Organization: Queen's University at Kingston
Date: Friday, 21 Aug 1992 11:58:39 EDT
From: <LEEK@QUCDN.QueensU.CA>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer,comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: WB 2.0 on A1000
 <1b815ad3.ARN00bf@zoolook.ki.open.de> <heinz.0324@edohwg.UUCP>
 <1b87e329.ARN00df@zoolook.ki.open.de>

In article <1b87e329.ARN00df@zoolook.ki.open.de>, heiko@zoolook.ki.open.de
(Heiko Voland) says:

[Original post]
>Isn't it better to increase the Kickstart RAM to 512K? Is it possible?

[Post I am replying]

>  My question was intended by the hope to hear from someone any hints,
>experiences or solutions about this problem. I don't want any "messy
>hardware", but i thought it schould be possible with 256KB, a decoder
>and a one more address line (simple expressed).  I want to hear, wether
>or not the boot ROM is able to load 512KB from Kickstart disk, or wether
>the added 256KB will overlap with other way used address space, for
>instance.

I am attempted a hack may be 2 summers ago.  The hack involves stacking
8 64K * 4 DRAMs on top of the ones in the kickstart board, modifying
the deoder circuits for the additional address lines and modifying
the decoding address for the boot roms & write protect address.

This project has been in the back burner for quite some time now mainly
due to the following factors:

  1)  There is no legal versions of 2.04 (.05 ?) kickstart disks for
      the A500/2000 available from C=.  So it is going to be a little
      bit messy (legally) having to read off the contents of the ROM
      into a kickstart disk.  2.04 is always sold with roms anyway.


  2)  The hack is not exactly what I would called clean.  Although now
      that I have my GAL programmer and a shipment of chips coming in,
      I should be able to replace 2 of the PALs to simplify the hack.
      With all those rom adaptors around, it is safer for a normal
      Joe to get something that would work.  Someone that is qualify
      /crazy enough to do the hack is smart enough to come up with
      his/her own hack.  :)

  3)  I am a lousy assembly language programmer.  There were a couple
      of nice folks (Dan Babcock, Derek Noonburg) that helped me around
      to get a new boot rom.  I failed to get the new boot rom to work
      and not in a position of doing the programming job myself.
      Don't forget the boot rom sits in the 256K slot of the extra
      kickstart space, so it has to be relocated.  Simply relocating
      C='s boot code might run into copyright problems.  Derek did a
      really good job commenting C= boot rom & relocating it.  Dan has wrote
      a completely new boot rom code from his collection of codes
      (disk code of his turns into hackdisk device on the Fish disk no
      doubt), but I don't have the skills nor a compatible assembler to
      do the job.

   4) Over the years, I sort of lost the incentive...  First having to
      wait for 2.04 to find out about whether or not they'll make a
      kickstart disk available and also find out how to recognize the
      kickstart.  Then I found out I can hack my Lucas/Frances to
      remap an additional 256K of 32-bit ram into the rom space.  Someone
      wrote an utility to load the kickstart 2.04 file there.  I have
      problem rebooting 2.04 with my ALF2 (warmbootable) HD.  and then
      there is the rumour AA chip set and my thesis to write...

>  Again, any ideas, hints?

      Got lots of it.  Unfortunately all the iff schematics are in the
big bin bucket after a few major HD crashes (and a crash while
reorganizing the drive after trusting the HD so much without backups.)
Still have the hardware sitting on my kickstart board at the moment
(disabled by jumper).

> = Heiko Voland  +49-431-526619                heiko@zoolook.ki.open.de    _ =

K. C. Lee
Elec. Eng. Grad. Student