How do I create a stable Amiga installation?

Hey All -

Don't post here much, usually just read. I'm an Amiga user since the late 1980s and way back in 2017/18 I bought an Amiga x5000 setup from Amiga On The Lake as my 'end all, be all' Amiga as my 4000T was getting a bit old.

I'm not a novice when it comes to AmigaOS, but I wouldn't say I'm a complete expert either.

That said, every so often I use my x5000, it crashes so often that I get tired of messing with it and I quit using it for awhile until I get the urge again, etc.

So my question - is the OS inherently THIS unstable or is there something hardware related that might have a problem?

Right now the Amiga is running dual DIMMs for RAM (4GB total I believe, 2GB shown obviously), dual SATA drives and a DVD-ROM drive (main boot is and DVD is on the SATA ports on the motherboard, forget what SATA card I have in there), an RX-570 4GB video card, Enhancer, 2.x, etc. It's been a bit, but I think I have a SB128 sound card.

I've rebuilt this thing from scratch, twice. I just updated to Final Release 3.

I used to attempt to use Odyssey 1.23 beta and if I would do just about anything, it would grim reaper. Now with release 3, it doesn't even launch. It just crashes and the task will hang if not break other browsers from launching.

OWB no longer works due to secure websites.... Netsurf can't seem to find DNS so it says all websites are non-existant. Now I'm stuck with no browser at all.

I try to copy files off a USB stick.. sometimes it works.. sometimes it crashes by locking up the entire computer.

Many programs that I use will tell me I need a certain lib.. which is fine... I can grab it, but the machine crashes when it errors.

I get the lack of proper memory management, but does every issue cause the machine to need to be rebooted or is something just wrong with this? Where do I even start troubleshooting it?

Hi cbrkr,

I also have an X5000 and it's super stable except sometimes when I'm testing programs. It doesn't crash, it just gets very slow and choppy.

I use the Exorcist program on OS4Depot, a program similar to Force Quit on a Mac. Sometimes I just restart it completely so I'm safe.

I use NGFS for my SSDs; it's super stable and I have no problems with corrupted files.

Before, I used SFS, but I sometimes had file corruption issues.

Also, check the battery; it might be the problem. For now, mine is still the original one.

What version of U-Boot do you have?

A RAM stick could also be the problem; try with just one stick.

Otherwise, I love my X5000.

Hi cbrkr,

I had a similar experience on my X5000 that was pre-installed by Alinea Computer.

It had a number of strange issues (StormC5 forgetting its registration, strange crashes while playing music, ...).

In the end it seemed to be a combination of the installation and just buggy programs.

A fresh installation solved the StormC5 issue, and most of other crashes where indeed bugs by other software:
- CONSOLE (newshell) is still unstable (but not as bad as on Update 2)
- AmigaGuide datatype is trashing memory when loading AmigaGuide files with links to external files (e.g. RKMs on the Developer CD)
- IMP3 really need to be run on its own screen
- IMP3's MOD replay is very fragile with the currently available ptreplay and ptplay libraries
- Some of the Enhancer replacements are not 100% compatible (CLI commands, datatypes)

Regarding the network issues, there is indeed an issue with the default network configuration. Run CheckRoadshowConfig and remove the duplicates from your config. But make a backup.

@FlynnTheAvatar

It is not a bug but a feature

problem is, the OS can easily ba affected by a combination of patches and commodities. So a problem can only be sorted out by building it up step by step and test it

@icbrkr

Quote:
Absolutely not! The OS4 installation on my X5000 is very stable. But then again, I run more or less pure Update 3 - the only "foreign" component is the Radeon RX driver from the Enhancer Pack.

You seem to be having a hardware problem. I'd check your PSU or RAM modules first.

@FlynnTheAvatar

Quote:
Try disabling the tabbed mode before my console fix hits the public.

@trixie

There is an option for tabbed mode? Sorry, I really do not see it.

@trixie

Quote:
This is something I think kills the user experience for so many people: the replacement OS components from the Enhancer Pack. Many dealers throw everything from Enhancer on their systems they ship to customers, and I really don't think they should. It replaces the datatypes, command-line utilities, and more.

I am *extremely* selective about what I put on my systems from A-EON and they're stable as a rock. Whenever I do a default Enhancer install the result is an unstable mess.

-- eliyahu

@FlynnTheAvatar

Quote:
Open the information window on the Shell icon in SYS:System, remove "TABBED" from the WINDOW argument, and save.

Okay, I replaced the battery, replaced the 4GB*2 RAM sticks in there with a single 2GB stick. I'm trying to remember how to get into the UBOOT to find out what version I have (was it M?).

If I were to start this all over on a new drive (I have an extra SSD here), what format should I put the drive in.. and what should I do or not do during installation?

UBoot seems to be 2014.04. That seems.. old. How do I get an update?

@eliyahu

This is sadly true! My X1000's onboard sound chip and all my quirky hangups etc only started when the so called 'enhancer' updates came out

@trixie

I never used TABBED when starting a shell. These are my window parameters:
WINDOW=CON:1055/31/673/484/AmigaShell/SHELL/CLOSE/ALT1055/31/673/969

I still have strange freezes when selecting, pasting or quickly entering text into the Shell. Also, starting a new Shell window while another one moves (like a notification that flies in), will also freeze the system.

@icbrkr

Another stable NG machine (XE, 440, 460, X1K, X5K) user here...

My suggestion would be: make a backup of your SYS: to a USB
drive and then start over... Something is quite amiss...

Put in your AmigaOS4 install CD (your machine should have come
with one) and do a clean install of the OS to your boot
partition.

The tricky bit is always the gfx card driver - assuming you
were able to boot and use the CD, before rebooting, make sure
to copy your gfx card driver files to your system.

From there it is the old chore of rebuilding your system.

First, do all the OS updates you get from AmiUpdate and the
updates on Hyperion's site (assuming you've registered your
OS serial number).

Then you go about configuring and adding everything the way you
want.

As others have said in the thread, beware of the half-baked
MattyOS ("Enhancer") things and install only VERY selectively.

There is no way his mercenary coding crew knew how to replace
components reflecting 40 years of AmigaOS coding experience.

Good luck!!

PJS