Amiga questions you've always been too embarrassed to ask

[StevenJGore]

For speed and sanity, I use WinUAE and an Amiga-formatted CF card from my real A1200 (with a USB CF card reader). I download all the WHDLoad archives to a folder on my PC, then start WinUAE with "show PC drives and folders" checked, then bulk extract them to the CF card using an lha command. Then put the CF card back in my A1200.

[slaapliedje]

Originally Posted by StevenJGore

For speed and sanity, I use WinUAE and an Amiga-formatted CF card from my real A1200 (with a USB CF card reader). I download all the WHDLoad archives to a folder on my PC, then start WinUAE with "show PC drives and folders" checked, then bulk extract them to the CF card using an lha command. Then put the CF card back in my A1200.

I'd love an equivalent native program that does it. We already have FTP, Network, etc on a lot of our Amigas at this point. Maybe if I can ever get around to learning how to code, I'd write one. But it definitely would be useful for those of us who managed to upgrade to a modern networking stack.

[crazyc]

Originally Posted by StevenJGore

For speed and sanity, I use WinUAE and an Amiga-formatted CF card from my real A1200 (with a USB CF card reader). I download all the WHDLoad archives to a folder on my PC, then start WinUAE with "show PC drives and folders" checked, then bulk extract them to the CF card using an lha command. Then put the CF card back in my A1200.

Cool, so thats the initial setup, but how do you keep it updated (or do you basically redo the whole process and then just let dopus change the files that need to be?)

[StevenJGore]

Originally Posted by crazyc

Cool, so thats the initial setup, but how do you keep it updated (or do you basically redo the whole process and then just let dopus change the files that need to be?)

Every few months I check for updated slaves and then bulk extract all the new archives into the same directory structure, keeping directory icons and screenshot files intact but updating all the necessary files.

[crazyc]

How do you bulk extract them into the alphabetical directory structure?

[Retro1234]

Why are we doing this all these years later?

[Sasuke]

Why is it called Amiga 500?

[A500]

Originally Posted by Sasuke

Why is it called Amiga 500?

Because it looked only half as cool as the Amiga 1000, which by this definition should've been called Amiga 10000.

[Sasuke]

Truly?
I thought the number 500 referred to a hardware feature.

[grond]

With the first model being the "1000", the wedge-type variant of it getting the "500" and the more expandable bix-box successor the "2000" tag is quite logical.
Thus, the more interesting question is why the first model was called the "Amiga 1000". In the 80s and 90s the most popular high number used for model names was 2000 alluding to the year 2000 and whatever sci-fiction novelists had imagined for that year. On the other hand the first model didn't need any number at all, it could just have been the "Amiga". Did the 1000 only show up once the other two models were introduced?

[NLS]

It was named A1000 ALWAYS, but was referred as simply "The Amiga" until new models got introduced.

I like the numbering system, although it can be confusing, as it didn't automatically mean "better" or "worse". More related to form factor and expandability.

BTW A600 was originally A300. :P

[Akiko]

What's the actual version number of the very latest Kickstart 3.2.2 ?

[Aardvark]

Originally Posted by akiko

what's the actual version number of the very latest kickstart 3.2.2 ?

47.111

[A500]

Originally Posted by slaapliedje

I'd love an equivalent native program that does it. We already have FTP, Network, etc on a lot of our Amigas at this point. Maybe if I can ever get around to learning how to code, I'd write one. But it definitely would be useful for those of us who managed to upgrade to a modern networking stack.

I second this wholeheartedly. Maybe if Impbox ever becomes a fully fledged TCP/IP solution, we'll have enough people with an internet connection to motivate anyone with the right skills to code a tool for keeping our WHDLoad collections updated.

[Megalomaniac]

Originally Posted by NLS

It was named A1000 ALWAYS, but was referred as simply "The Amiga" until new models got introduced.

I like the numbering system, although it can be confusing, as it didn't automatically mean "better" or "worse". More related to form factor and expandability.

BTW A600 was originally A300. :P

Was 'A1000' actually used commercially or on the hardware, or was it just an internal definition when the idea of doing two versions, one 'mass market' and one 'specialist' later? AMR doesn't have any early Amiga Worlds scanned beyond the covers, but Commodore User in March 1987 (page 88 https://amr.abime.net/issue_968_pages) talks to Thomas Rattinan of Commodore, who just mentions 'the Amiga' for the A1000, and the 'little Amiga' and 'big Amiga' as forthcoming models - though the very next issue has a "win an A500" competition....

The numbering just confused people - I knew at least one person who thought upgrading an A500 to 1Mb made it an A1000.... Maybe Atari had the right idea by using numbers slightly above the amount of memory the machines had, there must've been people who thought a 520ST had 20kb more than an A500.

Don't get me started on the A600.

[wiz12]

Do files stored in LIBS and DEVS folders take precedence over the same named files stored in the physical Kickstart ROMs? for example if I have icon.library v44 in my DEVs folder but I also have it in my Kickstart rom but it is v43 which one takes priority?

[daxb]

It depends what OS version (SetPatch, LoadModule, ...) do you use or if there are other tools in your S-S that make it happen.

[pixie]

Originally Posted by wiz12

Do files stored in LIBS and DEVS folders take precedence over the same named files stored in the physical Kickstart ROMs? for example if I have icon.library v44 in my DEVs folder but I also have it in my Kickstart rom but it is v43 which one takes priority?

There are tools to take them from rom like LoadModule.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by wiz12

Do files stored in LIBS and DEVS folders take precedence over the same named files stored in the physical Kickstart ROMs? for example if I have icon.library v44 in my DEVs folder but I also have it in my Kickstart rom but it is v43 which one takes priority?

The ROM one will take priority. You can use RemLib by Thomas Rapp to take ROM modules out of the resident list if you wish to use disk based versions.

However a fully accurate solution needs info on your ROM and software versions, as after OS3.1 we have seen various kinds of official methods for replacing ROM modules at boot time, sometimes with a reboot, sometimes without.

[ShK]

What are the various peripherals that utilize the negative voltage from pin 21 of the Amiga video port?

https://old.pinouts.ru/Video/AmigaVideo_pinout.shtml