OK, then, last episode we finished the basic install of the Amiga OS, including the latest installer from Aminet. Now, in our quest for the Workbench of our dreams, it is time to start the long and winding road toward customized Nirvana.
Lost at C:
But first, I discovered a minor glitch in last month's battle plan to combat chaos. If you recall, the following lines in the startup:
This will allow us to keep 3rd party files separate from the "official" Amiga OS files, while still allowing the system access to both original and 3rd party files. This helps keep things organized, and cuts down on confusion when upgrading or reinstalling the OS. However, using this setup can lead to a bit of confusion for the path command. The Path command is a sort of road map telling the system where important files are. The following command, for instance:
PATH C: S: Sys:tools ADD
Tells the system to look in the C: drawer, the S: drawer, and the Sys:tools drawer when you type a command. Normally, this works well, but with our scheme for extended assigns, under certain circumstances, path only notices the first assign, not the secondary Added Assign. While this generally works typing commands in the shell, one place it doesn't is when a command is placed in the Default Tooltype of an Icon. Apparently in this case, only the first Assign is remembered, so clicking on the icon with the default tool of Iconx for instance, will result in an "Unable to open your tool 'IconX'" error message, since the second assign, using the ADD option, isn't recognized. The solution is simple, right after the following line in your Startup-Sequence file:
This places the forgotten SYS:C drawer firmly back on the map.
Give your Amiga the Boot!
An obvious place to start is with the boot up sequence. After all, that is the first thing you generally experience. How the Amiga loads the OS is controlled by 4 items. The first, which device the Amiga boots from, I covered in previous articles.
The Startup-Sequence and User-Startup, found in your S: drawer, control the majority of the Amiga's boot sequence. These AmigaDOS scripts load necessary system files, setup assigns and paths, and generally prepare the Amiga for the happy task of serving it's users. The Startup-Sequence file contain the Amiga's OS related stuff, while the User-Startup contains application and user specific stuff. Ideally, we would leave the Startup-Sequence in it's pristine state, and perform all outrageous slings and arrows upon the User-Startup. However, some programs, including the ones I'm going to cover, need to be started early enough in the boot sequence that the Startup-Sequence file is the only possibility.
The final element of the Amiga's boot process is the WBStartup drawer. This drawer contains programs which are executed when the Workbench is loaded.
One of the most useful changes is to enhance the control over the boot process, and over what actually gets loaded during the boot. It would be nice if you could select which programs get loaded, or even better, have custom boot sequences tailored for specific uses.
There are a number of such programs available on Aminet, in the Util/Boot directory. These programs offer a variety of functions, from the practical to the whimsical. I'm going to cover a few of the more useful, but realize that there are many more than what I cover here. See the sidebar "Customizing your Boots" for my Multistart and Rainboot setup.
Multple Personalities
MultiStart 1.01
Eric Bayer
Freeware
http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/dirs/aminet/util/boot/MultiStart1.01.lha
MultiStart is a nice, fairly simple program to control your Amiga's Boot. MultiStart allows you to choose between a number of different startup scripts, as well as select which programs in the WBStartup drawer to run, all via a point and click GUI. MultiStart also supports various monitor/screenmodes, as long as the monitor drivers are loaded before it runs. See Figure 1 for a screenshot of the MultiStart GUI.
Figure 1:The MultiStart Menu
MultiStart does require fairly extensive modifications to the Startup-Sequence scripts, and some care is advised here. As I've stated before, you should back up the contents of your S: drawer, particularly before embarking on a project where you will be altering your Startup-Sequence to this extent.
What we need to do to make MultiStart work is create a Startup-Sequence with the bare minimum needed for MultiStart to function. Then we can create secondary startup scripts, each tailored to a specific need. For instance, the default, or normal startup script would have all the commands you want in your normal Amiga boot process. You could also have a script for a memory saving minimal setup, a script which runs only a particular programs, and a script for a CLI/Shell only boot. Then during the boot, pressing the left mouse button will pop up the menu, from which you can select from a list of your Startup scripts. You can also select which programs in the WBStartup drawer you wish to run.
When it Rains, It Boots...
Rainboot v2.2
Kimmo Pekkola
Freeware
http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/util/boot/Rainboot2.lha
Well, we seem to have practical matters in hand, so how about some fun with the Amiga's Boot? Rainboot, version 2.2, from Kimmo Pekkola, is just the ticket. I've covered Rainboot before, but as there is a new version on Aminet, and I am covering the Amiga's boot sequence... Rainboot can display an IFF picture during boot, but it can also do a lot more- play MODS and IFF sound files, display System specs, show a progress gauge, even show anims!
The good news is Rainboot works nicely with MultiStart, so you can eat your cake and have it too. The bad news is, while Rainboot is a fun thing to have on your Amiga, it does take considerable effort to customize it to your setup. Rainboot is controlled via text based scripts, with it's own set of commands and syntax. For those who wilt at the idea of programming, however simple, there are several pre-rolled Rainboot configs available on Aminet which might suffice for your multimedia booting needs (do a search for Rainboot). See Figure 2 for a sample startup.
Figure 2:Sample Rainboot Startup
This is a good time to bring up another handy utility available on Aminet:
Modelist v1.23
Thomas Krafzik
Freeware
http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/util/boot/ModeIDList123.lha
Which may be helpful to setup Rainboot up correctly. One of Rainboot's features is the ability to appear on any monitor/screenmode, even CyberGrafx. However, you need to know the ModeID number, not an easy number to remember. Enter ModeIDList, by Thomas Krafzik. This simple program lists all available Screenmodes, and their ModeID number. Handy in a number of situations.
Well, that should do it for this episode. Next Episode we start the ball rolling on some real Amiga customizing fun.
