Getting my A4000TX up and running.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Comfysofa
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 21
  • Views Views 448
C

Comfysofa

Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2025
Posts
94
Country
United Kingdom
Region
City of Bristol
As above. I did start my questioning on the A4000TX thread but as ive now got a boot screen im into setup issues now....and before i start im pretty sure this is down to my lack of knowledge having been away from Amiga's for 30 odd years. So a quick refresh of where im currently at.

Board installed into case. Jumpers connected for power reset led for power - no disc activty yet but then ive not got as far as an os yet...!

Ive got a bit of a varying array of hardware available.

External gotek - found out last night the DB23 doesnt fit the rear of my 4000TX - so converted to in internal unit.
5.25 dvd rom and scsi cd rom slot loader.
Cyberstorm 060PPC - cant confirm that works yet...plug it in - 4000 doesnt power up. If i leave it running the CPU does warm up (fan does spin up also)
Latest roms fitted along with 3.2 cd - copied contents to pc and loaded os files onto usb stick
Ide/compact flash card for ide port
zz9000 en-route sometime mid Nov so MNT tell me...
X-Surf network card.

Its currently hooked up to SVGA/Scart

So, as far as ive got now...ive got the os files (and a game) but i cant get the amiga to see the Gotek - ive moved the jumper on the GoTek to be df0, that being said, the only floppy cable ive got is the oe with the twist in it (is that DF1:)?? but have ordered another long floppy cable so i can run it externally. The GoTek can see the files on the usb stick though. Ive not got keyboard fitted yet, got got an old manky 9pin mouse fitted.

Off the cuff question.... i got the GoTek as an external unit expecting to plug it into the rear but the 4000TX board doesnt have a DB23 on the rear...is that by design or because DB23 sockets dont exist anymore and, is there anyway i could keep my GoTek as an externally connected unit or am i staying on the internal ribbon (running externally) doesnt matter - just wondered...

Another inital question...ive got one of those compact flash to ide cards. Also got a high density ide cable with pin 10 blanked off....the TX has a fully pinned ide port...can i just drill that blank out? One thing i tried without success was to simply plug the dvd rom in - stick the os3.2 disc in and hope that it booted but nothing (so not sure if the IDE cable is working). Also to add the compact flash has a female connector (so it can be plugged directly on to the board - great) but i want to run a cd drive then i have to use the cable so i then cant plug the cf adaptor in (female to female)?
 
Last edited:
Im getting a bit further....keyboard and mouse turned up today....worked out how to use the GoTek so i can now launch adf files....saw my old favorite game "Virus" - 30 years since ive seen that!! - anyway i cant seem to see any discs attached. Ive got a CF card configured as master which OS3.2 HD Tools cant see....ive just plugged in an old Seagate IDE drive which it looks like it cant see that either...is there any jumpers on the TX motherboard that need to be set for the IDE port to be seen??
 
Had a few hours messing around with WinUAE yesterday...tried with HSTWB....meh - kinda got an os running on WinUAE but it doesnt change the fact that the IDE port doesnt see any drives put into it.... ive ordered a Buddha IDE card as not only will it just work, its going to be faster than the onboard ide....once ive got an os on there i can experiment with the on board ide and see why it doesnt work....should be here tuesday.

Ironically i went to the SWAG meeting yesterday with my 060 expecting there to be loads of 4000's getting put through their paces...turns out im the only one with one!! (wellme and a couple of other guys but they didnt have theirs with them...)
 
No luck so far...i did order a CF Card on ebay that had an os installed. So, that moved the needle a little bit....the middle activity light on the CF card adaptor has turned on...but thats about it...think im gonna have to wait for the Buddha to turn up...
 
Another question - if my cyberstorm is knacked i think the best option is a z3660 - can those be bought in the UK....dont want to get hit for tax....looks to be the most versatile option...
 
There are getting offered here notoriously, from where is still not known yet.... just check the sales threads.
 
I did speak to Chris Edwards over email earlier - he reckons the TF4060 is the one to go for as the z3660 is still a bit buggy but id like to hear from anyone from either camps...assuming my Cyberstorm is shot...
 
The Z3660 needs tweaking and is not a plug it in and it just works. Z3660 is more in development/unstable.
Agreed TF4060 is probably a better option for CPU/RAM/IDE acceleration.
You would need a separate RTG solution
 
Finally got the Buddha installed today. Out of sheer luck the 16gb CF card that i bought actually was seen by the Buddha..... (i bought it blindly not knowing that the amiga was choosy with CF cards) - anyway ive now got a basic running workbench.... just updated to the latest 3.2.3 (i think)

Im in a bit of a chicken an egg situation at the moment (just because i cant remember and) the last time i used an amiga...i never owned a PC...so ive got a basic workbench installed and i now want to get drivers (picasso 96 and the zz9000, tcp stack etc etc) on there - so im guessing a usb stick - ive got an old 2gb one to use problem is i need drivers on the amiga to format the stick but i need to get them on there in the first place...could someone point me in the right direction? Cheers!

Anyway...im off the starting blocks...
 
Oh - did forget to say....found a bit of software ( i say found - watched a YT vid) called "Opus ADF" which seemed simple to use...problem is, when i mount the adf file on the 4000 it shows space taken up but, no sofware/icons.... not sure what im missing.

Bought the TCP stack and Picasso drivers from Individual Computers so hopefully start to get some sort of decent resolution and internet connection tonight....

Oh - question...ive got 2x RJ45 connections...one on the zz and one on the X-Surf....which is the better one to use?
 
Hi there all. Getting my 4000 back to config as i used to remember it is proving harder than i thought. Ive gained a side-quest (learning how to set up WinUAE) - to transfer software, which is also proving to be more difficult than i thought....off the cuff question...as ive said before i cant seem to get anything to work on the on-board IDE port on the TX board....is the .device name for the onboard scsi.device? (if it is then i think the port is dead...)

Cheers
 
Hi there all. Getting my 4000 back to config as i used to remember it is proving harder than i thought. Ive gained a side-quest (learning how to set up WinUAE) - to transfer software, which is also proving to be more difficult than i thought....off the cuff question...as ive said before i cant seem to get anything to work on the on-board IDE port on the TX board....is the .device name for the onboard scsi.device? (if it is then i think the port is dead...)

Cheers
 
Yes, the device name for the A4000 IDE is scsi.device.

And there is not a lot to the IDE on the A4kTX, are you able to reflash the GAL's (U901, and U902)?
 
Yeah - looks like it but ive got no experience at fault finding....! - ive mailed Steve at Retro Passion to see if he can take a look at it...as i say just wondered if there was anything i could do but i think ive fault found (or not as it would be) as much as i can...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
is amikit still up and running?
Replies
2
Views
138
comraider
comraider
RuneRider
Up and running. Thanks SaviorX.
Replies
1
Views
112
SaviorX
SaviorX
Bastich
Getting my A4000 on an LCD
Replies
12
Views
2K
davideo
davideo
Back
Top Bottom