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Amiga Format CD 52
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Amiga Format AFCD52 (Issue 136, May 2000).iso
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faq
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1999-11-10
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TOPIC = Hard drives:
Can I use Hard drives that are bigger than 4Gig on my Amiga?
The short answer is no, you can't. Due to limitations of the Amiga's
FastFileSystem, the Amiga can't address partitions that are bigger than
4Gig but there are ways round the limitation. You could use a different
filesystem (like AFS or PFS2 (PFS3 is probably out by now)) or limit
yourself to drives smaller than that size, which is not likely to be a
problem. The difficulty comes with partitioning the drive. HDToolBox won't
show the correct information but some people have managed to use it anyway.
Alternatively, HDInstTools apparently works with bigger drives but not
having tried it, I can't confirm that it works. When you come to format
the drive, don't do a full format as this will almost certainly overwrite
the RDB and you'll lose your partitions! Use quick format instead.
I want to buy a new hard drive. Should I get SCSI or IDE?
That depends on what you want to use it for. SCSI is, in general, faster
than IDE but IDE is more than fast enough for most uses. It also depends on
your Amiga. If you have an A600, A1200 or A4000, IDE is built in so you may
as well get an IDE drive. IDE drives are also cheaper and more common.
Overall, I'd recommend IDE but, if you have money to burn and a SCSI
interface of some kind, then go for SCSI.
I keep getting bad blocks and/or read/write errors on my hard drive. What
should I do?
The first thing is to find out the cause. If the drive is old and has been
working fine in the past, there's a strong possibility its about to die.
Backup your data and buy a new one. If the drive is fairly new, then either
you've been turning the computer off while its writing to the drive or the
maxtransfer rate is too high. Try lowering the maxtransfer rate with
HDToolBox. It's also possible (though unlikely these days) that you have a
virus. Get yourself an up to date virus checker and use it. There's also
plenty of recovery software out there. If you're lucky you might be able to
recover your files.
How should I partition my hard drive?
There's no right or wrong way to arrange your partitions and it's largely a
matter of personal taste. However, I recommend at least 50MB for your boot
partition (100MB if you've got the space and/or plan on installing lots of
software) and split the rest into several partitions of between 200MB and
500MB. Several smaller partitions are easier to backup than one big one and,
if you are unfortunate enough to have problems with your hard drive, errors
will be confined to one partition so at least you won't lose everything.
How do I backup my hard drive and how often should I make backups?
How important is the data stored on your hard drive? If its important to
you then make backups every day. If you don't care, do what I do and never
make backups ;). Think about what you actually need to backup. If you
still have the installation disks/CDs for your software then you only need
to backup your workbench and the files you created, otherwise you'll need to
do everything! The ideal way to backup your data would be to CD or maybe to
a Zip drive. If you don't have a CD writer, Zip drive or some other
removeable media drive then BUY ONE! Backing up to floppies just isn't
practical unless you are only backing up a very small number of files. As
far as backup software is concerned, there are plenty of options - try a few
and find one you like.
My hard drive won't boot from cold. I have to reboot to get it to work.
The drive isn't spinning up to it's operating speed quickly enough. If you
really can't put up with having to reboot it then you could try cutting the
connection to pin 1 on the IDE cable (usually coloured red) but it's not
recommended. Either put up with it or buy a newer drive. There is another
option though; if you know how to write a startup-sequence you could make a
boot disk that resets the computer if the hard drive isn't present. But
then if you knew how to do that, you probably wouldn't be reading this ;).
I've just bought a new 3.5" hard drive but when I connect it and my old 2.5"
drive, neither of them work - why?
To connect two IDE drives on the same IDE header, one needs to be master and
the other slave. This is normally set using jumpers on the individual
drives however, most (if not all) 2.5" drives don't have these jumpers as
they're designed for laptops which don't have room for two drives. So, you
won't be able to connect both at the same time.
TOPIC = Monitors:
How do I connect a monitor to my Amiga?
Buy a VGA adaptor and plug it in! :) Or, buy a proper Amiga monitor and use
that although it's unlikely you'll be able to get an Amiga specific monitor
these days.
So what type should I get then?
If you can find one (and if you can afford it) then a Multiscan would be
ideal as it'll let you use all of the Amiga's screenmodes. Multiscan
monitors are expensive and hard to find so chances are you'll have to get a
VGA or SVGA monitor in which case you'll be stuck with the VGA screenmodes
which may or may not work. You won't be able to play games on it or use
anything that doesn't let you choose a screenmode unless you use a mode
promoter of some kind (which certainly won't work with everything).
So what's the alternative?
Get a scandoubler. This will enable you to use a VGA/SVGA monitor for
everything but you'll need a flicker fixer to get a flicker free
screen at a decent resolution. Fortunately, most scandoublers are available
with a flicker fixer built in.
Are there any other options?
Yes. If you're lucky enough to own one of the "big box" Amigas or you're
rich enough to buy a zorro backplane or a PPC accelerator and BVision, you
could get a graphics card. Then you can really take advantage of your
monitor with much higher resolution, 16 or 24bit screens. A graphics card
will also speed up many operations on your Amiga. If you're in a position
to get one, do so immediately!
Okay, so I've got a monitor but the picture won't fill the screen?
It's a common problem and you're probably just going to have to put up with
it. Don't give up just yet though, try adjusting the monitor's settings and
try different screenmodes. I had to resort to running in NTSC High Res
Laced to fill my screen so try everything and you might be lucky.
TOPIC = Memory:
I have installed more memory but I still get "out of memory" messages
sometimes - why?
You're probably running out of chip memory even though you have plenty of
fast memory. The Amiga uses chip memory for graphics so unless you have a
graphics card, you will still run out sometimes. Try cutting down on the
amount of chip memory in use by running Workbench in fewer colours or even
by booting without the startup-sequence (by holding down both mouse buttons
during a reboot). Try running fewer commodities at startup by removing some
programs from the WBStartup drawer. You could also run programs like
HappyEnv and Fblit which cut down on the amount of chip memory used by
Workbench. And no, you can't add more chip ram.
I have installed an accelerator with 8MB but I can only see 4MB in the titla
bar.
Some older accelerators will conflict with the PCMCIA port and only show 4MB
if you have anything plugged into it. The only solution is to buy a better
accelerator or stop using the PCMCIA port.
I have filled all the memory slots on my A4000. Is there any way I can use
SIMMs that are bigger than 4MB instead?
Nope. The only way to add more memory is to buy an accelerator and add it to
that.
I need more memory but I can't afford to buy any more?
Well, there's always virtual memory. If your accelerator has an MMU (Memory
Management Unit) then there are some programs that will allow you to use
your hard drive as additional memory. It will be very slow though.
I am about to upgrade my Amiga. How much memory should I get?
As much as you can afford. It still won't be enough though. 32MB is a
reasonable minimum these days but you'll still run out now and then.
TOPIC = Workbench:
I have installed <some program> but when I run it, it still asks me to
insert volume <whatever>:?
You need to add an assign to your user-startup. ASSIGN <whatever>:
<wherever it is on your hard drive>.
TOPIC = Crashing:
I've just upgraded my Amiga but after it's been on for a while, it starts to
crash more and more frequently. What's going on?
Your power supply probably isn't up to running all that additional hardware.
You need to get a more powerful PSU. If you're using an A1200, you might be
able to get away with using an A500 PSU as a temporary solution.
Alternatively, it may be that there is a loose connection somewhere. Check
that your accelerator is properly connected and that your memory is
correctly seated in its socket.
TOPIC = Internet:
What do I need to get on the internet with my Amiga?
On the software side, you'll need: A TCP/IP stack - Miami or Genesis, a web
browser - Voyager, Ibrowse or AWeb, an email client - there are several
available but I recommend YAM and you'll also need MUI installed as almost
all of the software listed requires it.
Hardware: An Amiga (obviously), a modem and at the very least, some more
memory and a hard drive.
I've got all those but it's very slow!
A replacement serial port (such as the PortPlus) will give you a faster
connection providing you have a 56k (v90) modem. More memory and an
accelerator will obviously help too. For web browsing, a graphics card will
also speed things up no end.
What about ISPs? Should I go for one of the free ones or a subscription
ISP?
If you can afford to pay for your net access then do so. You'll get a much
better, more reliable service. If you can't afford to do that, free ISPs
are okay but don't expect great connection speeds or good service.
How do I write email without annoying the hell out of everyone (on afb?)?
DONT: be called Matt Sealey! ;)
quote the entire mail and add a one line/word reply!
type your reply at the top of the mail!
quote your reply as you type it - yeah, I know you'd have to be an
idiot to do that but certain people still seem to manage it!
quote the list footer or the sig of the person you're replying to!
post HTML!
flame people publicly - if you really need to shout at someone, take
it to private email!
DO: quote sensibly - snip what's not relevant!
change the subject header when the subject of the mail has changed!
read the whole thread before replying so that you don't repeat what
others have already said!