How to set up the Emplant, part 2

                  Mac In a Box, An Amiga Box That Is...
                                  Part 2
                              
 
 
     Welcome to the second installment of this series on the EMPLANT board
 and software system.  Before I get started on the article though, I
 have a correction from last month's article.  I stated that the plain
 vanilla A2500 had a 68000 cpu.  This was correctly identified by a
 reader as being a 68030 cpu.  Sorry for the error, no slam intended
 against the A2500.
 
     Last month we left the EMPLANT with a fair description of all the
 peripheral things required to install the board and get it working.
 This month, let's discuss installing the EMPLANT and its software.
 
                         Installing the ROMs
 
     Before we open the case of the computer, we should install the ROMs
 on the EMPLANT board.  This is only necessary if you do not have a
 real live Mac handy.  If you do, there's no reason to tear it apart
 and remove the ROMs.  They can be dumped in place very nicely in the
 Mac.  More about that in a minute.  DO NOT TRY TO INSTALL THE ROMS
 WITH THE BOARD ALREADY IN THE COMPUTER!  If you do, you run a very
 real risk of damaging the board and/or your computer.  If you have to
 press hard enough to install the chips with the board already
 installed, you will likely break or crack the board as well as damage
 the computer's internals.
 
     Begin with your EMPLANT lying flat on a hard flat surface with the
 gold edge connector toward you.  A helpful suggestion is to place a
 towel or a thickness of newspaper under the EMPLANT to prevent
 scratching the table surface from the back of the board.
 
                              SIMMs
 
     If you have the ROMs on a SIMM setup, they are installed in the SIMM
 socket located at the top, left edge of the board.  There is only one
 SIMM socket on the board so it should not be too hard to find.  It is
 the long thin socket labeled "ROM SIMM SOCKET".
 
     Notice that there are also two jumpers labeled JP 1 and JP 2.  JP 1
 controls the address lines to the socket.  The ROM dump program
 requires that this jumper be set to the right side.  JP 2 on the other
 hand is set to the leftmost position.  These will probably be already set
 correctly from the "factory".  If not, use a set of needle nose pliers
 or your fingers to move the jumpers.  Be careful not to bend the pins!
 
     Install the SIMM ROM in the socket and click it into place.  The
 components on the SIMM ROM should be facing you (the gold edge
 connector) once installed.
 
                                   DIPs
 
     If you have the ROMs as individual chips (called DIP ROMs or DIPs),
 they are installed in the "Socket 1", "Socket 2", "Socket 3", and
 "Socket 4" chip sockets.  Note that two different types of DIP
 (socketed) ROMs can be had in the 256K configuration.  They can be
 either 28 pin or 32 pin ROMs.  The 28 pin DIP ROMs are installed such
 that the empty pin holes are on the Pin 1 end of the socket.  The Pin
 1 end of the chip is indicated by the notch on the end of the chip
 and/or socket.  The 32 pin DIP ROMs, of course, cover all the holes in
 the socket.
 
     Insert each of the four DIP ROMs into their respective sockets by the
 following procedure:
 
 1.      Make sure that all of the pins line up with the pin holes in
         the socket and that the notch in the chip is oriented towards the
         same end as the notch in the socket.
 2.      Gently press down on the chip until you feel the DIP pins
         beginning to enter the holes in the sockets.
 3.      Check to make sure that all of the pins and holes are properly
         aligned.
 4.      Using equal force on each end of the chip, press it until it
         is fully and firmly  in- stalled in the Socket.
 5.      Check the DIP ROMs as well as you can to make sure that each pin
         entered the corresponding hole in the socket.
 
     If you are pressing fairly hard on the chip and it still isn't
 entering the socket, you more than likely have the chip pin misaligned
 slightly.  I usually find that installing a chip requires me to align
 the pins slightly.  Use a flat hard surface (like the unshielded table
 top) to lay the chip on its side and gently press the pins inward using
 the table surface to evenly move the pins.  Try not to move the pins more
 than a millimeter or so on each side.  It doesn't take much!  The secret
 is to keep the pins even, hence the hard table top to press the pins
 against.
 
     It really doesn't matter which chip goes in which socket.  The only
 thing to make sure of is that the serial numbers are sequential on the
 chips that you use.  For example, the chip serial numbers should be in
 sequence such as ending with 105, 106, 107, and 108.  If you have
 chips with serial numbers ending with 105, 107, 108, and 109 for
 example, they will not work.
 
                         EMPLANT Installation
 
     After the SIMM or DIP installation, the board is now ready to
 install.  Open the case of your computer as follows:
 
 1.      Locate the several small screws that hold the computer lid on.
 2.      Remove the screws and place them in a protected place.  (I
         like to stick them to a piece of masking tape to keep from losing
         them).
 3.      Carefully remove the lid.
 4.      Locate the slot (see the books that came with your Amiga to
         help with this) that you wish to use and remove the metal plate at
         the back of the computer that matches that slot. 
 5.      Align the card's edge connector to the connector slot (the long,
         thin  black plastic thingy that matches the edge connector in
         length).  The EMPLANT should be aligned so that the edge connector

         is away from you if you are sitting directly in front of the
         computer and the metal plate on the end is aligned with the back 
         of the computer.
  6.     Press the EMPLANT into the empty slot selected by pressing the
         top of the card firmly.
  7.     Using the screw that came with the metal plate in the back of
         the computer, fasten the EMPLANT's metal plate to the back of 
         the computer frame.
  8.     Reassemble the computer lid to the frame, but leave the screws out
         for now. 
  9.     Fire up the computer and ensure that the startup proceeds
         without incident.
 
                         Installing the Software
 
     Select the directory where you will install the software.  On my hard
 drive, I have a partition called "Apps:" where I keep all of my
 applications.  In the Apps: partition, I have a Directory labeled
 "Emulations"; under Emulations I have "Emplant".  Usually the setup script
 will establish the directory structure for you, as is the case with the
 EMPLANT install script, but I'm hard headed.  I like to create my own
 structures.
 
    MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR PROGRAM DISK.  Some people don't do this and it
 causes them much heartache when they destroy their program disk.  Others
 don't like having multiple copies of the same software in their inventory
 Get over it, diskettes are cheap.  At the very least, use a diskette to
 make a copy and then use it for something else.  Make sure that you change
 the name of the backup diskette to match that of its source.  This will be
 important with the installer.
 
     MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR PARTITIONS.  This includes the System and 
 whatever you have as the applications drive/partition where the
 application will actually be stored.  Anytime you are using an installer
 that makes as many profound changes as EMPLANT does to your system
 libraries, devices, etc. it is foolhardy to do so without a backup of the
 partition/drive.  The EMPLANT uses the standard Amiga loader, but you have
 been warned!
 
     The software will have to be decompressed.  The decompression can be
 done to either a floppy or to the RAM: device.  If a floppy is to be
 used, format the floppy with the name Mac2.  Decompress the program
 diskette to Mac2.  If you elect to decompress to RAM.  Decompress the
 archive to the RAM: device and then assign Mac2 to RAM:
 
     Once this is completed, open the diskette and read the "readme.first!"
 and "changes.txt" files.  These usually contain any late breaking news
 and give instructions on installing the software.  Actually, to install 
 you just double click on the HardDisk_Installer icon on your decompressed
 diskette (Mac2:).  You will of course, have to answer questions about your
 machine and the hard disk structure.  If you are nervous, select the
 intermediate user switch and do a pretend installation.  Actually this is
 a good idea for the first time installer regardless of skill level.
 
     Several things are worth mentioning here.  No matter how educated you
 are about Amiga structures, files, etc.,  you will want to run the
 installer anyway.  One of the things that it does is to create a file
 or two using your machine's system as a source reference.  This means
 that the EMPLANT software custom tailors itself for your machine.
 Later on, you can obtain the LT version for upgrades and just copy the
 libs, devices, etc.,  where they belong.  
 
     Another thing worth mentioning is how the Startup-Sequence (S-S) and
 user-startup (u-s) files are changed.  The program adds two things to
 the S-S.  The very first line in the S-S must be "execute >NIL:
 s:SetupEMPLANT".  Later with other software additions, ensure that
 this line is always first in the file.  Also, another line "RsrvMemXX
 >NIL: will be added to S-S.  The position of this statement is not
 critical like the previous "execute . . ." statement.  The XX in
 RsrvMemXX refers to the version of the RsrvMem that is current.
 
     In the u-s file, the very last line in the u-s must be "execute>NIL:
 s:AssignEMPLANT".  This line may be frequently moved from its position
 as the last line in the u-s file when other software is added.  Always
 check this after installation of other software and move the line to
 last if necessary.
 
                          Creating a ROM Image
 
     First off, don't steal the ROM.  If you own a Mac, it is perfectly
 legal to copy the ROM and use it as long as both machines (Mac and EMPLANT
 are not being run at the same time. If you just purchase a set of ROMs and
 download them as I am going to describe, and you keep the ROMs on the
 shelf, it is legal to use them in this manner.  If you purchase a set of
 ROMs, download them, sell the ROMs and continue to use the EMPLANT, that
 is piracy.
 
     Now, having that out of the way, REMEMBER THAT ONLY 256K ROMS FROM A
 SE/30, IIc, IIcx, or a IIx WILL WORK WITH EMPLANT.  Sorry about the
 yelling, but the most common problem for new users that I see reading
 the nets is the use of the wrong ROMs.  Other Mac emulators use 128K
 ROMs; not the EMPLANT.  Your Mac LC etc, Quadra, etc. will have 512 or
 1024K ROMs.  None of these ROMs will do.  They must be 256K ROMs.
 
     There are three version of the 256K ROMs available for the Mac.  They
 are versions 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3.  The two earlier versions do not
 include High Density drive support and are usually much cheaper.  The
 version of 256K ROMs that you have matters not one whit to the
 EMPLANT.  It has its own custom routines for drive support anyway.
 Any of the three versions will work so go with the cheapest one that
 you can find.  ROMs are available on the Internet, through Mac dealers
 (yeah right!), and through several computer mail order houses.
 
     Obtaining a ROM image is relatively difficult because there are no
 instructions on how to do it!  We will deal with two cases.  First is
 if you own a Mac.  In the EMPLANT archive there is a program called
 "ROMINFO".  This is the file to dump a ROM in a Mac computer.  Getting
 it to the Mac can be rather tricky.  (Ok, ok, it was only tricky for
 me!) The file cannot just be copied to a diskette (even a Mac formatted
 one) and placed on the Mac.  The copy must be a binary copy.  If you 
 attempt to copy the file to an IBM formatted diskette and move it to the
 to the Mac, it will not work.
 
     The reason for this is that Mac drives have two files for each visible
 file.  One file is called the data fork (yes, fork) and the other is
 called is called the resource fork.  Only a binary copy from the Amiga
 will move both forks.  Copying to a Mac formatted diskette without
 performing a binary copy will only give the data fork.  Similarly, moving
 the file to an IBM diskette will only copy the data fork.
  There are two ways to get the ROMINFO to the Mac:

 1)      Hook up a modem from the Amiga to the Mac and transfer the
         file as a binary file. 
 2)      Use a utility program such as CrossMac to perform a binary
         copy.
 
     EMPLANT does not currently provide a means of writing Mac diskettes
 other than within the emulator.  I chose the second of my two methods
 above because I wanted software to transfer Mac stuff outside the
 emulator anyway, and so it wasn't a problem to purchase Cross-Mac.
 
     Once the ROMINFO file is transferred to a Mac-formatted diskette, it
 is a simple matter of double clicking the icon on a real Mac and
 you're off.
 
     For those of us who put the ROMs on the EMPLANT board, run the
 applicable program, either Dump256KSIMM or Dump256KDIPs.  These are found
 in your first subdrawer level on the hard drive after the software
 install.  Once you have dumped the ROMs, remove the EMPLANT card from
 your machine and remove the SIMM/DIPs that you installed previously.
 Reinstall the EMPLANT card as indicated above.
 
     Any of the methods of obtaining the ROM dump will result in a file
 that should be copied to the ROM_Images drawer.  It is located in the
 Mac drawer.
 
     I guess that's all the space I have for this issue.  Next issue,
 we'll discuss setting prefs on the emulator and hard drives.  Until
 then, happy MACing! 
 
 
                              By William J. Jones