Amiga Forever Workbench 3.1 Duplication Instructions

TOPIC

Q: What are the quality requirements to copy an Amiga Forever Classic Support hard disk or floppy disk image to the physical media?

DISCUSSION

Overview

These instructions are primarily intended for partners who prepare Workbench 3.1 media from the original disk images, however they can also be helpful to otherwise copy or restore the media. A download of the disk images can be accessed using the license key provided on the media.

The instructions provided here can also be applied to Workbench 2.1, except for the parts about the manual addition of "workbench.library" and the "Startup-Sequence" modification, which do not apply to the 2.1 version.

Shared Checklist

These apply to all types of media:

• Make sure you are using the latest version of the disk image(s)
• Remember to include the original Amiga Forever Classic Support label with license key (one per order unit), which is required for the end user to re-download the disk image(s)
• Do not modify any files
• Consider that even a simple file overwrite will leave traces (which are normally "cleaned" by the original mastering and defragmentation procedure)
• Keep in mind that ".info" files may be written by the operating system just by opening a disk or directory in the Workbench desktop (especially in older 1.x versions)
• Kindly do not share the private download links

Copying the Floppy Disks

To duplicate the Amiga Forever Classic Support floppy disks:

• Use only DD (not HD) media
• If using an Amiga to duplicate the disks, we recommend Sebastiano Vigna's SuperDuper 3.13 or higher, or a similar tool
• Make sure that the write Verify option is enabled, and that no disk-modifying options are enabled

Copying the Hard Disk Image

To copy a true-to-the-original bootable image to a new disk (e.g. a CompactFlash card):

• Make the boot partition the first partition, not larger than 4 GB (not larger than 2 GB to avoid issues with older software that uses signed 32-bit values)
• For "large disk" support (larger than 4 GB), confirm that the destination disk RDB has an official NSD-compatible FastFileSystem 43.20 or 45.9 or higher (e.g. use "Version DH0: FULL")
• Verify that the destination disk is formatted and empty (no .info, Trashcan, etc.)
• Copy Source: Destination: ALL CLONE
• Confirm that the new disk is bootable and that the volume name is "Workbench3.1" (or "Workbench2.1", in the case of the 2.1 version)

For additional information on support for disks larger than 4 GB, see Amiga Forever Workbench 3.1 Improvements.

Installing from the Floppy Disk Set

To install from the floppy disk set to a hard disk (including CompactFlash, etc.):

1. Use a 68020 or higher system (unless you know that the destination will use a 68000 or 68010 CPU)
2. Make the boot partition the first partition, not larger than 4 GB (not larger than 2 GB to avoid issues with older software that uses signed 32-bit values)
3. For large disk support, confirm that the destination disk RDB has an official NSD-compatible FastFileSystem 43.20 or 45.9 or higher (e.g. use "Version DH0: FULL")
4. Verify that the destination disk is formatted and empty (no .info, Trashcan, etc.)
5. Choose the Expert installation mode, and select all options (all languages, all keymaps, all printer drivers)

For additional information on support for disks larger than 4 GB, see Amiga Forever Workbench 3.1 Improvements.

Note: When using the floppy disks to prepare a new hard disk image, care should be taken not to boot from a system that has "NewIcons" or a similar enhancement installed. This is to avoid that some directories created by the Installer with the "(infos)" property set (such as "Storage", "Devs" and "Devs/DOSDrivers") inherit the default icon style of the system used at installation time. This can also be avoided by booting from the floppy disk set itself.

Manual "Version" Command Patch

The updated Version command is already included in the Classic Support Workbench 3.1 set, and does not need to be updated manually. This detailed step is described here for documentation purposes only.

The "Version" command file inside the C directory needs to be updated with the 40.3 version (available here) to address a Y2K bug.

Be careful that the file be named "Version" (not "version" or otherwise) and that the dates and other attributes are preserved via Copy CLONE or similar (-p--rwed 1999-04-01 20:18:34, etc.)

Manual Addition of "workbench.library"

The "workbench.library" file is already included in the Classic Support Workbench 3.1 set, and does not need to be copied manually. This detailed step is described here for documentation purposes only.

This change is required in order to support A-4000T 3.1 ROMs and all 3.X ROMs.

Add Libs/workbench.library as in the reference master.

Be careful that the file be named "workbench.library" and that the dates and other attributes are preserved via Copy CLONE or similar (----rw-d 1994-02-18 09:51:02, etc.)

Note: this is the original 3.1 version of workbench.library (71456 bytes), not the larger "3.9" version contributed by Olaf Barthel and included in Amiga Forever.

Manual "Startup-Sequence" Modification

The updated "Startup-Sequence" file is already included in the Classic Support Workbench 3.1 set, and does not need to be edited manually. This detailed step is described here for documentation purposes only.

This change is required in order to support 3.X ROMs.

Edit S/Startup-Sequence as follows:

C:SetPatch QUIET

replacing it with

C:Version >NIL: exec.library 45 20
If WARN
  C:SetPatch QUIET
Else
  C:SetPatch NOROMUPDATE QUIET
EndIf

Be careful to preserve Amiga line feed consistency (LF only), context-specific indentation standards (exact number of spaces or tabs as in other similar indentations), attributes (-s--rw-d) and not to leave temporary or backup files on the disk (e.g. inside T).

Related Links

• Amiga Forever Workbench 3.1 Improvements
• Amiga Forever Workbench 1.x-2.x Improvements
• Amiga Forever 3.X ROM Improvements