HKvalhe's X5000 Blog: HKvalhe's Spooky X5000 2 Years Anniversary

AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition Update 3

Welcome to another new blog from me after a long while. To keep things simple and as short as possible, I should mention that my has had a spooky time after the installation of the new Update 3 for AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition. I will cover it all in this blog the progress and what has been done to make my system works as much as supposed to. Keep on reading and explore the snapshots provided. I even installed the beautiful DualPNG icons called !

Update 3 was released during the end of , just in time for it to be presentated at the the first weekend of November 2025. Update 3 for AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition came as a great surprise and it improves a lot of things for our . Faster internet, better , full , support for , over 196 bug fixes and much improved stability. These are just the couple of things improving the . Of course, it's not completely perfect but a great improvement and much expected one. Update 3 should be installed over a fresh installment. You can easily update to Update 3 right away from your previous Update 2 setup.

Spooky Update 3 experience with my AmigaOne X5000 system

Setting up partitions in MediaToolbox

During the first installment of the new Update 3 of AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition, my X5000/20 could not get into the OS. The problem was that I had to remove the graphic board using the and then reconnect it again to the motherboard. That actually solved the issue with accessing the Update 3 setup. Very odd, but it solved the display issue at least.

As soon as I got access to my setup, I quickly followed the downloaded from the net and followed the procedure step by step, in order to make a fully working stick based on the X5000 ISO file from . The program was used to install the ISO file to a USB pen but you can also use that is part of AmigaOS4. See the following snapshot of RawDisk.

RawDisk - Native app to read ISO files

Without getting too technical, setting up a fully working X5000 Recovery USB went successfully. The USB stick became really useful when I the days after the first installment of the Update 3 experienced a corrupted on one of my 2 internal . Something related to a faulty on the boot partition. I later discovered that I had incorrectly added the that was made for . The X5000 doesn't need that but only to set a boot partition.

To get straight to the point where I am now. What I had to do was to move the backup of my whole setup, apps and games to the other SSD, then carefully starting the process of erasing all datas on the main SSD (without losing my backups, of course), giving a new proper information, then setting up the partitions, as seen on the snapshot of the MediaToolbox. The following things were done very carefully, like these:

*DH0 using SFS2 from Enhancer (Block size 512, buffer 5000 for maximum speed)

*DH1 using SFS2 from Enhancer (Block size 512, buffer 5000 for maximum speed)

*DH2 using SFS2 from Enhancer (Block size 512, buffer 5000 for maximum speed)

*DH3 using SFS2 from Enhancer (Block size 512, buffer 5000 for maximum speed)

Important notice! When creating partitions, they should NEVER be called HD0, HD1, HD2 and HD3, or such! I happened to notice that the setup with SFS2 didn't like that and the names could be messed up looking as something like "HD0nyyyyyyy", for instance, so PLEASE, NEVER DO THAT!!! Let AmigaOS call them by the normal name, which are DH0, DH1, DH2 and DH3. It's when you are to FORMAT the partitions, THEN you can pick the names you want to call your partitions. Keep that in mind. This is actually how I SOLVED the issue with a corrupted boot partition. The problem seems to be gone now. A few hangups, but nothing critical. This was the case with the X5000 before the update as well, so quite normal. Most important is that the system now works as supposed to.

The few things that don't work so well with Update 3 at the moment

CANDI doesn't work with Update 3

As most AmigaOS4 users might already have noticed, there are some few problems when running Update 3 of AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition. Mostly related to the previous stuff already installed on most systems. Allow me to explain what these few problems are, based on my own personal experience with my setup.

The animated wallpaper stuff - CANDI, that is part of the from , doesn't work under Update 3. Of course, that's not really surprising but logical. The upcoming will solve these issues. It's actually been held back to ensure it will fully work with Update 3 in mind, so that's a good thing.

Things should be much better for PPC Amiga systems like the X5000 when the standalone, bootable is released. Why a new standalone AmigaOS replacement, you think? The explanation is quite simply. Hyperion Entertainment doesn't own or have any license to use the RadeonRX driver, which A-EON and own, and which you need to run and , both being part of Enhancer. That's why the process of updating AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition on PPC Amigas with Polaris graphic board is a "pain-in-the-arse". The standalone Enhancer V54 will not have those problems. Trust me.

ScummVM 2.9.0 ELF library issue

The version 2.9 does work without problems. But when quitting the program, an error message related to the new ELF library installed from Update 3 happens, which the other snapshot will show you. This is not really a critical problem. It only means waiting for a new version of ScummVM, and it will have been compiled especially with those new updates in mind, so don't worry.

I can play those without problems, despite the issue with quitting it. The other games work. , the in latest and the FPS game . They all work like a charm. Smooth and beautiful. I love it.

ScummVM needs Update 3 support

Despite those minor little problems, I can run all my programs and games. I will show you the other programs I tested that work with Update 3.

Take a close look on the snapshots covering the different programs and tools I tested working.

Amiga programs that work under AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition Update 3

ADRipper - AudioCD ripper for AmigaOS4

ADRipper is an old, interesting program that actually seems to work quite well under Update 3. The program allows you to rip into different formats like and . Very useful. I tend to use it now and then. Happy to know that it works without problems. Another similar program I have, is also . Another program based on that allows you to burn or , for that matter. These programs really work, according to my own personal test covered in this Amiga blog.

I'm eager to start up with different Amiga projects again, like music and drawing. Maybe even be writing some stuffs to help others and create a PDF manual or something like that. One step at the time, but I'm eager to start working with new again. Been quite sometime since.

Latest AmiCygnix works under Update 3

AmiCygnix is a very interesting way of running under AmigaOS4. These can even be run standalone. I especially use to edit photos and covers. Sometimes, I even write stuff with , a . Very useful to have on your AmigaOS4 system if you want to do some serious office work or other important things that the native AmigaOS4 apps are still not doing for the very moment. These will improve in time but where there are certain limitations with the native AmigaOS4 applications, a solution like AmiCygnix comes quite in handy.

GIMP - the Open Source Photoshop clone

GIMP is a brilliant open source Photoshop clone where you can edit and manipulate photos and images. With plugins like , you can add many wonderful effects like and truly improve the quality! You can turn a colored image into a black'n'white image, and you can add borders to your photos, to make them look more like photos you want to hang up on the wall. Extremely powerful and useful! I use it qute often, and it works very smooth and stable under Update 3 on my X5000. The snapshot says it all, and if you're a hobby photographer as I am, then you will truly enjoy the fun of using GIMP.

AmiFTP - To upload stuff to Aminet

AmiFTP is another useful application I run on my X5000 setup. Especially when uploading my Amiga music to Aminet. This program seen on the snapshot to the right does a very simple way of uploading stuff to Aminet. Works like a charm.

You can pick up AmiFTP on and install it right away on your AmigaOS4 system. But you need to configure it to locate the Aminet site for uploading stuff, according to Aminet's own rules for use of FTP and uploading things.

Other stuffs I use are tools like - A MUI based wallpaper editor to display multiple of beautiful wallpapers, instead of using CANDI. I always use FlipPaper and it works without problems on my X5000 Update 3 setup.

eGame - a MUI based game launcher

eGame - a MUI based game launcher is another, very useful application to run several Amiga games right away. Even those WHDLoad games. One simple click and they run right away. Works perfectly well under Updater 3 on my .

The old FPS shooter game - Wolfenstein Return To Castle, works very smoothly under Update 3 on my X5000, especially if you have a Polaris graphic board supporting . The upcoming Enhancer 2.3 will bring even faster speeds with Warp2D/Warp3D Nova! I'm truly looking forward to that. It should be very interesting.

But now it's time to cover up the work I do on my X5000 Update 3 setup. The programs I use to work with my Amiga music and drawing, a the programs I use to write and send emails and browsing the net.

Hopefully a peaceful return to Amiga projects with my Update 3 setup

A dark theme OctaMED SoundStudio

As you can see from the snapshot, the good old , the , works even better under Update 3 of AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition on my AmigaOne X5000 system. You have to use the called in order to get audio from your in the music program.

I would have hoped that the new that is part of those ARM based , and the upcoming systems, would be ported to AmigaOS4 PPC Amiga systems. Hopefully, that might happen in a forseable future. But for now, the good old OctaMED SoundStudio still has a lot of power and flexibility to create excellent music. My X5000/20 system is more than capable of doing multi-channel Amiga music. As you already know, I have done a good couple of in OctaMED SoundStudio, thanks to the true power of the AmigaOne X5000. Wonder how well it will work with the new I hope to get around Christmas.

PPaint 7.3c PPC version under Update 3

When drawing and preparing Amiga Covers for my Amiga music, I use the PPC native version of PPaint, currently version 7.3c, on my X5000. Works perfectly under Update 3. Very fast and reliable. I use it most of the time and you can draw up to 256 colors. Full support for .

The other alternative graphic program I tend to use now and then, is the open source 256 color paint program - . Version 2.9 was ported not so many months ago and is currently the smoothest version of it. Works very well on my X5000 Update 3 setup. Very useful if you plan to create graphic for games other than the Amiga.

CodeAudio - The music file converter

In order to make my Amiga music available to , I then have to convert ordinary Amiga music modules to MP3. Sometimes to FLAC for my own personal listening but MP3 for YouTube through the site TunesToTube. CodeAudio is a registered product with a key for full access to all of its features. Something that the snapshot should show you. On the snapshot, you see the process of converting an created with OctaMED SoundStudio, converted to both MP3 and FLAC with CodeAudio. In this case seen from the snapshot, to a FLAC file. Cool, eh?

Sometimes, I even use - a new AmigaOS4 native sample editor to either improve some samples or to save them in other formats. RAVE has support for 24 bit and 32 bit samples as well! A rare thing in Amiga land, but fully possible! Of course, for using samples in OctaMED SoundStudio, only 16 bit can be used. That's quite ok, really, because you can get stunning results with 16 bit, if you know what to do. No problem.

RAVE - a modern native sample editor

The overall conclusion review

Well, we have came to the end of my Amiga blog for now, covering the most important things I have been doing lately. I spent nearly a week in ensuring that my X5000 Update 3 setup was working as supposed to and it does. Not everything is perfect. Now and then, the system hangs up but at least, no corruption of the boot partition or anything critical, and that's the most important thing. I still want to give as short and fair conclusion as possible, based on my own personal experience and how I see things with it.

Not everything is completely hopeless. The AmiWest 2025 revealed many interesting things and was indeed the best Amiga show for years. Probably the greatest yet. Mirari PPC Amiga is coming. The new is progressing very well and close to completion, which will also be ported to Mirari, as well as AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition Update 3 and Enhancer 2.3, which is currently held back to meet the full support of Update 3.

Enhancer V54 - the standalone, bootable with full recovery AmigaOS4 alternative, is another very interesting product to be released in not too distant future. If you have a Polaris based graphic board based on RadeonRX driver, then Enhancer V54 OS would be your best choice.

The answer to that is simple because Hyperion Entertainment doesn't own any rights or license for the RadeonRX driver. A-EON and AmigaKit do. Also bear in mind that in order to use Warp2D Nova and Warp3D Nova, you need Enhancer. It's unfortunately as simple as that. At least until from Hyperion Entertainment is a reality, whenever and however it appears to be. That remains to be seen, but until then, Enhancer is your best choice, really.

FryingPan - MUI based plate burner

This ends my Amiga blog for now. I hope you find this blog very intuitive, helpful and a joy to read. It's a bit long to read but should be very helpful for those who need it. For others, just plain joy and excitment to read. Thank you.

See you in another blog in not too distant future. Remember, the Amiga makes it possible.

Written by

Helge Kvalheim