A noob question (A1200 floppy dead? + cf/ide project?)

[alexoualexou]

Hey all,

I finally got back a stock A1200 from my parents'
I was so happy to plug it back.... but!

I tried to insert some floppies (like workbench or magazine disk/games) but the A1200 reads it like the disk is empty and the screen goes back to the classic animation "insert a disk".

So I found myself a little disppointed, and despite opening it and tried to "clean" the floppy disk, it's still the same. So I suspect it to not work anymore.

Now i'm thinking about some solutions (and an opportunity to upgrade, too bad i won't be able to buy a ACA1230/28 my wife would aggro me straight away!).
I can of course replace the floppy disk by ordering a new one.
But I would like to buy a CF/IDE adapter in order to get a "hard drive" for my A1200.
I thought that if via Amiga Forever/WinUAE I create some hdf (and then follow some tutorial to install a clean WB--classicWB?) with my PC, maybe i could transfer it to the CF card, will the A1200 boot from the "hard drive", or will I still need a floppy disk to initiate a boot to make this "hard drive" recognized by my Amiga?

The final question is to know if I still need a new floppy disk drive, or would I only stick to a CF/IDE adapter ? (ok it's just to avoid to buy a floppy disk, and eventually transfer ADF PC>Amiga via an additional PCMCIA CF adapter)

Thanks for your feedbacks!
Alexou

[fitzsteve]

Hi Alexou,

Once you have installed a clean workbench on your CF card and have installed it in your Amiga via a CF-IDE adapter your Amiga will boot straight from the CF card without the need for a boot floppy.

Classic Workbench is a great choice becuase it has lots of useful tools already included such is unzipping tools, WHDLoad, Music players, paint, Wordpad, etc.

However, there is a but... You will need some sort of Ram expansion or accelerator to enjoy it becuase 95% of WHDload games will need more than the stock 2mb Ram to run and even a light classic workbench will eat into 25% or more of that chip Ram...

If the ACA030 is a bit pricy for your Wife to accept there are other options such as a 4/8mb Ram upgrade which you can pick up for between £30-40 or a Blizzard/Apollo 1220 which should be <£60 however, if you can get her to sign off an ACA030 you wont be disapointed as they really look like great value

All the best and if you need any help setting up the CF we're here

Steve.

ps. Just realised, if it helps I have a spare Floppy Drive here that is working fine you could have for a £5 + P&P... Although to be honest you probably wont use one again if you get a Ram upgrade and CF card!

[ajk]

It is possible to set up the CF card with the help of WinUAE, and that way you won't need to use the floppy drive at all. If you, in addition, get a CF card reader for the PCMCIA slot you can transfer more files to the A1200 on a second CF card later without having to take the actual system hard drive (CF card) out each time. So your plan is sound

[alexoualexou]

Thanks for your replies, i see things clearer now
Gotta order soon all these things !

Cya soonish for new Amigan adventures (for when i get the CF/IDE adapter )

ps: thanks for the proposal Steve but indeed if i won't be needing one anymore...

[fitzsteve]

Good luck

And keep us updated and remember, pics although optional are much appreciated

[cosmicfrog]

yay CF/HDD beats FDD