Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Path: menudo.uh.edu!usenet From: barrett@cs.umass.edu Subject: REVIEW: Kwickstart II ROM switcher for Amiga 1000 Message-ID: <1992Oct11.160739.12370@menudo.uh.edu> Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Summary: Yes, the moderator writes reviews too. How about you? Keywords: A1000, ROM, hardware, commercial Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator) Nntp-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu Reply-To: barrett@cs.umass.edu Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1992 16:07:39 GMT PRODUCT NAME Kwickstart II BRIEF DESCRIPTION Kwickstart II is a Kickstart ROM board for the Amiga 1000, which normally uses a disk-based Kickstart. The board can hold 2 different Kickstart ROMs, and the user may switch between them by warm-booting the Amiga. This is one method for upgrading an A1000 to run Kickstart 2.0. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: DKB Software Address: 50240 W. Pontiac Tr. Wixom, MI 48393 Telephone: (313) 960-8750 FAX: (313) 960-8752 LIST PRICE [This section was updated on October 14, 1992 by the author.] $99.00 (US). I paid $68.00 at my dealer, and I've seen it for $52.00 by mailorder. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS An Amiga 1000. COPY PROTECTION None. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga 1000 with 512K CHIP RAM, 2MB FAST RAM (Starboard II expansion), and C.Ltd. old style (not Kronos) SCSI controller. The Kwickstart II was installed with 1.3 and 2.0 ROMs. REVIEW The Kwickstart II is a board that turns an Amiga 1000 into a ROM-based machine. It can be used to run OS version 2.0 on the A1000, which is why I bought it. It can hold 2 different ROM versions at the same time and switch between them very easily. The board is installed inside the A1000. The process involves removing the cover, the daughterboard, the PAL chip, the internal disk drive, and the 68000 chip. If you are not comfortable with this level of work, you should have a trained service technician install the board. I had the installation done by my dealer. The service person said this was the first Kwickstart II he had installed. He said the job was not difficult and the Kwickstart looked like a very professional piece of hardware. The total cost for the board, 1.3 ROM, 2.0 ROM, and installation was about $200 (US). The cost could have been reduced if I had bought the board and ROMs by mailorder, but I like to support my dealer. The user can switch between Kickstart versions simply by doing a warm boot (Control-Amiga-Amiga). If these keys are held down for 5 seconds or more, the Kwickstart board switches to the alternate ROM. Holding the keys for less than 5 seconds will reboot but not switch ROMs. The Kwickstart II has an alternative mode of operation that lets you switch between ROM and disk-based Kickstarts, instead of switching between 2 ROMs. To turn on this mode, you must flip a jumper on the board itself, which involves opening up the Amiga. I have not tested this. After the installation, the Kwickstart II worked 100% correctly. It had no problems with my expansion devices. Installing Workbench 2.04 on my C.Ltd. hard drive (SCSIDOS 3.0) was a lot of work, since the controller does not autoboot nor support Commodore's RDB (Rigid Disk Block) standard, so HDToolBox can't be used. However, it was no harder than under 1.3, and the driver works fine under 2.04. DOCUMENTATION Kwickstart II comes with a 12-page manual containing instructions on how to install and use the board. I looked only at the "use" instructions, and they were clear. LIKES AND DISLIKES I love having 2.0 on this machine! What an improvement. The upgrade was worth the money, in my opinion. My only dislike is that you must make a choice between having 2 Kickstart ROMs or allowing disk-based Kickstarts. I would like both options to be active simultaneously. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS I understand that Kickstart 2.0 can be loaded into an A1000 entirely through software, using various freely distributable programs. This requires a copy of Kickstart in a file; and unless you own a set of Kickstart ROMs or are a Commodore developer, it may be illegal to use this method. BUGS None found. SUPPORT No experience. WARRANTY 1 year, for the original purchaser only, covering manufacturing defects. CONCLUSIONS The Kwickstart II works as advertised. If you want your A1000 to run Amiga OS version 2.0 (or higher, I suppose), I recommend the Kwickstart II without any hesitation. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1992 Daniel J. Barrett. All rights reserved. This review may be freely distributed provided it is distributed unmodified and in its entirety. It may not be published in any commercial publication without the written permission of the author. --- Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu General discussion: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu