#BridgeBoard
30 messages in this thread
Help , I have just updated my A2000 with GVP 68030/25 accel. and also
added Amiga Dos 2.0. This has rendered my Bridgeboard.. in-operative. If
anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate a reply.
Jim,
How much memory do you have in your machine and how is it configured?
(i.e. – how much CHIP ram, how much FAST ram, how much ram on the GVP
board, is it FAST or Extended ram?) Due to the Bridgeboard's design, you
can't have a full 8 megs of FAST ram in your A2000 when you have one. If
you have 8 megs of ram on your GVP card, at least 4 megs of that ram must
be configured as Extended ram, depending on what other ram cards you might
have in your system.
Are you using a janus disk to boot your BB? If so, you might want to try
booting the BB from a floppy until you get things sorted out.
Under 2.04+, you should be using "SYS:Tools/Enforcer >nil: quiet" in your
startup-sequence before the Binddrivers command. Of course, check to make
certain that you have the Enforcer program in the SYS:Tools directory
before making the change. Some people have reported good results with a
second BindDrivers command near the end of the startup-sequence file.
PCPrefs from Janus 2.0 will not run under AmigaDOS 2.0. The 2.1 release
of the Janus software fixes this. There are reports that it is now
available by ordering the Janus 2.0 package, but this has not been
officially confirmed. It's an annoyance, but as long as you can live with
your old prefs, you can still use the BB.
Which Bridgeboard are you using?
There are some instructions in the GVP manual relating to the BB. You
might want to read over that section.
Hope this helps, 8)
David
Are you running BINDDRIVERS and ENFORCER QUIET in your startup sequence,
and have you turned off the data cache on the GVP?
Michael,
Hello there! I've just started reading the Bridgeboard messages
because I just got one. I don't know the first thing about PC's so this is
going to be tough for me. Here I am again trying to learn a new language
(PC) when I can barely speak AmigaDos. Ick!
I just backed up the HD (using QuarterBack). I haven't reformatted
the HD since switching to OS2 — I'm very reluctant to do do it since
things are going so well as they are.
Vicki
…from the first bit of freetime in over a month 🙂
– via Whap!
Vicki,
So nice to see your message here again! I see Mark has got your
bridgeboard working for you! Terrific, so now you'll have a whole new set
of questions to ask! <grin> Am looking forward to some new threads. Maybe
I'll learn something about starting up a bridgeboard too, myself never
having used one. Oh boy…
Chris
Chris,
Yes, Mark is MAX:'s hero –mine too! I am very impressed by that
young man. What ever would I have done without him? Humm, I dunno'…you
say this bridgeboard stuff is new to you too???? whaaaa!!t
I've been reading the messages here and I can't make sense of over
90% of them. I think I shouldn't waste your time.
While I am quite happy to have the bridgeboard, it should be noted
that _I_ won't be able to _do_ much with it until I get some software –and
that's sorta' low priority right now –especially with Christmas coming up.
I'm not really pressed to get the MS DOS part working because the
Amiga does everything _I've_ ever needed –not so for Dick even though he's
learned to make adjustments. So oh –you never know, he might just stop in
to ask a question or two. But don't hold your breath –bbs'ing isn't his
forte'. He'll just sit here and cuss and try to get _ME_ to fix things.
Imagine: _me_ helping someone with Amiga questions –that'll be the day.
Be seein' ya — Vicki
..from a pleasant fireside
– via Whap!
Vicki, Hi there!
I figured you've been busy… I go the photo… my wife and I _LOVE_ it!
I'vedigitised it a few times… but I'm not happy with the results yet and
just haven't had time to work on it much. Maybe this weekend. Should I
Email it to you, or do you mind if I upload it to the AmigaArts forum
where everyone can admire your work?
If you think working with the Amiga has been a hassle at times, just wait
till you start working with a BridgeBoard! I don't mean to 'scare you off'
but there are really TWO evironments to learn at the same time: 1) the
bridgeboard itself (with its quirks) and 2) msdos!
I'm ok with dos, but the Bridgeboard still mystifies me at times. It must
have been designed by the same team that 'standardized' scsi! 🙂
I'd like to encourage you to get a subscription to the CROSSINGS
newsletter publishd by Marion Deland/Deland Editorial Services. Marion is
great and does a great service to the Amiga community with her newsletter
dealing with hte ins, outs, and inbetweens of bridgeboarding.
Michael,
Don't bother with scanning the photo if it's giving you trouble. I
realize the image is rather complex (too detailed for it's size).
It'll motivate me to do a better, more scannable type of quilt next.
I'm always working on a quilt. Maybe I'll make an Amiga quilt. _That_
would be more worthy of an Amiga Forum.
Yes, I'm aware of the problems that the bridgeboard presents. MAX:
was, so to say, "born" with one, but it never worked. Then came Mark
Manes. Marvelous Mark!! Hmmm, I like that. I just sorta' gave up on ever
seeing it work so I never gave much thought to learning DOS or following bb
discussion. It made me sorta' sad and angry at the same time.
Mark explained how the bb works, it's limitations, it's
capabilities, and things that I might add to the system (for future
reference) to maximize it's potential. Sounds fine to me. All I need is
$$$$ –and I don't mean to imply that he put any pressure on me to buy
ANYTHING. I guess he already knows he doesn't have to _sell_ me on Amiga.
Giving 25% of MAX:'s 40MBs to the bb is a real sacrifice though. I'm
really piggy about sharing HD space with anything I don't make good use of.
I'll be staying tuned to the bb discussions here –see if I can learn
anything.
Back to work with DPaint –fun, fun, fun!!! <really>
Vicki
…..from the start of something new
– via Whap!
Vicki,
Sounds like its time to go IBM Forum Library shopping. <grin>
There must be something over there (lots of forums) you might find of
interest. If you want to see what might be available for the BB side and a
good reference towards pricing, pick up a Computer Shopper at a local
magazine/bookstore. It gets publish once a month, and I call it the
"Bible" for PC anything purchases. If you buy without looking first there,
your at a disadvantage. IMHO
Chris
Chris,
Thanks for the tip on PC software shopping.
If I were to go to the IBM forums and download something, I don't
think it would do me any good. The bb uses the 5 1/4" drive and cannot see
the 3 1/2" drives. Also, the modem, etc, do not run on the bb side. It's
like having two computers –they don't really talk to one another or
transfer files between them. Darn!
Vicki
…from the Amiga side 🙂
– via Whap!
Vicki,
"It's like having two computers –they don't really talk to one
another or transfer files between them. Darn!"
I'm happy to be the bearer of good news! You are wrong!
(Everybody likes to be told that, right?) Anyway, the Bridgeboard
and the Amiga are constantly talking to each other, and more importantly
you can transfer files between them! On the Janus disk that came with
the bridgeboard, there are two programs, Aread, and Awrite. They both
run on the PC side.
Lets say you download the pc program down.exe on the Amiga side and
it is on your BOOT: drive. Get the bridgeboard running and then type
the following (assuming the Janus directory is on your pc hard drive):
Aread boot:down.exe c:down.exe /b
You can do the same thing backwards (PC to Amiga) by using Awrite with
the same format. All of this should be spelled out in the Bridgeboard
manual the came with it.
…Cruising on AutoPilot from Snowy Northern Indiana…
Branden Beachy
72557,107
Branden,
Thank you for the "good" news. I'm glad to be incorrect. The
computer has made me good at accepting the fact that I really don't know
anything for sure. <g>
I have selected "keep" for your message. Mark told me about Janus
being two people in one (two heads?). The _Aread_ and the _Awrite_ are new
to me.
I'm sure you will detect that I have not yet read the manuals. Thank
you for the notes.
Vicki
– via Whap!
Vicki:
You can download msdos software from a forum and then use the AREAD/AWRITE
Janus utilities to transfer it to the BridgBoard side.
Soon, there will be a product released from CONSULTRON (makers of
CrossDos) called AMBASSADOR that will allow you to directly read and write
from/to any logical device on either side of the machine! Not only will
this eliminate the nead for AREAD/AWRITE but it has a setup for installing
a much faster psuedo hard drive partition on the BridgeBoard side.
Vicki, that's where AREAD and AWRITE come into prominence. you download
something to your Amiga drive, then AREAD it to your BB disk. If the
program is binary, put a /b after the command. So you can download to your
Amiga, then AREAD it to the Bridgeboard.
Betty
Hello Betty,
It's that easy? Just download something like I normally would to the
Amiga? and then transfer it to the bb using the AREAD command? Wow!
sounds too good, too easy, to be true. I'm gonna' try it. (wonder what
mess I'm getting into)
If I need help, who to I go to –you all here or the people in the
other forum?
Vicki
– via Whap!
Most of us who have used the bridgeboard much can help with transferring
programs and text files between the two platforms. I'm in Salt Lake City
this week, with only a Toshiba to keep me company, so I cannot check
anything out for you, but there are lots of people here who can give you
the straight answer on exact syntax, etc.
It really is that easy. And you can unpack the programs on your Amiga
before transferring them over if you prefer. Neat! Just remember to put
that /b after the commands when you are sending a program across. Gotta
tell AREAD and AWRITE if you are sending binary stuff, else it changes it
to unusable text.
Good to see you here again, too. We've missed you.
Betty
Vicki:
Giving up a partition of your hard drive to the BB _is_ a drag…
especially for someone like you who has a realtively small hard drive
(sorry, Max:!) and who does graphics work. Maybe Mark can find you a used
30 or 40 meg IDE hard drive. An IDE controller for the PC side is pretty
inexpensive, and the performance would be MUCH better. I wish Mark lived
within a reasonable distance to me!
The picture of the quilt is fine (although there is some color drift which
is barely noticebale in the photo but shows up glaringly in the scan). The
problem is _my_ inexperience with scanning this kind of stuff. But, that's
one of the reasons I wanted to do it… I'm learning!
Again, do I have your permission to upload any decent results to AmigaArts
so that everyone can see your work? I know that others would be interested
in seeing this quilt.
Michael,
Yes –partitioning off a quarter of a puny 40MB drive is a heartache
–and I will definitely notice it when I'm creating graphics. I usually put
all my art on floppies at the end of a work session -to save space on the
HD.
I'm going to have to upgrade to a larger HD –have plans to get one
from Mark's store when I do (hopefully early on in '93). He was so good
about explaining the specific problems (really "situation") with MAX: –so
that I fully understand what it needs. I personally do not want all sorts
of external stuff floating around here for this or that (i.e. the bb) –my
computer is in the family room and it really gets on my nerves to see it
look so messy over in this corner. The cables behind the desk are a
nightmare.
Michael, you should see this… I've positioned my drafting table
next to the computer desk. I have sort of a C shaped work area. When I
hook up the tablet and have these manuals open all over the place it looks
like jungle. No goodhousekeeping-betterhomesandgardens display. <g>
Yes, you have my persmission to upload the picture of the quilt.
Just let me know where to find it, so I can have a look-see. Neat!
Vicki
….from the jungle (and loving every vine and slithery snake)
– via Whap!
Isn't it kinda funny how your computer & related parphenalia grow faster
than your houseplants? (and you don't even have to water them!)
Michael,
Houseplants? What are those?
The only thing that grows faster than computer and related
paraphenalia is the credit card balance used to purchase them.
Vicki
– via Whap!
Michael,
I'd get a SIGNED release, This gal looks like trouble 😉
–Paul 🙂
Well… I've got a signed letter from her, and a scanner… shouldn't be
too hard to get to the next step!
Michael,
I explored the possibility of putting a IDE hardcard into Vicki's machine.
Unfortunately she has an older A2500 with the A2620 board in it. Between
the A2620, the 2090A, the bridgeboard (2286) there is very little room
inside the machine left to put a hardcard in! I think there is an A2052
board in there as well, don't remember for sure.
All of MAX's drive bays are full too! 🙁
The solution is to replace MAXX's hard disk with a bigger hard disk so the
PC partition won't byte so bad! 🙂
-mark=
Mark,
Do what I did. Kept the A2090 (I don't have the "a" model, but it
works out the same) to run the ST-506 drive, added an A2091 to autoboot and
run the rest of my SCSI drives and tape drive and added a HD for the BB on
the 2091 ( connected to a BB HD controller of course). So I've got:
A2620 in the CPU slot
A2091 in rightmost Amiga slot
open slot
A2090
A2088 BB in rightmost bridge slot
open bridge slot
WD HD controller in 8 bit slot
Emulex multi-function card in last 8 bit slot.
So even if you added an A2052 there's still room for a "hard card"
setup.
Don
Don,
Very creative! I like it, I like it! 🙂
-mark=
Mark, there is still some room in Vicki's machine for another HD or two.
Stick it in the space between the A2620 and the first Amiga Slot. I have
a Quantum 105 on it's side between my A2620 and the A2090A in the first
slot. There is probably room for another HD in the same room behing this
one if I really tried! My AT-BB floppies are outside the machine, so my
5.25 bay is still free for a CD-Rom drive some day!
I had to make a couple of rails to bolt the drive to – no big deal.
73, Kelly
Mark,
Do I have to get a new controler when I upgrade MAX: to the
120MB's –? Or may we just keep the same one?
Vicki
– via Whap!
You can keep the same controller.
-mark=
Blush.. Vicki! 🙂
Actually Vicki, you should thank Commodore. They replaced your
bridgeboard under warranty. 🙂
We just talked them into it!
-mark=
Mark,
True, Commodore provided the bridgeboard. For that I am truely
pleased. But none of that would have happened had you not intervened.
Mark, even if your bid for the new bridgeboard via Commodore had
not come through, I would think no less of you. I am very impressed by the
sincerity of your interest in my little Amiga. If only every Amiga store
had a person(s) like you in them!
I am very happy that things turned out as well as they have. You
may be sure that in my letter to Commodore, you and VCR shall be heartily
commended.
Vicki
– via Whap!