Task: Purchase AmigaOS 3.2 to Add Modern Kickstart and Workbench Support for Your 680X0-Based Amiga Computers
Needed: 68K Amiga Computer or Emulator, Web Browser for Purchase and Download
Time: 15-30 minutes for purchase and download
Introduction
According to Wikipedia, the last release of Workbench by Commodore was version 3.1 in 1994. Later versions of Workbench, called AmigaOS, were developed and released by Hyperion Entertainment. This included AmigaOS 3.2 in 2021 for the Amiga computers with a 68K processor (e.g. Amiga 500, 600, 1200, 3000, 4000). The Hyperion website lists many new features for AmigaOS 3.2 including new graphics, the ability to mount and run ADF files as if they were floppy disks, more file types, a help system, new icons, bug fixes, etc. Here is a YouTube video from Amiga Bill on some of the new features. I am particularly excited about the ADF support. I took the plunge in anticipation of AmigaOS 3.3 expected to be available in 2026.
Instructions
For reasons I do not completely understand (licensing and distribution issues), you need to purchase AmigaOS on a DVD to get the license key. Interestingly, you must buy one of these DVDs from a list of resellers. You can copy all of the files to your computer from the DVD or use the license key to register the product and download the files off the Hyperion website.
The latest version you will receive is 3.2.3 (aka 47.2) as of this post.
I purchased my DVD from 8BitClassics for $55 plus shipping here in the USA.
Comments
I will cover the installation and setup in a future post when I have time to play with the OS. I did burn two EPROMs with the provided Kickstart 3.2.3 (version 47.115) binaries to replace the Kick 3.1 ROMs in my Amiga 1200. The photos below show my new ROM, the Kickstart boot screen, and the about window when the Install disk is booted. I have previously covered burning EPROMs for the Amiga.
Note that the first time I booted this up I had my PiStorm in the 1200. This was preventing the new ROMs from being read because the PiStorm preferentially uses the ROM you provide when setting up the SD card hard drive. I will need to add the new ROM to the boot partition of the hard drive. This is likely true for other accelerators as well.
Here is a list of Workbench and Kickstart versions. Note that AmigaOS 3.5 and beyond are for PowerPC-based Amigas.
