ACA500 plus?

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by remowilliams

The behavior with the ACA1233 is also very consistent. First boot, almost every time it comes up properly.

Confirmed, that's a software issue. Can you try if switching on aca.resource makes a difference? Oh, and please use the latest menu system.

Originally Posted by pgovotsos

Since the ACA500+ has the Kickstart in ROM do you even need to have a Kickstart chip on the motherboard?

It'll also work without. Just avoid the "physical ROM" setting in that case.

Originally Posted by pgovotsos

If you have an ACA12xx connected is there any benefit to overclocking the ACA500+? Is there some time during boot up where only the ACA500+ is doing all the work and the ACA12xx starts running things later?

If an A1200 accelerator is connected, the ACA500plus can't be overclocked, it will always run at 14MHz in that case, and the 68ec000 is not used for anything. Accelerators that can be switched off (ACA1233n and B1230IV) allow overclocking when in 68000 mode.

Originally Posted by appiah4

I get the error "Exception "Illegal Instruction" ($E010) at $C024AB occured." when running State of the Art demo WHDLoad.. $C0 sounds like it's related to the chipram emulation. Could this be because I have both the Slow Mem and 1M Chipram enabled in profile? Or 42MHz overclock not working?

EDIT: Disabled Trapdoor but left 1M Chipram on, and State of the Art caused a reboot.. Ran at 14Mhz and again the same error, so it's not OC related.

Same here: Please use the latest version of WHDload V18.3, the latest version of the menu system and switch on the aca.resource. If it still does not work, please include with your report: The source of the software you try to run (with link, please) and the exact Slave version number (please check for yourself if there is already a new version).

Originally Posted by Poorcomputerman

Is there something that I need to install to get the files on the aux compact flash from the pc to become visible? When I open up the window the files are taking up space but are not visible? I am a bit rusty when it comes to the Amiga OS.

Try "view all files" from the drop-down menu.

Jens

[remowilliams]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Confirmed, that's a software issue. Can you try if switching on aca.resource makes a difference? Oh, and please use the latest menu system.

Thanks, behavior confirmed with below settings on Menu system V0.79.

Chipmem can also be affected on warm boot as I just witnessed during testing - going from 1MB to 512K.

DisMo code on ACA1233 cold boot failure is FF, Ctrl-A-A warmboot after this failure will boot correctly.

[appiah4]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Same here: Please use the latest version of WHDload V18.3, the latest version of the menu system and switch on the aca.resource. If it still does not work, please include with your report: The source of the software you try to run (with link, please) and the exact Slave version number (please check for yourself if there is already a new version).

System is v0.79, HRTmon updated. aca.resource is enabled in config. I've tried the bundled WHDLoad slave from ClassicWB (v1.2) and when that failed I tried using the WHDLoad slave from the WHDLoad Demos bundle at ftp://grandis.nu/Commodore_Amiga/WHD...Demos_WHDLoad/ (ftp/amiga) which has the v1.3 Slave and it failed similarly. WHDLoad is the version that comes with ClassicWB (18.2) which is the latest release version AFAIK. I can install the 18.3 prerelease version on top tonight to see if it will help.

In the meantime, if anyone with a 512K chipmem A500 can replicate the issue with the 1M option enabled, I'd be very happy to know I'm not the cause of the error here

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by remowilliams

DisMo code on ACA1233 cold boot failure is FF, Ctrl-A-A warmboot after this failure will boot correctly.

We've worked a lot on startup code in the past few days, and ironed out almost all cases where cold or warm boot may cause problems. There's just a few places left where we need to work on; I hope we'll have a new menu version within the next two days.

Originally Posted by appiah4

I can install the 18.3 prerelease version on top tonight to see if it will help.

This really sounds like a pure WHDload or Slave issue, not an ACA500plus issue. If you use V0.79 of the menu system, have VBRmove and aca.resource set to "on", then WHDload V18.3 fixes all known problems. If you still get an "illegal instruction", please turn to the WHDload guys - they will be able to find out what's going on.

Jens

[appiah4]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

This really sounds like a pure WHDload or Slave issue, not an ACA500plus issue. If you use V0.79 of the menu system, have VBRmove and aca.resource set to "on", then WHDload V18.3 fixes all known problems. If you still get an "illegal instruction", please turn to the WHDload guys - they will be able to find out what's going on.

Jens

Thanks Ill take it up with them as soon as I upgrade to 1.83 prerelease tonight and retry. Ill try running it from a floppy as well just to be sure.

[remowilliams]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

I hope we'll have a new menu version within the next two days.

Sounds good, thanks Jens.

Originally Posted by appiah4

In the meantime, if anyone with a 512K chipmem A500 can replicate the issue with the 1M option enabled, I'd be very happy to know I'm not the cause of the error here

I just ran StateOfTheArt_v1.3_Spaceballs slave with WHDload V18.3 (ACA1221ec) no issues. This A500 is Fat Agnus 512K with 512K trapdoor, 1M option enabled.

[appiah4]

Originally Posted by remowilliams

I just ran StateOfTheArt_v1.3_Spaceballs slave with WHDload V18.3 (ACA1221ec) no issues. This A500 is Fat Agnus 512K with 512K trapdoor, 1M option enabled.

This is so strange, I actually get it crashing even when loading from a disk, it's certainly NOT a WHDLoad issue for me.

When booting from disk with 1M option enabled it gurus in 2-3 seconds and gives Guru Meditation #00000003.699F679A

Rev 6A A500 with Fat Agnus 512K and 512K trapdoor here as well. Can you give a screen photo of your ACA500Plus settings?

[remowilliams]

Originally Posted by appiah4

Can you give a screen photo of your ACA500Plus settings?

Sure, here's the settings for the ACA500Plus by itself and with the ACA1221ec attached. I've verified StateOfTheArt_v1.3_Spaceballs slave loading on both as pictured, no issues.

[Toni Wilen]

State of the art has at least two common disk "versions", other works only with 0.5+0.5 and another that only works with 1m chip. Nothing to do with ACA500plus.

[appiah4]

Well I copied remowilliams settings and both the slave and the adf loaded from hxc crash in seconds.. I have both trapdoor 512k and 1m chipmem options enabled so either version should have worked? Maybe I should test my memory?

[remowilliams]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

I hope we'll have a new menu version within the next two days.

I've applied the Menu system V0.88 update and so far I have not encountered a cold start failure with the ACA1233. I will update if the issue does reoccur

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Confirmed, that's a software issue. Can you try if switching on aca.resource makes a difference? Oh, and please use the latest menu system.

When you say software do you mean a WHDload side issue or ACA? The WHDload initial launch failures with the ACA1233 persist under Menu system V0.88

[appiah4]

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

State of the art has at least two common disk "versions", other works only with 0.5+0.5 and another that only works with 1m chip. Nothing to do with ACA500plus.

But why would the same slave with the same settings crash on my A500 but run on remowilliams A500? Im wondering if my ugly 3rd party 512k ram is to blame.. I'll try testing it with a memtest program tonight with this: http://amiga.resource.cx/install/M1230XA-101.dms

On the other hand, it seems like I'm not the only one that has the exact same problem. I can't access the image he got working (back2roots seem to have gone down sometime in the last 12 years) but apparently not all State of the Art images/slaves seem to work with all ram configurations - I'm thinking I needn't worry much.. Is there any other demo/game that I can try to make sure my trapdoor ram and 1M chipram option are working fine?

At this point I'd like to ask something that I hope Jens or someone else could clarify: The 1M Chip RAM expansion option maps 512K trapdoor memory from c00000-c7ffff to 080000-0fffff and the c0/Trapdoor RAM maps 512K Fast memory to c00000-c7ffff - is this correct? I'm asking because the ACA500plus registers memory configuration overview states that if I enable both, emulated Trapdoor memory is mapped to c0. The error I'm getting is related to memoryat c0. So I really don't think this could be an error caused by my physical trapdoor memory as it is not even accessed at c0 in this configuration? Could this really not be an issue with ACA500plus trapdoor memory emulation?

Also, if someone could clarify what these options do, I'd be very happy..

DF1: Does selecting Bootloader switch DF1: and DF0: or just boot the disk in DF1?
Freezer CPU Speed: What's the purpose of setting it seperately from CPU?
aca.resource: I can't understand what this does
Virtual Autoconfig: No idea what this is either..
Virtual Disk: Nada
HRTMon: I updated this but not sure what it does.

[idrougge]

Originally Posted by Poorcomputerman

Is there something that I need to install to get the files on the aux compact flash from the pc to become visible? When I open up the window the files are taking up space but are not visible? I am a bit rusty when it comes to the Amiga OS.

Window->Show->All files

[appiah4]

Update on my issue with State of the Art demo: It was resolved by updating to Menu v0.88 so I guess it had to do with ACA500+'s handling of the trapdoor emulation. v0.88 works perfectly, really happy with this piece of hardware.

[demolition]

Originally Posted by appiah4

Also, if someone could clarify what these options do, I'd be very happy..

DF1: Does selecting Bootloader switch DF1: and DF0: or just boot the disk in DF1?
Freezer CPU Speed: What's the purpose of setting it seperately from CPU?
aca.resource: I can't understand what this does
Virtual Autoconfig: No idea what this is either..
Virtual Disk: Nada
HRTMon: I updated this but not sure what it does.

If I can figure out all the menu items and how they work I will actually type up a brief HOWTO manual for the expansion and put it up on the internet somewhere.

Here's what I already have typed up:

DF1: bootloader makes DF1: become DF0: and disables the real DF0:.
Freezer CPU speed: I guess you might want to run games at stock 7MHz for compatibility but be able to use the faster CPU when inside AR3.
aca.resource: Must be enabled for 'Interrupt VBR mode' to work properly. Also adds the program 'acaflashrom' which can be used to upload 256k/512k/1024k ROMs to flash.
Virtual Disk: Adds virtual WB floppies to the system for easy HDD installation. Will use fast mem for the images.
HRTMon: Freezer tool just like AR3. More modern and is more compatible with KS3.1, 020 etc.

[appiah4]

Oh thanks. Then, here's what I put together in case it helps anyone:

ACA 500 Plus Profile Settings

Force PAL/NTSC: Allows you to force the video mode of the Amiga 500 as PAL or NTSC or leave it on Automatic for using the default mainboard video mode.
Map ROM: Maps the ROM to 512K region of your 8MB Fast memory, enabling you to run ROM versions other than what is physically installed on the mainboard. This feature does not decrease your amount of available Fast RAM as it is always reserved for Map ROM.
$C0/Trapdoor RAM: Maps 512K of Fast memory to C000000-C7FFFF in order to emulate a 512K trapdoor expansion. If you mapped your existing 512K slow memory to Chipram with the 1M Chip RAM expansion option, this gives you 1MB Chip RAM + 512K slow RAM. This feature will decrease your amount of available Fast Ram by 512K.
7M Fast RAM: Enables the 7MB Fast RAM at 400000-b00000 on the ACA500 Plus board
1M Chip RAM expansion: Maps your 512K trapdoor memory expansion from c00000-c7ffff to 080000-0fffff, increasing your Chip memory from 512K to 1MB if you have a Fat Agnus on your mainboard (Rev 6A onwards).
IDE driver update: Injects an updated scsi.device driver into Workbench that allows using hard disks larger than 4GB. This feature decreases your amount of available Fast RAM.
AUX CF slot: Enables the AUX CF slot. This feature decreases your amount of available Fast RAM.
Interrupt VBR mode: IRQ vector fetches will be moved from Chip RAM to Fast memory at 400000. This allows programs like WHDload to intercept keyboard IRQs and is required for quit key support. It also improves performance.
Kickstart ROM: Allows choosing which kickstart ROM the profile will boot with (Mainboard/1.2/1.3/3.1). Booting from non-mainboard kickstart ROMs require enabling the Map ROM option.
Freezer: Allows emulation of Action Replay II or Action Replay III on the hardware. This option decreases your available Fast RAM by 256K and may conflict with Interrupt VBR mode.
DF0: Allows for reporting internal DF0: as always empty.
DF1: Allows enabling, disabling and booting from external DF1:. Bootloading from external DF1: renames the drive as DF0: and completely disables the internal disk drive.
Floppy no-click: Stops the drive clicking for internal DF0:
RTC: Allows manual selection of RTC location (Trapdoor, ACA12xx expansion), automatic detection or disabling RTC completely.
CPU speed: Changes your ACA 500 Plus 68EC000 CPU operating frequency. Available options are 7/14/21/28/42 MHz. 7/14MHz are guaranteed to work, the rest depend on your configuration and CPU binning.
Freezer CPU speed: Allows for setting different CPU speeds for the Freezer emulation. This enables the option of running the A500 at stock speeds for compatibility with software while running the Freezer at overclocked speeds for faster operation.
aca.resource: Loads ACA specific commands and resources (such as acaflashrom which adds custom 256/512/1024K ROMs to flash) to memory. It must be enabled for Interrupt VBR mode to work properly.
Background stars: Controls the scrolling stars in the memory background. No particular effect on configuration other than differentiating profiles easily.
Virtual autoconfig: This option lets you choose which add on card (if you have more than one) will be responsible for preparing the autoconfig data, which helps getting necessary drivers into the Amiga OS. If you have an ACA1233n, ACA1221 or Blizzard 1230-IV accelerator board connected to the ACA500 Plus, the ACA500 Plus has to be configured as the secondary autoconfig to avoid conflicts. Setting it to ACA500 Plus will decrease available Fast RAM by 64K and write autoconfig data to $af0000-$afffff. Can be left on Automatic for ACA500 Plus sniffing detection and automatic delegation.
Virtual disk: Adds virtual WB floppies to the system for easy HDD installation. The images are stored in 8MB Flash ROM, but when Virtual Disk is enabled they will be loaded into Fast RAM. As a result this option will reduce the amount of available Fast RAM.
HRTMon: This is a freezer tool similar to Action Replay 3. It is more modern and more compatible with Kickstart 3.1 and CPUs beyond 68000. This option will reduce the amount of available Fast RAM.

[demolition]

Thanks, is very helpful indeed. Took me some time trying to figure out what the different functions did.

[Toni Wilen]

ACA500plus Action Replay (both 2 and 3) are patched to work with any KS ROM. Nearly all 68000 configurations should be AR compatible. It even works with whdload.

Note that special features like memory size setting in AR3 F3 page won't work if KS2.0+ is in use. (AR code does tricky things at boot which only work correctly if exact KS is supported by AR ROM code = 1.2 and 1.3)

[amigoun]

Would it be possible to have ACA provided larger amount than 512kb as slow-ram?

[Schoenfeld]

Originally Posted by amigoun

Would it be possible to have ACA provided larger amount than 512kb as slow-ram?

What for? The only reason why I went "the long path" to emulate slow RAM is that some games or demos require exact timing of the 512k chunk at $c0.0000.

I don't know of any software that requires this kind of timing-precision for memory above $c8.0000. To my knowledge, anything that works with larger memory than the standard 512k+512k config will also work fine with real fastmem. I may be wrong though, and you're listing lots of killer applications now...

Jens