WHDLoad - a novel way of booting? Help please! :)

[lesta_smsc]

Hello all,

So I have been tinkering with the A600 with 2MB RAM - yes not the best but I am trying to be minimalist and sticking as true as possible to how the Amiga would have been (although granted WHDLoad is not how it was in the past but we had HD installers to :P )

I am hoping someone can implement the following to help enable MAXIMUM memory utilisation for WHDLoad experience. I managed to get Monkey Island 2 to boot and some others by running a minimal RAM use interface e.g. simply disabling the startup-sequence and typing the load command for the game. Some games failed to load even via AGLaunch but worked via the above manner. Now this is what I would like to do:

1) Have a startup-sequence that calls upon a preset function or ideally a brief command in RAM that will let it execute something without having to be typed but also before it utilises the RAM for graphical display e.g. the shell screen.

2) You select the game you wish to play (e.g. via something efficient such as the existing AGLaunch) but rather than the game run directly, it will 'write' the command to load the game then put that into a modified startup-sequence or RAM and then it causes Amiga to soft-reboot and run the game!

3) The command stays resident in memory until a hard reset / power off.

4) In essence replicating what TSR programs/Relokick does.

Anyone able to put the above into a nifty small sized program? If possible, this will allow even greater RAM to be free before anything at all gets displayed as I am sure even the initial screen where you have to type will take up SOME RAM - every byte counts lol.

The program could be called WHDLite lol

Regards,
Lesta_SMSC

[Radertified]

Sort of related but if you want maximum memory, you can try using a program like add44k or add36k. It might help in what you want.

[jotd]

JST can run more whdload games with low memory, specially the ones that don't require save to hard disk / quit to workbench (quit by rebooting). JST has been successfully tested to run games on ... a 1MB unexpanded CDTV. With 2MB you just expand the number of games that JST can preload.

And if you have a IDE FFS disk, you can use CD32load too. With 2MB you can run a lot of 1MB x-disked NDOS games, and most of the games that come with files.

[lesta_smsc]

I'm basically trying to run Beneath A Steel Sky. On the info for the game it says:

"Floppy version: The installed program requires 1.0 MB ChipMem and 1.0 MB OtherMem (12 MB with PRELOAD)"

Thus it should run if there was a way to allocate memory as such. I know fakemem can do 512K chip ram and the rest into fast memory.

When I have tried with very minimal options loaded (disabled all drives apart from DH0 and DH1) it came up with this error:

"DOS-Error #103 (not enough memory available) on PreLoad for Examine on object “Games1:B/BeneathAStlSky/data"

So is there anyway to overcome this at all?

[jotd]

Beneath A Steel Sky: the perfect example of the huge game where it may be better suited for native HD run, no whdload... should run on 1MB so with 2MB you're cool.

CD32load or JST won't help there either (CD32load could do it, but there's a remaining bug with hard disk mode + kickstart emulation so this isn't going to work) and whdload will flash like crazy if you don't set "PRELOAD".

[daxb]

If you don't know how to get the stuff running why not add some memory to your system?

[lesta_smsc]

Originally Posted by jotd

Beneath A Steel Sky: the perfect example of the huge game where it may be better suited for native HD run, no whdload... should run on 1MB so with 2MB you're cool.

CD32load or JST won't help there either (CD32load could do it, but there's a remaining bug with hard disk mode + kickstart emulation so this isn't going to work) and whdload will flash like crazy if you don't set "PRELOAD".

Ah so HDD install is possible for this, I wasn't aware it had option on the disk. I had very few games that I installed directly eg Rome AD92 which came bundled with A600HD.

In accordance with the info on WHDLoad as I have mentioned, what is that relating to? Is there a configuration that let's you run it? If it specifically needs the 1MB chip and 1MB fast RAM then maybe a memory app like fakemem may be able to configure it as such?

I know what you mean about flashing screen. For some reason Lotus 2 seems to keep flashing the loading screen despite it being a one disk game? It loads and plays fine eventually... ironically nearly as long as running from floppy disk lol.

Originally Posted by daxb

If you don't know how to get the stuff running why not add some memory to your system?

Thank you for the unhelpful comment - just because someone doesn't know something doesn't mean to say they have to change course completely lol. Why do people even bother with accelerators or additional RAM and instead just go with emulation?...

Anyways, it more to test out the possibilities on a largely stock A600 instead of upgrade as the outcome could help others with less upgraded systems to enjoy more games without unnecessary expenditure.

[lesta_smsc]

I've added21k. add36k would be ideal but it crashes system if run directly from both mouse button clicked selection at boot (disabling startup sequence etc).

Also tried addbuffers to further reduce HDD buffer.

I've disabled all devices on boot including DF0.

I've managed to get it to use around 140k of RAM but ideally I want to try and use all.

I think best way was to have command execution in RAM so it does this on boot literally on Amiga reset.

I know this is overkill but I tested on WINUAE with additional 512k and Beneath A Steel Sky booted! I'm sure it is just missing out by a little bit for WHDLoad but I suspect I can now run much more games than before even with this setup.

I would be interested to know if anyone knows of an application that can execute command on boot. I tried executeonreset and it didn't appear to do anything lol.

Also let me know of any games that struggle without additional RAM so they can be tested on current stripped down configuration

[jotd]

If you don't know how to get the stuff running why not add some memory to your system?

yeah why don'y you buy a PC seriously, I find that interesting to run games on the smallest configs possible. And also on machines where the games had little chance to run when it came out. That's why I made cd32load and adapted it so it can run a lot of games on A600 2MB. And then adapted JST to kick 1.3 so it can run a lot of games from a 1MB CDTV or 1MB A2000 with hard drive, with CD32 pad control, trainer...

If it specifically needs the 1MB chip and 1MB fast RAM then maybe a memory app like fakemem may be able to configure it as such?

no game explicitly requires fast ram. If there's only chip available, it defaults to chip.

The only drawback with installing games on hdd without whdload is that you don't benefit of the fixes, cracks, trainers (besides the chipmem requirements, assigns, boot without startup...). You'll have to get a crack of BASS else you'll get a password as some point.

[lesta_smsc]

It would be a shame if the reason for failing to boot is because of a few kb... hence why I'm seeing if this will run.

BAAS will run on 2.5MB but I'm not sure how much it uses to preload (it keeps throwing that error despite disabling preload).

If I am only like a few more kb from it working then it's a nice exercise to get it booting.

@jotd with your programming skills are you able to write a little app that will allow execution of an application on boot (BEFORE Amiga allocates any memory to run shell window/boot graphics)?

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by lesta_smsc

It would be a shame if the reason for failing to boot is because of a few kb... hence why I'm seeing if this will run.
BAAS will run on 2.5MB but I'm not sure how much it uses to preload (it keeps throwing that error despite disabling preload).

If I am only like a few more kb from it working then it's a nice exercise to get it booting.

@jotd with your programming skills are you able to write a little app that will allow execution of an application on boot (BEFORE Amiga allocates any memory to run shell window/boot graphics)?

Seriously lesta_smsc, given your Amiga specs; you are way better off doing native installs than using WHDLoad due to RAM requirements / screen flashing

...especially for BaSS.

[Retro1234]

Games like BASS and Monkey Islands will run better on your system without the use of WHDload.

[daxb]

Disable as much devices as possible that allocate memory, boot without S-S and start games manually. Then you have roughly most memory free. You can also try a boot floppy disk but that is a lot of work and not practical in my opinion.

Originally Posted by lesta_smsc

I would be interested to know if anyone knows of an application that can execute command on boot. I tried executeonreset and it didn't appear to do anything lol.

Such a program need to be loaded reset resident to memory for execution. So it would eat some memory. Another problem is that if you can free as much chip memory as possible the more uncomfortable it becomes to start/use games from HD. Furthermore, I think a few more free (k)bytes will not help much.

[lesta_smsc]

Originally Posted by DamienD

Seriously lesta_smsc, given your Amiga specs; you are way better off doing native installs than using WHDLoad due to RAM requirements / screen flashing

...especially for BaSS.

I know but part of me just wants this tinkering to work lol. I suppose overkill but trying to get every little byte if memory to work lol. Monkey Island 2 works BTW using above method but I guess I will install BAAS

[Torti-the-Smurf]

Expandabillity is at the heart of every AMIGA and Jay Miner and the Gang fought so hard for it.
Amiga is no C64.
Its an ECS Amiga and can be upgraded like every Amiga.
Man, if you put a Furia Card (68020 with 33mhz and 8 MB Fast-Ram + MapRom function) into this A600 you would LOVE it, i am pretty sure

Anyhow, just a suggestion, sweet greetings and all the best, Torti

[lesta_smsc]

Originally Posted by Torti-the-Smurf

Expandabillity is at the heart of every AMIGA and Jay Miner and the Gang fought so hard for it.
Amiga is no C64.
Its an ECS Amiga and can be upgraded like every Amiga.
Man, if you put a Furia Card (68020 with 33mhz and 8 MB Fast-Ram + MapRom function) into this A600 you would LOVE it, i am pretty sure

Anyhow, just a suggestion, sweet greetings and all the best, Torti

Very true... I think even additional 2MB would be enough for WHDLoad like I said, it runs BAAS with just an additional 512K of RAM and with the above stripped boot it runs Monkey Island.

Alas, I don't think I will succeed in BAAS unless HD installed.

[DamienD]

Originally Posted by lesta_smsc

Alas, I don't think I will succeed in BAAS unless HD installed.

You won't, not with the WHDLoad version.

[Torti-the-Smurf]

FastRam is a must for WHDload. Monkey Island & Co is running via the native install, no need for WHDload.
So many Amiga games had copy protected and WHDLoad is the pretty much the only way to play them from Harddisc.
Thats the main reason to have FastRam.
The Furia makes the OS`n stuff "flow" better and it has the Ram for WHDload, thats all

[lesta_smsc]

Originally Posted by Torti-the-Smurf

FastRam is a must for WHDload. Monkey Island & Co is run via native install, no need for WHDload.

So many Amiga games where copy protected and WHDLoad is the only way to play them from Harddisc. Thats the main reason to have Fast-Ram at least.

The Furia makes the OS`n stuff "flow" better and it has the Ram for WHDload, thats all

Furia would be amazing but for the price I can't justify lol.

[Torti-the-Smurf]

HA its no Vampire