Amiga 2088 a

user’s guide

BRIDGEBOARD

For A2000/IBM-PC XT Compatibility

c* Commodore

user’s guide

BRIDGEBOARD

For A2000/IBM-PC XT Compatibility

Commodore

COPYRIGHT

This manual Copyright © 1987 Commodore-Amiga, Inc., All
Rights Reserved. This document may not, in whole or in part,
be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to
any electronic medium or machine readable form, without pri
or consent, in writing, from Commodore-Amiga Inc.

Amiga is a registered trademark of and Amiga 2000, Amiga-
DOS, Bridgeboard, Kickstart and Workbench are trademarks of
Commodore-Amiga, Inc. MS-DOS, GW-BASIC, and Microsoft
are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM and
IBM-PC are registered trademarks of International Business
Machines Corporation. Six Pak Plus is a registered trademark of
AST Research, Inc. AboveBoard is a registered trademark of
Intel Corporation. Smartmodem is a registered trademark of
Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. Drive Card is a registered
trademark of Mountain Computer, Inc. Lotus 1-2-3 is a regis
tered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Sidekick
is a registered trademark of Borland International. dBase III is a
registered trademark of Ashton-Tate. Hard Card is a registered
trademark of Plus Development Inc. EGA Wonder is a regis
tered trademark of ATI Technologies Inc.

WARNING: This equipment has been certified to comply with

the limits for a Class B computing device, pursuant to subpart J

of Part 15 of FCC rules. Only peripherals (computer input/out

put devices, terminals, printers, etc.) certified to comply with

the Class B limits may be attached to this computer. Operation
with non-certified peripherals is likely to result in interference
to radio and TV reception.

380699-01

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 1

ABOUT THE BRIDGEBOARD 2
WHAT IS INCLUDED WITH THE BRIDGEBOARD 2
DISPLAY MODES 3
PERIPHERALS 3
VIRTUAL DRIVES 3
ADVANTAGES OF THE BRIDGEBOARD SYSTEM 4
HYBRID SYSTEMS 5
SUMMARY OF KEY FEATURES OF THE BRIDGEBOARD 6
ABOUT YOUR BRIDGEBOARD USER DOCUMENTATION 7

2. INSTALLING THE BRIDGEBOARD
HARDWARE 9

CHECKING WHAT YOU RECEIVED 9
WHERE THE BRIDGEBOARD GOES 9
HOW TO INSTALL THE BRIDGEBOARD HARDWARE 22

Disk Drive Installation Procedure 22
Bridgeboard Installation Procedure 26

ADDING TO YOUR BRIDGEBOARD 18

Installing PC Expansion Cards 29
Installing a Hard Disk 29
Video Modes—Installing Special Graphics Cards 29
Adding an 8087 Co-Processor 29

USING EXTERNAL PERIPHERALS WITH THE BRIDGEBOARD 20

Using a Parallel Printer 20
RS 232 (Serial) Devices 20
External and Internal Modems 2o
Adding External Floppy Disk Drives to the Bridgeboard 22

3. INSTALLING THE BRIDGEBOARD PC
SOFTWARE 23

DEFAULT INSTALLATION PROCEDURE FOR

3>/2 INCH FLOPPY DISK 23

4. USING THE BRIDGEBOARD PC 29

THE KEYBOARD 29

GETTING STARTED 29

Loading MS-DOS on the Bridgeboard 30

ABOUT THE DISPLAY MODES 33

PC Mono Mode 33

PC Color Mode 34
SELECTING THE PC COLOR DISPLAY MODE 34
RETURNING TO MONOCHROME DISPLAY 35
USING THE LPT1 ICON TO ACCESS THE A2000 PARALLEL

PORT FOR BRIDGEBOARD USE 35
USING PCDISK 36
USING PCPREFS 36
OPENING A PC WINDOW FROM CLI 37

5. THE BRIDGEBOARD PC DISPLAY 38

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PC WINDOW 38

Borders 38
Window Size 38
Number Of Text Colors 39
Using Multiple Windows / Freezing Windows 39
Display Priority 39

USING THE PULLDOWN MENUS OF THE PC WINDOW 40

Project Menu Options 41

Save Settings 41
Restore Settings 41
Info 41
Close 41

Display Menu Options 42

Full-Size Window 42
Small-Size Window 42
Show Border 42
Hide Border 42
Window Freeze 43
This Window's Screen 43
Color 43
Set Cursor Blink Rate 44
Open Another Window 44
Refresh Display 44
Number of Text Colors 44
Set Display Task Priority 45
Interlace 45

Edit Menu Options 45

Copy 46
Paste 46

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: USER-CONTROLLED PROCEDURE FOR INSTALLING

BRIDGEBOARD FILES ON A WORKBENCH DISK ‘47

APPENDIX B: EXTERNAL DISK DRIVES 52

APPENDIX C: ADDING VIRTUAL DRIVES TO MS-DOS 53

APPENDIX D: TRANSFERRING FILES BETWEEN MS-DOS AND

AMIGADOS 57

APPENDIX E: INSTALLING AND USING A HARD DISK 59

—INSTALLING A HARD DISK/CONTROLLER 59
—INSTALLING A COMBINED DISK/CONTROLLER

ON A CARD 59
— PARTITIONING AND FORMATTING A HARD DISK 60
— HOW TO AUTOMATICALLY MOUNT THE HARD DISK AT

STARTUP 62

APPENDIX F: INSTALLING AN 8087 NUMERIC CO-PROCESSOR 63

APPENDIX G: RAM EXPANSION FOR THE BRIDGEBOARD 65

APPENDIX H: USER-ACCESSIBLE JUMPERS AND CONNECTORS 67

APPENDIX I: BRIDGEBOARD TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 69

1. Introduction

Note: The explanations and descriptions given in this manual assume

familiarity with the Amiga® 2000™ equipment, operating features
and techniques, as described in the Introduction to the Amiga 2000
manual supplied with your A2000 computer.

About the Bridgeboard

The Amiga 2088 Bridgeboard™ gives your Amiga A2000™ IBM® PC-XT
compatibility while retaining all the advanced features of the A2000.

The immediate attraction of the A2000/Bridgeboard combination is that
it can do virtually everything an IBM PC-XT or compatible can do—that
is, you have direct access to the wide range of software available for IBM
PC-compatible computers. You can run the MS-DOS® Operating System
and virtually any IBM PC-XT compatible software, including such popu
lar software products as Lotus 1-2-3®, dBASE III®, Sidekick®, and more.
You can run other PC operating systems besides MS-DOS. And the
Bridgeboard supports the easy installation of a variety of PC options—
now, and in the future.

Yet the A2000/A2088 combination is more than just two computers
sharing a common keyboard, monitor and power supply. And the
Bridgeboard itself is more than just an internal card containing an 8088
microprocessor and other circuitry needed for PC-XT operation. The
name BRIDGEBOARD highlights the fact that the card forms a bridge
between the Amiga side of the A2000 and the PC side, so that the
Bridgeboard is integrated into the Amiga environment. This means, for
example, that while you are running a PC-compatible software program
with the Bridgeboard you can simultaneously be running one (or more)
programs on the Amiga side — and using the same monitor for both the
PC and Amiga programs. You can transfer files between the two sides of
the system.

Perhaps the most powerful feature of the A2000/Bridgeboard design is
the potential for running software tailored specifically to take advantage
of the strengths of the combined Amiga and PC systems. For example, a
hybrid sytem could be developed in which 8088/8087 co-processors on
the Bridgeboard could be performing process monitoring while the
68000 processor on the Amiga side is handling real-time graphics display
of the monitoring.

1

What Is Included with the Bridgeboard

The Bridgeboard package includes an 8088 microprocessor running at

4.77 MHz, 512 KB (kilobytes) of RAM, PC-XT compatible BIOS, a 5V4
inch 360K floppy disk drive, and a socket for an 8087 math co-processor.
You also get MS-DOS and GW-BA3IC® on disk and a full set of docu
mentation.

With a Bridgeboard installed, you can use up to three of the Amiga's
internal expansion slots for PC peripheral cards. Standard PC mono
chrome and color display capabilities are provided on the Amiga moni
tor, and the Amiga keyboard has full PC-XT keyboard functionality.

PC RAM

Dual
port
RAM

Interface Amiga Bus Connector ROM 8088 PC Bus Connector
Controller Bios

PC Disk
Controller

8087
Socket

Floppy Disk Drive

Connectors

PC Multifunction
Chip

2

Display Modes

The Bridgeboard provides built-in capabilities for two display modes:

PC Mono—Allows you to use up to four different colors for text
display (selectable from the Amiga palette of 4096 colors). The typical
IBM PC compatible monochrome display is restricted to green or

amber text on a dark background.

PC Color—Handles both text and graphics. You can use up to sixteen
colors for text, and up to four colors for graphics (selectable from the
Amiga palette of 4096 colors).

The Bridgeboard produces these displays on the A2000's monitor—you
don't have to purchase a separate monitor for Bridgeboard operations.
The PC Mono and PC Color displays can be produced simultaneously
on the monitor.

Peripherals

The Bridgeboard can access and control a parallel printer through the
parallel port of the A2000. With expansion cards installed in the PC
compatible expansion slots you can also connect a variety of PC peri

pherals (added memory, I/O ports, modem serial printer, LANs, etc.).

Virtual Drives

Special software allows you to create as many as four virtual drives that
give you extra-high-speed access to file information. The data stored on
the virtual drives can physically be stored on any Amiga disk resource—
floppy disk, RAM disk or hard disk.

3

Advantages of the Bridgeboard System

The A2000 with the Bridgeboard not only functions as a PC compatible,
but it also gives the user access to the Amiga's unique capbilities in
software applications like graphics, animation, music, desktop publish
ing, desktop video, etc.

Running MS-DOS applications on the Bridgeboard has a number of
advantages over using a typical PC compatible system:

• An MS-DOS application can run in parallel with several Amiga-
DOS™ programs running in multitasking mode. The Bridgeboard
8088 CPU and the A2000 68000 CPU are able to operate fully
independently as parallel processors.

• An MS-DOS application may use both the color and monochrome
screens simultaneously (for example, Lotus 1-2-3 in dual-monitor
configuration). Both screens are displayed on a single Amiga moni
tor in separate windows, or on separate Workbench screens.

• An MS-DOS "background" application such as LAN file server,
facsimile emulation or process control monitoring may be done in
parallel with any "foreground" Amiga application, without notice
able degradation of system response time.

• A hard disk installed on the PC bus (e.g., a hardcard, or an ST506
controller with separate drive) may be partitioned to include an
AmigaDOS portion accessible to Amiga programs. Access to the
PC side hard disk by Amiga programs does not interfere with any
MS-DOS application running on the Bridgeboard.

4

Hybrid Systems

New Amiga software being created by several third-party developers is

designed to exploit the tightly coupled hybrid nature of the A2000/A2088

configuration. For example, programs are under development to utilize

the power of the Amiga to create spectacular graphics from data con

tained in MS-DOS spreadsheet and database application programs. Un
like simple post-processors which read MS-DOS data files and then
create graphs, Amiga graphics applications can be written to be oper
ational while the user is running the MS-DOS application in a color or
monochrome PC window.

Other potential hybrid applications include:

• Using the Bridgeboard as a parallel processor to do background
sorting, searching, number crunching, spelling or style checking.

• Using the Bridgeboard as an I/O device for data acquisition, data
reduction, videotext terminal emulation, or other pre-processing
applications.

• Using the Bridgeboard to allow AmigaDOS applications to utilize
ultra-high resolution PC-compatible display adapters, image pro
cessors and other special-purpose hardware not yet available in
Amiga expansion bus versions. The entire processing power of the
Bridgeboard's 8088 CPU can be dedicated to providing an intelli
gent interface to the A2000.

5

Summary of Key Features of the Bridgeboard

Here's a summary of the major features of the Bridgeboard system:
—8088 microprocessor, running at 4.77 MHz clock speed

—512 KB internal RAM
—PC-XT compatible BIOS
—5lA inch 360K floppy disk drive
—Socket for 8087 math co-processor
—PC Mono / PC Color video display capabilities simultaneously, using

the A2000's monitor
—All PC-XT keyboard functions on Amiga keyboard
—Up to 3 full-size slots available for PC expansion in Amiga expansion

slot area
—Simultaneous MS-DOS/AmigaDOS processing
—Ability to create up to four virtual drives on Amiga disk devices
—Ability to transfer files between operating systems (e.g. MS-DOS and

AmigaDOS)
—Ability to run MS-DOS applications in an Amiga window with full

sizing/resizing and color selection features
—Hard disk support either through a PC hard disk/controller, or a

PC virtual disk on an Amiga hard disk/A2090 Controller
—Shared hard disk, either by sharing a virtual disk on the Amiga side or

by partitioning a hard disk on the PC side
—Potential for uniquely powerful hybrid PC/Amiga applications

6

About Your Bridgeboard User Documentation

The documentation supplied with your Amiga A2088 Bridgeboard in
cludes the following:

• Amiga 2088 Bridgeboard User's Guide—
This is the manual you are now reading. It introduces the Bridge-

board, shows how to install the Bridgeboard hardware and connect
peripheral equipment, how to install the Bridgeboard PC software,
how to load the MS-DOS Operating System and MS-DOS applica
tions, and how to use the menus and options available with the
Bridgeboard PC display modes. This book also tells how to use
virtual drives and how to install selected expansion devices (such as
a hard disk drive and an 8087 math co-processor).

• Commodore PC MS-DOS User's Guide/User's Reference
These two books (which may be bound together in one volume)

define the major elements of MS-DOS, tell you what you need to
know to load prepackaged software products (such as Lotus 1-2-3)

and give detailed information on all MS-DOS commands and func

tions. (For details on running a specific software product, see the
instructions supplied with that product.)

• Commodore PC GW-BASIC Interpreter User's Guide / User's Refer
ence

These two books (which may be bound together in one volume)
provide detailed information on all the elements of GW-BASIC.
This material is primarily a reference tool for GW-BASIC users, and
assumes some prior knowledge of the BASIC programming lan
guage.

7

2. Installing the Bridgeboard Hardware

***IMPORTANT***

Before you install the Bridgeboard in your A2000, TURN OFF ALL
POWER. It may make it physically easier to install the Bridgeboard if

you disconnect some or all of the equipment (e.g., monitor, printer)
connected to the A2000. Before you try to operate the unit, be sure to
read ALL the installation and setup instructions in this chapter, and re
connect any equipment you may have disconnected.

Checking What You Received

MAKE SURE that you received the following items in the Bridgeboard
box:

• The Bridgeboard printed circuit board

• One 5Va inch floppy disk drive

• Four bolts and four washers, used to mount the 5!4 inch drive to the
A2000 chassis

• One ribbon cable, used to connect the 5lA inch drive to the Bridge-
board

• One 3V2 inch floppy disk containing the Bridgeboard Install program*

• Two 5lA inch floppy disks containing MS-DOS System Software,
GW-BASIC and other special software for use with the Bridgeboard

• MS-DOS User's Guide/MS-DOS Reference Guide

• GW BASIC Reference Manual

If any of the above items is missing, contact your dealer immediately.
Save the box and packing material for possible later use.

Where the Bridgeboard Goes

The Bridgeboard plugs into the internal expansion slot area located at
the left of the A2000.

*In some countries you may receive a special PC Workbench disk in place of (or in addition to) the

Install disk listed here. In this case you will not need to go through the process of installing the PC
software on a copy of your Workbench disk, as described in Chapter 3. However, you will find
Chapter 3 useful if you want to create a personalized PC Workbench disk.

9

There are five slots on the Amiga system bus and four slots on a
secondary bus that is IBM PC/XT-compatible. Two pairs of slots (a pair
being one slot on the Amiga bus and one slot on the IBM bus) are
physically situated to allow the Bridgeboard to be inserted.

PC
Slots

Bridge

Slots

n □ □

10

The Amiga 2088 Bridgeboard can be installed in either "bridge" slot,
depending on your needs. You can position the Bridgeboard so that
three slots are available for Bridgeboard PC bus peripheral cards (leaving
three slots for Amiga use). Or you can position the Bridgeboard so that
four slots are available for Amiga bus peripheral cards (leaving two slots
for PC use).

How to Install the Bridgeboard Hardware

Installing the Bridgeboard hardware in the Main Unit of the A2000
involves two main steps:

• Installing the internal 5lA inch floppy drive and inserting cables that
connect it to the Bridgeboard and to power

• Inserting the Bridgeboard in one of the bridge slots and connecting
it to the cable from the 5lA inch floppy drive

Disk Drive Installation Procedure

Follow this procedure to install the disk drive:

1. TURN OFF ALL POWER TO THE SYSTEM.

2. Remove/disconnect any equipment (e.g., a monitor) sitting on or

attached to the A2000 Main Unit.

3. Remove the screws on the sides and back of the cover of the A2000
Main Unit and slide the cover forward and off.

11

Note: Be sure to unscrew the center screw in the back, as shown.

4. On the inside of the cover, unscrew the face plate that covers the
opening in the front of the A2000 Main Unit where the disk drive is
to be installed.

Face plate

12

5. Slide drive into the opening below the 3 1/2 inch drive area. Make
sure the drive is positioned right-side up as shown.

13

6. Secure drive in place with two screws and washers on each side.
Working through the rectangular openings on each side of the
enclosure, insert the screws loosely. Do not screw them all the
way in.

7. You should be able to slide the drive back and forth so that you can
make sure the drive is flush with the face of the Amiga. To do this,
push the drive forward, then place the cover over the top of the
machine without replacing any screws. If the drive is not flush

with the face of the Amiga, gently slide it back until it is in place.
Carefully lift off the cover, and finish tightening the screws.

8. Connect one end of the ribbon cable to disk drive as shown in the
following figure. In the figure, the dark (right) side of the cable
indicates the pin 1 side. (You must connect the other end of this
cable to the Bridgeboard, as shown later in the Bridgeboard instal
lation procedure.)

14

It is possible that different cables may be used in manufacture. Pin
1 will be highlighted or identified in some way. The disk end is
keyed so that it only fits in the proper orientation:

Power

cable

9. Connect power cable between power supply and drive.

Ribbon
cable
to
Bridgeboard

15

Bridgeboard Installation Procedure

Follow this procedure to install the Bridgeboard itself. All power must

be off.

1. Locate the two bridge slots in the expansion area at the left rear of
the A2000 chassis. (See figures on page 10.)

2. Select which bridge slot you will use for the Bridgeboard. Choose
the right slot if you want the maximum number of expansion slots
for PC use; choose the left slot if you want the maximum number of
expansion slots for Amiga use.

3. Remove the screw from the top of the plate covering the back of the
selected expansion slot. Save the screw for use in step 5 below.

4. Position the Bridgeboard over the selected bridge slot. Note that
the connector that goes in the Amiga bus side of the bridge slot is
larger than the connector on the PC bus side. Be sure that the
connectors are pointed down.

16

Amiga
Bus
Connector

5. Firmly but carefully insert the Bridgeboard into the selected bridge
slot. DO NOT FORCE! Secure with screw removed in step 3.

PC
Bus
Connector

17

6. Insert ribbon cable from disk drive into the connector at the rear of
the Bridgeboard, as shown. Be sure that pin 1 of the cable is
matched to the corresponding pin at the top of the connector.

Pin 1
Side

Ribbon

cable

from
51/4" disk drive

After the Bridgeboard and disk drive have been installed and connected,
reassemble the A2000 Main Unit and reconnect the monitor and any
peripheral equipment.

Your Bridgeboard hardware should now be properly installed.

Adding to your Bridgeboard

The following paragraphs discuss the installation or connection of inter
nal expansion cards and external peripherals that can greatly expand the
range of uses for your Bridgeboard.

18

Installing PC Expansion Cards

You can install a variety of standard IBM PC-XT compatible peripheral
cards in the PC expansion slots assigned to the Bridgeboard PC side of
the system. These expansion cards include the following:

AST Six Pak Plus®
ATI EGA Wonder® video adapter
Intel Above Board® 2 MB memory expander
Hayes Smartmodem® 1200 internal modem
Mountain 20 MB Drive Card® (in second slot from left)
Plus Hardcard® (10 MB)
Taurus LAN™ card

Check with your dealer for other expansion hardware devices.

Installing a Hard Disk

As the list above shows, you can install and use a hard disk for PC
operation on the Bridgeboard side of the system. You can also partition
the hard disk so that it can be used by both the Amiga and Bridgeboard
sides of the system. It is also possible to set up a PC virtual drive on an
Amiga hard disk. (See Appendix C for information on setting up virtual
drives. See Appendix E for details on hard disk installation and use.)

Video Modes— Installing Special Graphics Cards

The Amiga provides the following built-in PC video modes for the
Bridgeboard on the standard Amiga color monitor:

• PC Monochrome mode (MDA compatible)

• PC Color mode (CGA compatible)

Chapter 4 explains how to use these modes. You can obtain additional

PC display modes by installing a special video card (such as an EGA
card) in one of the PC expansion slots and adding a second monitor
connected to the video card.

Adding an 8087 Co-Processor

The 8087 numeric co-processor, a chip which processes complex math
ematical calculations, can be installed on the Bridgeboard PC and used
in combination with it, thus extending the command and arithmetic
capabilities on the Bridgeboard side of the system.

19

Each processor executes its own tasks. Working together, the two pro
cessors can considerably accelerate the running speed of PC applica
tions. The installation procedure for the 8087 is described in Appendix F.

Using External Peripherals with the Bridgeboard

In addition to internal expansion cards, you can also use various types of
external peripherals with the Bridgeboard. For details on connecting
these devices, see the technical or installation manuals supplied with the
peripheral equipment.

Using a Parallel Printer

To allow the Bridgeboard to access a printer connected to the parallel
port of the A2000, you must assign the parallel port to the Bridgeboard.
While the port is assigned to the Bridgeboard, the Amiga side does not
have access to the port (and vice versa). However, the assignment is not
permanent. The procedure for assigning the port to the Bridgeboard is
explained in Chapter 4.

You can also install a separate parallel card in one of the PC expansion
slots and then connect a parallel printer to the port of this card, for
permanent exclusive use by the Bridgeboard.

RS 232 (Serial) Devices

The Amiga serial port cannot be used by the Bridgeboard. However, by
installing an RS 232 peripheral card in one of the PC expansion slots,
you can make use of various RS 232 devices (serial printer, etc.) with PC
applications.

External and Internal Modems

With an RS 232 serial card installed in one of the PC bus slots, you can
use an external PC modem connected through the serial port of this
card. You can also install an internal PC modem in one of the PC
expansion slots.

20

Adding External Floppy Disk Drives to the Bridgeboard

Both the A1010 3 V2 inch and the A1020 5lA inch drives may be connected

to the external floppy disk connector on the Bridgeboard. (This is not to
be confused with the Amiga floppy drive connector on the back of the

A2000.) When connected in this way, these drives are accessible only by

the Bridgeboard, and cannot be used for AmigaDOS storage.

21

3. Installing the Bridgeboard PC Software*

The Install disk provided with your Bridgeboard contains special soft

ware that you must add to your Workbench disk in order to use the

Bridgeboard. The Install process is used to copy the Bridgeboard soft

ware from the Install disk to the Workbench disk.

The Install process involves these general steps:

• You make a copy of your Workbench disk.

• You open the Install disk and select which PC files you want to copy
from the Install disk to the Workbench copy.

• Since the PC files and the Workbench files together take up more

space than is available on a single 3 V2 inch disk, you are asked to
select which Workbench files you want deleted.

• The selected Workbench files are deleted and the PC files are copied

to the PC Workbench disk.

Once you create the PC Workbench disk, you can then automatically
access the Bridgeboard PC by inserting this disk when the A2000 asks
for the Workbench disk during the booting process.

There are two procedures you can use to install the PC software on a 3 V2
inch floppy disk. In the default procedure described in this chapter, you
accept file choices (defaults) selected automatically by the Install pro
gram. In the user-controlled installation procedure described in Appen
dix A, you control the file selections yourself.

You should use the default procedure until you become familiar with the
installation process.

Default Installation Procedure for a 3V2 Inch Floppy Disk

1. Turn on your A2000 and make a copy of your Workbench disk.

2. Reboot your A2000, using the new Workbench copy or the Install
disk.

♦Note:

If your Bridgeboard package includes a special PC Workbench disk in place of (or in
addition to) the Install disk referred to in this chapter, you do not need to go through the
PC software installation process described in this chapter. You can simply skip this
chapter and go directly to Chapter 4 to begin using the Bridgeboard. However, you will
find the installation information useful if you want to create a personalized PC Work

bench disk for some special purpose.

23

3. If the Install disk is not already in a drive, insert and open it now.
A screen like the following will appear:

4. Select the Bridgelnstall icon.

Note: There may be other installation icons in the Install window.

Some of these are not for use with the A2000 computer and
Bridgeboard combination. The Sidecar icon is used only
with the A1000 computer and the Amiga 1060 Sidecar com
bination. The Bridgelnstall 512 icon is used if you have only
512 KB of RAM—e.g., an Amiga A1000 with a Sidecar and
no external expansion RAM.

5. A few preliminary messages appear on the third line of the Instal
lation screen, and then a list of all the files on the Install disk is
displayed. (The checkmarks in front of some filenames indicate
the default choices for installation.)

24

6. Click on the OK box. The computer will automatically choose the
default (checkmarked) files for installation. A message tells you
that the files are being copied to a RAM disk.

Sidecar- ( to )

siiesarktts*table

Sc a n C «*.l*li

jQi^prfis

Mansion, iafe
Expafisiitt d ir)

j w . l i l r a f .i i i f i

jaaas.library

feats d ir)

pefeai dir)

style

pcfeat,feat

ten d ir)

tfisk.dwiee

s (to)

w-M

Startup-Sequence

e Clip)

a

25

7. Next, a requester appears, asking you to INSERT the disk to be
used for the PC Workbench in one of the floppy drives, and to
SELECT the drive in which the disk is being inserted. Select a
drive and click on the OK box in the requester.

Note: You can click on the CANCEL box in the requester if you

make a mistake or change your mind.

8. When you select the OK box in the requester, a message tells you
how many blocks must be deleted to make room for the PC files
that were selected in Step 6.

A list of all the files on the Workbench disk is also displayed. (The
X in front of some filenames indicates the default choices for
deletion.)

26

9. Click on the OK box in the second line of the Installation screen.
The computer will automatically delete the default files and copy

the remaining Workbench files and the PC files to the new
PC Workbench disk.

10. When the file copying process is completed, you are returned to
the Install window.

You now have a Workbench disk that includes the software necessary for
Bridgeboard PC operations.

27

4. Using the Bridgeboard PC

To use the Bridgeboard, you must first set up a PC display screen. The
Bridgeboard PC display appears on the Amiga monitor. The PC display
can be be a window on the Workbench screen, or can occupy a window
on a separate screen of its own. The display can be monochrome or
color. The pulldown menus described in Chapter 5 give you control over
various aspects of the display, such as size, color, task priority, moving
and copying text, opening another window, etc.

When you have set up your display screen, you simply load MS-DOS
and then operate as with a standard PC. You can load and run applica
tion programs like Lotus 1-2-3, create your own programs with program
ming languages like GW-BASIC and FORTH, or use office and personal
productivity programs like Sidekick.

The Bridgeboard PC package includes a 5Vi inch floppy disk drive,
which you use to load the MS-DOS system software and other PC

programs. Make sure you have removed the cardboard or plastic drive
protector from all drives before inserting disks.

The explanations in this manual assume that you are familar with the
Introduction to the Amiga A2000 manual, and that you know how to
manipulate the Amiga mouse to open icons, to use menus and to make

selections.

The Keyboard

You communicate with PC programs through the Amiga keyboard. All
of the functions on a PC-XT keyboard are available on the A2000 key

board. However, some keys on the A2000 keyboard are located in

different positions than on the PC-XT keyboard. If a key is defined
differently for Bridgeboard use, the specific PC key designation is
shown on the front of the key.

Getting Started

Before you try to use the Bridgeboard, be sure all equipment is properly
installed and connected, including any internal or external disk drive(s)

you will use with the Bridgeboard .

29

Loading MS-DOS on the Bridgeboard

Follow this procedure to load MS-DOS on the Bridgeboard:

1. Boot the system with the Workbench, by either powering on or
resetting the Amiga.

2. Insert the MS-DOS system disk in the 5lA inch drive that you
installed in the A2000 Main Unit.

3. When the A2000 asks for the Workbench disk, insert the special PC
Workbench disk (the one you created with the Install program) into
drive dfO (the built-in 3V2 inch disk drive in the Amiga 2000).

Note: You should make a copy of the Bridgeboard Workbench and

all other Bridgeboard disks; use the copies for everyday
operation and store the originals in a safe place.

4. When the Workbench disk icon appears, double-click on it and the
following Workbench window will appear:

30

5. Double-click on the PC drawer in the Workbench window. The
following window will be opened:

Here's a summary of the functions of the five icons displayed in
this window:

PC Mono—provides a monochrome display. This is the default
screen.

PC Color—provides a color display.
LPT1—assigns the Amiga's parallel port for exclusive use by an

IBM-PC compatible parallel printer such as the Commodore

MPS1250 dot matrix printer (unless the port has already been

reserved for use by an Amiga program running on the A2000). The
assignment is not permanent.

PCDisk—lets you use special programs that can transfer files be
tween MS-DOS on the PC side and AmigaDOS on the Amiga side.
Also lets you create up to four virtual drives on any AmigaDOS
disk volume, including floppy disks, RAM disks and hard disks.

PCPrefs—lets you enable/disable the mono or color display emula
tion on the Amiga monitor. (This is required if you plan to use a
separate PC video adapter with a second monitor). Also allocates
the RAM used to interface between the Amiga and the Bridge-
board.

31

6. Double-click on the PC Mono icon. A window will appear on The

Workbench screen showing the normal PC power-up messages
and memory test results. Follow the prompts that appear on the
screen.

(If at this point you get a message indicating that the system has
failed to find the MS-DOS disk, check to see that the proper disk is
in the drive. If you have not yet inserted the MS-DOS system disk,
do it now.)

32

dm.

iM te » & ~ ta la i» BIOS In , 3.3

U K : 511 fflstM fl*

kms kailtt V2.M fm i *1

I -- - y.yssgg

M iisk fti lm , I p k s k i ft ii*

If you are not familiar with MS-DOS procedures, see the MS-DOS
User's Guide included with your Bridgeboard package. If you will be
using an MS-DOS applications program, the program manual should
give you detailed loading instructions.

About the Display Modes

Message
indicating
MS-DOS
disk
not
inserted.

The Bridgeboard has two standard display modes: monochrome text,
and color text and graphics. The PC Mono and PC Color icons corre
spond to these two display modes. Here's a summary of each mode:

PC Mono Mode

On a standard IBM PC, the monochrome mode is normally limited to
a text display of green or amber lettering on a black background, or
vice versa. In the Bridgeboard PC Mono mode, you can use two or
four colors for display. The color of the text, the background and
intensified color can be changed independently of each other. Any
color from the Amiga pallette of 4096 colors can be used. Colors can
be changed using the Color option in the Display menu of the PC
window.

33

If you choose the same number of colors for the PC Mono display as
are used in the Workbench screen (i.e., four colors), the PC display

appears as a window on the Workbench screen. If you choose to use

fewer than the normal four colors of the Workbench screen, the PC

Mono display will move to its own screen.

PC Color Mode

PC Color mode can display both text and graphics. Text can appear in
up to sixteen colors, while graphics can utilize up to four colors. The
default number of text colors is 16, which cannot be displayed on
the four-color Workbench screen, so a new screen is created for the
PC color dispay.

As with the PC Mono mode, you can use the Number of Text Colors
menu option to modify the PC screen colors. This can allow you to
make a color selection that will enable you to open a Color window on
the Workbench screen (i.e., select four colors).

Selecting the icon for either of these two modes is comparable to turning
on a PC monitor. The difference is that a standard PC requires a separate
monitor for each display mode, while the Amiga Bridgeboard system
can create windows and display screens that enable both display modes
to appear on a single monitor, at the same time.

Some IBM-PC applications support only one display mode (either color
or monochrome). Some programs may support both modes. The
instructions for the particular program will make it clear which display
mode to use.

Selecting the PC Color Display Mode

At power-up, the Bridgeboard PC is automatically set to the default
display mode (factory set to mono). See Appendix H for information on
how to change the default display mode to color. You can change to a
PC Color display by following this procedure:

1. Open the Bridegeboard Workbench PC drawer (if it is not already
open).

2. Double click on the PC Mono icon.

3. When the screen for PC Mono mode appears:
a. Answer the date and time requests from MS-DOS.
b. Type:

MODE CO80 < RETURN>

34

Note that you must type the letters CO, followed immediately
by the numerals 80 (no space).

c. Click on the close gadget to close down the PC Mono window.

4. Double click on the PC Color icon in the PC drawer window.

The usual MS-DOS prompt will appear, and you can enter commands in
the usual fashion.

Returning to Monochrome Display

You can return to a PC Mono display by following this procedure:

1. Type:
MODE MONO < RETURN>

2. Click on the close gadget to close down the PC Color window.

3. Double click on the PC Mono icon.

Note: Most PC software packages include a command to activate the

proper display mode.

Using the LPT1 Icon to Access the A2000 Parallel Port
for Bridgeboard Use

The third PC icon, LPT1, is the MS-DOS acronym for Line Printer #1.
Selecting this icon assigns the A2000 parallel port for use with a
PC-compatible printer.

Before you can use the A2000 parallel port for a PC parallel printer, you
must assign the port to the PC side. (The assignment is not permanent;
however, only one application at a time may have access to the Amiga's
parallel port.) When you select the LPT1 icon, the Amiga runs a program
that checks whether the parallel port is in use by any Amiga-side
application. If it is not in use, the Amiga designates the port for the PC
printer. If the port is currently in use, nothing happens.

If the LPT1 is able to assign the parallel port to the PC printer, a title bar
appears on the screen, telling you the parallel port has been allocated to
LPT1. Remember that while the Bridgeboard has control of the parallel
port, the port is unavailable to AmigaDOS programs. Once assigned to
LPT1, the parallel port is used exclusively by the PC printer until you
select the Close gadget on the LPT1 title bar. At that point, control of the
parallel port is returned to AmigaDOS.

35

Using PCDisk

PCDisk must be opened if you want to use certain special programs for
the creation of virtual drives and for Amiga/Bridgeboard file transfer
operations. Note that no window appears when you open PCDisk.

You must open PCDisk in order to use the JLink program that allows
you to create up to four virtual drives on any AmigaDOS disk volume,
including floppy disks, RAM disks and hard disks. (See Appendix C for
details.)

You must also open PCDisk if you want to use the ARead and AWrite
programs to transfer files between MS-DOS on the PC side and Amiga
DOS on the Amiga side. (See Appendix D for details.)

Using PCPrefs

PCPrefs activates the Bridgeboard hardware which allows either the
mono or color displays (or both) to be shown on the Amiga monitor, and
sets the default memory control setting (E0000) built into the Bridge-
board hardware. You can use PCPrefs to change the location of the
address sector for the RAM used to interface between the Amiga and the
Bridgeboard, or to disable emulation of either display mode if a display
adapter card is to be used with a second monitor.

Using PCPrefs, you can change these default settings for the current
session only, or you can save the changed settings to the PC Workbench
disk as the new default settings. In most cases there will be no need to
change the default settings, and it is therefore recommended that you
make no attempt to alter the standard default settings provided by
PCPrefs, unless you are using a second monitor and display adapter.

The power-up display settings (monochrome, 80 column) can also be
changed by resetting Jumper J1 on the Bridgeboard; this is described in
Appendix H. However, it is again recommended that you make no
attempt to change the standard power-up display settings unless you
are familiar with the PC compatible display hardware.

36

Opening a PC Window from CLI

If you prefer, you can use the AmigaDOS CLI to open a PC window,

rather than using a PC Mono or PC Color icon from the Workbench. (See

Chapter7 in the

Manual for information on using CLI.)

When the Workbench screen comes up, open a CLI window by first

double-clicking on the System drawer, then double-clicking on the CLI

icon. You can select either type of PC display from the CLI.

For a monochrome display, type:

RUN PCWINDOW MONO < RETURN>

For a color display, enter:

RUN PCWINDOW COLOR < RETURN >

If you just type RUN PCWINDOW, the PC display defaults to the

monochrome display.

Introduction to the Amiga 2000 manual or The AmigaDOS

37

5. The Bridgeboard PC Display

This first part of this chapter describes the characteristics and capabilities
of the Bridgeboard display windows. The second part of the chapter tells
how to use the on-screen Bridgeboard menus to set or alter these
characteristics.

Characteristics of the PC Window

A Bridgeboard PC window, when full-sized, covers an 80 column by 25
line area and, depending on the display mode, can display up to sixteen
colors. You can modify various elements of the Bridgeboard PC display
(e.g., borders, window size, number and shades of colors, number of
windows, display task priority) by using the options of the PC screen
menus.

Borders

The "border" of a window is the area around the perimeter of the
window. The border contains "gadgets" you can use to size and position
your window, just as with any Amiga window (see the Introduction to the
Amiga 2000 manual for information on Amiga windows). There are also
screen menu options to perform these tasks.

You can choose to have the window borders be visible or hidden. When
the window borders are visible, you can use the window gadgets as
usual. When the borders are hidden, you can see all 80 columns and 25
lines of the Amiga display. You can always use the screen menus,
whether or not borders are visible.

When you size the window to fill the entire screen, the window borders
vanish automatically. If you reduce the screen from full size to a smaller
size, the borders reappear.

At any time, double-clicking will change the window from full size
borderless to small size bordered, and vice versa. The small size win
dow will take the location and size of the last non-fullsize Bridgeboard
window.

Window Size

You can change the size of the screen by using the FULL SIZE and
SMALL SIZE options of the Display menu. These options let you switch

the size of an existing window from large to small and back again. FULL

38

SIZE enlarges the window to the 80 column by 25 line area. When the
window is the full size of the display, the borders will be hidden.

When you select SMALL SIZE, the window is restored to its last dimen

sions and position when it was not full-sized. If the window h&s not

been manually re-sized, size and screen position defaults are assumed.
Note that you can also change the size of windows using the sizing

gadget in the lower right corner of the window, and you are still able to
reposition the window by clicking the left mouse button on the window
bar. However, keep in mind that the window cannot be moved unless it
is smaller than full size.

Number Of Text Colors

In PC Mono mode text can appear in up to 4 colors. In PC Color mode

text can appear in up to 16 colors. The Bridgeboard display emulator can
create all of these colors. However, the more text colors you use, the
longer it takes for your text to be displayed. Use of fewer text colors
allows the Amiga to work more efficiently. The performance improve
ment in going from 16-color to 8-color text is significant.

Note that these color options are for text only; they have no effect on the
color graphics display, which is always 2 or 4 colors, depending on the
type of display created by a particular application.

Using Multiple Windows / Freezing Windows

You can open multiple windows in any display mode. When you have
multiple windows of a display, you can freeze the contents of any
window simply by clicking inside the window and then selecting "win
dow freeze on" from the window bar.

Note that MS-DOS is not a multi-tasking environment, since only one
PC application may be active at a time. However, the multiple window
and window-freeze capabilities of the Bridgeboard allow you consider
able leeway in manipulating displays within a single program.

Display Priority

All of the Amiga programs—including Bridgeboard programs— run at a
certain "priority". The Bridgeboard display task runs at the normal
priority, which is a priority of 0 when started from the Workbench and -5
when started from the CLI. When the PC display is changing frequently,
the Bridgeboard PC display emulator may require a large portion of the

39

system time and resources. If the display program runs at a lower
priority than other task, the display may be degraded. If the priority of
the display program is too high, then the performance of other tasks
may be affected.

You can change the priority of the display program to suit your needs by
using the Set Display Task Priority option of the Display menu, as
explained later in this chapter.

Using the Pulldown Menus of the PC Window

There are three menus available on the main menu bar at the top of the
Bridgeboard PC Window screen :

• Project

• Display

• Edit

The options on these menus apply to the Bridgeboard window display
whether you've selected a Mono or Color display. There are some minor
differences among the options, depending on the display mode. For
example, Mono mode allows a maximum of four colors, while Color
mode allows as many as sixteen colors.

Menus and options are selected in the same way that they are selected
for any Amiga window.

The following pages tell how to use the three main PC screen menus and
their options.

40

Project Menu Options

The Project menu has four options: SAVE SETTINGS, RESTORE SET

TINGS, INFO, and CLOSE. These options are described below.

Save Settings—After you have configured the display to your liking (by

using the Color option of the Display menu to make color selections),
you can use this command to permanently record these settings in a file

on the Bridgeboard system disk. Thereafter, whenever you boot the
Bridgeboard system, your selected display colors will always be used.

Restore Settings—This option restores the color display to the settings
that are currently saved on disk—either by you, or in the form of the
factory defaults.

Info—This provides an additional window giving brief information and

help on how to use a number of the Bridgeboard features.

Close—Selecting this option is the same as selecting the Window Close

gadget in the upper left-hand corner of the screen (i.e., this option closes
a Bridgeboard window).

41

Display Menu Options

The Display menu has thirteen options: FULL-SIZE WINDOW, SMALL-
SIZE WINDOW, SHOW BORDER, HIDE BORDER, WINDOW FREEZE,
THIS WINDOW'S SCREEN, COLOR, SET CURSOR BLINK RATE,
OPEN ANOTHER WINDOW, REFRESH DISPLAY, NUMBER OF TEXT
COLORS, SET DISPLAY TASK PRIORITY, and INTERLACE. Each op
tion is described below.

Full-Size Window—causes the current active window to be sized to 80
columns by 25 lines. The borders, if visible, become hidden automatically.

Small-Size Window—reduces a full-size window to its last less-than-
full size dimensions and locations.

Show Border — makes the window borders visible.
Hide Border — makes the window borders invisible. (You can still use

the menus even if the borders are hidden.)
NOTE: You can also show or hide the borders simply by positioning the

pointer inside the PC Window and double-clicking on the left mouse
button. This resizes the window and will change the current border
setting. For example, if the borders are visible, they become invisible
and vice versa. (In PAL systems, top and bottom borders are always
visible.)

42

Window Freeze — lets you stop and hold the contents of an active PC
window. Turning Window Freeze on "freezes" the processing of a PC
window. To return control of that window to the PC, simply turn
Window Freeze off. When used in combination with the Open Another
Window option, Window Freeze lets you view the contents of one
window while working in another.

This Window's Screen — controls whether the PCWindow is displayed
on the Workbench screen or on a newly created screen (the PC screen).
Normally, whether you are in either PC Mono or PC Color, if you have
your screen set to four colors, the PC Window will share the Workbench
screen. However, you can use "This Window's Screen" to move your PC
window to its own screen if you so desire.

If you are in the PC Mono mode &nd the number of text colors is set to
two, or in the PC Color mode with the number of text colors set to two,
eight, or sixteen, the PC Window will automatically move to its own
screen.

Both the Workbench screen and the PC screen work equally well in
providing an environment for the PC Window. However, if the PC
Window is on the Workbench screen, the Workbench applications are
accessed more conveniently.

Color — You can change any of the colors of your display window by
selecting the COLOR menu option. A special requester will appear with
these features:

In the lower left area of the requester there are rectangles of color, each
representing one of the colors of the display. Select one of these
rectangles to choose a particular color to be changed. That color then
fills the box at the top left of the requester.

To modify the selected color, use the three color sliders (the wide
boxes with small rectangles inside) at the top of the requester. The
sliders are labeled "R" for red, "B" for blue, and "G" for green ( the
three components of Amiga color). Whenever you select a color, the
sliders reflect the amount of red, green, and blue in the color you've
chosen.

To adjust a slider, move the pointer over the slider's "knob" (the small
rectangle inside the box), and then hold down the left button while
moving the mouse to the left or right. Moving the mouse to the left
means that less of that particular color component will be added to the
final color, while moving the mouse to the right adds more of that

component. For instance, moving the "R" knob all the way to the left

43

removes all red from the current color. Moving the knob all the way to
the right adds as much red as possible.

In the lower right corner of the requester there are three command

boxes:

COPY — select to copy the current color to a selected rectangle. When
you click on Copy then click on the target color rectangle, the selected
color replaces the existing color in the target rectangle.

OK — select to approve the color change. When you click on OK, the
color requester is closed and the color change is carried out.

CANCEL — select to cancel any changes you've made. When you
click on Cancel, the color requester is closed, and the original colors
are restored.

To save a color setting for future use, select SAVE SETTINGS from the
Project menu. The current settings are then saved on your Bridgeboard
Workbench disk. The next time you enter a PC display mode the screen
will be set up according to these saved settings.

Set Cursor Blink Rate — (1/2, 1, 2, or 4) — controls how many times per
second the cursor will blink.

Open Another Window — You can have multiple windows in either
display mode (PC Mono or PC Color). When you select "Open Another
Window", control is transferred to the new window. If you wish to
freeze the display in the first window you must choose "Window Freeze
On" before opening another window. When you select this option, the
new window appears as a full-sized window, and is placed over the
window you were using. The original window is still there — it's just
behind the new one. You can resize the new window to make both
windows visible.

Refresh Display — If anything disrupts the display, choose this option
to have the entire window redrawn.

Number of Text Colors — (2 Colors, 4 Colors, 8 Colors or 16 Colors) —
sets the maximum number of colors for the text.

In PC Mono mode you can select from 2-color and 4-color options. The
2-color option limits the display to foreground and background colors,
while the 4-color option adds two additional colors to the display.

In PC Color mode you can select from all four options (2, 4 8 and 16).
These color options are for text only; they have no effect on the graphics
display which is always 2 or 4 colors, depending on the type of display
created by a particular application.

44

As a general rule, the fewer colors you use in your display, the faster the
computer is able to work. Fewer colors use less of the computer's
memory. Conversely, the more colors you use, the slower the text
display and the computer's efficiency. The improvement in performance
going from a 16-color to an 8-color display is significant.

There's one more thing about the number of colors to be aware of: if the
number of colors of the PC screen is equal to the number of colors of the
Workbench screen (meaning there are four colors on either a mono or
color display), the PC display appears as a window on the Workbench
screen. If the number of colors is not equal, the PC display will appear as
a window on a newly created screen (the PC screen). Both the Work
bench screen and the PC screen work equally well in providing an
environment for the PC Window. However, with the PC Window on the
Workbench screen, the Workbench applications are accessed more con
veniently.

Set Display Task Priority — (+10, + 5, 0, -5, -10) — sets the priority in
which tasks shown on the display will be performed. The more positive,
higher number designates a higher priority. Usually there is no need to
alter this option.

Interlace — (On, Off) — turns the Amiga interlace mode on and off. The
interlace mode increases the number of lines displayed on the screen. If

you have a high persistence monitor like the Amiga 2080, the display is

sharpened when you turn on the interlace. However, conventional
monitor displays are not designed to take advantage of the improved
resolution afforded by the interlace capability, and turning the interlace
on may cause a distracting "flicker." Use of a high resolution, long-
persistence monitor will fix this problem.

Edit Menu Options

The Edit menu controls a clipboard, an area in which selected text may
be held. This clipboard is the same one used by Notepad on your Amiga
Workbench disk, and by some other Amiga applications as well. Its use
is explained in your Introduction to the Amiga 2000 manual. With the
COPY and PASTE options of the Edit menu, text can be copied from or
inserted into (pasted into) the PC window.

45

COPY—You use the COPY option to place text in the clipboard. First,
you must highlight the text you wish to copy by pressing the left mouse
button and moving left or right. The text you move over appears in
reversed color. When you release the left mouse button, the highlighted
text is copied from the PC Window and placed in the clipboard. You
must move the pointer at least one full character from the starting point
to select text.

PASTE—You use PASTE to place the text from the clipboard into the PC
Window. When you select PASTE, whatever is held in the clipboard is
pasted at the current cursor location. Other ways to insert text from the
clipboard are double-clicking the right mouse button, or pressing the
right Amiga key along with the V key.

Copied text is held in the clipboard until it is replaced, and can be pasted
into the PC window as often as you like.

You can also copy text from the clipbord into Amiga applications, such
as Notepad, that support clipboard operations. Text placed in the clip
board from Amiga applicatons can be moved into the PC window using
the Bridgeboard's PASTE option.

46

APPENDICES

Appendix A: User-Controlled Procedure for
Installing Bridgeboard Files on a Workbench Disk

You can use the following procedure to control the process of selecting
and transferring the Bridgeboard software from the Install disk to a PC
Workbench disk.

1. Turn on your A2000 and make a copy of your Workbench disk.

2. Reboot your A2000, using the new Workbench copy or the Install
disk.

3. If the Install disk is not already in a drive, insert and open it now.

4. When the Install window appears, select the Bridgelnstall icon.
A screen like the following will appear:

Note: There may be other installation icons in the Install win

dow. Some of these are not for use with the A2000 comput
er and Bridgeboard combination. The Sidecar icon is used
only with the A1000 computer and the Amiga 1060 Sidecar
combination. The Bridgelnstall 512 icon is used only if you
have a computer with 512 KB of RAM— e.g., an Amiga
A1000 with a non-Sidecar PC device.

5. After you select the Bridgelnstall icon, a few preliminary mes
sages appear near the top of the Installation screen, and then a list
of all the files on the Install disk appears.

6. Note the checkmarks in front of some filenames. A checkmark (or
lack of a checkmark) indicates the default file status, as follows:
—Any file with a checkmark will be selected for installation.

—Any file without a checkmark will not be copied to your new

Workbench disk.

You can toggle a checkmark on or off by moving to the filename line and

clicking on the left mouse button.

47

7. You can make your own file selection by following these guide
lines:

—If you agree with the default status of a given file, do nothing.

The file will be selected or deleted automatically, depending on
whether or not it is checkmarked.

—If you want to change the status of a file, move the cursor to the

line on which the filename appears and click once on the left
mouse button. The status will change to the opposite of what it
was.

If you change your mind about a file's status, just click on the left
mouse button until you get the proper status (checkmark or no
checkmark).

You can scroll through the list of filenames by using the vertical
scroll bar on the right side of the Installation screen.

8. When you have selected the files you want, click on the OK
gadget near the top of the Installation screen . A message appears
telling you that the files are being copied to the RAM disk.

9. Next, a requester appears on the screen, asking you to INSERT
the Workbench disk copy to be used for the PC Workbench, and
to SELECT the drive in which the disk is being inserted. When
you have made your drive selection, click on the OK box in the
requester.

Note: You can click on the CANCEL box if you make a mistake or

change your mind.

10. When you select the OK box in the requester, a message tells you
how many blocks must be deleted to make room for the PC files
that were selected for installation in Step 6. A list of the files on
the Workbench disk is also displayed; the list includes the number
of blocks occupied by each file.

11. Note the X that appears before some filenames. An X (or lack of an
X) indicates the default file status, as follows:

—Any file with an X will be deleted.
—Any file without an X will be selected for installation.
As with the checkmarks used with the PC files, you can toggle an

X on or off by moving to the filename line and clicking on the left
mouse button.

48

12. Select the Workbench files to be deleted or installed by following
these guidelines:

—If you agree with the default status of a given file, do nothing.

The file will be selected or deleted automatically, depending on
whether or not it is marked with an X.

—If you want to change the status of a file, move the cursor to the

line on which the filename appears and click once on the left
mouse button. The status will change to the opposite of what it
was.

Again, if you change your mind about a file's status, just click on
the left mouse button until you get the proper status (X or no X).
You can scroll through the list of filenames by using the vertical
scroll bar on the right of the Installation screen.

13. As you are selecting and deleting files, a running total of how
many blocks have been selected and how many are still required
to be deleted appears on the second line. You must continue to
delete files until the "Still Required" value on this line reaches
zero or a negative value before the actual file deletion can be
performed.

14. When you finish selecting the files to be deleted, click on the OK
gadget near the top of the Installation screen. A message appears
telling you that the selected files are being copied to the new PC
Workkbench disk.

Note: You can click on the CANCEL box near the top of the

screen if you make a mistake or change your mind.

When the file copying process is completed, the Install window reap
pears on the Workbench screen. You now have a customized Workbench
disk that includes the software you have chosen for your Bridgeboard
PC operations.

49

Appendix B: External Disk Drives

NOTE: Make sure that all power to the Amiga and peripherals is turned

OFF.

Connecting one or more disk drives to the the Bridgeboard is very
simple. An external drive may be connected to either the Amiga side or
the Bridgeboard side of the system. There is no need to make any
changes to the hardware (e.g. change the drive number).

Your Commodore dealer offers two different external drives:

Amiga 1010— uses 3V2 inch diskettes with a capacity of 720K or 880K.
Amiga 1020— uses 5V4 inch diskettes with a capacity of 360K. This

unit has its own power supply.

The A1010 is capable of reading either AmigaDOS or MS-DOS formats,
depending on the side of the system to which it is connected. For
example, if an A1010 is connected to the Amiga side of the system (that
is, to the external drive port on the back of the Amiga 2000), you can use
it for AmigaDOS disks such as the Workbench and its capacity will be
880K bytes. If it is connected to the Bridgeboard side of the system (that
is, to the external drive port on the Bridgeboard), you can use it for
MS-DOS disks, with a capacity of 720K bytes.

The A1020 may also be connected to either side of the system; however,
the 1020 always stores information in PC format. The Amiga Extras disk
with system software Version 1.2 and above contain utilities for reading
the PC format on the Amiga system.

51

Appendix C: Adding Virtual Drives to MS-DOS

The JLink program included on the PC System Disk, lets you add up to

four virtual drives to your MS-DOS system. A JLink virtual drive acts

just like a PC drive you would add-on to your computer, except that all

the data (files, directories, etc.) are stored, internally, as one big file on

any Amiga disk device.
The JLINK command may be used to create a virtual MS-DOS drive on

any AmigaDOS disk volume, including RAM: (RAM disk), floppy drives

(DF0:,etc.), or hard disks (DH0:,etc). A hard disk on the Amiga side can
thus be shared between Amiga applications and MS-DOS. Unlike shar
ing a PC side hard disk (see Appendix E), it is not mandatory to partition
the Amiga hard drive. The MS-DOS virtual drive is simply a file in the
directory specified when the virtual drive is created with the JLINK
command. However, to reduce the chance of accidentally erasing this
file (which could be very large), it is recommended that you create a
separate AmigaDOS partition on your Amiga hard drive and reserve
this partition for for the MS-DOS virtual drive file. See Appendix G of
the Introduction to the Amiga 2000 for directions on how to set up
multiple AmigaDOS partitions on an Amiga hard drive.

Unless you have the appropriate hard disk, you must insert the PC
System Disk into a 5 1/4" disk drive and the PC Workbench diskette into
the Amiga's internal disk drive before running the JLink program. Open
the PC Drawer on the Workbench diskette, and double-click on the
PCDisk icon. PCDisk must be running in order for the JLink program

to work.

Then open the PC Window and add the following line to the CON
FIG.SYS file on the MS-DOS system disk:

DEVICE = JDISK.SYS

Make sure the files JDISK.SYS and JLINK.COM are on your MS-DOS
system disk. Reboot MS-DOS on the A2088 Bridgeboard by pressing the
CTRL/ALT/DEL keys simultaneously. (See the MS-DOS User's Guide
for more information about rebooting MS-DOS.)

If you simply type "JLink" without any arguments, your screen will
show the following display:

VDrive Status Linked to
d:
e:
f:

g:

53

Before you can use a virtual drive you have to link it with the Amiga file
in which the data is going to be stored.

You can create new files to be linked to the virtual drive, and you can
also link existing Amiga files to a drive. To link a virtual drive to an
Amiga file, use the JLINK command. The syntax of this command is as
follows:

JLINK n: filename /sw

where n is the virtual drive to use, filename is a standard Amiga path
specifying a file, and sw is one of the following switches:

/n all messages suppressed except errors
/c:n create that volume on Amiga side — n is the size in kilo

bytes
/u unlink that volume
/r link read only (all write access will fail)

NOTE: If you do not specify a switch, JLINK will attempt to link to an

existing file. If the file does not exist, the link will be unsuccessful. If you

use /n with /c, existing volumes are deleted without any warnings.
For example,

JLINK e: ram:vd /c:1000

This command creates an Amiga file vd in the root directory of the
Amiga RAM disk. The file contains only the necessary MS-DOS struc

tures like File Allocation Tables and an empty root directory. The size of
this file is approximately 14 - 25 KB. The file can grow as data is added,

but it will never get smaller.
The specified size is the maximum size a volume can grow to. If the

number is less than 160, the size is set to 160 kilobytes.
After the file has been created, it is linked (in this example) to the virtual

drive e:. If the file already exists, you will be asked if you want to
continue. By continuing, you will destroy all previous data stored on
that volume.

After the Amiga file vd is created and linked to the MS-DOS virtual drive
e:, the display will show:

VDrive Status Linked to
d:
e: R/W vd
f:

g:

54

The status of a file will be either R/O, for read only, or R/W, for read and
write.

To unlink a virtual drive, specify the MS-DOS drive you want to unlink
and the /u switch.

The Amiga files of virtual drives contain no information that could be
used on the Amiga side. However, they can be copied, renamed and
deleted as usual files. When a file is linked to the virtual drive and
written, the AmigaDOS cannot access that file until it is closed by JLink.

JLINK Error Messages
JDISK.SYS not installed: The driver JDISK.SYS has not been found at

MS-DOS boot time. Check the CONFIG.SYS file.
Amiga Service not available: The program PCDisk is not running on the

Amiga side. Double click on the PCDisk icon.
Open File %s failed: The requested Amiga file could not be opened. It

either does not exist or is already in use.

Syntax Error: Something is wrong with your command line.
Illegal Switch specified: %c: A switch was given that JLink does not

support.

JLink Error: Drive is already linked, unlink first: The drive has a linked
file already.

JLink Error: Close Error on virtual volume: This error occurs if you
removed the Amiga disk before unlinking the virtual drive on it.

JLink Error: Nothing linked: Attempt to unlink an empty drive.
File %s exists, continue ? [Y/N]: Attempt to create an existing volume.

This message is supressed if In switch is given. The program continues.
Write Error %X during format on drive %c:/n: This error can occur if the

Amiga volume is full or has a problem.
If there are problems accessing a linked volume, the usual MS-DOS error

handling takes place. Accessing a drive with no volume linked generates
an MS-DOS "Drive not Ready" error.

55

Appendix D: Transferring Files Between MS-DOS

and AmigaDOS

You can transfer files to AmigaDOS from MS-DOS and vice-versa, using
two programs included on the 5 1/4 inch MS-DOS System Disk included
with the Bridgeboard. The programs are:

—ARead, which allows you to copy an AmigaDOS file to an MS-DOS

file

—AWrite, which lets you copy a PC file to an Amiga file

Unless you have a hard disk with all MS-DOS commands available,
before using either program you must insert the MS-DOS system disk
into the 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive (designated as MS-DOS drive a:) and
insert the PC Workbench disk (which you created using the Install
program) into the Amiga's internal 3 1/2 inch disk drive (designated
Amiga drive dfO). Open the PC Drawer on the Workbench diskette, and
double-click on the icon "PCDisk." (Note: A window does not appear
when PCDisk is opened, but the icon changes color.)

You must open PCDisk first before using ARead or AWrite, or an error
message will appear on the screen. If this happens, return to the Work
bench window and double-click on the PCDisk icon.

Note: Wild cards are not allowed in filenames specified by ARead or

AWrite.

ARead works with PCDisk to read files from the Amiga to the PC. To
copy an AmigaDOS file to an MS-DOS file using ARead, open the PC
Window and type a command in this format:

AREAD device id:dir name/filename drive:pcfile

Example:

Open the PC window and type:

AREAD dfO:amigafile a:pcfile

ARead then copies the Amiga file named "amigafile" on drive dfO: to
the PC file named "pcfile" on the disk in the 5.25" drive a:

AWrite works in much the same way as ARead, but sends file data in the
opposite direction — i.e., AWrite copies an MS-DOS file to an Amiga
file. Again, be sure to open PCDisk before using AWrite. (PCDisk only
needs to be opened once each session.) The syntax of the AWrite com
mand is:

AWRITE drive:pcfile device id:dir name/filename

57

Example:

Open the PC window and type:

AWRITE a:pcfile dhO:mydir/file.pc

AWrite copies the PC file named "pcfile" to the Amiga file named

"mydir/file.pc" on the hard disk dhO.

You can send a PC file to any Amiga file. For instance, if you type:

AWRITE pcfile CON:0/0/400/amigafile

an Amiga window will appear bearing the name "amigafile," and the
contents of the file "pcfile" will be displayed.
You can even use AWrite to send an MS-DOS file to the printer. Type:

AWRITE pcfile PRT:

Be sure that your printer is connected correctly as explained in Chapter

4. The above example will allow AmigaDOS Preferences to control the
form of the printer output, and whether it is directed to the parallel or
serial port of the A2000.

58

Appendix E: Installing and Using A Hard Disk

Whatever type of hard disk you use with the Bridgeboard (either a

separate hard disk with a controller card or a combined disk/controller
on a card) you must install, format and partition the disk before it can be
used.

In installing a hard disk, follow any specific instructions included with
the product. General instructions for installing each type of hard disk
are given below.

Installing a Hard Disk/Controller

1. Turn off all equipment.

2. Remove the screws on the back and sides of the A2000 main unit
and remove the unit's cover, as described in Chapter 2.

3. Insert the hard disk chassis in the left 3 1/2 inch drive location.
Fasten in place with supplied bolts and washers.

4. Insert the controller card in one of the PC expansion slots, prefer
ably as close to the right as possible.

5. Connect the two cables running from the controller card to the disk
drive.

6. Connect the disk drive to power supply line.

7. Check all connections.

9. Replace the cover of the main unit.

Installing a Combined Disk/Controller on a Card

1. Turn off all equipment.

2. Remove the screws on the back and sides of the main unit and
remove the unit's cover.

3. Select the PC expansion slot into which the hard disk card is to be
inserted. (If the card takes up two slots, use the second and third
slots from the edge of the expansion slot area.)

4. Insert the hard disk card carefully but firmly into the slot(s).

5. Check all connections.

6. Replace the cover of the main unit.

59

Partitioning and Formatting a Hard Disk

The system disk contains the following two programs that allow you to
partition and format a hard disk drive for use with MS-DOS only, or for
both MS-DOS and AmigaDOS:

FDISK (used for setting up the MS-DOS drive sectors)
ADISK (used for setting up the AmigaDOS drive sectors)

Note that you can have up to four partitions on the hard disk drive, one
of which can be an MS-DOS partition.

To create two partitions of the same capacity, one MS-DOS and one for

AmigaDOS, follow these steps:

1. Insert the A2088 Workbench disk in the Amiga's 3 1/2" drive and
insert the MS-DOS disk supplied with the A2088 in the 5.25" drive.

2. Open an MS-DOS window and run the program FDISK. When you
have decided on the size (for two equal partitions on most 20MB
hard disks, choose 307 cylinders), follow the instructions on the
screen. (Use FDISK to make the partition active.) When FDISK is
finished it may automatically reboot the Bridgeboard. If it doesn't,
reboot the Bridgeboard by simultaneously pressing CTRL, ALT,
and DEL.

3. Format the PC partition of the hard disk using the MS-DOS format

command. If you want to boot from the hard disk, you must
specify the /s option. See the MS-DOS manual for more informa
tion on the FORMAT command.

4. Run the program ADISK to create an AmigaDOS partition. The

following menu appears on the screen:

60

Copyright (c) 1986 Commodore Electronics Limited
AMIGA PARTITION SETUP VER 1.1:
Current drive: 00 Total space : 614 cylinders

Partition Status Type Start End Size

1 A DOS O 306 307

<1> change current drive
<2> change partition status
<3> create a new Amiga partition
<4> delete the Amiga partition
<ESC> return to DOS

(Note that the ADISK program offers the same options for dividing the
capacity as the FDISK program. However, it is not necessary to make an
Amiga partition "active" because the Amiga partition is only used by the
Amiga side.)

5. After the partition setup comes to an end, you must format the
Amiga partition. Leave the PC Window open and open a CLI
window from the Workbench. Then execute the following com
mand.

DJMOUNT < RETURN >

Note: Ignore all the error messages and cancel all the requesters
that appear. These occur because the system knows that a hard
disk exists, but the device is not yet formatted.

6. Now type:
DPFORMAT DRIVE JHO: NAME "drivename"

< RETURN >

7. The system now displays a requester that asks you to insert a disk.

Ignore this and simply press <RETURN>. The system then for
mats the AmigaDOS partition.

8. When formatting is complete, an icon appears on the screen indi
cating the new device. You are now able to use this new drive just
like any other drive on the Amiga.

61

9. To use any AmigaDOS function or command with the hard disk,
specify the designation:

JHx:

where x is the number given to the AmigaDOS partition.

NOTE: Commodore recommends that you set up all partitions on the

hard disk at one time.

How to Automatically Mount the Hard Disk at Startup

You can install the DJMOUNT command into the startup sequence after
the partitions are created. This will automatically mount the hard disk
when the Amiga is booted. Here's how to do this:

1. Type the following from the CLI:
ED S/STARTUP-SEQUENCE < RETURN>

2. When a new window opens containing the script for the startup
sequence, insert the following command on its own line following
the BINDDRIVERS command:

DJMOUNT

3. Now press the ESCAPE key. An asterisk (*) appears on the screen.

4a. If your startup sequence is correct, type:

X < RETURN >

This will save the sequence and return you to the CLI.

4b. If your startup sequence is not correct, type:

Q < RETURN>

This will abort the edit session and leave your file unchanged.

When the DJMOUNT command is part of the startup sequence, there
will be a delay of about half a minute while the disk is mounted and the

Bridgeboard initialized.
If you do not wish to change the sequence to mount the hard disk, you

must open a CLI and type DJMOUNT whenever you start up your
system.

62

Appendix F: Installing an 8087 Numeric Co-Processor

NOTE: Make sure that power to the Amiga and peripherals is OFF.
The 8087 numeric co-processor is a chip which processes complex math
ematical calculations. It can be used in combination with the 8088 pro
cessor in the the Bridgeboard, thus extending the command and arith
metic capabilities on the Bridgeboard side of the system.

The 8087 is called a co-processor because it processes instructions in
combination with the main processor. During the running of a program
which is designed to use the 8087, each processor executes its own tasks.
Working together, the two processors can considerably accelerate the
running speed of applications.

The installation procedure for the 8087 is as follows:

• Disconnect the power to the Amiga 2000.

• Remove the cover of the the Amiga 2000 as described in Chapter 2.
The Bridgeboard is then visible.

• Disconnect the disk drive cable from the Bridgeboard and carefully
remove the Bridgeboard.

• Place the Bridgeboard on a clean flat surface.

• Insert the 8087 on the Bridgeboard, in the socket above the CPU.
The chip must be facing toward the connector side of the Bridge-
board.

• Re-install the Bridgeboard and reconnect the disk drive cable.

• Reassemble the Amiga 2000.

63

Appendix G: RAM Expansion for the Bridgeboard

NOTE: Make sure that power to the Amiga and peripherals is OFF.
RAM (memory) expansion for the Bridgeboard can be carried out using a

PC compatible RAM expansion card (available from several suppliers). It
is inserted into one of the XT slots on the A2000 motherboard. With the
base of 512K on the Bridgeboard, another 128K can be added via an
expansion card.

The start address for any RAM expansion card must be $80000.

65

Appendix H: User-Accessible Jumpers and
Connectors

J1 Default display jumper pair located near the rear center of the

Bridgeboard. (Two sets of three pins)

Startup-Mode Jumper Setting

Monochrome (default) ! I

Color 40 x 25

Color 80 x 25

None

67

i!
!i

ii

J2 External speaker connector located at the top of the Bridgeboard

towards the rear. (Two pins)

J3 Internal 5.25" floppy drive connector located toward the rear center

of the Bridgeboard. (34-pin connector arranged as two rows of 17
pins)

J4 External floppy drive connector located on the rear end of the

Bridgeboard. (23-pin connector)

68

Appendix I: Bridgeboard Technical Specifications

A2088 Product Specification

COMMODORE-AMIGA A2088 AMIGA BRIDGEBOARD

(XT COMPATIBLE)

Secondary Processor System (8088) for Amiga 2000, IBM-PC/XT
compatible

Card Type:

Function:

Clock Speed:
Memory:
ROM:
Interfaces:

Slots: — 3 IBM-PC compatible full size slots available for:

Keyboard: — IBM-PC/XT keyboard emulated on the Amiga

Video Display: — IBM-PC monochrome text mode and color mode

System Software:

— Uses both Amiga bus (100 pin) and IBM-PC/XT

bus system of the Amiga A2000 (goes into
combined position).

— Provides an 8088 co-processor system with IBM-

PC/XTcompatibility. Uses AutoConfig feature of
the Amiga. Socket for 8087 math co-processor.

DATA—8088 SIDE
— 4.77 MHz
— 512 kByte RAM
— 16 kByte BIOS
— 1 internal floppy disk drive 5 1/4"

1 external floppy disk drive 5 1/4"
(each MS-DOS formatted; capacity
360 or 720 kBytes)

— Parallel Port (Centronics1'1, IBM-PC compatible)

emulated on Amiga parallel port.

• hard disk controller

• communication adapter

• graphics adapter

• etc.

keyboard

are emulated in separate AmigaDOS windows
simultaneously

— MS-DOS

69

Inter-System

Communication:

Type:

Card Size:
Power:
Included Items:

DATA—AMIGA SIDE

64 kByte dual-port RAM as inter-process buffer
64 kByte dual-port scratch memory on Amiga side
Interrupt logic
Janus emulation software

BUS INTERFACE

Fast dual-port memory, full speed CPU access
during system DMA

Full size Amiga 2000 card
Supplied by system
Janus emulation software on 3Vi floppy disk

Commodore

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