Assigning Storage to the Emulation

TOPIC

Q: Can an Amiga partition be created on the PC hard disk, and can the Amiga boot from this partition?

DISCUSSION

A: Yes. Once the emulation software is running the Amiga side of the emulation can see either a directory on the host file system (e.g. a directory anywhere on a Windows drive) or a "hardfile" (a large single file, used by the emulation as if it were an Amiga hard disk) as an Amiga partition. Several of these can be mounted at the same time, so that for example the (emulated) Amiga Workbench shows icons for an Amiga System and Work partition, as well as for the PC's hard drive and CD-ROM. Of the two options, we do in general recommend the use of mounted directories instead of hardfiles, however each method can in some cases have advantages or disadvantages.

The emulation of the Amiga hardware itself cannot "boot" from a PC without resorting to another operating system, because the hardware drivers of the underlying operating system are used by the Amiga emulation. The CD Edition of Amiga Forever includes the KX Light boot component to achieve this.

Also see:

• 3-156 - Host File System vs. Hardfiles
• 3-132 - System Configuration Import Checklist
• 3-109 - Reading Amiga Non-Floppy Media on PC
• 3-112 - Using Amiga Floppy Disk Image Files
• 3-118 - Reading Amiga Floppy Disks on PC
• 3-129 - Booting a PC into Workbench
• 3-167 - Archival of Amiga Floppy Disks
• The Emulation tutorial
• The Data Sharing tutorial
• The Migration Tips tutorial