the past. Almost a year before, i won an amiga cd32 along with sx1, keyboard, mouse, many many cds, a hd, plus more for a few money (i was lucky). The amiga works fine, i have played some games fine. BUT, when i try to use the sx1, i have the following problem: 1)If i boot the machine up without the external floppy drive, it gives me a warning window saying to insert fd(0) if i am correct. 2)If i boot it with the floppy connected, it goes into a mode, where my tv is flickering and rolling. Since i am a long time video gamer, i know that this is probably something to do with the refresh rate. After reading some faqs today about the rgb output of the sx1, i found out that it doesnt output a true vga out, (meaning it cant connect to todays monitors) since the refresh rate is 15-30 khz. So, is the above effect happening because the previous owner of this setup, set it up so it was connected to a monitor, and thus, it works on a refresh rate the tv cant support? Thats the first problem. After reading the sx1 manual, i understood that i could use the workbench floppy to boot the machine and then reinstall everything as i wanted. Correct? I think so. BUT, the problem is, that although i can find the workbench os online, i cant find a way to put it back on amiga compatible floppies to use it. So, my problems are that i cant use the sx1 as it is setup right now, cause of the flickering and rolling of the picture, and that i dont know what to do in order to produce compatible floppies with the workbench os. Would a db25->vga cable on a multisync monitor work with this. Or a 1084 monitor using the amiga cable? quite a long post, enouph questions, but i thought of no other place to ask! thanks a lot!

13 March 2005, 04:54	#2
Slayer Amiga Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 56 Posts: 695	I would suggest resetting the CD32 with a ctrl+both (A)miga keys and then holding down both mouse buttons until the early boot up selection screen appears. Navigate the menu until you find the option to boot up without a startup-sequence. reboot with this option selected... When the shell appears on the screen (if it doesn't then you have something else going on) type into the shell delete sysrefs/env-archive/sys/screenmode.prefs if you don't have a hd access and a return to the shell prompt... use dir and/or cd to navigate the above directories to find the above file to delete this will remove the settings and use the default of 640x256 which might solve your immediate flicking problem... also, have you considered using the SVHS or even RCA composite of the CD32 to see if you have the similair problem... hopefully the screen settings is the answer... good luck!

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13 March 2005, 04:58	#3
Slayer Amiga Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 56 Posts: 695	ahh... the :P above is meant to just be : then a p if you don't quite understand... grin also I forget to say, if it works as it should as above and the file is deleted first time simply reboot again but this time instead of getting to the work bench and causing you grief visually it gets to the workbench and you can see fine...

13 March 2005, 11:06	#4
whorse Posts: n/a	thanks for the reply, i ll try this and report back.

13 March 2005, 13:59	#6
whorse Posts: n/a	well, after some trial and error i found that the keyboard works. i found the combination of control+f11+f12 to reset the os. BUT, since now, i was thinking that the rs232 port on the right side of the sx1 is for a mouse... After reading the sx1 manual i found that there is no mouse port on it. Does that mean i have to use an original amiga mouse for the cd32 port only? Or can i get away with using the pad in some way to get to that menu instead of using both mouse buttons? I am asking this because the guy that sold this package to me had only this mouse inside.. Which makes me think that it can either work in some way or that i can use another way, such as the pad. Oh, and i am using the rca cables to the tv.

13 March 2005, 14:13	#7
whorse Posts: n/a	its ok, i got in!!! i did what you said. I was a total fool, i was connecting the mouse to the rs232 instead of the second port of the cd32.... more questions later!!! thanks

14 March 2005, 05:03	#8
Slayer Amiga Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: New Zealand Age: 56 Posts: 695	well, in the end all is well...

14 March 2005, 06:52	#9
th4t1guy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO, USA Posts: 683	I have that same problem with the floppy drive on my cd32+sx1, but I never really bothered trying to fix it. If you are using OS3.9, I think the problem has something to do with installing the OS from the emergency boot disk.

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