Best up to date way of installing ClassicWB and WHDLoad on a large HDD

KTC · 04 July 2008, 00:08

First I must apologize if my thread seems redundant, but I have read a lot of guides and old threads, and most of these are several years old and even though we are dealing with an old system, new solutions arrive. Another problem is, that most of the links in the guides and threads are dead today, so I am not sure where to find everything in the latest versions of the programs and tools.

Okay, here is my setup:
Amiga 1200 with KS 3.0 and WB 3.0
Blizzard 1230-IV (no FPU)
8 MB FastRAM
10GB slimline 3.5" HDD

So, I've decided to leave my old messed up Workbench partitions and switch to ClassicWB for a fast and gamefriendly OS. And I also want to use more than the 4GB I'm using now, and this is where my questions begin.
I've been reading about SFS, IDEFix, NSDPatch, TD64, updated scsi.device, OS 3.0/3.1/3.5/3.9, different HDToolbox versions and HDInstTools, but at this point I am unsure about the best solution and what the latest versions are.

The last time I upgraded my Amiga harddrive, I used WinUAE to prepare the new hdd and transfer my partitions, and to my biggest satisfaction it booted like a dream in my real A1200 afterwards. Because of this, I am thinking about out of the box on making this new upgrade as painless as possible. I know I can create hardfiles that are formated with SFS from the menus in WinUAE, but is there a way to piece hardfiles together on a real Amiga harddrive or somehow partition and format it somewhere else than the Workbench, so I don't have to worry so much about HDToolbox messing up?

At this time my current plan is this:
1) Connect both the new and old harddrives to my PC and mount them both in WinUAE 1.5.0.
2) Partition and format the first partition on the new drive with a Workbench 3.0 install disk and HDInstTools. This partition will be FFS and about 500MB.
3) Install NSDPatch and reboot.
4) Install SFS and activate it in the RDB.
5) Partition the remaining 9½GB in HDInstTools and format it with SFS.
6) Install ClassicWB Full on the first partition and WHDLoad games and old stuff from the old hdd on the second partition.
7) Put the new hdd in my Amiga1200 and pray everything works.

Is this the best and most modern way to setup a stable >4GB hdd with ClassicWB and WHDLoad, or should I use different tools/programs that might work better? (I considered softkicking to 3.1 with blizkick and using OS3.9 to partition the harddrive, but if HDInstTools works just as well, that seems simpler)

Downloaded software:
ClassicWB FULL v22F
KG WHDLoad packs
NSDPatch 43.20
HDInstTools 6.9
SFS 1.279

I hope the experts in here can guide me to the most efficient and stable solution, as I cannot wait to be able to play KG's WHDLoad packs with my recently purchased regkey.

KTC · 12 July 2008, 09:48

Bloodwych?, anybody?

Bloodwych · 12 July 2008, 13:03

I wrote all I know on the subject in the sticky at the top of this forum and linked from the FAQ ClassicWB page.

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=32256

I've never bothered using more than 4GB on my A1200, so I have no more advice I'm afraid.

Many people seem to go with the IDEfix and SFS route.

KTC · 12 July 2008, 13:16

Thank you for replying.

I chose NSDPatch in my example above because of IDEfix being shareware. Are there any nagscreens in IDEfix or does it expire? If there is a free alternative I would rather use this, as I have friends who could also benefit from using more than 4GB on their harddrives, but having to deal with fees for everyone would be a drag.

Do you know any limitations/bugs in NSDPatch, compared to IDEfix, that would justify a purchase?

Bloodwych · 12 July 2008, 23:53

I'm really not sure. We need a technical guru in this thread as I've never compared the two.

extralife · 15 July 2008, 19:26

Hi there KTC fellow dane

well from what i see, it should work well. I allmost have same setup on my harddrive, but use Idefix instead of nsdpatch and use a 10gig 2,5" drive.
My drive is partioned with a 150mb system drive, then a 1gb work drive and remaining gig's as one big partition.
Both system and work is formatted with FFS and the big one (sf0

formatted SFS filesystem. Works fine here.
I was actually going to try out a complete clean install with WB3.1 instead of ClassicWB and try out NSDpatch sometime this week, ClassicWB is great, but I don't really need most of the stuff inside it, since I mostly use the dos for starting up most of my programs anyways, but the easiest amiga setup, I have tried yet though, so thx a bunch for that bloodwych

Anyways your setup should work fine though

I just have the second FFS drive for backup purpose, if something should crash, (haven't happened for a very long time though)
Good luck m8 and happy miggy days

KTC · 17 July 2008, 09:51

Another reply, great. And from a fellow Dane - fantastic.
Thanks for your input. I currently have a WB3.0 setup with Directory Opus integration, but it is a little cumbersome to work with. These days I'm mostly using the Amiga for HD installed games, and right now it is a hassle with missing icons and stuff.

Regarding IDEfix. Have you registered it, or do you just live with nag requesters?

Thorham · 17 July 2008, 11:39

Hi KTC,

If you can live with using only 8 gigs out of your 10 gig hd, I'd use NSDpatch if I were you. It's easy to use (add one line to your startup-sequence) and it's free (as you know).

If you want to use all the hd space, then you'll either have to put up with Idefixes nag requester or just register Idefix. I'm using a 40 gig hd, and I'm certeinly going to register Idefix; at 25 Euros it's worth registering in my opinion (I also use it for cd support all the time).

extralife · 17 July 2008, 16:32

Hehe thought so about NSD, but couldn't remember if there was a barrier. Anyways about Idefix, yes it's registered, I guess

, I got it a looong time ago with an IDE adapter, back when I ordered my 060, but it's got no requester here. So I have allways used that one.

jabsy · 03 August 2008, 14:34

Hey thanks for the infos everybody, I was having trouble recognising the second partition (2.7gb, SFS) of my 4.3GB 2.5" HDD on my A1200 with 3.1 roms..

It worked fine on UAE but as soon as I put the drive back into the amiga, no second partition.

I tried IDEFix 97, no luck, googled for results, searched EAB and eventually had a win with NSD after reading this thread.

(sorry for the excess use of animated smilies but my son is obsessed with them and would be happy if I made a post that used them all)

04 July 2008, 00:08	#1
KTC Registered WHDLoad User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Denmark Age: 45 Posts: 70	Best up to date way of installing ClassicWB and WHDLoad on a large HDD First I must apologize if my thread seems redundant, but I have read a lot of guides and old threads, and most of these are several years old and even though we are dealing with an old system, new solutions arrive. Another problem is, that most of the links in the guides and threads are dead today, so I am not sure where to find everything in the latest versions of the programs and tools. Okay, here is my setup: Amiga 1200 with KS 3.0 and WB 3.0 Blizzard 1230-IV (no FPU) 8 MB FastRAM 10GB slimline 3.5" HDD So, I've decided to leave my old messed up Workbench partitions and switch to ClassicWB for a fast and gamefriendly OS. And I also want to use more than the 4GB I'm using now, and this is where my questions begin. I've been reading about SFS, IDEFix, NSDPatch, TD64, updated scsi.device, OS 3.0/3.1/3.5/3.9, different HDToolbox versions and HDInstTools, but at this point I am unsure about the best solution and what the latest versions are. The last time I upgraded my Amiga harddrive, I used WinUAE to prepare the new hdd and transfer my partitions, and to my biggest satisfaction it booted like a dream in my real A1200 afterwards. Because of this, I am thinking about out of the box on making this new upgrade as painless as possible. I know I can create hardfiles that are formated with SFS from the menus in WinUAE, but is there a way to piece hardfiles together on a real Amiga harddrive or somehow partition and format it somewhere else than the Workbench, so I don't have to worry so much about HDToolbox messing up? At this time my current plan is this: 1) Connect both the new and old harddrives to my PC and mount them both in WinUAE 1.5.0. 2) Partition and format the first partition on the new drive with a Workbench 3.0 install disk and HDInstTools. This partition will be FFS and about 500MB. 3) Install NSDPatch and reboot. 4) Install SFS and activate it in the RDB. 5) Partition the remaining 9½GB in HDInstTools and format it with SFS. 6) Install ClassicWB Full on the first partition and WHDLoad games and old stuff from the old hdd on the second partition. 7) Put the new hdd in my Amiga1200 and pray everything works. Is this the best and most modern way to setup a stable >4GB hdd with ClassicWB and WHDLoad, or should I use different tools/programs that might work better? (I considered softkicking to 3.1 with blizkick and using OS3.9 to partition the harddrive, but if HDInstTools works just as well, that seems simpler) Downloaded software: ClassicWB FULL v22F KG WHDLoad packs NSDPatch 43.20 HDInstTools 6.9 SFS 1.279 I hope the experts in here can guide me to the most efficient and stable solution, as I cannot wait to be able to play KG's WHDLoad packs with my recently purchased regkey.

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12 July 2008, 09:48	#2
KTC Registered WHDLoad User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Denmark Age: 45 Posts: 70	Bloodwych?, anybody?

12 July 2008, 13:03	#3
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	I wrote all I know on the subject in the sticky at the top of this forum and linked from the FAQ ClassicWB page. http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=32256 I've never bothered using more than 4GB on my A1200, so I have no more advice I'm afraid. Many people seem to go with the IDEfix and SFS route.

12 July 2008, 13:16	#4
KTC Registered WHDLoad User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Denmark Age: 45 Posts: 70	Thank you for replying. I chose NSDPatch in my example above because of IDEfix being shareware. Are there any nagscreens in IDEfix or does it expire? If there is a free alternative I would rather use this, as I have friends who could also benefit from using more than 4GB on their harddrives, but having to deal with fees for everyone would be a drag. Do you know any limitations/bugs in NSDPatch, compared to IDEfix, that would justify a purchase?

12 July 2008, 23:53	#5
Bloodwych Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: I'm behind you! Posts: 3,763	I'm really not sure. We need a technical guru in this thread as I've never compared the two.

15 July 2008, 19:26	#6
extralife Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: denmark Posts: 268	Hi there KTC fellow dane well from what i see, it should work well. I allmost have same setup on my harddrive, but use Idefix instead of nsdpatch and use a 10gig 2,5" drive. My drive is partioned with a 150mb system drive, then a 1gb work drive and remaining gig's as one big partition. Both system and work is formatted with FFS and the big one (sf0 formatted SFS filesystem. Works fine here. I was actually going to try out a complete clean install with WB3.1 instead of ClassicWB and try out NSDpatch sometime this week, ClassicWB is great, but I don't really need most of the stuff inside it, since I mostly use the dos for starting up most of my programs anyways, but the easiest amiga setup, I have tried yet though, so thx a bunch for that bloodwych Anyways your setup should work fine though I just have the second FFS drive for backup purpose, if something should crash, (haven't happened for a very long time though) Good luck m8 and happy miggy days

17 July 2008, 09:51	#7
KTC Registered WHDLoad User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Denmark Age: 45 Posts: 70	Another reply, great. And from a fellow Dane - fantastic. Thanks for your input. I currently have a WB3.0 setup with Directory Opus integration, but it is a little cumbersome to work with. These days I'm mostly using the Amiga for HD installed games, and right now it is a hassle with missing icons and stuff. Regarding IDEfix. Have you registered it, or do you just live with nag requesters?

17 July 2008, 11:39	#8
Thorham Computer Nerd Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Rotterdam/Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 3,764	Hi KTC, If you can live with using only 8 gigs out of your 10 gig hd, I'd use NSDpatch if I were you. It's easy to use (add one line to your startup-sequence) and it's free (as you know). If you want to use all the hd space, then you'll either have to put up with Idefixes nag requester or just register Idefix. I'm using a 40 gig hd, and I'm certeinly going to register Idefix; at 25 Euros it's worth registering in my opinion (I also use it for cd support all the time).

17 July 2008, 16:32	#9
extralife Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: denmark Posts: 268	Hehe thought so about NSD, but couldn't remember if there was a barrier. Anyways about Idefix, yes it's registered, I guess , I got it a looong time ago with an IDE adapter, back when I ordered my 060, but it's got no requester here. So I have allways used that one.

03 August 2008, 14:34	#10
jabsy Yeah Hup! Join Date: May 2006 Location: Australia Age: 54 Posts: 345	Hey thanks for the infos everybody, I was having trouble recognising the second partition (2.7gb, SFS) of my 4.3GB 2.5" HDD on my A1200 with 3.1 roms.. It worked fine on UAE but as soon as I put the drive back into the amiga, no second partition. I tried IDEFix 97, no luck, googled for results, searched EAB and eventually had a win with NSD after reading this thread. (sorry for the excess use of animated smilies but my son is obsessed with them and would be happy if I made a post that used them all)

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