Amithlon Setup Guide

[dr.zeissler]

Originally Posted by dr.zeissler

Seems so, but sound is muted or routed wrong. Same issue in plain Dos with SBEMU or DOSSOUND...currently investigating.

Beside that on that machine (E600/D1534) amithlon is freezing right on boot with every kernel if the Bios is set on "top of the base memory", it's working with the setting "Expansion ROM Area" this directly effects OS/2 Warp4 on WINOS/2 window not working, so either no amithlon or winos2/window...because os2 offers winos2 fullscreen that's not a big deal to lose winos2window.

But the muted AC97 is a problem.

Main machine:
FSC E600 D1534
P4 2.26AGhz 533Mhz
512MB RAM
80GB IDE-HDD
3,5" 1,44MB
5,25 360KB
PCI1 2940UW (external SCSI-CDROM)
PCI2 CWMK4Plus (for both floppys)
AGP Matrox G550/32MB

Multiboot:
- OS/2 WARP
- AMIGA (and MSDOS)
- WIN2K
- LINUX

*edit: the FSC engineers seem to have concepted this case for the SCSI-Controller...this is indeed a PERFECT fit

Going back to that nice machine....E600 AD1980 everything seems to be correctly installed...using kernel310...but no sound at all on that AC97 AD1980... but interesting read on on kernel4 ! But kernel4 refuses to boot on that machine, I can't test if this fixes the audio issue...
https://github.com/SnkBitten/amithlo...lugin_ad1980.c

Doc

[dr.zeissler]

@milanca
Are the kernel4's https://sourceforge.net/projects/amithlon/files/Latest/ from 2012 broken? All make a blackscreen and nothing more? Are they exclusive for another gfxcard? (nvidia?) I always use matrox. Regardless what I do I end up in a blackscreen. Other members of A1K reported that they also get a blackscreen with all three. The older kernel4 (2009?) with it's drivers do work. To bad the sound issue with AD1980 could not be solved yet. I am still investigating this. I updated to ahiV6 and I see "Unit 0" and the drivers are loaded but I still can't hear anything.

[Vipersan]

After watching a few youtube videos I figure it was worth an attempt at building my own Amithlon system..
I'm using a GA-8GE667 motherboard which has integrated usb and sound

specs

• Supports Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 3.06GHz and beyond
• Supports Hyper Threading Technology
• Enhance system performance with latest DDR memory support
• Provides 6 USB 2.0 ports for high-speed connectivity
• Integrated new generation Intel® Extreme Graphics Engine
• Integrated high quality 6-channel AC’97 audio
• GIGABYTE unique EZ-Fix™ AGP 4x and memory DIMM slot with Anti-Burn™ design
• Round corner PCB plate design for better durability
• Rich in overclocking features via BIOS setting

A Pentium 4 cpu

plus a 3c595-TX 3com network card.

1gb stick of ram
The graphics card is an ASUS AGP V7700/32M


I realise there are no hard and fast rules for compatible hardware.
I built it following the superb guide provided by snkbitten.
Before reading it I was clueless...and still am lol
Anyhoo the build has progressed nicely up to MUI
I now have 80gb ide drive with an autobooting Amithlon which booted to a high definition boing ball screen...and is stable.
Some patches have been applied without too much trouble...but am stumped at mui38usr.lha ...which I assume is the demo version ?
when I try to unpack and try to install this..I get a most unhelpful message returned.
It means nothing to me which is why I'm seeking help.


>>copyfiles couldn't copy file *.* on line 563


DOS error type could not perform operation on a file or drawer--not of required type <<<

Hopefully someone can interpret this and help...and that it won't be the first of many problems.
I'm just hoping the hardware I'm using is compatible..but no way of knowing..so I just plod on.

at this point I'm using kern310...and no idea how to use kernel4 ..or if this would make a difference ?

It would be nice to get everything working ..but at this point would settle for sound and possibly usb.
regards
VS

please be gentle with me...as I'm a complete newb to this.

[dr.zeissler]

Kernel 310 with drivers 0.90?
Checkout cli with:
stacks 12000 (ENTER)
pciinsmod (ENTER)

Look what drivers are loaded.

Try to unpack MUI38.. to RAM and then execute the installer and choose a partition (e.g. bootpartition).

Try on system-partition:
Menu -> show all files
C
AmithlonC
pciscan

Look what you have got.

Have you setup picasso96 to accelerated mode (not VESA or PowerFB) there should be "NVIDIA-1" or something.

[Vipersan]

Thanks for responding dr.zeissler...
Spent the morning building a second 80gb Amithlon OS...just in case I FFFd up along the way.
Once again using snkbitten as my guide

Patches applied so far >


First patch AOSXLupdat e1.lha
Second patch BB3.92.l ha (yes to install rom update when asked)
reboot PrntScrn+R
Third patch AmithlonUpdate131.lha

Then I applied 0.90 drivers pack
and ran pciinsmod stack size to 65536

I tried the integrated realtek sound card...but got no sound..
the beep function in prefs.
Then shut down and fitted a pci soundblaster live card...with internal card disabled in the bios.
then tried the 'beep' function again in prefs..
This time I got a garbled hiss..certainly not a beep.
Then shell pciinsmod again..
This time drivers for the soundblaster live showed up.
On both attempts it did look like the network card was listed...so...compatible ?
but the internal sound card...not so much.
regards
VS

[dr.zeissler]

Good, how does Picasso96 und AHI in the prefs folder look like?
With drivers 0.90 and Kernel310 there are a lot of supported networks-cards. so 3com was loaded in the second screenshot.
I have to admit that I never used network on my amithlon builds, I always ended up burning CD's and installing from them.
There is also an option for access of the filesystem (fat95?) If you have a multiboot like me, there is always a logical fat32 drive with lot's of stuff on it, but I also have to admit, that I did not test this with fat95.

[Vipersan]

This PC is built to run other operating systems on pull out IDE tray/caddies.
Using the sweet spot in history (P4) I could go both forwards and backwards in time...but prefering only one OS at a time.
it does win 3.1 win95 win98se NT4 win2000 winME Vista...XP and win7.
It is also equipped with a SCSI card...for external scsi devices such as PD drives...50 pin and 68 pin scsi Hard drives..DAT tape readers etc.
The main unit also has an IDE zip drive...as well as a 3.5 inch and a 5.25 inch floppy drive.
But at the moment it is using another pull out caddy containing the 80gb IDE build of Amithlon.
I have left the pci soundblaster live card in the PC permanently now ...but disabled in all my windows operating systems...since it appears mostly acceptable to Amithlon...even though I have yet to get it to work as it should.
here is a photo.
I do hope I can get Amithlon correctly working to add to the list of OS.
I'll try again to install MUI next..but chances are...I'll get the same error.
doh !

[Vipersan]

Hope I did this correctly..
unpacked MUI to ram drive...then ran the installer as novice user.
This is afterall what I am...only to be greeted with the same error.
Then it occurred to be that it was trying to install to itself in ram ?..where the mui drawer already exists ?? most confusing.
Ran the install again but this time selected ADVANCED user..and was given the option to CHOOSE my destination.
I chose SYSTEM...but being cautious I ran a TEST install ..which completed.
So..did this again and chose install for REAL.
This completed creating a MUI drawer in system..but now I'm even more confused as it would have been easier to just copy the MUI drawer from RAM to SYSTEM rather than run the installer ?? or am I oversimplifying this..
did running install do something other than creating a clone drawer in System ?
This has me totally confused now..but the created drawer now exists in System.
Now what ?

[dr.zeissler]

There is software that requires MUI to be installed.

[Vipersan]

Well...that was frustrating...but some progress was made.
Installed AHI ...and nothing showed up for ac97...onboard sound card...even though it is enabled in the bios.
The pci soundblaster card however is automatically detected by Amithlon..and now I can get a test tone with 16 bit stereo or HiFi 16 bit stereo selected..
selecting 16 bit mono doesn't produce a nice test tone..but instead makes that horrible garbled hiss and grumble I heard previously..though much louder.
I am sad that the ac97 does not work (I guess it isn't compatible)..so unless I find a solution...the Soundblaster will have to stay in the PC..
I'll just link both audio outputs together in parallel..
That way whichever OS I'm using...Amithlon or Windows...I will still get sound.
A dirty workaround..but have little choice.


Tomorrow I'll tackle usb maybe..

[dr.zeissler]

What AC97 is it exactly?

Try on system-partition:
Menu -> show all files
C
AmithlonC
pciscan

[Vipersan]

Hmmm...
No actual AC97 single chip on the mainboard that I can see..so have to assume it is integrated into the intel device i845ge
>>
533 MHz and 400Mhz System Bus X 400MHz only X X Hyper-Threading Technology Support2 X1 X X Intel® Extreme Graphics Technology X X X X Intel® Hub Architecture X X X X Supported Memory Types DDR266/200 or PC133 SDRAM DDR266/200 or PC133 SDRAM DDR333/266 DDR266 or PC133 SDRAM4 Intel® Digital Video Output Interface X X X X AGP4X interface X No AGP Card or Signal Support X3 No AGP Card or Signal Support LAN connect interface X X X X Alert on LAN* 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 Hi-Speed USB 2.0 (6 ports X X X X Ultra ATA/100 X X X X Intel® Application Accelerator X X X X AC'97 Controller X X X X Communications Network Riser Card X X X X Low-power sleep mode X X X X

[dr.zeissler]

https://theretroweb.com/motherboards...ge667-pro#docs

Realtek ALC650 (AC97)

[Vipersan]

Thanks for the link...
So the ALC chip is on the mobo somewhere....as said it may be underside.
No need to go searching as this would mean a full dismantling.
..but obviously Amithlon can't interact with it anyhoo..
or so it would seem.

[Vipersan]

Last night I attempted to install and use USB..
It looked like this was going to be straightforward..
But sadly no..and this time I had no guide to help.
I first installed poseidon...soft rebooted and then installed Arakattack
..went to prefs and opened trident.
It looked like all went well as 4 devices showed up with no red flags.
Popped in a usb drive..
No automatic recognition...but leaving the usb stick in I closed down then re-opened trident.
Now something had changed..
a fifth device was showing with errors..
This must be the thumb drive,,,but as long as it remains inserted. basically it cause a sort of crash ..and nothing I do can change this.
only a soft re-boot with the thumb drive removed will restore function and stability.
On this one I am going to need much help it would seem.
..but can't find a how to for noobs anywhere.
rgds

[Vipersan]

Hi All..
Started fresh and installed the first 4 patches without issue..still having problems installing MUI.
During installation I get this error..again


DOS error type:could not perform operation on a file or drawer - - not of required type....


Can anyone explain this error to me ?..or what I may be doing wrong ?


cheers

[Vipersan]

Ok...after many attempts and many builds...I finally got a usb thumb drive to be recognised and when removed it vanishes..according to poseidon.
I gave up trying to make it work with the onboard motherboard usb..just like I did with onboard audio.
I used another pci slot to fit a dual usb pci card.
..and on my 10th attempt got the response above..
Yes the thumb drive is recognised..but is identified as a scsi device...?
No pop up so cannot actually access the thumb drive ??
The system just knows it is there.
This is very difficult and very frustrating...and lack of info is very evident.
What format should the thumb drive be...?...fat 32 or not..
Obviously the Amithlon project doesn't work well with my motherboard...
such a pity this amazing project was basically killed off.
A lot of hours...annd a lot of trial and error has gone into this so far...but I made it a little easier on myself by taking regular raw snapshots of the hard drive with HDclone..so I can go backwards if the latest attempt failed.
There has to be an answer...but as I said...no real info out there only the guide from 2016.
....and being totally noob to this I am struggling.

[cloverskull]

I think there's a FAT95 driver which should work with FAT32 devices, but I haven't touched Amiga USB in a while. I don't think Amithlon adds any complexity here with regards to the filesystem on USB, it's really whatever you can find on Aminet to support the filesystem you're trying to read/write from.

As far as hardware support, yeah, it's a bummer. Onboard audio/usb/etc is tricky at best. But once you get things figured out, you can actually help update the knowledge base here as to what you've found (specifically, i.e., motherboard/pci cards/etc) works and doesn't work. It's something we're all figuring out as we go.

[Vipersan]

Thanx Cloverskull..
Well fwiw I finally got usb working.
..and yes I could only achieve this using the pci 2 port usb card..
I have to assume my mobo integral audio and usb are simply not compatible.
They say unlucky number 13 ...but build 13 for me was the turning point.
..and yes the FAT95 driver was an issue.
I assumed wrongly that this was installed automatically ..but no..
I went searching and found the fat95 package in lha form seperately...and eventually worked out how and when to install it..
see photo of my test fat32 usb drive..containing a random TEST text file..
The whole largely undocumented process was dificult and very much trial and error..and for a noob like me who has limited exposure to Amiga operating systems...a steep learning curve.
AND I can't recommend raw imaging of the build hard drive after each success, strongly enough...as it does mean there is an easier way to avoid rebuilding from scratch each time you mess up.

[SnkBitten]

Interesting, I cover installing Poseidon, ArakAttack and the Fat95 Filesystem in my installation guide and how to attach USB devices in Trident once installed (depending on number of USB inputs available). It's right after the AHI installation section.

https://amithlon.snkbitten.com/snkbittenguide.html