***TOPIK Note : This directory also contains the following files which are all relevant as mentioned files : execute.me, park, scsi.dev, startup, supraconvert, supraformat, and supramount. SupraBoot 5.1 Whew! Here it is! Delivered at last! Ok, you don't want me to waste your time with a bunch of docs to read. You do want this update stuff installed quickly and easily. Well, with a little patience we should have you up and running with a minimum of pain. The instructions that follow are in two major sections. The first details the creation of a SupraBoot 5.1 disk; the second shows how to put the new software to work. Before you start, you should also read the SupraNews file that was included in this ARC file. It explains some important differences between this and earlier versions of SupraBoot. Understanding these differences may help you make sense of some of the instructions that follow. You might even want to print yourself a copy of SupraNews to have handy as a reference. You should definitely print a copy of this "README.NOW" file. You will want to refer to it as you proceed with the installation. You will also need a "SupraBoot 4.3" disk to modify. If your SupraBoot disk release is earlier than 4.3, you will need to acquire the 4.3 update file elsewhere in the forum this file was downloaded from. That file will convert any SupraBoot disk to a 4.3 version. Once you have a 4.3 disk, the files contained in this download will help you convert your 4.3 disk to a 5.1 disk. You MUST start with a 4.3 disk for this conversion to succeed! PART 1: CREATING A "SupraBoot 5.1" DISK This is the easy part. Make a copy of your "SupraBoot 4.3" disk. This is important! You will be converting the copy to the new version. Only modify the copy. If you have problems, you always have the original to bail yourself out with. Rename the copy to "SupraBoot 5.1". Now just execute the script file named "Execute.Me" which was included in this ARC file. This script will copy the following files from the current directory to the "SupraBoot 5.1" disk for you: FILE NAME DESTINATION -------------------- -------------------- SupraMount "SupraBoot 5.1:c" SupraConvert "SupraBoot 5.1:c" SupraFormat "SupraBoot 5.1:System" SupraNews "SupraBoot 5.1:System" scsidisk.device "SupraBoot 5.1:devs" Startup-Sequence "SupraBoot 5.1:s" Park "SupraBoot 5.1:" If the "Execute.Me" script file fails, make sure your current directory is the one that you unARC'd this download into. Also make sure that all of the files listed in the "Contents" file (included in this ARC file) are present in the current directory. Finally, make sure you renamed the "Copy of SupraBoot 4.3" disk to "SupraBoot 5.1". If all of these things are correct, the script file should function properly and you should have a proper working copy of "SupraBoot 5.1". PART 2: USING THE NEW SOFTWARE We participated with Commodore, et al., in establishing a true standard for the format of hard drives on the Amiga. The 5.1 software is a major upgrade that incorporates the new standard. The standard calls for special control structures to be written to the zero sector of the drive. That means the first partition of ANY hard disk MUST start on cylinder one or higher. By default, SupraFormat starts the first partition on SCSI device 0 at cylinder 7. This allows room for an AutoBoot partition under Workbench 1.3 and also leaves room for the control structures required by the new standard. This paragraph only applies to those with a second hard disk. SCSI devices configured as 1 or higher defaulted to a first partition starting cylinder of 0 in SupraFormat 4.3. To mount the drive with SupraMount 5.1, you must use SupraFormat 5.1 to change the starting cylinder of the first partition to 1. There are two ways to put the new software to work for you. One is easy, guaranteed to work properly, and takes a long time. The second is easy, may make a mess of your system, but happens really fast. Which you choose will be up to you. Either way, please backup your drive first. Your data is at risk. Remember Murphy! If your data can be lost, it will be lost, at the worst possible time. Warnings made; let's get started. We'll start by stepping you through the installation that takes a long time, but is easy and always works. 1. BACKUP YOUR DRIVE!!! 2. Reformat your drive using the SupraFormat program on the "SupraBoot 5.1" disk. 3. Reboot the system with the "SupraBoot 5.1" disk and let the Startup-Sequence re-install the Workbench software for you. 4. Restore your software. 5. Enjoy your system. See, it's easy, it works, and it takes some time. But you're brave and adventurous, aren't you? You want to try the fast way! Here goes. 1. BACKUP YOUR DRIVE!!! (Sorry, no getting around this part.) 2. Run the SupraConvert program in the 'c' directory of the "SupraBoot 5.1" disk. 3. Reboot the system with the "SupraBoot 5.1" disk. 4. Enjoy your system. Hey, look at this. No re-install Workbench and no restore software. Also no guarantees. SupraConvert will TRY to update a hard disk compatible with 4.3 software to make it bootable by 5.1 SupraMount. It works about 98% of the time. That means it will probably work for you. It's worth a try. You've got nothing to lose. You may save yourself several hours of copying files back onto the drive. If SupraConvert fails, you'll need to use the first installation method. OTHER NOTES... SupraBoot 5.1 includes a new device driver named "scsidisk.device". This driver implements a pseudo-DMA protocol with blind reads. This will provide a three-times speed increase for reads from SupraDrives on the Amiga 500 or 1000. The new driver is invoked by SupraMount when SupraMount is called with a "-s" option as follows: SupraMount -s Without the "-s" option, SupraMount uses the default "harddisk.device" driver for the A1000 and A500. Note, SupraMount ALWAYS uses "dmadisk.device" when run from an A2000 with the Supra DMA controller. The "scsidisk.device" driver should be compatible with most drive/controller combinations. The Startup-Sequence file included as part of this download enables the "-s" option. If you experience frequent "Read/Write Error" requestors or if your particular drive fails to boot properly try deleting the "-s" option from the "SupraMount -s" line of the file "SupraBoot:s/Startup-Sequence".