Installing ClassicWB P96

Required

• Emulator to run the HDF provided (WinUAE is assumed)
• 3.0/3.1 ROM
• Workbench 3.0/3.1 ADF

Example Configuration

A WinUAE config file is supplied including these settings. The information above is provided in case of config file incompatibility with new releases or other emulators. Note this is only a suggested setup - feel free to modify.

Instructions

1. Place the "ClassicWB_P96.UAE" file into the WinUAE configurations directory.
2. Start WinUAE and load the ClassicWB_P96 config. image
3. Select a relevant ROM file in the ROMS tab. image
4. Add the "System.hdf" file to the Hard Drives tab using "Add Hardfile" - make sure it's listed as being device DH0: image
5. Save the configuration. image
6. Boot and follow the on-screen instructions. image
7. When asked to instert a Workbench 3 disk, hit F12, enter the Floppy Drives tab and select an ADF for DF0:

Keymaps, locale and regional settings

ClassicWB defaults to the Great Britain locale and keymap settings. Obviously this is no good if you live elsewhere and your time zone and keyboard layout differs.

In order to change these settings, do the following:

1. Move the required keymap from the "Storage/Keymaps" to "Devs/Keymaps" drawer
2. Place the "gb" keymap back into the "Storage/Keymaps" drawer, or it will take up memory
3. Reboot the Amiga and open up the "Prefs/Input" requester
4. Select your corresponding keymap and save the setting
5. Open up the "Prefs/Locale" requester and select your region, again saving the setting

Note that those with an American keyboard layout are able to simply remove the "gb" keymap, placing it back into the "Storage/Keymaps" drawer, leaving the "Devs/Keymaps" drawer empty. The required keymap is built into the ROM as its default setting, so to finish just save the "Prefs/Input" with "American" selected.

WHDLoad kickstarts for games and demos

WHDLoad is a tool that allows disk based games/demos to be installed and run from the hard drive, even if they were never designed to do so. It also fixes incompatibility problems between different kickstarts and Amiga models.

Just as with Workbench disks, kickstart images required for WHDLoad are unfortunately still sold commercially and therefore illegal to distribute.

In order to obtain the required images, refer to the instructions provided. READ HERE

Notes

The default screenmode of the Workbench is 800x600 16bit. If you decide to change this to 1024x768, a corresponding wallpaper is already provided. This can be accessed via the pattern prefs or tools menu in the top left-hand corner of the screen. If you use a different resolution, best results can be achieved by resizing the wallpaper in a PC paint program rather than allowing workbench to stretch the image.

Picasso96 and JIT CPU's can cause compatibility problems with a few titles. Other major factors are the "Fast Copper/Immediate Blitter/Cycle Exact" settings. Disabling/Enabling may fix your problems but be warned - "Cycle Exact" will require a large amount of CPU power.

I'm sure you'll find many titles work fine, but if a title fails to run with JIT/P96 I'm afraid you'll have to boot a non-JIT/P96 configuration. I suggest using this P96 version for Workbench and the ClassicWB FULL (without JIT CPU) for troublesome games. Both can easily be made to share directory partition(s) containing folders Games, Demos, MyFiles and Temp by editing the "A-Assigns" contained in the S/User-Startup. This is how the ClassicWB UAE is configured.

In the "MyFiles" folder you will find CDROM software ready to install. This will allow the ClassicWB to access your CDROM and installation is relatively straightforward. Be sure to call the device either the default CD0, CD or CDROM and you will end up with a nice Workbench icon. Also when asked to choose a CDDA program select "SongPlayer" in the programs directory. If you experience problems in UAE, make sure the "UAEscsi.device" box is checked under the Misc tab and a recent ASPI layer is installed on your Windows OS. Also in MyFiles is real time disk compression software (XFH.lha) should you wish to use such a utility.

The icons left out on the Workbench are "Drag and Drop" compatible. Files can be dropped directly onto these icons causing programs to launch, similar to a dockbar.

Finally, if you choose to add a PC directory for access under emulation, using "PC" for either the device or volume name will produce a nice Workbench icon shown in the pictures.